A black-owned fashion brand has started selling a range of durags amid dismay that black hair continues to be policed and discriminated against.
This week, pharmacies across South Africa removed TRESemmé products from their stores after the company was branded racist. An advert from the hair company showed an image of black hair that described it as “frizzy and dull” while another image of blonde hair was labelled “fine and flat” (the company later apologised).
Black hair is still a topic which provokes misunderstanding and racist attitudes. In the US, black women are 83% more likely to be judged more harshly on their looks than other women, while research has found that black women with natural hairstyles were deemed less professional and are one and a half times more likely to be sent home from work because of their hair. In a video made by Glamour magazine to coincide with its September issue focusing on black hair, the actor Keke Palmer reflected on her experience of having black hair in the workplace, saying: “HR told me my hair looked more professional pulled back and in a bun than it did out and curly.”