It's 2023, and Black men are still being left out of mainstream grooming

The trek to Peckham for hair supplies is one Black people living in the capital know all too well. There, on the heaving shelves of your Sabina’s and Pak’s, are the durags, pomades and curl creams designed for Afro hair. As a beauty journalist with access to more haircare than most, it’s a trip I still regularly make – and for all the products I receive to review in the post, few are formulated with the needs of natural kinks and coils in mind.

When I speak to Mark Maciver, the barber behind some pretty famous fades (think Stormzy, Anthony Joshua and Lebron James) I’m disappointed but not surprised to learn that he’s a regular at Pak’s too. “To source Black men’s hair products, you have to go to these specialist places,” he says. And while he’s hopeful that mainstream stores are slowly shifting towards a representative range as standard, Pak’s is currently his only option for grooming gear that works.

That Black haircare is confined to shops in specific locales – Peckham one, bustling Brixton another – may be because it meets demographic demand in those areas. Maciver thinks it makes business sense, after all, to cater to Afro hair where there’s a market. But Black people live in areas beyond these multicultural hotspots. And Black people shop at major retailers all over the UK in which goods for straight hair types are routinely stocked. According to the Black Pound Report, a deep dive research piece on “the UK's Black, Asian and Multi-Ethnic consumer spending power”, we spend up to 58 per cent more on grooming and hair care than our counterparts. So why can we not conveniently find goods that meet our needs?

A big obstacle is getting retailers to understand that Black hair needs different products. Because, put simply, it’s different. “Afro-Caribbean hair falls under type 4 on the Andre Walker Hair Typing System, a classification for hair types developed in 1997,” says Dr Zayn Majeed, hair surgeon at Harley Street Hair Clinic. “Type 4 hair is characterised by kinky or coily hair. There are also subclassifications ranging from 4A to 4C, which further define hair type based on curl characteristics. 4A hair is tightly coiled with a very defined ‘o’ shape, 4B has more of a ‘z’ shaped pattern and 4C hair has a very tight ‘o’ shaped pattern.”

This coiled structure gives Afro hair its naturally voluminous, gravity-defying shape – and it’s a marvel. But it needs careful grooming. Majeed says that Black hair often has lower tensile strength (the extent to which the hair can stretch without breaking) than Caucasian hair due to “tight curls that cause torsions at many regions along the hair’s length.” And because it’s so textured, it also has a natural propensity for dryness and has difficulty retaining moisture, according to Jennie Roberts, Afro hair expert at Black-owned brand Shea Moisture. “This hair type is very fragile as each bend in the strand represents a point of weakness,” she says. “It needs lots of extra hydration to help with flexibility to stop breakage – therefore it requires much more moisturising products than straight hair.” Accessories like bonnets and durags made of satin or low friction fabrics are also key to reduce tangling, frizz and breakage – they line the shelves at Pak’s, but are harder to come by outside of specialist stores.

Maciver, who is working with a chemist to formulate his own range of Afro-friendly haircare, notes that many Black men also suffer from dry scalp conditions. “When we looked at the shampoos generally available in mainstream stores, most are formulated with stripping agents that are too harsh for [type 4] hair.” That means the mass market is largely unsuitable for Black men’s hair, which often requires nourishing products that can greasen up straight hair.

“Limited availability of textured hair products in convenience stores and lack of representation on supermarket shelves exacerbates the sense of exclusion and marginalisation for Black consumers,” says Jamelia Donaldson, CEO of subscription service Treasure Tress. She founded the brand in response to the lack of products for coily hair types. To her, the dearth of Black haircare in shops isn‘t just inconvenient – it’s a form of discrimination.

And hair discrimination is something many Black men are all too familiar with. Those with longer type 4 hair tend to opt for protective hairstyles such as cornrows, locs and braids – styles which help maintain hair health, offer manageability and crucially, preserve cultural identity. But historically, these styles have seen them face prejudicial policies everywhere from schools to the workplace and military.

In 2017, the BBC reported how 12-year-old Chikayzea Flanders was issued an ultimatum on his first day at Fulham Boys school: cut off his dreadlocks to comply with uniform policy, or face suspension. Refusing on the grounds that his locs were part of his Rastafarian beliefs, he was forced to study in isolation until his parents chose to transfer him to another school. After a legal case backed by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the school later revised its stance – but this is no outlier. Black boys routinely suffer this sort of discrimination through their education and later career. A 2022 study by Dove found that more than half of Black children had been sent home from school for their natural hair, while one in four Black adults have been sent home from work or faced disciplinary action as a result of wearing their hair in a natural or protective style.

And for those who keep things trimmed? Mark tells us Black men are best served by knowledgeable barbers, and tools tailored to their hair texture. “Cutting Afro hair, which is thicker and more tightly bunched up than straight hair, necessitates a clipper or trimmer with a more powerful motor. Often, tools designed to work for European hair are not good for Afro hair. And unfortunately, so many barbering courses do not teach Afro hair as standard – the education isn’t available. I get many DMs from barbers who say my videos have taught them more than they were able to learn from their training.”

The solution to a more inclusive grooming selection for Black men could be as simple as adding diverse products to existing store ranges. But when I reach out to buyers at key retailers on the topic, it’s hard to know: many decline to comment. “One of the challenges Black businesses have faced with stockists is there are very few black people making decisions, or people who can recognise the value of great Afro hair products,” says Roberts.

It’s a sentiment echoed by Donaldson, who found that UK retail buyers are relatively new to the Black haircare market, and thus have a limited understanding of the needs of its consumers. “Convincing buyers of the necessity of a broader range of products and educating them on the appropriate usage of these products presents a distinct challenge,” she says. “It is crucial to acknowledge that the lack of diversity within leadership teams, decision makers, and even junior buyers often creates a disconnect with the textured hair consumer.” When this isn’t addressed, she believes it shows up in poor advertising and insufficient marketing spend. So, even when products are available for the Black customer, they’re not visible enough to reach the intended audience. That reduces demand, perpetuating a cycle where retailers don’t see Black haircare as a worthwhile investment.

Nicole Crentsil is the Ghanaian-British entrepreneur and angel investor determined to see this change. “I became an investor in 2020 when it was apparent that the Black community was suffering,” she says. “It's about ensuring that the next generation of small Black businesses can thrive, grow and build with the correct investment and connections. Allyship is key – big corporations have a duty to ensure that they’re diversifying both their people and product ranges. It’s so important that we’re represented, not just in the fabric of society but in commercial and retail spaces too.”

Roberts lends her expertise to Shea Moisture – one of the first textured hair brands to secure shelf space in UK supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s and Waitrose – and is hopeful that change is on the horizon. “In the past it was very difficult to get good products from mainstream stockists, but I think that’s getting better.”

Founded in the wake of the 2020 George Floyd protests, the Black Pound Day marketplace offers an online directory of solely Black-owned brands. Devised to economically empower businesses that are underrepresented, it includes a list of where to shop all over the UK for Afro haircare products.

Could this solve the issue of inclusion in a market that seems to ignore Black men? The answer isn’t so clear cut. Buying from Black businesses pretty much guarantees products that are made with Black hair in mind. But it doesn’t quite address the segregated shopping experience. Plus, until more Black-owned brands are afforded the opportunity and platform that comes with mainstream stockist support, there is limited scope for them to grow in all-important areas like revenue and brand recognition.

Burgeoning brand Ruka Hair – whose hair extensions and products cater to 4C hair textures that have traditionally been the most underserved – is one of few that’s bucking the trend. It’s a brand Crentsil has invested in since its early stages, and in November 2022, it announced it would be stocked in Selfridges stores and online. Since, Ruka has had successful pop-ups in mega retailer Westfield, ads on prime time television and is setting a precedent for making Afro hair products available in premium spaces. It’s a massive first for Black women who have long existed in the niche and can finally experience the convenience of shopping mainstream. And while ranges for Black men are currently few and far between, news like this bodes well for what is possible.

“I want to be fair and say that Dior Couture SS23 stands as a momentous testament to the progress being made within the fashion industry,” says Donaldson, who believes the celebration of Afro hair on runways is a step in the right direction. And it’s not long before the hair industry follows suit. “We’re in a time when people are more willing to push things forward and supply for us. The mood is shifting,” says Maciver.

For his product line, which will launch with a nourishing shampoo and wave pomade, he’s got his sights set on a few stockists. Of course, there’s his barbershop Slider Cuts. Then, of course, there’s Pak’s. “Pak’s doesn’t have an issue with stocking diverse products,” he says. But I for one am hoping that Pak’s won’t be the only option, because the journey to representation in this industry has been long enough. We don’t need any more long haul trips.