Pantene has teamed up with Black Minds Matter and Project Embrace in a new campaign, ‘My Hair Won’t Be Silenced’, to help end discrimination against Afro hair in the UK. The campaign launches as new research by Pantene reveals that 93% of Black people with Afro hair have experienced microaggressions related to their hair, while only 7% of people without Afro hair are able to identify common microaggressions.
Focused on increasing awareness and education around unspoken hair bias, Pantene is working towards a goal of 50% reduction in hair discrimination in the UK by 2025, beginning with this campaign. Here, Champion Boxer and Pantene Gold Series ambassador, Ramla Ali and Black Minds Matter UK co-founder, Agnes Mwakatuma tell Grazia about their own hair journeys.
On Hair Acceptance
'I never liked my hair growing up,’ says Ramla, who moved from Somalia to Kenya during the Civil War in the '90s before residing here in the UK. ‘All I saw on television were women with silky, straight hair advertising shampoos under a waterfall, doing that flip, flop thing before it fell straight. That’s all I wanted - that flip, flop straight hair. I’d ask my sisters to straighten my hair for me and I once persuaded my mum to chemically straighten it which caused so much damage, the ends were all broken.’
The media's lack of representation also had a big impact on Agnes. ‘I grew up always wearing braids and then when I went to secondary school, I had my hair relaxed because that’s all I ever saw on television. It’s only until recently, when I started having therapy, that I’ve been able to feel comfortable having natural hair.’
For Ramla, the turning point was on set for a cover shoot. ‘The stylist started braiding my hair as the magazine editor walked past and said “no, no, we can’t put this hair in braids, it’s got be out” and so it was out. There were five other girls on the cover, but my hair stood so proudly, right in the middle, and I think that’s when I first fell in love with my hair.’ Now, Ramla describes her hair as 'big, bouncy and full of life - it's just the hair that can't be tamed.'
On Hair Discrimination
‘The fact that only 7% of respondents [in the Pantene survey] without Afro hair are aware of what microaggressions are is really quite shocking when 93% of respondents with Afro hair have experienced microaggressions in the UK,’ says Agnes. ‘It’s just sad that people are unaware or don’t think it’s a big deal when over 50% of people say that hair discrimination has affected their mental health – it’s about time we start listening.’
‘There’s one situation that stands out in particular,' says Ramla, 'when I was in primary school and it was picture day. I put on my best dress, my mum woke up early to braid my hair and made sure it looked nice. As the girls came up to the photographer, one by one, she would say the same line “oh my gosh, look at you, you’re such a beautiful princess”. When it was eventually my turn to go up, I was expecting to be called a princess but instead I got “aren’t you just so very smiley, say cheese”. I was so hurt, it really upset me for that day and many days to come – I think that’s why I never truly loved my hair, as in order to be a princess I needed to have straight hair like all the other girls.’
‘It’s incidents like these that build up and can change your relationship with your hair,’ adds Agnes. Uninvited hair touching was reported as one of the most common types of microaggressions, experienced by nearly half (46%) of the respondents. ‘In that situation, which has happened to me, it feels like that person doesn’t respect or value you as if they did, they wouldn’t cross that boundary and touch you without your consent – whether that’s your hair or your body.’
Ramla seconds this, ‘People always try to mask it as positive thing and say “your hair is amazing” while touching it. This is a part of me, it’s part of my body – you shouldn’t touch my hair without receiving my consent. And when I wear my hair out, it’s such an occasion and I don’t want it to be touched as a lot of time and effort has gone into styling it.’
.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
On Microaggressions And Mental Health
‘When you’re Black and you’ve been on this earth for two decades, all of those microaggressions accumulate and can cause low self-esteem, anxiety and depression. Which is why, we’re so grateful to be a part of this campaign because not only have Pantene added to the very little amount of research that we have for Black people around mental health in the UK, but they’re also shedding light on a lot of issues that people are unaware of,’ says Agnes.
‘The relationship between mental health and microaggressions is something that we deal with a lot at BMM (Black Minds Matter) – people seek out therapy for things that occurred in the past and they often relate to microaggressions. It can take one comment for a child to change their behaviour, followed by years of work to unlearn that behaviour, learning to love yourself instead.’
On ‘My Hair Won’t Be Silenced Campaign’
‘This campaign is so important and has come at the right time,’ says Ramla, ‘it really highlights a lot of the issues that the Black community are being faced with.’ Agnes agrees, ‘It’s so important because Pantene are actually committed to reducing hair discrimination by half in the next five years. We wanted to join forces with Pantene to not only reduce microaggressions but to also positively impact Black people’s mental health.’
As a result of the campaign, Agnes would like everyone to become better educated on microaggressions and to understand the power and beauty of Black people and their hair. ‘I’d like there to be more talk of brands representing Black women in a positive light and providing products for all Black women. What I love about the Pantene Gold Series is that the products are for natural hair as well as transitioning hair – which is a challenging period where many Black women give up because there just aren’t enough products out there.’
Both Ramla and Agnes would love to see something akin to The CROWN Act (an acronym for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair), a new law in the US which prohibits discrimination based on hair style and hair texture, over here in the UK. ‘It would be phenomenal,’ says Agnes, ‘Pantene have been working towards this for some time and I know Emma Dabiri has been working towards making hair a part of the Equality Act. It would be an incredible step in the right direction – we just need more people on board to add more momentum.’
Watch: 'My Hair Won't Be Silent' Campaign Film
On Important Life Lessons And Advice For Others
Champion Boxer, Ramla began boxing from the age of 12 where she fell in love with the sport at a boxercise class at her local leisure centre. She then signed up to a boxing gym close to home which she kept a secret from her family for 10 years. ‘I grew up in a strict African and Muslim family, where sport was never considered a career choice. If I was ever to tell my mum, I knew she’d think of it as a distraction from my studies.’ Her parents eventually found out after her brother saw Ramla on a televised all-female Boxing show. ‘Firstly, they weren’t happy I deceived them for so long and secondly, they weren’t happy I was boxing.’ Despite this, Ramla persevered and her parents eventually accepted it and are now extremely proud of her. ‘If you have a dream and ambition, you need to do whatever it takes to fulfil it.’
Now a role model to so many, Ramla’s best advice is, ‘be your own hero. Growing up I didn’t see other female boxers or people who looked like me on TV – so I had to step up and be my own hero. Don’t be afraid to be yourself and stand up for what you believe in.’
READ MORE: Join Us In The Fight To Eradicate Hair Discrimination