Gabrielle Union and other celebrities share their gripe with hairstylists who don’t know how to properly style black hair

Olivia Anakwe, 21-year-old Nigerian-American model, recently opened up about a disappointing incident where backstage hairstylists who couldn't style her hair.

According to Teen Vogue, Olivia was preparing to walk the runway at Paris Fashion Week last week when she realised that there was no stylist who could do her hair. 

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She said her brief was she wear her natural hair in the show, specifically, in cornrows. However, among the plethora of hairstylists, not even one could do her hair.

She posted a video on Instagram that showed her sitting in a chair having her hair done by different stylists who were attempting to do cornrows, but couldn't. 

She says this resulted in her being completely disregarded because no one wanted to work with her type of hair, that she had to stand from her chair and search for someone who could do the cornrows. 

"I was ignored, I was forgotten, and I felt that. Unfortunately I’m not alone, black models with afro texture hair continuously face these similar unfair and disheartening circumstances. It’s 2019, it’s time to do better," she wrote.

Her Instagram message sparked a robust hair discussion, black women in the entertainment and fashion industries opened up about similar experiences they've had.

Using the hashtag #actingwhileblack on Twitter, they relayed stories of how they have to do their own hair instead of relying on the hired stylists.

"It’s either that or take a chance that you will look crazy on screen," tweeted award-winning actress Yvette Nicole Brown.

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Seasoned actress, Gabrielle Union, also joined the discussion, encouraging her colleagues to speak out in order to protect their natural hair. 

"Listen, if u stay quiet, you will have bald spots, hair damage, look nuts," she tweeted. 

Mrs South Africa first princess (2017) Olwethu Leshabane also chimed in after having previously called out the pageant for it's lack of transformation in her blog.

"During the year leading up to the crowning, the black ladies who were participants faced a lot of struggles, one of them being hair and makeup. Considering the fact that this is a pageant and you are judged on the way you look, this was very stressful," she wrote in the blog. 

The beauty queen reiterated her point in the discussion. "I said this and addressed it during the reign as 1st princess in Mrs SA...I got such backlash. Black people are honestly disrespected in the arts," she tweeted. 

Actress Gabby Sidibe says the only way she avoids dealing with hair stylists who cannot cater to black women is to request to have her character wear box braids instead of natural hair. 

A few cosmetology students joined the discussion saying their curriculum is flawed because they are not equipped with the necessary skills to work with black hair.

"In my cosmetology school we focused on how to get z-patterned hair straight and then styled. Never using the natural texture. This was less than 10 years ago using one of the two most popular national curriculums," one commented. 

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A recent Bustle report supports the theory that cosmetology schools may be partially responsible for the lack of diverse skills among hairstylists. Various professionals revealed that they were not taught how to deal with natural hair and kinkier textures. 

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