Last week, model Olivia Anakwe shared her frustration over hairstylists not knowing how to properly style her hair, and it spawned a larger discussion on social media.
“I was asked to get out of an empty chair followed by having hairstylists blatantly turning their backs to me when I would walk up to them, to get my hair done,” Anakwe said about an experience during Paris Fashion Week. “I arrived backstage where they planned to do cornrows, but not one person on the team knew how to do them without admitting.”
Providing more details, she added, “After one lady attempted and pulled my edges relentlessly, I stood up to find a model who could possibly do it. After asking two models and then the lead/only nail stylist, she was then taken away from her job to do my hair. This is not okay. This will never be okay. This needs to change.”
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Olivia Anakwe (@olivia_anakwe) on
As news of Anakwe’s Instagram post circulated throughout social media, other models and actors came forward with their own experiences.
Aquanman actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen revealed many women of color in Hollywood shared the same sentiment. “100% of Black Actor/Actress I’ve spoken to on this topic face the same thing in film and television,” he wrote. “Hair Stylists in our industry should have proper training, AND be able to show proof. Too often they begin to ‘figure it out’ the second we sit in the chair.”
100% of Black Actor/Actress I've spoken to on this topic face the same thing in film and television. Hair Stylists in our industry should have proper training, AND be able to show proof. Too often they begin to "figure it out" the second we sit in the chair. https://t.co/qf662oqA8d
— Yahya Abdul-Mateen 2 (@yahya) March 9, 2019
The Real co-host Loni Love shared the precautions she takes when beginning a new project.
Honey I have brought my whole glam kit, flat irons, pink lotion, Shea butter at times during a new set.. I’m tired of looking grey with red lips😂😂😂😂 https://t.co/sP8fEmGKcS
— Loni Love (@LoniLove) March 11, 2019
Yvette Nicole Brown revealed that the struggle also extends to makeup artists as well.
Most black actresses come to a new set w/ their hair done (me) or bring their wigs & clip-ins w/them. It’s either that or take a chance that you will look crazy on screen. Many of us also bring our own foundation. One too many times seeing no shade that matches you will learn ya! https://t.co/mGAzpuoKtb
— yvette nicole brown (@YNB) March 11, 2019
Empire’s Gabourey Sidibe revealed how she bargains with film directors in the event that they don’t have someone who knows how to style her hair.
If they don’t have the budget to hire a black hairstylist for me, or won’t, I just get the director to agree that my character should have box braids or senegalese twist.
— Gabby Sidibe (@GabbySidibe) March 11, 2019
Insecure’s Natasha Rothwell offered advice to productions who cast people of color.
PSA: If you cast a POC— And thank you for doing so!—you also have to hire someone who knows how to do ethnic hair. Not someone who's "comfortable with it" but someone who actually knows how to style ethnic hair types.
— Natasha Rothwell (@natasharothwell) March 11, 2019
Congratulations on advancing to the next level of inclusion! https://t.co/A1Q9ZpvXmH
Being Mary Jane star Gabrielle Union highlighted the struggles many artists face when attempting to break into the industry.
Important Thread! 👇🏾 What alot of non-industry folks don't realize is that u can't just use ur normal hairstylists/barbers/makeup artists on a union job (most jobs are union) Those artists HAVE to be IN THE UNION & getting them in has NEVER been easy or smooth. Ever. Like never. https://t.co/vBMFla2cQ2
— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) March 11, 2019
Union, who launched her Flawless by Gabrielle Union hair care brand in 2017, spoke with EBONY about her personal experience with her hair texture and Hollywood.
“My soul feels chipped away at, and going back many decades, I was literally burning my hair off to please you, to create some sort of illusion [and] idea of Black femininity for someone who doesn’t want me to win to begin with,” she said.
She also commented on the strides women of color have made and how it’s impacted how Hollywood sees Black hair.
“Now that there are so many more women of color in Hollywood—specifically, so many kinds of Black women from the African diaspora—we are over making the compromise or being forced into hairstyles that we don’t feel are right for the character or right for us personally or our hair health,” Union said.
