To expand its reach, licensed barber and cosmetology schools in California will be required to teach how to care for textured hair.
SAN DIEGO — California has more cosmetology schools than any other state in the country, but now the state’s schools are set to become more inclusive.
The governor approved legislation requiring cosmetology schools to teach how to care for textured hair, which is defined as wavy, curly and coily hair.
Lucy Quiachon, better known as “Barber Q,” co-owner of Clipper Game Barbershop at Federal Boulevard and Euclid Avenue, said she doesn’t just do fades and facial trims.
“I love the community aspect of working as a barber,” Kiachon said.
She’s built a community of barbers and clients, many of whom have textured hair.
“There’s no program in school that says, ‘special focus on textured hair,'” Kiacheon said. “Right now, they don’t have the experience, and that holds them back in the shop.”
Q said she had to teach herself how to cut textured hair.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about community outreach for people with textured hair,” Ms Kiacheon said.
The effort has the support of the governor, who just signed Rep. Akila Weber’s Textured Hair Education Bill (AB 2166) into law, which requires California-licensed barber and cosmetology schools to teach students how to care for wavy, curly, and coily hair.
“Basically what we’re saying statewide is there’s no one standard of beauty. There’s no one standard of importance for who should be trained. We’re all beautiful no matter what our hair texture is. And the people that we ask to style our hair should know how to style a wide variety of hair textures,” Weber said.
The Crown Act 2019
The bill builds on the Crown Act 2019, which bans discrimination on the basis of hairstyle.
The La Mesa-area congressman said 65 percent of Americans have textured hair, and this legislation would expand access and give stylists confidence.
“This means you don’t have to pay extra money for a stylist to learn how to work with textured hair,” Weber says.
Q said she has been focusing on the need for textured hair education.
“I walked into a barbershop the other day, and there was a gentleman there,” Q says. “He said to me, ‘I’ve been cutting hair since 1955,’ and he asked me, ‘Can you teach me how to cut textured hair?’ And I said, ‘Yes, I can teach you how to cut textured hair,'” Kiacheon says.
Barbers hope that honing their craft will increase inclusivity and strengthen their strong networks.
“Being a barber is not just about cutting hair. It’s about making customers look good, but it’s also about community work,” Kiacheon said.
The Barber and Cosmetology Schools Committee supports the bill.
The bill would require all schools to provide students with valuable education in providing textured hair services, which would strengthen consumer protections.
The Texture Education Collective (TEC), a coalition of hair professional industry leaders under the Professional Beauty Association (PBA), partnered with Dr. Weber to develop the bill. TEC was founded by Aveda, DevaCurl, L’Oreal USA and Neal Corporation.
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