26 The Multicultural Revolution: Black v. All Others Finally Overturned

By Candance Lee

 

Human hair is like the strings of a guitar, they are all different and unique.
                                                                                             -Lorraine Cochran

For as long as women have been professionally getting their hair done, hair salons have had a history of being some of the most lasting segregated places in the business world.  These salons have had the unique ability of displaying the intimate attachment of hair and appearance to one's social class and race.  In the past, the type of education that you received in order to work in a salon largely depended on the demographics of location of the school you attended.  Less about universally teaching all textures and more about catering to the demographic of the area, stylists were largely taught on mannequins with predominately thin hair that lent more towards skills associated with white hair.  Stylists who intended to cater to other textures were left to learn such practical knowledge through apprenticeships and trial and error.

However as the world continues to modernize and evolve to include everyone that is a part of the American landscape, schools are following suit.  Gaining a cosmetology license today is much more across the spectrum than ever and stylists are beginning to be skilled and knowledgeable on all types of hair, in turn maximizing student potential, as well as creativity, by teaching in terms of texture and not ethnicity.

                As late as 2006, court cases were popping up in major cities in the US alleging discrimination and mistreatment of black customers in well-known chains like Hair Cuttery and the Dillard’s salons.   In the case of Dillard’s salons, black customers claimed they were refused or delayed service or charged prices in excess of the salons’ list price on the basis that black hair was more time consuming and took more effort to treat due to the “kinky” nature of “ethnic” hair and supposed characteristics that make treating it more "time consuming and technically demanding than fulfilling the minimal (or non-existent) conditioning needs" of the typical white customer.  Vaughn Thomas, one of the women who filed suit against Dillard’s salons at the time, was quoted by Court TV as saying, “Hair is hair regardless of what color you are, and the prices should be the same for everybody," she said. "This is a practice that's still being done in the 21st century, and it should be stopped."

Rob Brinson, co-owner of the Paul Mitchell School in Atlanta, is one of the many leaders forging a new path toward broadening the scope of what’s taught in beauty schools today in order to further remedy the types of services that many believe all salons should offer.  “There definitely is a change in how we view hair from a texture standpoint.  A couple of decades ago salons didn’t have much crossover, but today it seems we’re gradually getting a more diverse mix of clientele, which is very unlike it used to be.” 

Brinson described his school as “multicultural” and reflective of the cultural landscape of Atlanta and for that reason they approach education a “top down” perspective, employing teachers from every walk of life and sometimes team up with other schools that have a primary emphasis on other techniques and equipment that might not get as heavy of an emphasis in their everyday lesson plans.  He believes it necessary to touch on all techniques for all types of hair so that students have a wealth of knowledge when entering the business world.  “I’ve always found the more diverse amount of perspectives that a person can get, the better equipped they are to go out there because obviously clients will all be different.  You can’t expect to be successful saying that you’ll do one thing and then just do that.”

Ron Jemison, Jr., fourth generation owner of Franklin Beauty School in Houston, TX, is working towards liberating his students from limitation as well with, as he said, help from the media and the progression of the world in general.  He emphasized that while he believes that everyone is getting equal training on all types of hair, it’s important to understand that everyone’s needs, while they aren’t harder to manage or more time consuming as sometimes implied, are simply different. “The beauty industry has grown and changed across the board in past years because everyone is growing and studying together and have a chance to learn the same things these days. We can look at celebrities and see the styles they are wearing and there are trends for everybody and every type of hair,” he said.  “I feel that everyone can wear every hairstyle, but other methods are used to achieve the same looks.  There are methods that work on all types of hair, then there are methods that work better on other types of hair and it’s important that we adapt to the changes going on in the industry.”

The same is true for hair care products.  Notably and arguably the most drastic product that has bridged the gap between the two has been the usage of weaves, wigs and extensions.  However, ethnic product lines, such as moisturizers and relaxers, for more regular use that could once only be bought in beauty supply stores are seeing an emergence in mainstream drug stores.  Mainstream product lines are also being expanded to serve the texture of the hair.  “Products are definitely becoming more multicultural,” Brison said. “They’ve expanded drastically to include more than just black and white lines, which were basic shampoos and conditioners that were great but many, including Paul Mitchell, have become more specialized towards the texture of the hair instead.  There’s so many more styling products that are available as far as gels and drops and this and that allowing for everything from thickening up to extra body to trying to go the other way.”

Newer product lines have also entered the market in terms of organic and the newly emerging craze of Brazilian product lines, which are both natural ways of  healthily maintaining a wide variety of different hair textures in the same manner.  “Organic products are gaining popularity for all textures because I think manufacturers are seeing a demand for them and mimicking what they see happening with other product lines so they want to create their own in the most profitable way.  Right now, the higher end companies have the budget for advertising, but as we continue to progress I think we’ll see a lot more of those products,” Jemison said.

As we see greater diversity in the chairs of American salons, we are truly bridging the gap between the segregated salons of the past.  Today’s world requires the modern stylist to readily be able to adapt to a wide range of hair styling skills on all types of hair.  In recognizing that a wide variety of textures exist within different races and ethnicities, the emphasis is placed on innovation and other all-inclusive ways of handling the spectrum of texture that is steadily but surely forming a multicultural revolution.