What Legislative Actions Address Textured Hair Education?

Roots

There is a profound silence within the hum of historical beauty salons, a quiet space where certain strands, deeply coiled and richly textured, found themselves unacknowledged, unwelcomed. This quietude was not one of reverence, but rather exclusion. For generations, the vibrant stories told by Black and mixed-race hair, stories of resilience and artistry, were relegated to the margins of formal education. Yet, from ancient African kingdoms to the forced migrations, hair remained a living chronicle, an identity proclaimed.

It is a lineage woven into the very fabric of being, far predating any salon chair. To truly understand legislative actions addressing textured hair education today, one must first look to this ancestral continuum, acknowledging the deep heritage that has been systemically sidelined. These current laws are not merely regulatory adjustments; they represent a societal effort to rectify centuries of oversight and marginalization, inviting the rich legacy of textured hair into the mainstream, where it has always belonged.

Hair’s Earliest Language and Form

Long before the advent of modern cosmetology schools, in pre-colonial African societies, hair was a sophisticated language, a visual narrative. Hairstyles conveyed identity, status, and connection to community and cosmos. A person’s coiffure could speak of their geographic origin, marital status, age, ethnic belonging, or position in society. It was a canvas for artistry and a repository of communal values.

The elaborate, often multi-day processes of styling hair ❉ washing, oiling, braiding, twisting, and adorning with shells, beads, or precious metals ❉ were not merely aesthetic endeavors. They were profound social rituals, opportunities to strengthen familial bonds and transmit knowledge through generations. For instance, among the Yoruba, the hair was held to be the most elevated part of the body, a conduit for spiritual power, and braided forms served as messages to the deities.

The Shadow of Erasure

The transatlantic slave trade, a rupture in human history, sought to sever these vital connections. One of the earliest, most dehumanizing acts inflicted upon enslaved Africans was the forced shaving of their heads. This act aimed to strip away identity, dismantle cultural memory, and enforce a brutal uniformity, silencing the eloquent language of African hairstyles. Yet, even in the crucible of enslavement, the ingenuity of ancestral practices persisted.

Cornrows, in their intricate patterns, became clandestine maps to freedom, carrying seeds for sustenance, a silent, defiant rebellion against the oppressive system. This profound symbolism ❉ hair as a means of survival, a repository of resistance ❉ continued through generations, shaping the Black diaspora’s relationship with its hair.

The journey to legislate textured hair education is a modern echo of ancestral calls for recognition, a rectification of historical silencing that sought to erase the rich narratives hair carries.

Laws Forgetting Texture

As the landscape of beauty care professionalized in Western societies, the dominant standards of beauty, reflecting Eurocentric norms, systematically overlooked and devalued textured hair. Cosmetology curricula, formalizing this bias, focused almost exclusively on straight and fine hair types. This educational void created a practical barrier: beauty professionals, even those with textured hair themselves, often emerged from their training without the fundamental skills to work with diverse hair textures.

This was not an accidental omission; it was a continuation of historical discriminatory practices, rendering those with textured hair underserved, sometimes even harmed, in spaces meant to offer care and adornment. The impact rippled through society, contributing to hair discrimination in schools, workplaces, and public spaces, where natural styles like locs, braids, and Afros were deemed “unprofessional” or “unruly.”

Early Legislative Stirrings for Recognition

The contemporary legislative efforts addressing textured hair education emerged directly from this legacy of exclusion and the ongoing experiences of hair discrimination. The most widely known of these actions is the CROWN Act. Standing for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” this legislation seeks to prohibit discrimination based on hair texture or protective hairstyles in employment and educational settings. California led the way, passing the first CROWN Act in 2019, expanding the definition of race in anti-discrimination statutes to include traits historically associated with race.

This initial legislative wave, while not directly mandating education in cosmetology schools, created a legal framework recognizing the cultural and racial significance of textured hair. It served as a powerful declaration that the policing of Black and mixed-race hair, a practice with roots in centuries of systemic oppression, would no longer be tolerated in sanctioned spaces. This foundational work laid the groundwork for subsequent laws focusing directly on educational mandates, recognizing that true equity extends beyond protection from discrimination to the provision of competent, inclusive care. The historical precedent for such laws is stark, reaching back to regulations like Louisiana’s 1786 Tignon Laws, which mandated that free Black women cover their hair, attempting to visually diminish their social standing and curb perceived competition with white women. The CROWN Act, in a contemporary mirror, seeks to dismantle these very barriers.

Ritual

The hands that traditionally tended textured hair were often those of mothers, aunties, sisters, and trusted community members. This intimate, intergenerational exchange formed a living library of practices, a ritualistic passing down of wisdom that transcended formal institutions. Within homes and community spaces, the care of textured hair was an art, a science, and a spiritual practice, adapting ancestral knowledge to new landscapes.

Yet, as the beauty industry coalesced around formalized education, this vibrant heritage was largely overlooked, creating a chasm between traditional knowledge and professional training. Current legislative actions addressing textured hair education bridge this gap, recognizing the artistry, the science, and the ritual that has always been inherent in textured hair care.

The Invisible Curriculum of Kinship

For centuries, the primary site of textured hair education was the home. In countless Black and mixed-race households, sitting between a parent’s knees for a detangling session, learning to braid on a sibling’s head, or simply watching the rhythmic dance of fingers through coils and kinks, was the curriculum. This informal education was holistic, encompassing not just techniques but also patience, self-acceptance, and a profound appreciation for one’s appearance.

Recipes for hair oils and conditioners, passed down through oral tradition, often featured ingredients rooted in ancestral landscapes, drawing from the earth’s bounty for nourishment. This embodied knowledge, rich in cultural significance, was a testament to survival and beauty in the face of adversity.

A Disconnect in Formal Training

Despite the immense diversity of textured hair, which accounts for roughly 65% of the world’s consumer population, formal cosmetology education historically provided minimal training. Students in beauty schools often received rudimentary instruction, if any, on working with diverse curl patterns, strand thicknesses, or volumes. The industry standard often focused on fine, straight hair, leaving a vast demographic underserved. This deficiency forced many stylists to seek additional, often expensive, post-graduate education if they wished to competently serve clients with textured hair.

A 2020 report from TRESemmé illuminated the stark reality: an overwhelming 86% of Black women reported experiencing challenges finding consistent, quality hair care at salons. This figure speaks volumes about the systemic neglect within formal training pathways.

Legislation requiring textured hair education in cosmetology schools acknowledges centuries of informal, powerful knowledge, elevating it to its rightful place within professional training.

Legislative Mandates for Comprehensive Education

In response to this persistent educational gap and the undeniable societal need, several states have begun to enact specific legislation mandating textured hair education within cosmetology schools. This represents a significant evolution beyond the CROWN Act’s anti-discrimination focus, moving towards active competency building. Louisiana became the first state to require textured hair instruction in its cosmetology schools in November 2021, initially focusing on cutting techniques.

Since then, a coalition of beauty industry leaders, including the Professional Beauty Association (PBA), Aveda, and L’Oréal USA, formed the Texture Education Collective (TEC) in 2023. Their mission is to advocate for comprehensive textured hair inclusion in cosmetology state board licensing requirements and curricula nationwide.

Following Louisiana’s lead, states such as New York (Bill S6528A, signed November 2023), Minnesota, Connecticut, and California (Assembly Bill 2166, signed September 2024) have implemented similar requirements. These laws typically require cosmetology, barbering, and hairstyling programs to:

• Teach techniques for cutting, styling, and chemically treating all hair types and textures.
• Provide instruction on specialized products and tools specifically designed for textured hair.
• Cover best practices for comprehensive hair and scalp health across diverse textures.

The intent is clear: every graduate, regardless of their own background, should be equipped to provide competent care to individuals with all hair textures, including varied curl patterns, strand thicknesses, and hair volumes. This shift acknowledges that the ability to work with textured hair is not a niche skill but a fundamental requirement for inclusive professional practice. The efforts also extend to include testing on these skills in state licensing exams, ensuring accountability.

A Shift in the Beauty Industry’s Landscape

This legislative movement signifies a pivotal moment for the beauty industry, compelling it to confront its historical biases and update its standards to truly serve the diverse population it claims to represent. Shawn Stearns, an educator for L’Oreal, underscores the need for “all students in cosmetology and barber schools receive both training and opportunities to work on all textures of hair prior to their graduation.” This sentiment resonates deeply with the experiences of countless individuals who, for far too long, have struggled to find stylists capable of providing adequate care for their coils, kinks, and waves. The absence of such training has created situations where 65% of BIPOC models in the high-fashion industry experienced hairstylists unable to cater to their texture, a striking testament to the professional shortfall. This current legislative push for textured hair education is a direct response to these historical and ongoing disparities, demanding that professional training align with the lived reality of hair diversity.

Relay

The ancestral echo of hair as identity, as map, as resistance, reverberates through contemporary legislative halls. Today’s legislative actions addressing textured hair education are not isolated policy decisions; they represent a conscious relay of wisdom, a transfer of the long-held truths of textured hair heritage into the codified frameworks of professional practice. This is about more than just technique; it is about embedding respect, understanding, and cultural competency into the very foundation of beauty education, ensuring that the legacy of textured hair is not only protected from discrimination but also properly understood and celebrated for its inherent science and beauty. It is about acknowledging that the strand carries memory, and education must honor that.

What Specific Legislative Actions Prioritize Heritage and Cultural Competency in Textured Hair Education?

While the CROWN Act provides broad protections against hair discrimination, a newer wave of legislative actions specifically targets the educational void in cosmetology schools, aiming to rectify historical neglect. These laws are mandating that future beauty professionals possess the knowledge and skills necessary to work with all hair textures. The most compelling examples include legislation in New York, California, Louisiana, Connecticut, and Minnesota, with others like Washington state actively pursuing similar bills. These legislative initiatives are pushing for comprehensive curricula that address hair not just as a physical entity, but as a deeply cultural one.

For instance, Washington’s proposed House Bill 1874 goes a significant step further than just technical skills. It specifically mandates that cosmetology and related training programs include “cultural competency and historical education of the significance of textured hair.” This inclusion is crucial, recognizing that true proficiency in textured hair care extends beyond the empirical science of curls and coils to encompass the rich narratives and historical contexts that imbue these hair types with profound meaning. This legal requirement elevates the understanding of textured hair from a mere technical challenge to a subject worthy of respectful, informed engagement, directly linking modern practice to ancestral knowledge.

The impetus for these legislative changes often stems from the demonstrable harm caused by a lack of education. The Dove 2021 CROWN Research Study for Girls revealed that 66% of Black children in majority-white schools experienced race-based hair discrimination. Such experiences, often stemming from ill-informed policies and a general societal lack of understanding about textured hair, can have lasting negative effects on self-esteem and access to education. By integrating historical and cultural education into cosmetology licensing, these laws aim to foster environments where such discrimination is not only legally prohibited but also culturally unthinkable.

How Do These Laws Address Historical Educational Disparities?

The historical educational disparity in cosmetology stemmed from a deeply ingrained Eurocentric bias. Beauty schools, for decades, operated with curricula that treated textured hair as an “other,” a specialized niche rather than a core component of universal hair care. This meant that stylists, even those who shared the ancestral lineage of textured hair, often had to seek supplementary training after their formal education to gain the necessary skills. The legislative actions of today dismantle this exclusionary model by requiring an inclusive baseline.

For example, New York’s Bill S6528A dictates that all cosmetology exams must include textured hair education, compelling schools to adapt their curricula accordingly. This means that from the very first day of cosmetology school, students will engage with the diverse structures and care requirements of all hair types. The goal is to produce a generation of stylists who are not only technically proficient but also culturally sensitive. This re-education process directly confronts the “Comb Test” and “Pencil Test” of the past, which were informal, discriminatory tools used to enforce European beauty standards by categorizing individuals based on how easily a comb could pass through their hair or if a pencil could stay put in their Afro-textured strands. By making comprehensive textured hair education mandatory, these laws actively work to dismantle the institutionalized biases that have historically undermined Black and mixed-race identities.

The Role of Industry and Advocacy in Driving Change

The legislative momentum is not solely the work of lawmakers; it is significantly propelled by advocacy groups and industry leaders who recognize the moral and economic imperatives for change. The Texture Education Collective (TEC), a powerful alliance, has been instrumental in campaigning for these new requirements. They highlight that 75% of hairstylists themselves desire more training in textured hair, acknowledging a skills gap that impacts their ability to serve a large market. Organizations like the Professional Beauty Association (PBA) and prominent brands like Aveda and L’Oréal USA are not only supporting but actively driving this legislative push.

Their collective voice underlines that current standards often fall short, leaving 65% of the U.S. population, those with wavy, curly, or coily hair, underserved.

The inclusion of cultural competency and historical education, as seen in Washington’s proposed bill, represents a deep understanding that legislative action must address not only the technical skills but also the underlying biases. This kind of education challenges the long-held notion that textured hair is somehow “unmanageable” or “difficult,” replacing it with knowledge that honors its distinct qualities and historical significance. As Representative Melanie Morgan, sponsor of Washington’s HB1874, aptly stated, “It’s not about difficulty, it’s about knowledge.” This philosophy underpins the modern legislative push, ensuring that the legacy of textured hair, its ancestral practices, and its biological uniqueness are finally acknowledged and respected within the formal structures of professional training. The integration of such historical context transforms a mere technical training into a holistic understanding, a profound appreciation for the intertwined biological and cultural heritage of textured hair.

The legal framework surrounding hair has a long and often painful past. In 1786, the infamous Louisiana Tignon Laws mandated that free Black women cover their hair in public spaces, a clear attempt to control their appearance and undermine their social standing (Giraud, 1935). This historical example serves as a stark reminder of how deeply hair has been intertwined with social control and racial hierarchy. Today’s legislative actions, particularly those requiring comprehensive textured hair education, stand as a direct counterpoint to such historical oppression, asserting hair freedom and fostering cultural pride through knowledge and skill.

The movement to mandate textured hair education in cosmetology schools, spearheaded by organizations like the Texture Education Collective (TEC), is a proactive measure that complements the anti-discrimination work of the CROWN Act. The TEC argues that the current standards in cosmetology curricula, which often prioritize straight hair, leave over two-thirds of the world’s population ❉ those with textured hair ❉ without adequately trained professionals.

The movement to ensure that cosmetology education includes a comprehensive understanding of textured hair is also a movement for economic equity. When 86% of Black women find it challenging to find consistent, quality hair care, it reflects a significant market failure, but more importantly, a pervasive professional blind spot that harms a specific demographic. These legislative actions are not just about adding a few hours of training; they are about fundamentally reorienting an entire industry to meet the needs of all people, respecting their heritage and providing dignified service. The future of hair care, guided by these legislative actions, envisions a world where every strand is understood, honored, and expertly cared for, irrespective of its inherent pattern or historical journey.

Reflection

The journey of textured hair, from ancient communal rituals to modern legislative chambers, tells a story of enduring spirit. These legislative actions addressing textured hair education are not the final word, but rather a vital new chapter in a narrative stretching back millennia. They stand as a testament to the persistent voice of heritage, demanding to be heard, respected, and understood. The passage of laws like the CROWN Act and the mandates for textured hair education in cosmetology schools represent a collective turning point, a societal acknowledgement that the beauty industry cannot truly serve humanity until it serves all of its diverse expressions.

The goal is to foster a world where every person, every strand, is welcomed, understood, and celebrated, where the ancestral wisdom held within coils and kinks is not only protected from prejudice but also given its rightful place within the highest echelons of professional knowledge. This evolving landscape of legislative action is a living archive, breathing life into Roothea’s vision: a world where the soul of every strand is seen, cherished, and cared for with informed reverence.