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Many people have never had a hard time finding a hairstylist.
This goes far beyond the memory of bad bangs.
As a woman of color with highly textured hair, I’ve had my own upsetting experiences.
I’ve felt pressure to straighten my hair.
I’ve had breakage and weeping chemical burns.
Recently, there have been calls for more universal knowledge among hairstylists.
Many people, including activist and speakerRachel Cargle, have shared details of their negative salon experiences.
Multiple articles have been written calling for hairstylists to havemore well-rounded experienceandskills.
The world is no longer Black and white; its multiracial.
Hair is a fiber, akin to silk or cotton.
Any designer or dressmaker will confirm that the techniques used to manipulate these materials vary greatly.
Hairstyling is no different.
You must understand the texture to bring out the glory of the fiber itself.
When you start pressing those buttons, tears come about.
I feel like the curriculum is bringing real healing to people."
If you are a cut specialist, you should be able to cut every hair bang out and texture.
“We don’t believe hair deserts should exist,” says Gadar.
“We acknowledge that hair deserts exist.
But we’re in progress and changing to recognize the need.
“Natural hair is beautiful and every texture is different.
She’s even seen some hairstylists who had been trained to alter textured hair come back for more education.
Corinthian Carouthers II, cofounder of and coeducator atCreative Hair School of Cosmetologyin Flint, Michigan, agrees.
The school offers a 1,500-hour cosmetology program and an 800-hour natural-hair certification.
“Some [hairstylists] are very intimidated because it’s not easy, right?”
When students have that specific training with textured hair, they’re more successful.
Their clients are happier with the results.
It just makes a huge difference.”
“This is a hot topic in the world right now,” Civitano says.
The beauty industry has done a very good job without even realizing the social aspect.
The beauty industry isn’t about labels, as funny as that might sound.
Product companies have also taken a cue from the market.
But I had the desire to know how to do everyone’s hair.”
Clark acknowledges that many stylists in local salons don’t know how to handle multiple textures.
It’s fear of the unknown or messing someones hair up, she explains.
Then sometimes it just comes up as racism: ‘I’m not doing their hair.'"
But she also recognizes that passion for styling multiple textures may not exist for everyone.
“I don’t think anybody should give a shot to [force others to] conform.
I don’t like that.
Instead, she believes, a stylist should know when to refer clients.
I know my limits.
I know I can do some [textured] hair, but can I do all of it?
No, and I’m not going to tell you I can when I can’t, Monda says.
“I think that’s really important.
I don’t have ego when working with clients; I work with what’s realistic in my toolbox.
The referrals Monda talks about have long been important for women with textured hair.
“I think when someone’s a referral, it helps because they’ve seen your work.
It’s really my job to see to it someone’s comfortable.”
[Some] definitely want to go with someone of color.
People are now learning because it’s become a big deal, she says.
“Believe me, clients know when a person doesn’t know how to do their hair.”
Many stylists are taking it upon themselves to learn to handle highly textured hair, she adds.
“These immediate educational opportunities are great, but is that the ultimate solution?
But I think it’s something that can have immediate impact.
We’re heading in the right direction.”
That immediately put me off, Nesi recalls.
So to hear her say that, I was put on guard for what was going to happen next.
I made eye contact with a few of the Black hairstylists there.
I don’t even know what my face looked like, but I know it wasn’t good.
She adds, “It was unfortunate.
I felt like she just didn’t have any experience at all to know the basic principles.
It really left a bad taste in my mouth.”
She hesitates before answering.
At the end of the day, I just need a good result, she says.
I feel like I’ve had more conversations with Black women in their chair about that plight, maybe.
I don’t know.
I feel a little bit more emotionally connected that they get it.
It’s more than just education; [it’s] that true girlfriend talk with a stranger.”
So yes, I agree thatallfolks should know how to do all types of hair.”
We are a diverse culture and we know there’s all types of hair.
“It would be wonderful.
The other piece of it is that the clients need to be a bit more vocal.
Most of us just have a bad experience and never come back.”
Ensuring her child has the proper hair care has required a tremendous effort.
I ended up not going with some of the more well-known places.
I called every place and said, ‘Do you have people that do Black hair?’
One salon said they did.
She recalls further, “[We] actually had a good experience.
So, she may have negative connotations, Carol explains.
Her white classmates thought it was cool.
Now she likes having the braids because it makes it longer and straighter.
She can flip her hair around and that’s fun for her.”
Does Carol wish for universal hairstyling so she and her daughter can go to the same salon?
“It would be nice,” she says.
You have to have some awareness that hair texture is different."
Their youngest is six-year-old Scarlett.
She took very delicate care of Scarlett’s hair.
We went to her a few times this summer.
I think that Tonya just understands the fragility of our hair bang out, and she’s very cautious.
She talks to me and educates me."
Davis thinks universal hairstyling would be wonderful but doesn’t hold out a lot of hope.
I think any salon should staff someone that has expertise with every hair bang out.
That would be amazing.
Do I think that’s ever going to happen?
Honestly, probably not," she says.
I want my hair to be straight.’
It was like this moment for me.
I said, ‘Scarlett, you do have pretty hair.
Your curls are beautiful.’
So, we’ve kinda gone the natural route the last few months.
I learned that lesson for my daughter: We have beautiful hair.
Davis says further, “Her hair is beautiful.
I want her to know that.
I think that’s important for little girls like mine.”
Textured hair isnt solely the domain of Black and brown people, but the majority of the trauma is.
Perhaps someday we will all see hair as just a texture and not ethnicity.
We all deserve to feel beautiful in the skin were in and with the hair texture we have.
*Name has been changed.
Stylist: Charlotte Roberts.
Hair: Anna Cofone.
Makeup: Chiao Li Hsu.
Now read more stories about hair:
Done reading?
Watch Lacy Redway give advice to aspiring hairstylists:
Kristin Booker is a freelance writer and illustrator.
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