Seagull Hair Stylist Topher in Bustle | Why Can't All Hairdressers Work With 4C Hair

Why Can't All Hairdressers Work With 4C Hair?

Some Stylists Say Cosmetology Schools May Be To Blame

Seagull hairstylist Topher explains some of the institutionalized problems with cutting, coloring, and styling curly hair in the salon industry:

 

Why isn't every hairstylist well-versed in working with all hair textures?

According to Topher Gross, a stylist at New York City’s Seagull Salon, it's likely a result of many beauty schools centering their training on fine, straight hair, inherently excluding natural hair and kinkier textures. In his experience, "There is no focus on natural hair, other than a short section on relaxers," he says. "You [have to] go back to school or [pay to] get extra training for textured, natural, and ethnic hair. That’s a huge problem. Every stylist should know and be trained to cut, style, and/or color all textures [from the start.]"

Gross shares that when he attended cosmetology school to get his training in 2008, he never got to work on a mannequin with textured hair. "They were all blonde or brown hair with zero curls or waves," he says. And a quick search of the term "cosmetology kit unboxing" videos, which are popular on YouTube, proves he's not the only person who has had this experience. There are pages and pages of students from a variety of schools receiving multiple, nearly identical white mannequins for practice — all with fine, straight hair — even though mannequins with 4C hair certainly exist and are available.

Gross also mentions that working on textured-hair mannequins and models was not required as part of the New York State exam he took in 2008, a state where over 19 million black people reside today, as well as being home to one of the most racially diverse cities in the world: New York City. "It’s a very archaic exam with vintage roller sets and the most basic haircut," he says.