UN-RULY, a beauty platform dedicated to Black hair and women, has come together with iconic Black hair care brand, Dark & Lovely, to spark an overdue conversation about protective hairstyles with the release of their short film, Pretty Shouldn’t Hurt.
Protective hairstyles—a term used to refer to styles such as braids, weaves, twists, locs and wigs that keep one’s hair free from manipulation, are one of the fastest growing hair care categories among an estimated 80% of Black women* and have become a go-to choice for embracing personal style while encouraging growth and maintaining hair health. Today, however, with over an estimated one-third of Black women in the United States suffering from thinning around their hairlines, which can be caused by styles that place too much tension on one’s hair*, UN-RULY and Dark & Lovely are taking on the task of creating new standards in Black hairstyling practices.
Pretty Shouldn’t Hurt dives deep into the evolution of Black hairstyles, and serves as a starting point to a long-term initiative with Dark & Lovely, who recently launched their Protective Styles Collection to promote healthier looking hair during each phase of a protective style. The film shines a light on the potential damaging effects caused by these styles, and offers advice on what should be done to make the styles truly protective.
“We’ve grown up believing ‘the tighter the better’ when it comes to braided hairstyles,” says UN-RULY Co-Founder, Antonia Opiah. “As a result, today’s generation of Black women have seen their moms, aunts, grandmas and even friends lose their hairlines. We’re now setting out to reduce the rate of hair loss and thinning hairlines among Black women by bridging the K.A.P (Knowledge Attitudes and Practices) gap.”
UN-RULY is enlisting the support of 100 of the most vocal and influential players in the Black hairstyling industry, including experts featured in the film—natural hairstyling pioneer, Anu Prestonia, Board Certified Dermatologist, Dr. Crystal Aguh, Celebrity Hairstylist & Trichologist, Dr. Kari Williams, and Emmy-nominated celebrity stylist and Dark & Lovely Ambassador, Derick Monroe, to get behind the guidelines set forth in the film.
Promoting the importance of proper maintenance with the right products is an equally important part of the film’s objective, which makes the project’s partnership with Black hair care innovator Dark & Lovely, so timely. The four products in the brand’s Protective Styles Collection – a tension tamer, hair refresher, cleansing water, and detangling cream, are fortified with aloe vera and mint properties to relieve, refresh, and recover hair from a protective style making wearing one easier and more enjoyable.
“Dark & Lovely is rooted in a history of developing products that help Black people bring their creative hair vision to life,” explains Kristen Blandon, Vice President of Marketing at SoftSheen-Carson. “When we looked to launch a range of products to care for the beautiful protective styles we love to wear, we also knew that there was a need to promote better hair health and practices while looking fierce.”
“Pretty Shouldn’t Hurt: An Overdue Conversation About Protective Styles” premieres July 22nd at 7:00pm EST on YouTube.com/Hairunruled.
*As estimated through a recent national survey conducted by Un-ruly that aligns with anecdotal evidence from styling professionals and an estimate from a larger 2005 L’Oréal study that surveyed women in Central, South and West Africa, among other ethnicities.
ABOUT UN-RULY
UN-RULY was created to celebrate and inspire the versatility and beauty of Black hair and women. We take an in-and-out approach to beauty, looking at it on both a surface and profound level. We know that hair and beauty create experiences shared by women all over the globe, and so we ultimately aim to be a supportive community, stirring productive dialogue within the female and Black communities at large. For more information visit: Un-ruly.com
ABOUT DARK & LOVELY
Dark & Lovely is proudly dedicated to the legacy of serving hair care and styling the needs of African American Women for over 45 years. As a subsidiary of the L’Oreal USA Multi-Cultural Beauty Division, Dark & Lovely continues to unveil breakthrough hair innovations for people of color. For more information, visit DarkAndLovely.com