Wraps, micro braids, dreads, crops, Afros, curly tops, finger waves, hair threads and corn rows are much more than hair styles ­ they are ornaments of beauty and culture for the African-American women and men who wear them. Many of today's most popular hair styles for African Americans have evolved from a vast African ancestry that considers hair an important vehicle of self-expression.

Hot styles for women are micro braids ­ thin braids woven into natural hair ­ and wraps ­ a sleek style achieved by applying relaxer lotion, wrapping the hair around the head and brushing it out later, says Kim Burnett, 26, a licensed hair stylist at Kent's Cuttin' Loose. For men, Afros and bald fades, which are gradually shaved for a "fading" look, are at the height of popularity.

Micro braids are "in" for Tameka Ferguson, a 20-year-old junior fashion design major. It's her favorite style because of the versatility. "You can do a lot with them, pull them up in a French roll, ponytail or wear it down." The braids are so thin, it looks like you have long hair, Ferguson says.

It's not unusual for Karamojong women from Kalapata, Uganda, to wear their hair in very thin braids ­ a style similar to the micro braids worn by many African Americans, says Esi Sagay in his book, African Hairstyles: Styles of Yesterday and Today. In Africa, hair sculpture has always been an art, a form of self-adornment handed down from generation to generation.

Christy Davis, 19, a sophomore marketing major, once had micro braids woven into her hair, and the process took about 25 hours. The duration of a styling session depends on the thickness of the braid extensions and the number of stylists working to complete one hairdo. But trendy doesn't have to take hours, says Davis, who now takes a few minutes every morning to fix her high-neck crop that's cut shorter in the back and angled longer in the front.

Meli Temu, an assistant professor of Pan-African studies, says Africans have long incorporated a sense of art into their hair styles. "When you look at Egyptians and Ethiopians, they've been decorating hair for a very long time. It grew out of your body, and so it needed to be decorated," she says.

Sagay says in tropical West Africa, two traditional hair styling techniques have held their popularity for years: corn rowing - hair braided firmly against the scalp and varied in different patterns according to how the hair is parted - and hair threading - wrapping black thread around sectioned hair to create various designs.

Corn rows are a popular style for men and women and are worn all over the world. "I'm from the Caribbean, and I used to wear my hair in corn rows when I was little," says Carol Harper, a senior sociology major. "It's still here. It hasn't really gone out of style."

Ken Babour, a 32-year-old Kent resident and lab technician at the Cleveland Clinic, temporarily wears an Afro. Soon Babour plans to get his hair dreadlocked because, "It's something not everybody has, and I hear women really like dreads. It's my way of being a rebel."

Michele Lisby, 20, a junior art education major, wants to change her hair to a curly look, which she will do by sewing or gluing in tracks of synthetic hair into her own. "There are a lot of things I can do with my hair," Lisby says. "The possibilities are endless. I don't want it to look the same. I really care a lot about my hair. It's kind of an accessory. That's how I think of my hair."

For now, Lisby prefers the convenience of the latch braids that are attached to her natural shoulder-length hair. "They are easy, and they look nice. It's a time thing. I just get up and go."

Long braids have been a tradition of warriors in East and Northwest Africa for many years, Temu says. The Masai warriors of East Africa who live in Kenya and Tanzania spend hours braiding their long hair. It is still considered a symbol of pride and is cut only when a family member or loved one dies, she says.

Davis does wraps for Ema Temu, 20, a junior marketing major. "I'm on a college budget, so I go to friends," Ema Temu says.

She says hair-style trends are continually influenced by other African Americans, the media and styles from Africa. "We get our hairstyles from each other, and the media have a lot to do with it, too. When stars have different hairstyles, I look at those and try them."