{"id":3597,"date":"2026-11-05T03:08:16","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T19:08:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nichebeaty.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/05\/textured-hair-education-is-finally-catching-up\/"},"modified":"2026-11-05T03:08:16","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T19:08:16","slug":"textured-hair-education-is-finally-catching-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nichebeaty.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/05\/textured-hair-education-is-finally-catching-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Textured Hair Education Is Finally Catching Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Here\u2019s the thing about my curls: When they\u2019re defined, voluminous and frizz-free, I\u2019m probably the happiest person on the planet. When they\u2019re not working with me, my whole day goes off the rails. So, every few months, when my hair starts its slow slide into mop territory, I start dreading the one thing that would actually fix it\u2014booking a haircut. I\u2019ve gone well past the recommended six months between cuts, at times stretching it to almost two years, because I\u2019d rather deal with the mop than risk a stylist ruining my curls.<\/p>\n

If you have curls or textured hair, then you probably know the feeling. You scroll a salon\u2019s Instagram and TikTok looking for a single photo or video of hair like yours, you ask friends for their stylist recs and it ends with you closing the app and deciding to wait another few months. (Guilty on all counts.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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So, walking into L\u2019Or\u00e9al Academy East in New York\u2019s Hudson Yards in October was the reassurance I didn\u2019t know I needed. THE TEXTURE OF CHANGE, L\u2019Or\u00e9al Professional Products Division\u2019s textured hair initiative, took over its new 13,000-square-foot education center for Texture Mastery Pro, a two-day event that brought together stylists, educators, artists and advocates, with award-winning celebrity hairstylist Nai\u2019Vasha Grace as emcee. For the first time, seven of the division\u2019s brands (L\u2019Or\u00e9al Professionnel, Redken, Mizani, K\u00e9rastase, Matrix, Color Wow and Biolage) came together under one roof to showcase, teach and celebrate textured hair. I was there for day one, a full afternoon of panels and masterclasses, while day two put all that learning into practice with hands-on education.<\/p>\n

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Editorial hairstylist Jawara Wauchope<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Celebrity hairstylist Kendall Dorsey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Being in that room also put my own experience in perspective. My curls are one point on a wide spectrum of textures, and skipping haircuts is a small version of what many people with textured hair have faced, from being turned away at salons to being told their natural hair isn\u2019t professional. Many of the people leading the conversation have been pushing for change for years\u2014the industry is just now catching up to them.<\/p>\n

The gap behind the chair<\/h2>\n

That catch-up starts with education. For years, learning to cut, color and style textured hair simply wasn\u2019t a standard part of cosmetology training, which is a big reason so many of us struggle to find someone who knows what to do with our hair. THE TEXTURE OF CHANGE launched in 2023 to help close that gap.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeading this initiative has been deeply meaningful and we\u2019re committed to closing the textured hair education gap,\u201d said Erica Roberson, vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion for L\u2019Or\u00e9al Professional Products Division and the initiative\u2019s founder.<\/p>\n

That commitment is already showing up in the law. Through the Texture Education Collective, created with the Professional Beauty Association, textured hair education is now part of cosmetology licensing requirements in nine states, including New York and California. New York Assemblymember Michaelle Solages, a primary sponsor of New York\u2019s law, put the stakes in personal terms. \u201cSo many of us have been told our curly, coily hair isn\u2019t professional,\u201d she told the room. \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t have to change who you are to fit in.\u201d<\/p>\n

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New York Assemblymember Michaelle Solages<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Salon owner and hairstylist Marc Mendez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A voice in every room<\/h2>\n

If the laws are changing what stylists learn, the panels focused on who feels welcome in the chair. On the first panel, \u201cTrust Is the Technique: Building Your Texture Business From the Chair Up,\u201d salon owner Marc Mendez, Dhairius Thomas and Hi Texture Salon founder India Bertin joined moderator Olivia Hancock, a beauty editor at Byrdie<\/em>, to talk about how textured hair education helps stylists grow their skills, clientele and careers. For Mendez, it comes down to making sure that education reaches every stylist. \u201cIf we want to be represented correctly and we want to be in every single room, it\u2019s important that everyone knows how to service us,\u201d he said. \u201cI have a six-chair salon, and every stylist doesn\u2019t look like me, and every stylist doesn\u2019t have textured hair, but they know how to service every woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Editorial hairstylist Jawara Wauchope took that idea global. His masterclass, presented with L\u2019Or\u00e9al Professionnel, was the event\u2019s only livestreamed class, with viewers tuning in from at least 40 locations across the United States, France, Mexico and South Africa. \u201cSeeing people from all over the world being able to approach textured hair, highly textured hair, feels good,\u201d he said, pointing to a member of his own team with very straight hair whose approach to textured hair he called \u201camazing to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Editorial hairstylist Jawara Wauchope with models<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Editorial hairstylist Jawara Wauchope<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Kendall Dorsey kept the momentum going with \u201cThe Finish Factor,\u201d presented by Color Wow, the newest addition to the L\u2019Or\u00e9al Professional Products Division portfolio. His masterclass focused on styling and finishing, showing how innovative products and thoughtful application can expand the possibilities for textured hair.<\/p>\n

That same confidence was on full display at the final masterclass of the day, which somehow turned out to be the liveliest. Redken\u2019s \u201cFrame the Curl: The Art of Haircolor Contouring\u201d brought Rachel Redd and Leysa Carrillo onstage together for the first time, and you never would have guessed it. The two kept the room laughing with joke after joke while walking us through their color work (talk about multitasking). But under all that banter was a confidence that stuck with me. \u201cThe job can be done if you know what you\u2019re doing,\u201d Carrillo said. Not one person who took the stage that day seemed the least bit intimidated by the hair in front of them, and that\u2019s exactly the point. You wouldn\u2019t trust a dentist who seemed unsure which tool to grab, so why should textured hair be any different?<\/p>\n

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Redken artist Leysa Carrillo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Redken artist Rachel Redd<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Texture is the culture<\/h2>\n

Technique was only part of the story. On the second panel, \u201cTexture Is the Culture: The Moments Shaping Beauty\u2019s Next Era,\u201d Kayra Theodore, Davontae Washington and K\u00e9rastase head of education Kate Oechsle joined moderator Asia Milia Ware, a beauty editor at The Cut<\/em>, to explore how textured hair and the creators championing it are reshaping beauty standards. For Theodore, change starts with speaking up. \u201cI believe us as a people, we found our voice over the course of time,\u201d she said. \u201cSo when we speak up, that allows the conversation to open up, and it allows people to take action to create that change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking up also means preserving the stories that came before. Photojournalist and creative producer Blue-Waverly Wahome traced Black hair culture through the evolution of the salon, the hair book and the hair show, and made a case for keeping that history in print. \u201cHaving physical media is really important in order for the hair industry to move forward,\u201d she said, \u201cand also for us to even look back at today once we get a few years down the road.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sense of legacy came full circle during a tribute to Tippi Shorter Rank, honoring her lasting influence through artistry, mentorship and advocacy, including her development of the Mizani AirCut method and her testimony in support of textured hair education legislation in California. \u201cIt\u2019s not simply what you accomplish for yourself,\u201d Roberson said in her tribute. \u201cIt\u2019s what becomes possible for other people because you were willing to stand up, speak up, teach, advocate and lead.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Photojournalist and creative producer Blue-Waverly Wahome\u2019s display<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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L\u2019Or\u00e9al Professionnel national color artist Tippi Shorter Rank<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

What comes next<\/h2>\n

If day one was about voice and legacy, day two was about getting hands in hair. Mizani artist Ashley Brown demonstrated the AirCut method, followed by a hands-on wash-and-go styling session, and Shorter Rank herself led a session on no-bleach highlights designed for curls on dark bases. K\u00e9rastase artists Tim Wingate and Lysiane Henderson used K-SCAN scalp and hair analysis to show how personalized care can carry from the salon to a home routine, and Matrix global artistic director Michelle O\u2019Connor closed things out with a class on curl mapping and color placement that works with natural curl patterns.<\/p>\n

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A hands-on wash session at Texture Mastery Pro<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Hands-on curl education at the Mizani station<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

After a day of watching stylists handle curls with that kind of skill (and humor), I would\u2019ve trusted anyone in that room to cut my hair. In fact, I think I\u2019m finally booking that appointment.<\/p>\n

To follow along with the initiative\u2019s education events and resources, head to THE TEXTURE OF CHANGE on Instagram (@thetextureofchange).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n