Stylists specialising in afro-textured hair types on short supply

ABC NEWS (Australia)

For people with afro-textured hair, finding a hairdresser with the expertise to cut and style it can be a challenge. Many salons only specialise in looser textures, prompting stylists to call for more hairdressers to learn the skill.

Transcript

00:00Patch Dionisio is a specialist in the hairdressing trade.

00:07She's a coily hair expert.

00:08What are we going to do today?

00:10A cut and a refine.

00:12Born and raised in Brazil, she moved to the city late last year

00:15where she found a gap in the hairdressing industry.

00:17When I got here it was so easy to find a job

00:20because they don't have hairdressers with the knowledge

00:24to do our type of hair.

00:26Experts say the reason why salons don't cater to textured hair

00:29is due to a lack of education.

00:31For some of the stylists out there,

00:33we simply don't get the practice, the experience,

00:36nor do we have the confidence to do that kind of hair.

00:40Now salons are taking matters into their own hands,

00:43ditching the flawed training courses

00:45and using their time and money to train their stylists

00:47to do all types of hair, regardless of how coily it is.

00:51The owners of Ella and Jade Salon

00:53spent thousands in providing in-house training to their apprentices

00:56so they know how to cut and style Afro-textured hair.

00:59Director Alana Reid says the approach guarantees

01:01all their clients are catered for.

01:03We don't have textured hair ourselves,

01:05so for clients to come in and actually trust us with it

01:07to really build that, to get to a point

01:09where we are servicing texture every day.

01:11Actress Perra Mooney says it took some convincing

01:13to try out the salon, but she now feels she's in good hands.

01:16You not sense the stress from the hairdresser

01:19that's looking after you, that they're like,

01:21oh, I've not really dealt with this before,

01:23I don't know how to handle it.

01:25Being able to sit here and go, I'm alright,

01:27is like a massive thing.

01:29Experts say new training packages will soon roll out

01:32across the country, equipping stylists with up-to-date training

01:36to ensure everyone gets a good cut.

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