Closing the Curly Hair Education Gap: Working with Textured Hair

In this episode, we kick things off with a candid roundtable discussion on why clients with curly hair still struggle to find stylists who feel confident working with their texture. We then dive deeper with Janine Jarman, Founder of Hairroin Salon and creator of Curl Cult, to unpack what’s really missing in beauty education and why curly and textured hair is still treated like a “specialty” instead of a standard. From mishaps to the fear stylists have around cutting curls, this conversation breaks down the misconceptions holding the industry back and introduces a more modern, inclusive approach.

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Content Strategy & Direction: Shanalie Wijesinghe 
Creative Producer: Emily Badgley
Creative Direction & Copy: Jake Broselle
Edited: Stefanie Maegan
Sound & Music: Tristan Callaway and Servando "MAXXX" Moquette
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Camera Operator: Deborah Kim
Gaffer: Colin Shepard
S1 Pick Up Gaffer: Micah Goldfarb
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Hair & Make Up Assistant: Rhodela Castillo
Production Assistant: Alex Wiggins and Bence Talor
S1 Production Assistant: Drea Rodriguez

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Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:02

I'm excited to talk about this one because I feel like people are so afraid of curly hair or just texture. I love that Janine has created a product that allows us to like lean into it, you know, and and also use it in different ways more than just like the spiral curl that people know from perms.

SPEAKER_02 0:19

Yeah, I'm really excited about the conversation as well. Just because I know it's something that's kind of like, I don't know if it's taboo or it's something that's not really like a priority when speaking of like different hairstyles and textures. So I'm really excited to like hear what she has to say about this.

SPEAKER_01 0:34

Yeah, definitely exciting. I feel like it's still crazy in 2025 as somebody that has curly hair to find a stylist who is comfortable working with my hair. To have that phone call conversation that's like, listen, I'm begging you to make sure that whoever touches my hair is comfortable has done this before. And just, you know, crazy that that's still very much so relevant in this day and age.

SPEAKER_00 0:58

Yeah, hopefully uh this just speaks to a larger shift in our industry around inclusivity and texture and curls.

SPEAKER_04 1:06

Yeah, whether it's like manipulating it to be curly or like a blowout, like everyone loves a good blowout, like that versatility is super important because I have experience like firsthand where I go in and I come in with my crazy curls, and maybe I do want even like that super sleek, like snatched look, and I get like the triangle hair. And I'm like, okay, it's okay, like I'll go fix it at home, you know? And and I work in the business, so I I know what I'm doing, but imagine how often that happens to people, you know.

SPEAKER_02 1:35

Yeah, yep, it's definitely happened to me where I'm like in the bathroom fixing it right after, like, okay, now it looks good.

SPEAKER_01 1:42

Fighting tears in the bathroom. Right, just trying to smooth and smooth, and I'm like, I'll just go home and take care of this myself.

SPEAKER_04 1:48

Yeah, funny enough, like one of the times at Boulevard that we were doing headshots, I went to, you know, one of the random blowout bars to get a quick blowout, like thinking I could just do that, like on a lunch break. And I was like, you remember this mad dash home to like like fumbling over the keys to get the hair straightener, and like Joss was in the bathroom helping me. Like we were all like making it happen because it was a disaster. So whether you're going curly or straight, like you gotta be able to work with textured hair, you guys. Come on. So really excited to have this conversation with Janine. This ad is brought to you by Boulevard, the beauty industry's most loved client experience platform. Sign up and see how easy switching software can be. Onboarding is simple, supportive, and actually kind of fun. Today's listeners can save 10% and get free guided setup. Simply head over to joinblvd.com slash podcast to book a demo and get started today. Janine Jarman, celebrity stylist and salon owner, founded Curl Cult to help people embrace their natural texture. After seeing the challenges her curly hair clients face and experiencing them herself, she set out to rethink the traditional salon perm. The result, a simple, healthy, and sustainable curl treatment paired with at-home products, curls will absolutely love.

SPEAKER_03 3:09

I have textured hair. I've always done textured hair. I've always leaned into doing all types and textures. And I was very taken back with how much our industry hasn't supported that. Yep. And not for like because they don't want to, it's just brands, um, schools, salons. Like the education isn't there. And it there's a lot of segmenting where it's like, oh, curly hair is for people of color. Or, you know, or if you have like any kind of texture, then we're just gonna smooth it and or curl it with the curling iron. There's a lot of like conformer else going on in our industry. And I'm okay. I'm up for that challenge. It's I realized that I thought, oh, I'm gonna teach everybody how to get plumped on perming and like a gentler, easier, softer way to perm hair and create texture. But I found out quickly that wasn't enough. It was also, oh shoot, you need to know how to cut curly and textured hair. Okay, you also need to know how like because I have curl supportive products. I'm like, right? Because you like curl need lightweight curl products. And they're like, how do we use them? And I'm like, oh my God, ever we have to teach all the things. And, you know, thankfully, my background is in education for brands. So that's that's been it. It's the three-pillar approach of like texture creation. So it's a three-pillar approach. It's texture creation and support, whether we're rearranging it, giving it, enhancing it, and everything in between, you know, really breaking outside of the perm box, if you will, of perm isn't just granny curls. It's permanent texture. So what does that look like for your client? Is it somebody who has curly hair here, but not up here? And getting it to just be all copacetic together. Is it elongating a curl pattern or, you know, rearranging a curl pattern? Is it giving someone a curl pattern so they can wash and go? So that's the texture creation. Second pillar is shape shifting. How are we supporting a haircut for curly textured hair? Because it's totally different than cutting straight hair. Absolutely. You have to cut three-dimensionally. You can't just hold it out with tension because that's when we cry. Because now it's gonna take nine years to grow our hair back. Right. And that too, these microaggressions of like, I get it. I get why hairdressers don't want to cut curly hair because they're like, the last time I did it, that person, you know, put a hex on me because I did it wet and pulled the hair, you know, like because yeah, there just isn't access to like, hey, this isn't harder. This is just different. And here's how we here's a straightforward approach to how to do it. And then the other part is styling and supporting it from, you know, for them at home through products. And how do we diffuse dry? What products do we use when and why? And how do we apply them? You know, it's was a foreign concept for a lot of stylists as I'm teaching them. Like, oh, you put curly hair products in wet. And they're like, oh my God, but how would they know? That feels crazy.

SPEAKER_04 6:20

That's true. There's so many people who like have curly hair themselves, yep, that don't know how to do it, and then they look to their professionals to be that guiding voice, and sometimes they don't even know.

SPEAKER_03 6:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 6:31

So it goes a long way. Like, we think it's like, oh, duh, like you do hair, you should know these things, but no, it's so different.

SPEAKER_03 6:38

When and how, unless they have curly hair themselves that they're leaning into, unless they have education that is like, you know, designed for curl texture support and all of its intricacies, like, there's so many opportunities that aren't aren't even beginning to be explored from the cosmetology level to regular brands. You know, it's like, oh yeah, we have some cool products thrown in into the arsenal, but it's like aerosol stuff, like things that you're like, huh? Not quite. No, you don't. Uh, you know, so it's yeah, we're I hope to be that brand more than just like, I knew the perm was just the start because that was a big part of it. How do we get texture to be easier for a client instead of trying to always erase it? I that's not my goal. I want somebody to be able to lean into it and to have an easier time with it at home and let texture make their hair easier. But how do we get now hairdressers on board to not think of doing curly and textured hair as a specialty, but as just another tool in their tool belt.

SPEAKER_02 7:46

This was just a taste of everything covered in our full episode. Keep the conversation going on Last Klein of the Day, now streaming wherever you get your podcast.