Stylists Finally Have to Study Textured Hair in New York

Photo: Kobus Louw/Getty Images

Textured hair is finally becoming a priority in cosmetology schools across New York. On September 1, Governor Kathy Hochul signed a new law requiring all styling education programs in the state to include instruction on textured hair and other hair patterns.

For generations of hairstylists, learning how to do textured natural hair has not been a part of the mandated curriculum. In most schools, textured and coily hair types are treated as a specialty as opposed to a core part of a stylist’s education, leaving them to start their professional careers and encounter clients whose hair they don’t know how to do. It results in a quiet awkwardness that many women with textured hair have experienced — I still remember the first time I went to a brand’s hair-care salon day and the stylist, who had known how to care for my sleek, straight weave, hovered over my natural 4B hair texture in confusion. I left the salon feeling embarrassed and, in the four years since, have never gone to brands’ salon days unless the stylist was Black.

Unfortunately, Hochul’s new law does not increase the number of hours required for licensing, though textured hair takes more time and patience to learn. Still, it’s a promising development. Schools have been preparing to comply with the new law since 2023, incorporating changes into their curricula and requiring students to demonstrate their knowledge through written and practical exams.

“Hair is deeply personal. It is linked to our identity, our well-being, and how we show up in the world,” Senator Jamaal Bailey said in the announcement of the new law. “Building on our past work with the CROWN Act, which ensured no one faces hair-based discrimination, I am honored to see our continued efforts toward making a more inclusive New York.” It shouldn’t feel revolutionary to require stylists to master textured hair — yet the beauty industry is still catching up.

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