Why The New Textured Hair Law In New York State Isn’t Doing What You Think.

On November, 17th, New York State signed into law that texture hair must be included in the cosmetology school curriculum.

“Bill S6528A’s main goal is to diversify cosmetology school education in order to equip all students — regardless of race — with the knowledge to work across every hair texture. As the bill states, graduates should have the ability to provide styling and hair-care services “to individuals with all hair types and textures, including, but not limited to, various curl or wave patterns, hair strand thicknesses, and volumes of hair.” - Kayla Greaves, Allure magazine

There has been a ton of praise for this historic move that is fully warranted. No where in the history of our profession has texture/tight curls/natural hair been centered in the cosmetology curriculum on this scale. What is happening in NYC will likely spread across the county with similar bills being introduced in state houses.

As the resident beauty industry disruptor I want to take a look at this bill in its entirety with both a subjective and an objective eye so that we are not misled by the marketing campaign about it that is soon to follow.

The easiest framework to use to overview all perspectives is the SWOT Analysis:

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

Strengths:

Textured hair will be taught in cosmetology school. Full stop.

This is a win for every cosmetology student in NY State who will face a high density, coarse, curly, tight curly, or other client that didn’t fit the salon industry mold of medium density, straight, level 5-7 hair. They will have some instructive experience and will not be 100% blindsided during their early behind the chair journey.

Over 60% of the worlds population has some degree of bend in their hair. This bill is intended to structure a cosmetology curriculum where that 60%+ of the population will be included in the foundational teachings of cosmetology school graduates in NY State

Weaknesses:

The bill has no provisions for:

• What will be taught?

  What do we consider “textured hair” ? As a 2006 cosmetology school graduate my understanding of the word “texture” is the diameter of the hair strand. Everyone has a texture ranging from fine to coarse.

  What I think the word “texture”means in the context to this bill is curly & tightly curly curl patterns along with Black cultural hairstyling techniques.

• How it will be taught?

  NYS already has a Natural Hairstyling License with established curriculum outlining what must be taught and to what standard it needs to be executed before completing the requirements for licensure. This license was advocated for and has been supported by industry trailblazers like Diane DaCosta, Diane Bailey, Anita Hill-Moses along with pioneering organizations line the Natural Hairstyle & Braid Coalition, Natural Hair Industry Conference, and many many others

  Will the curriculum in the Natural Hair License be used to shape the curriculum NYS is proposing be added to the standard cosmetology program?

• Who will teach it?

  Before the educators are able to teach the new textured hair curriculum, many of them will need to obtain new skills in a train the trainer system that ensures every NYS cosmetology instructor is capable of implementing the modified curriculum into their classrooms in both a sound technical and cultural manner.

“Despite the NHBC’s persistent efforts to strengthen and refine this recent law, its full potential remains unrealized. The passing of Bill S6528A, which mandates texture education without professional oversight, is a concern.” Official statement from the Natural Hairstyle & Braid Coalition in response to the Allure article.

This bill lacks an implementation timeline/process/standards and any cohesion to how each individual school will go about implementing it into their curriculum.

As a Black veteran hair stylist I know that improper implementation of this mandate can be incredibly harmful for the population it is designed to help.

Opportunities

• To develop an inclusive, diverse, and standardized curriculum that would be implemented in all 50 states that calls into all salons, the humanity of folks with wavy, curly, tight curly, & kinky hair.

• To familiarize all future cosmetologists with the diverse hair cultures clients bring into the salon

• To transform the currently outdated foundational techniques being taught (finger waves, perm setting, fresh rolls) into current foundational styling mastery with an emphasis on loose wet setting, twisting, braiding, and tool implements

• To recognize the trailblazers in texture/tight curl/natural hair that have set the groundwork for these services to be a viable economic option to provide in the salon. They have already developed frameworks and curriculums that have successfully been implemented in salons for decades. These learning systems serve their intended clientele at the highest level possible.

• To build a legacy for the future of the beauty industry that reflects all who participate.

Threats

“An additional concern is that guidance from the Texture Education Council (TEC), a corporate-led organization, may be anchored in corporate agendas for this $8.3+ billion industry without proper consultation or acknowledgment of the pioneering hairstylists who have actively contributed to and advocated for positive change. This lack of recognition raises apprehensions about whether the TEC's decisions will genuinely reflect the best interests of both stylists and consumers.”

If you look up the Texture Education Collective it is a corporate amalgamation poised for domination of the texture space at the expense of the independent stylists & organizations (often Black led and Black owned) that have been advocating for the diversification and expansion of the cosmetology curriculum for decades.

With founding members including DevaCurl, Aveda, L’Oreal USA, and Neill Corporation (the Aveda distributor for the entire southeast region with the exception of Florida) there are serious corporate interests and dollars in the mix. Supporting partners include Joico, Lanza, Innersense Organic Beauty, Pravana, Schwartzkoph among others.

The Professional Beauty Association had the opportunity to represent the interests of the individual and collective texture/curly/tight curly stylists on the ground. But, as everything goes in the salon industry, they have aligned themselves with multi-million and multi-billion dollar faceless organizations whose primary missions are often to sell more products, not improve the technical skills, working conditions, and pay scales of the dedicated professionals that touch the waves, curls, and tight curls of the end user client daily.

The alignment of the Professional Beauty Association with these businesses at the exclusion of the stylists they purport to represent signals that this will be a total money grab. Stylists & clients will yet again be a casualty to the marketing dollars spent to virtue signal that they are down for the cause.

“The NHBC has doggedly worked to implement more regulations regarding textured hair styling while refining Bill A898B and recognizing the activists spearheading the natural hair licensing movement. However, the passing of Bill S6528A has sparked new concerns due to its informality. Hair experts such as Da Costa also fear that its approval will advance corporate-centered agendas rather than hairstylists’ and consumers’ best interests.” Lauren Nutall, Black Enterprise

Personal Thoughts From Aeleise Ollarvia,

CEO Of Cut It Kinky

“For the most part, the only way students could learn how to work with textured hair was to seek additional training, which requires access to extra funds for tuition and the bandwidth to take on more courses. Over time, this has created a permanent blind spot for most stylists when it comes to properly serving Black clients.” - Kayla Greaves, Allure magazine

While this law had great intentions, it will ultimately change nothing. If anything, we have now entered a space that many stylists receiving this updated curriculum will posses increased  blind spots that many stylists have about textured hair.

The minimal instruction in tight curls with zero professional oversight will lead to some NYS cosmetology graduates thinking they have enough skills in texture to embark on providing services on textured clients without advanced study and practicum.

This can have disastrous results on an already traumatized and wary end user, the textured hair client. It’s incredibly easy as a new graduate to overestimate your skills and underestimate the amount of learning and practice that the field of cosmetology requires.

It is my sincere hope that NYS and the Pro Beauty Association engage the living legends of textured hair along with highly educated and experienced textured hair stakeholders as they strive to implement this new law. The blueprint to success exists, it would however require that the mainstream beauty industry yield to Black women, something it’s not known for.

To view the bill in full please visit NYSenate.gov