Can White Stylists Do Black Hair?

While the beauty industry is committed to inclusivity, stylists are not trained for all hair types, including the textured hair typical of black women. Melissa Taylor, owner of the Beauty Lounge Salon in Minneapolis, a program, called Texture Academy, has launched a course to fill this educational gap by launching a 16-hour hands-on training course for professional stylists and beauty students to learn more about curly hair.    ^{Show Source Texts}

Many stylists don't have to be trained in all textures and many salons don't hire those who know how to work with wavy and textured hair. While African-American stylists master and are licensed to care for all hair types, non-black stylists remain clueless about black hair. Some salon owners and stylists say black hair is uncontrollable, while others simply refuse service.    ^{Show Source Texts}

Andrea Pezzillo, a celebrity stylist who has nurtured a wide range of clients including Jhene Aiko, Chanel Iman, Jeff Bridges and Omari Hardwick understands why many black actresses distrust white hairstylists. Black stylists feel obliged to learn how to style Type 1 and Type 4 hair and are held to a standard in the industry, but the same expectations do not seem to apply to their white counterparts. Actors say that while white stylists like Pezzillos have mastered many hair textures, few can do everything.    ^{Show Source Texts}

Black hair gets a lot of attention, which is different from Asian friends who prefer Asian stylists because they doubt that other people care about their thick, straight manes. Black stylists understand natural hair, but I had trouble finding someone who understands fine-grained curly hair. I've done some footwork on products in different salons, but most of the products are for black women who want to bring their hair back to its natural state and make it longer.    ^{Show Source Texts}

His assistant would wash, condition, prepare and perform various processes to work on my hair, but I have also seen black stylists working on Latina hair and Asian stylists tending to white women's hair. In these environments, people of all races can have their hair styled and become hair, not black, white or Asian hair. Why black women's hair loses its secret is because the stylist maintains it regularly.    ^{Show Source Texts}

The texture of black hair is a challenge that many white stylists either don't know or don't want to know. Many black actresses have said it's a well-known Hollywood secret that they struggle to find hairdressers who can style their hair on set. There is evidence that more blacks in its natural state wear their hair, and the declining sales of chemical relaxants is an indication that not all stylists, especially black stylists trained to style tight curls, can do so.    ^{Show Source Texts}

According to Topher Gross, stylist at Seagull Salon in New York City, it's the result of many beauty schools focusing their training on fine straight hair and exclusively on natural hair with more tangled textures. In May the Oscar, Tony and Emmy winner said she would not work again with stylists who disrespected the craft of styling black hair. While Evan Joseph, the owner of his eponymous salon in Columbus, Ohio, understands the fear of blacks when it comes to competing against white stylists, he has seen many of his practices that are not trained to work with natural hair, as Tiffany Charles has shown.    ^{Show Source Texts}

The white curly hair specialists who model my hair say they are horrified to work in mainstream salons where they don't know how to handle curly hair or where afro hair is not required. The news that such salons exist is a shock to my friends, because they live in countries and small towns where blacks and whites don't get their hair done. The author of these stories is not unusual, and we urge you to ask your salon about their policies and demand that they ensure hair equality by hiring those with the knowledge to work with black hair.    ^{Show Source Texts}

At the beginning of my employment I was told that I should send black women with naturally textured hair not only to black salons, but also to the streets. In any case, I thought I would be good to go as a black stylist, but I had to start assessing my hair needs realistically. After all, I'm a black woman with naturally curly hair who shares my products with my hairdresser via YouTube videos.    ^{Show Source Texts}

I used to go to a black stylist to have my hair cut so I didn't have to worry about washing, drying and ironing. As a white mother working full time in Denver, Colorado, I wanted to have a place where I could experience black hair cutting. Most of our experience visiting black hair salons has been interesting, to say the least.    ^{Show Source Texts}

The other thing to bear in mind is that the same refusal often comes from black stylists who, like white stylists, do not have the skills to make natural hair. The way these stories come out is that a white stylist will admit that she doesn't have African-American hair, that she can't exercise the skills, or she will say that she has a black friend who screws it up every time she does her hair. Stylists who are taught to appreciate all hair types and not to underestimate the true roots of black hair will experience positive changes. 

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