Growing up with curly hair is challenging, especially when YouTube tutorials weren’t mainstream yet and before brands started investing in curly haircare. Although we now have new methods, knowledge and better-suited hair products for caring for curly hair, it’s still difficult to access the products and services we need. In this article, I’ll be discussing the accessibility of curly haircare and how this compares to the accessibility of straight haircare.
GROWING UP WITH CURLY HAIR
In many of our childhoods, people with curly hair – especially of black heritage – were often taught to ‘manage’ it by family instead of cherishing its natural state, using outdated, harmful and even painful methods like relaxers, hot combs or regular blow-dries with no heat protectant. Aggressive brushing and detangling techniques are often central to the curly hair experience, with parents who didn’t know they were using the wrong brushes or the wrong products.
I remember my mum – who, for context, is white with straight hair – using a paddle brush to detangle my very long curly hair. I would wince and cry as the ball-tipped bristles would trap and break the spiralling strands of my hair. And if my hair could have spoken, it would have begged desperately for moisture. Thankfully, now we both know better, and I always have my spray bottle on hand, and my hair is so much happier with my Denman brush for detangling! Although, outside of our new-and-improved methods, how much more straightforward has curly haircare actually become?
Accessing The Right Products
The Black Pound Report found that ‘multi-ethnic’ consumers spend ‘25% more on health and beauty products than any other consumer’, with ‘black women’ spending ‘30% more’. The reasons for such a significant spending gap have been investigated by Treasure Tress, who found that ‘while major drugstores such as Boots and Superdrug have vastly improved their product offering in recent years, afro hair products are still up to 70% more expensive than their counterparts’. Considering these drastic price differences, there’s no wonder why people of black heritage are finding themselves struggling to afford haircare products – especially in such a detrimental cost-of-living crisis.
Treasure Tress found that the accessibility of these products is an issue too, reporting that ‘47% of Black British women with textured hair do not feel as though any of the top 10 haircare companies […] cater to their hair type’. This prompts people to try products from specialist Afro-Caribbean shops – though these places can be quite hard to reach in smaller towns and quite pricey too due to imported products. So, we know that it’s difficult for people with curly hair to find and afford the right products, but is finding access to the right services any easier?
ACCESSING THE RIGHT SERVICES
Afro-Caribbean hair salons have been established for many years in the UK, catering to several black and mixed-race customers. While they’re relatively easy to find in areas like London, it may be harder for people elsewhere to access one. These salons are well-versed in protective styles like braids and twist-outs. However, if you’re in your natural hair era, these styles may not be right for you, and they can be heavy and even damaging for less textured curls – especially if your hair is thin like mine.
While I may have a 3b to 3c curl pattern, I have the same thin texture as my mum. This means my scalp can’t handle styles like cornrows even without extensions… which I discovered about five minutes into getting them done. I managed to push through it, only to be met with jokes from other black and mixed students that I looked like Coolio and other male rappers because of how limp and thin my braids were – never again! I think I’ll stick with wearing my hair down naturally, thank you very much.
So, if braids aren’t an option, where to next? Well, there aren’t many other options, with Treatwell reporting that only ‘1% of the 35,000 UK salons cater for textured and afro hair’. These salons typically insist on cutting curly hair when it’s wet (a method used on straight hair that is not appropriate for all curl types) and blow-drying afterwards instead of styling it naturally. For the salons that do cater to curly hair, you might have to spend a pretty penny to get what you want. The first curly hair salons in London that come up with a Google search include Curl Talk, Unruly Curls, and The Curl Bar. Their dry curl cut services range from £80 to £90 with the cheapest and least-experienced available stylists, and any styling services would be extra! The nearest salon to me is The Curl Bar in Wood Green and for reference, my local non-specialist salon charges £50 for a wash, cut and style – almost 40% cheaper!
To get around these accessibility issues, people have turned to making their own DIY products at home or cutting their own hair. Not only is this better financially, but it also means ingredients and their amounts can be customisable to fit individual hair types. And with the internet at our fingertips, we can learn how to do this from the curly-haired heroes who’ve already risked it all to experiment with their hair at home. I gave this a go myself by cutting my hair to even out the overgrown layers – and it went much better than expected! Let’s just say I didn’t end up in one of Brad Mondo’s DIY hair fail videos, so I’ll take that as a win.