NJ, NY cosmetology schools to teach twists and turns of Black hair, to root out bias

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Hairdressing students in New Jersey and New York now have to receive training on Black hair styles and textures, and the treatments that go with them, under new anti-bias provisions added to state licensing requirements.

Training schools are required to include curricula on working with textured hair, which were not previously mandated by cosmetology schools, and students will have to demonstrate their proficiency on state licensing exams, which will be updated to reflect the new material.

The New York measure expanding textured hair education was signed into law in 2023, but goes into effect in September. The New Jersey measure was signed into law in January; the rollout began in August.

The phased-in changes underscore the mission of the so-called CROWN Act campaign, short for Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair, which inspired legislation both states passed in 2019.

That measures generally expands the definition of racial discrimination to include disparate treatment and bias — in both the workplace and in public accommodations, such as hair salons — directed at people with natural hair styles and texture hair, particularly Black women . New York City has similar protections.

“A seamstress should know how to work with every single piece of material that is put in front of him or her,” said Atiya Johnson, the CEO and founder of Janas Hair Cosmetology Academy, which bills itself as New Jersey's first Black-owned and operated cosmetology school. “As a cosmetologist, so should we. But if we're not equipped and we're not trained and taught to do so, then that is where the problem becomes.”

The New Jersey law requires schools to have the right tools to train students effectively. This includes items such as hair picks, weaving kits, and braiding packages, as well as hair mannequins featuring all hair types and textures for students to practice on. The state is still developing the specific rules and curriculum changes for enforcement.

New York has already updated its curriculum . It includes a section on traditional and modern techniques behind braiding, locking, weaving and styling, as well as updated modules on textured hair services, like washing, cutting and coloring.

New York state Assemblymember Michaelle Solages, a Democrat representing Hempstead and other Long Island communities, sponsored New York’s law . She said she’s spoken with countless people with textured hair who have had “horror stories when they went into a salon.”

“It's not only horrific, you know, aesthetically, but physically and spiritually,” Solages said. “There's a significant number of curly haired people in this world, and it's unfair that they have to experience such horrible events when going to a professional.”

She called the new requirements an important step toward ensuring that cosmetologists receive training about all the different dynamics of hair, no matter its texture.

Johnson took over her mother’s salon in Clementon, New Jersey, when she was 17. The school came later — driven by the knowledge that most employees hired by the salon were not properly trained to work with textured hair.

But Johnson said she doesn’t blame salon workers for being ill-equipped.

When she went to cosmetology school, Johnson said, she received less than two weeks of training on textured hair during her four-year program.

“We never had a mannequin that looked like us,” said Johnson, adding that learning how to braid on a mannequin with silky straight hair is not the same.

Johnson said the two states are changing the narrative on the hair care industry.

“I think it's a beautiful thing,” she said.

Willow Higgins covers changes in New York City neighborhoods for WNYC and Gothamist. She has previously reported on wrongful convictions, corruption in district attorney offices and Texas' child welfare system.

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