It's Time for Change: Curl Education BELONGS in Cosmetology Schools

Have you ever walked out of a salon feeling frustrated, unheard, or downright devastated because your wavy, curly, coily, or kinky hair was misunderstood—or worse, mishandled? If you’re nodding your head, you’re not alone. I’ve been there too. As a wavy-haired client and now a Curl Specialist behind the chair, I’ve seen—and felt—the emotional toll this takes.

So many stylists want to do better. But here's the truth: the education simply isn’t there.

Ask any stylist—most will tell you they received little to no training on how to cut, color, or style naturally textured hair during cosmetology school. Why? Because...

👉🏽 The chapter on curls DOESN’T EXIST in the textbooks.

Yes. You read that right. Over 65% of the world’s population has a natural curl pattern—and yet, the foundational education for Hair Stylists still centers on straight hair and blowouts. It assumes people with curly hair want it “smoothed out.” That could not be further from the truth.

It’s time we change that narrative.

Cosmetology students deserve to be taught how to celebrate, not “fix,” natural texture. Clients deserve to feel seen, heard, and beautifully themselves in the salon chair. We can’t keep graduating new stylists into the world without the full skillset they need to serve ALL hair types—especially when curly hair is so prevalent.

Stylists are spending their own time and money post-graduation to learn curl-specific education—because they have to. This training should not be an optional add-on. It should be baked into the foundation of beauty education, from Day One.

That’s why I created this petition—to demand that curl-specific education becomes a core part of cosmetology programming and textbooks across the board. We’re talking:

✨ Wavy
✨ Curly
✨ Coily
✨ Kinky
✨ AND every beautiful curl pattern in between.

If you’ve ever been affected by a bad haircut due to curl ignorance...
If you’re a stylist who felt unprepared to serve your curly-haired clients...
If you believe that all hair types deserve equal respect and education...

SIGN THIS PETITION. SHARE IT. BE PART OF THE MOVEMENT.

This is more than hair. It’s about representation. It’s about inclusivity. It’s about healing years of damage done by a one-size-fits-all beauty standard—and making sure the next generation of stylists does better.

Let’s demand better training. Let’s shape the future of beauty.

With love & curls,
💛 Krista Leavitt
Curl Specialist & Advocate for Textured Hair Education