The Curl Gap: When Beauty Standards Ignore Science
Most hair products are still not tested on textured hair.
As Tracee Ellis Ross points out, this isn’t just a cosmetic oversight—it’s systemic erasure. The natural hair movement redefined beauty norms, yet Black consumers still navigate a beauty aisle not built for them.
Despite the explosion of natural haircare brands and visibility, testing standards still favor Eurocentric hair textures.
Brands conduct instrumental product testing to determine the efficiency of their products.
Kinky, curly, and coily hair types were eliminated from hair testing.
Testing labs stopped hair testing on tighter hair textures because the equipment wasn’t built to handle more diverse ethnic hair types.
Why it matters
Ross states “
