When Solange sang, “Don’t Touch my Hair,” she meant it.
Hair is serious for many Black people, and there’s no doubt about that.
For many in the Black community, hair is more than just a style — especially for Black women. It’s a part of the culture and often surrounds a person’s identity.
“It’s something we think about on a daily basis, all day every day,” said Jami Shirley, 37, a cosmetologist for 11 years who works for Imaj Hair Couture. “If our hair is not right, everything else is thrown off. Our style begins with our hair. It reflects the daily life.”
With dreadlocs, braids, puffs and wash-and-goes, the Black community continues to embrace the kinks and coily tresses that come naturally.
Natural hair is now mainstream. Miss Jessie’s, Curls and Kinky-Curly are a few Black-owned brands specifically for natural hair. Companies like L’Oreal and Sundial have since dived into the natural hair market with the purchases of Carol’s Daughter and Shea Moisture. Even Pantene gathered a team of Black scientists to create the Pantene Gold Series, a natural hair care line. Market research firm, Mintel, estimated the natural hair care industry was worth $761 million in 2017.
The natural hair movement is booming. However, in some professional work environments, the movement still lags behind. Black people continuously fight against workplace stereotypes that push the conformity to white beauty standards.
“Whenever women are coming in for interviews, they want to get straight hair as opposed to natural hair,” Shirley said. “I think they want to wear their natural hair but don’t want people to say anything about it. They want you to focus on their mind and not their hair.”
The focus on hair and not skills happened to Chastity Jones.
After Jones, an Alabama resident, walked into an interview dressed in heels and a business suit, the human resources manager told Jones her dreadlocks “tend to get messy” and she could not wear the style. Jones lost the job offer because she refusedto cut her dreadlocks.
Jones filed a complaint about the incident with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). In 2013, the EEOC found the company’s action was in violation of Jones’ civil rights because dreadlocks are a racial characteristic. The company appealed, and the Federal District Court of Alabama ruled that although a person’s appearance may be tied to the culture, if it is changeable, it is not protected and can be used to deny job offers. The case was then taken to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld the lower court’s ruling in 2016 and denied a full review of the case in 2017. Jones is currently appealing to the Supreme Court.
In other words, an employer is allowed to deny a job because of a hairstyle that doesn’t comply with their grooming policy.
“When it comes to wearing your own natural hair, sew-in, straight hair or braids, you should be able to do what you want to do,” said Stephanie Coney, 36, a licensed cosmetologist for 10 years. Coney works for Purity Natural Hair Salon.
Black women in the Army had a similar issue with natural hair. However, in 2014, the Army updated Regulation 670-1 to allow female soldiers to wear twists, cornrows and braids as long as they are a half inch in diameter. In 2017, the Army revisited Regulation 670-1 and now allows female soldiers to wear dreadlocks with similar guidelines.
Prior to these updates, women with thick natural hair and dreadlocks were forced to big chop, straighten their hair or resort to wigs.
“I think that as long as the hair is presentable, it shouldn’t be an issue,” Erin Foster, licensed cosmetologist for seven years and owner of Flawless Image salon,said. “Hair doesn’t affect their capability of getting the job done.”
Contact staff writer Loren Dent at 317-762-7853.
Natural Hair
