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Many Black women, across backgrounds and professions, know what it feels like to search “Black beauticians near me” before booking an appointment. Others bring their own products, explain their haircare routines, or simply do their own hair for projects where their counterparts can sit back, relax, and be pampered. New York has heard that frustration. As of September 1, cosmetology students across the state are required to receive training on all hair types and textures, including textured and coily hair, and demonstrate that knowledge as part of the licensing process. Assembly member Michaelle Solages, who sponsored the legislation, called the measure a matter of “equal access to service.” While this is worth celebrating, it also opens a larger conversation about what we should expect from the people licensed to care for our hair. The conversation around Black hair and professional spaces is not new. California became the first state to enact the CROWN Act on July 3, 2019, protecting people from discrimination based on natural hairstyles and textures associated with race. The law took effect January 1, 2020. New York followed just nine days later, passing its own CROWN Act and making it effective immediately. The CROWN Act brought Black hair into the conversation about professional standards and equal treatment. If an employer, school, or other institution could not discriminate against someone for wearing their natural hair or a protective style, the question of who is qualified to professionally care for that hair becomes just as important. Seven years after the first CROWN Act, New York is addressing that responsibility from another angle. Cosmetology students are now required to learn how to work with all hair types and textures and demonstrate that knowledge as part of the licensing process. For Black clients who have spent years wondering whether the person holding a cosmetology license actually knows how to handle their hair, that change matters. New York is raising that expectation, and other states have already begun moving in the same direction. New Jersey, Vermont, Maine, and Washington have enacted similar textured hair education requirements, with eight states having passed legislation by 2025. Curls, kinks, coils, and all things 'fro deserve to be cared for gently, properly, and confidently at any salon. Not just by Black beauticians. How many states will follow? Black hair has always been here. The beauty industry is finally learning that caring for it should be part of the standard. Na'ilah Burston

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