Recently, a six-month-old Reddit thread on the curly hair channel piqued my interest after a frustrated user called ItsJustAUsername5678 opened their question with a feeling of hopelessness that many people with curly, coily, or textured hair and are in need of a haircut can understand and relate to.
The thread revolves around both her hair and her daughter’s hair and the lack of professional hairdressers who know how to care for their curly hair or, as she puts it, even “manage to listen to me about what I want done.” Her four paragraph statement is a testament to the century old battle that many Black women and women of color have struggled with regarding their hair.
Thankfully, in recent years, we’ve started to see some progress being made towards more inclusive beauty education for hair professionals. A number of states including Minnesota, New York, and Louisiana, have all passed their own legislations requiring that cosmetology students complete training on how to care and style textured hair.
And as of this past May, Connecticut became the latest to join the list of states that mandate that all hairstylists studying to earn their cosmetology licensing are trained, educated, and tested on all hair types and textures.
A Giant Step Forward for Hair Inclusivity
Connecticut’s legislation, which was signed into law by Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont on May 28, was sponsored by Connecticut State Senator Patricia Billie Miller and the Professional Beauty Association in conjunction with industry alliance Texture Education Collective (TEC).
Sen. Millier, who is also chair of the legislature’s Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, said that the legislation is there to keep the state at the forefront of fostering a more inclusive beauty industry by ensuring hairstylists are properly trained for coiled, curly, and wavy hair.
“All consumers deserve to feel confident that the professionals staffing salons and barbershops are trained to handle their hair, regardless of type or texture,” she said.
The new mandate provides a safe space for people with textured hair who have always struggled with finding a diverse pool of licensed professionals that know how to work with curly, coily hair, by addressing the root issue: education.
How DevaCurl is Helping Making Inclusive Hair Education a Reality
Texture Education Collective was founded by Aveda, DevaCurl, L’Oreal USA, and Neill Corporation, owner of Aveda Arts & Sciences Institutes. The organization, which is composed of professional hair industry leaders, is constantly working to foster inclusivity and “influence the cosmetology state board licensing requirement and curriculum to be inclusive of all hair textures and all hair types,” through legislation and advocacy.
Henkel and DevaCurl had a large stake in moving the needle to get the legislation passed. DevaCurl, is a pioneering brand specialized in curls and textured hair care founded in 1994. The brand has always been dedicated to curls and textured hair, since opening the doors for its first salon in New York City in the late 90’s. In their website, their brand statement says it clearly: “we are obsessed with bringing out the best in every curl type.”
Malek Varano, Senior Director, Global Brand & Digital Marketing at DevaCurl, says the legislature’s main purpose is to create equity in the beauty space and make sure consumers have access to licensed professionals by including the handling and care of curly hair to state board licensing exams.
The curriculum will include steps on handling different hair strand thickness and volumes, such as hair density, equipping stylists with the knowledge on how to manage, cut, and style textured hair.
Varano says that the TEC drafted a model legislation which was then introduced as a bill and supplied to Senator Miller, who was extremely passionate about the whole process.
The collective met with Connecticut legislators to introduce them to the issue. DevaCurl had their Research and Development managers testify on the bill, all to make sure lawmakers and the committee understood in depth why DevaCurl, Henkel and the Professional Beauty Association viewed it as a priority.
“As someone with curly hair, it’s really hard to find that stylist that knows how to manage and style your hair and that you feel comfortable with,” she explained. “So it’s imperative that everyone has access to this and that no one has to travel 45 miles in order to find someone who can manage and style their hair the proper way.”
Varano says this is also about opening doors for hair stylists who focus on textured and curly hair. “It’s about representation across the industry and just equity in the framework of becoming a hairstylist.”
The Importance of Hair Education Laws
You might not be aware, but 65% of the world’s population has coily, curly, or wavy hair and 63% of curly consumers are willing to spend more on a single product than women with naturally straight or relaxed hair. According to a TextureTrends report, the amount is $25 to be exact.
Although we’ve seen an increase in new textured hair products and numbers show that people with curly hair spend more than their counterparts on haircare, the professional hair industry doesn’t align with the aforementioned trend.
“It’s definitely not a great feeling to call a place and ask them, do you know how to do bantu knots, do you know how to detangle coily or curly hair? And the answer is no,” adds Varano. “You might also find someone who can do it, but they’re not necessarily licensed. Having regulation creates a safe space and upholds the highest standards in health and safety.”
When asked why it’s taken so long to move the needle on this, Varano says that unless you’re in the hairspace, you wouldn’t recognize there’s a need for this type of regulation. “It’s unfathomable right? Like, how and why isn’t textured hair part of the education just like anything else,” she explains.
She adds that the goal is to have the law implemented in all 50 states. Legislation is currently pending in New Jersey and California, “43 to go!” she laughs. She knows it’s not going to happen overnight but believes that this is a huge win-win for both hairstylists and customers moving forward.
If you would like to join DevaCurl in supporting the movement for more inclusive cosmetology education be sure to sign the Texture Education Collective’s petition here and to follow @probeautyassoc on Instagram.
