Women are travelling for hours across the United Kingdom to have their afro hair cared for because many local salons lack the skills, a BBC investigation has found.
The investigation contacted 259 hair and beauty colleges listed on the government's National Careers Service and received replies from 237. Of those, 82 said they taught students how to care for afro-textured hair while 155 said they did not, meaning just under a third offered training covering all hair types four years after industry guidance called for inclusive education.
Hairdressers and clients described the consequences. Chantel Daly, who runs a salon in Shrewsbury, said some clients travel up to eight hours to see her and return every four months. She told the BBC she paid an extra £2,500 to travel to London for specialist training after a local advanced course in 2023 made no mention of afro hair.
"The industry makes it impossible to be fully qualified to serve afro hair clients," Daly said, adding that clients come from across the country because of a lack of local options.
Afro hair is generally categorized within the coily hair type, one of four main textures industry professionals recognise — straight, wavy, curly and coily — each with subcategories of fine, medium and thick. Coily hair tends to be naturally drier, more delicate and more prone to damage, and requires different handling and products than straighter textures.
Adora Lawrence, a 27-year-old former law graduate who retrained as a stylist, said she experienced barriers growing up in Stoke-on-Trent, where her family sometimes had to travel long distances for appointments. "It was not straightforward when I was growing up to get it done," she said. Lawrence now advocates cross-cultural hairstyling and provides services for all hair types.
Colleges offered varied explanations for why afro hair is not consistently taught. Some said awarding bodies had not yet updated curricula. Others said they had too few clients with afro hair to provide practical experience, charged extra fees for specialist modules, or used afro hair mannequin heads because they could not secure real models.
Erica Liburd, a Northampton-based tutor with more than 25 years' experience who has taught afro hair care domestically and abroad, said change had been too slow. "Will it be done in the next two years or 10 or will we be talking about this in 20 years time?" she asked. Liburd said students were not being properly prepared to represent the diversity of the community.
The Hair and Beauty Industry Authority (Habia), the government-recognised organisation that sets occupational standards for the sector, issued guidance in 2021 saying all hairdressers should be trained to work with afro-textured hair. Habia's chief executive, Joan Scott, said she was frustrated at the pace of change and pointed to awarding bodies as the component responsible for updating qualifications. Habia does not have enforcement powers.
Two of the sector's main awarding organisations responded to the BBC's enquiries. The Vocational Training Charitable Trust (VTCT) said it had updated its curriculum but noted that students are only required to be assessed on three of the four hair types. City & Guilds said its courses met occupational standards but did not specify that all hair types were mandatory in assessments.
Industry voices said the gap in training has practical and economic consequences. Stylists who invest in specialist training may draw clients from wide areas, while clients without access to trained local stylists face lengthy travel and extra expense. Colleges that have started investing in staff training said they were expanding teaching to be more inclusive, but tutors and practitioners said more systemic and enforceable changes in qualifications are needed.
The BBC's findings underline continuing disparities between industry guidance and day-to-day training. With demographic change and demand for inclusive services rising, trainers, awarding bodies and regulators face pressure to ensure that future hairdressers are qualified to work with all hair types.