All Hair Types Are Not Always Welcome

When we look in the mirror or at our front-facing phone cameras, what we see in the reflection should be the most beautiful versions of ourselves. But if we’re being real, that's not always the case. Whether it's a little concealer to hide the evidence of those late-night sessions or the twist of a straightener to bring the bounce back to our side-swept bangs, we all need maintenance sometimes.

We turn to the billion-dollar ($100 billion at the last count) beauty industry in those moments, which is now more accessible to all. ‘All’ is a generous term, as in some areas (i.e. hairdressing) the promise of inclusion is a lot of talk. Even though progress is being made through training and education of textured hair stylists at mainstream salons, going from kitchen beautician to luxury salon experience can still, in 2024, be an experience we have to approach with caution.

Black women have a documented history of providing cultural inspiration in the world of beauty. From coloured wigs and jheri-curls to waist-length micro braids and sleek relaxed bobs, we have always experimented with our hair. Our stylistic adventures did not go unnoticed by brands, marketers, and the music and fashion industries. These styles are replicated without an understanding of what we have gone through to look as good as we do. It’s only with the rise of social media that black and brown communities have been given a platform to call out brands and celebrities for copying signature styles (gold hoops, brown lip liner, maximalist nail designs, or Bantu knots rebranded as ‘space buns’), while demanding that credit is given where it is due.

What is often forgotten is the truth that since childhood, we have had to endure the taming of our natural curls with creams, lotions, and the dreaded hot-comb — the one that leaves both mental and physical scars from hours spent sitting in the kitchen having our 4C hair pressed into submission. The style would swiftly be undone by even the slightest contact with moisture.

Our collective struggle to reach and maintain unattainable beauty standards can be traced back to the historical lack of access to reputable hair salons with fully-trained stylists, leading to many of us becoming kitchen beauticians or relying on the neighborhood stylist. Additionally, we are now finding stylists via social media, leading many women down an even darker rabbit hole of bad experiences (from ghosting after deposits are taken to unlicensed home salons). As a result, many women of color opt for the big chop and refuse to conform to what is essentially a European beauty ideal of straight hair setting the gold standard for acceptable femininity.

We saw a positive shift in black beauty standards in the resurgence of the natural hair movement, starting in the late nineties. Some of our most popular celebrities decided to go (or launched their careers) au natural — think Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Solange Knowles, Viola Davis, Lupita Nyong’o, Issa Rae, Willow Smith and Zazie Beetz. Digital content creators on YouTube and Instagram also helped to make the transition much more seamless with ‘How-To’s’ on everything, from creating the perfect twist-out, to identifying which protective styles were the best for growth, to teaching others how to mix the perfect at-home conditioning treatment.

If we wanted to ‘Do It Ourselves’ we were all set, as many beauty retailers have woken up to the fact that the global Black Hair Care Market was set to increase its worth to “US$ 10110 million by 2031…from an estimated…US$ 7011 million in 2022,” according to a report by online platform 360 Market Updates. This has meant an increase in the accessibility of products catering to all types of afro-textured hair from brands such as Shea Moisture, Mielle Organics, Pattern Beauty by Tracee Ellis Ross, Cécred by Beyoncé, Fenty Hair by Rihanna and Afrocenchix who are leading the markets growth.

The Collective Trauma of the ‘Local’ Salon Experience

The wildly varying experiences we are subjected to if we choose to ‘Get Somebody else to do it’ — i.e. visit our local salon — is a particular pain point in hair care As a 2017 study by the Hair and Beauty Industry Authority (Habia) found ‘Of the 35,704 beauty salons in the UK, only 302, or less than 1%, specifically cater to Afro hair’. Despite the UK’s diverse population of multi-cultures, and when it comes to our hair care needs, we still remain underserved, facing discrimination in an industry that still feels segregated.

If you took a quick survey of the first five black women you encountered in a major city, they would all have a story to tell about their salon experiences. From late-running appointments to double booking, extra charges, and most significantly, disappointment with the final result. Today, you only have to search ‘black hair salon story time’ on TikTok to be met with familiar tales of frustration about what should be a relaxing and pleasant experience. Stories from accounts such as @sade.english on TikTok who recounted an extreme, yet not uncommon, experience after she decided to grow her hair out in honor of her mother who she had recently lost. Starting with her providing the salon with her own cleansing products — akin to making a dinner reservation at a restaurant and bringing your own groceries for the chef to cook — Sade recounts what happened next:

“While she’s washing my hair, she takes out a tub of something that I did not make, nor hand to her, and she put this conditioner in my hair, but I had not realised…[following the wash]…I go into the bathroom and start crying and have a mini breakdown, because I don’t know if I’m allergic, and my hair is connected to my mum and it triggered me…this is a choice I have made for my mother and she completely ignored that because she just sees me as money.”

Our Hair? It’s Personal

As a British-born woman of Ghanaian heritage, I can admit that I have been lucky in inheriting my mother’s long, thick hair texture. So, my own traumatic salon experiences haven’t led to irreparable damage. My hair has been both natural (childhood), relaxed (early adulthood), and now semi-natural as I regularly opt for a texture release treatment to make my hair more manageable.

My choice to pursue a career in fashion has meant there is a pressure that I have put on myself to meet perceived beauty standards — the acceptable way to present as a black girl in luxury spaces. For better or worse, I have felt that attending shows and events with straight hair has always made me instantly more palatable. Of course, there is the argument that I should just be my authentic self, but code-switching is something I have had to navigate throughout my career. And there is a strong argument to be made for conforming — even just a small part of myself — if that means my experience in these spaces is made less anxiety-inducing.

The pandemic was the catalyst for me to go semi-natural, as I had started to hear of the negative long-term health effects of chemical relaxers and was seeking alternatives. A friend who had tried a texture release and was experiencing good levels of growth connected me with her black stylist. Who as it happened worked at a mainstream hair salon chain, which predominantly serviced clients with European hair. This was a major shift for me having only experienced black-owned salons for the majority of my life — following around my favorite stylists from salon to salon, because it’s always better with the devil you know. But, after years of trial and error and teaching myself how to finally wash and condition my own hair during lockdown (I’m ashamed to admit I had always sought out salons for even the most basic of blow-drys), I was ready to make a change.

Despite my nerves at trying a mainstream chain, which now serviced multi-textures, my motivation for wanting to switch things up also came from a place of convenience and curiosity. Rush Salon, located in the Westfield Stratford mall, was where I decided to make the switch as they served five different types of tea, allowed me to book an appointment as late as 8pm, accepted credit cards (no bank transfers over here!), and offered complimentary snacks like Biscoff cookies. What was not to love?

All went well in my first year transitioning over to Rush, but then I found myself experiencing flashbacks of my past salon traumas. On more than one occasion, my appointment was moved or cancelled. This placed me in the position of dealing with a head full of roots that needed dying or curls that needed a silk press, all while coming to the realization that my newly-adopted salon may never have truly understood the implications of integrating services for afro-textured hair into their offer, without fully committing to training everyone on staff.

Those instances have meant that my dedication to change has wavered, as cancelled appointments are much more than a minor inconvenience. I’ll explain with a recent example: Imagine you’re working your way through your last-minute prep for Milan fashion week (like I was this June) and one day before you fly out, you get a call from your salon that your 10am appointment, for a color, cut and finish, has been cancelled! Just like that! No alternative times, options to move my appointment to another stylist (as it turned out, no other stylists were trained in textured hair styling, let alone coloring), or offers of discounts on the next appointment were forthcoming. I simply received a weak apology and no clue as to how my carefully coordinated pre-travel beauty routine had been thrown into chaos.

It took several WhatsApp messages with friends for recommendations and three anxiety-induced calls to other salons to get another appointment. Ironically, my appointment was with my former stylist at their new salon. Case in point about following around your stylist.

Frustrated was too mild a word for what I felt at the time. But after the anger left me with a deep disappointment that after decades of visiting salons, I was still facing the same issues, which made me feel disregarded and disrespected.

Taking a stand to resolve this issue, the UK is seeking to rectify the situation by imposing educational requirements on hairdressing courses, a change which can’t come soon enough. According to the British Hair Council:“Currently, in the UK, knowledge and techniques regarding black hair and skincare are not embedded within the core curriculum, leaving learners lacking the skills required to treat a growing section of this multicultural population.”

In 2020 the British Beauty Council also supported a petition to include the teaching of afro hairdressing as part of the hairdressing NVQ, and a review by the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for hairdressing found that without making the training of afro hair cutting and styling a compulsory requirement to pass the vocational course the gap in education and professional skills across all hair types would only continue to widen. This resulted in the body making it compulsory — as of 30th June 2021 — for the styling and cutting of afro hair to become a part of the hairdressing curriculum.

This change, though welcome, still leaves the decision up to each salon to actively utilize stylists who possess the skills to cater to all hair textures competently. The movemeent is likely to cause a city-to-suburb divide, where densely-populated, multi-cultural parts of the country are catered too, while young black girls who live in more rural areas will have to travel miles to find a salon with stylists trained and willing to do their hair.

What is hopeful is the number of high-street chains starting to diversify to meet the needs of the communities they serve. In London we now have the choice of the Rush and Aveda chain of salons, Hershesons in Fitzrovia, and Toni & Guy who are leaning into the fact that they have expanded their services to includes styling, cutting, and coloring for all hair types, including those with 4C hair.

Taking a short survey of a dozen salons (London locations specifically, but many had branches UK-wide), I inquired about a basic wash and blow dry, explaining that I had textured hair that had been chemically straightened. I was pleasantly surprised that all the salons could offer this simple service for my hair type, the caveat being that my hair was partially straightened, so in effect more manageable. But I found it was not without hesitation in some cases, which didn’t fill me with enough confidence to run the risk of booking an appointment with an untested salon this close to fashion week. Particular stand-outs were Trevor Sorbie, who said all staff were trained in (straightened) textured hair, although only two main stylists were recommended for my appointment. Toni & Guy and Supercuts also advised that all stylists had training, while Daniel Galvin and Butchers both had up to 2 trained stylists at their salons. All the salons that I contacted also had a next-day appointment available with several time slots.

During my calls, there was also the awkward conversation around the ‘Hair Texture Tax’ which many black women find themselves a victim of. ‘A blow dry for a night out will be £50. Oh, you have textured hair, well I’m sorry but that will be another £30 because as I’m sure you understand it takes a lot longer!’ was the general response from salons. The pricing disparity is the sting in the tale for women who want to break free from their local salons, creating a barrier to entry with the mainstream chains.

On a more positive note, some salons are standardizing their services for all hair types. Offering the same price no matter the hair texture and ensuring their stylists are trained in curl pattern, scalp care, and porosity for women of all ethnicities are just a few of these standardizations. Examples of this can be found at Aveda, whose flagship salon in Covent Garden I have often visited and always left satisfied with the results, as each stylist approached my hair with confidence and discussed my needs. A positive experience that is likely due to Aveda’s former UK & Ireland Textured Hair Expert & Technical Educator Leah Hill, who has trained teams from London to Milan for the salon.

Can We Expect a Walk-in, Wash & Go Future?

While strides are being made in the inclusion of afro-textured hair services at mainstream salons on the British high street, it seems that the journey for full inclusion has only just started. The industry's slow progress underscores the need for continued advocacy, experimentation (Selfridges has had both a residency by the black-owned Steam Bar and a pop-up Fenty Hair salon to mark the launch of the brands hair care line) and education to ensure that all hair types are treated with the care and respect they deserve.

The introduction of compulsory afro hair training in hairdressing courses is a welcome step, but true inclusivity will only be achieved when all salons, high-street chains, and specialist local salons alike, commit to offering equitable services. Until then, black and brown women will continue to navigate a beauty industry that, while evolving, still has significant gaps to fill.

While we haven’t reached a place where we can confidently walk into any salon for a ‘Wash and Go’ the levelling up of training, the newfound desirability of our curls, cuts, and braids, as well as the open secret that black women spend the most when it comes to the beauty market is all merging to cause a shift in the hairdressing world towards a place of true inclusivity and hopefully no more trauma when it comes to our tresses.