Hair At Work Study confirms that even though Black women’s hair is the most judged in the workplace, they’re the most hair confident

(Black PR Wire) CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- There is no doubt that Black women feel they need to be more conscious about their hair in the workplace compared to white women, whether the perception of their hair is a result of their environment or self-imposed judgment. Fact: 93% of Black women surveyed in the new Hair At Work Study by Royal Oils from Head & Shoulders and Gold Series from Pantene have encountered microaggressions about their hair in the workplace. “Is that your real hair?” is the most common comment, with 66% of Black women saying they have heard this at work.

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While Black women are most likely to feel that their hair has been judged in the workplace, 80% of Black women are confident in how they wear their hair. In fact, they’re the most confident of all the female race/ethnicities surveyed (among White, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, Native American, mixed race and other) and more confident than Black men. This finding signifies that while Black women feel some work environments don’t understand or appreciate their hair, they’re not letting it stop them. Period. For many women of African Ancestry, having the confidence in your hair comes from the pride and joy you have in your heritage. As brands passionate about creating products rooted in science for people of color, it’s important for Royal Oils and Gold Series to create more options for people to wear their hair confidently, no matter how they want to wear it.

“As one of the Black scientists behind Royal Oils and Gold Series, I’m excited to see us continue to empower women to confidently embrace their textures. We’re no longer conforming to a litany of societal expectations and impositions; we are reshaping the beauty norms and making way for healthy curls, coils and kinks to be center stage,” said Dr. Rolanda Wilkerson, Principal Scientist of P&G Beauty. “Our new challenge is to help her find the right solutions to care for her hair, so she can unapologetically embrace and express the hairstyle she chooses wherever she works.”

“Regardless of the significant progress Black women have made as we take on more and more leadership roles, our hair continues to be judged in the workplace,” said Lela Coffey, P&G Multicultural Beauty Brand Director. “For far too long, women of African Ancestry have felt that they couldn’t bring their full selves to the professional world, which, unfortunately, still imposes a generic standard of beauty on all women. Regardless, we, as Black women, persevere and find our own confidence to be our true, authentic selves each and every day.”

The Royal Oils and Gold Series team of Black hair experts understands African Ancestry hair and has your back to help you unapologetically #WorkYourTexture wherever you work. The release of the Hair At Work Study follows the recent launch of new Royal Oils and Gold Series products to empower her to confidently wear her hair at work, whether it’s braids, curls, straight or in a protective style. The new Royal Oils products include the Water Activated Scalp Scrub, Pre-Shampoo Build Up Remover, and Seal & Prep Moisture Milk. The new Gold Series products include the Curl Awakening Spray, Triple Care Braid Cream, Instant Nourishing Spray and Split Ends Treatment. For more information, visit http://www.headandshoulders.com/en-us/the-royal-oils-collection and http://pantene.com/en-us/gold-series-collection.

Key Findings

The Hair At Work Study surveyed more than 3,000 women and men ages 18-54 in the United States who have been employed (full time, part-time, or internship) in the last three years. The study measured Black and general population men’s and women’s biases of hair in the workplace. Royal Oils and Gold Series are excited to continue to invest further in their commitments to helping Black women wear their hair however they want, confidently at work. We found:

• Black women who work in hospital and lab settings were more likely to report not being comfortable with experimenting with their hair and feeling more judged in the workplace than those in retail/storefront, school, outdoors, or factory settings.
• Black women who wear their hair natural are 23% more likely to experience hair judgment at work than women who relax or chemically straighten their hair.
• Black women are 70% more likely to change their hair for their LinkedIn profile headshot than the general population of women.
• 93% of Black women office workers have heard a microaggression about their hair at work.
• Even though braids were ranked the 2nd most popular hairstyle for Black women, they don’t see it as a professional hairstyle.
• Over half of Black women who work in offices admit to changing their hair from their everyday hairstyles for an important meeting or interview.
• Nearly one-third of Black women who work in an office setting feel that their hair has been judged in the workplace.
• Black women office workers are less likely to “feel like they can wear their hair however they want in the workplace” than most other work settings (i.e., retail/storefront, school, outdoors, factory)

Celebrating Hair Confidence

As part of Royal Oils’ and Gold Series’ commitments to celebrating women’s hair confidence, they are accepting entries for the Crowns of Heritage Sweepstakes. Participants can win an eight-day cultural immersion trip to enjoy the culture and beauty of Accra, Ghana for two. The sweepstakes ends at 5:00 p.m. ET on April 30, 2020. The Sweepstakes is only open to legal residents of the 50 states of the United States and the District of Columbia, who are 18 years of age or older as of the last day of the month prior to the date of entry. For more information, visit http://crownsofheritage.com/.

About Royal Oils from Head & Shoulders

Developed specifically for Black hair by a team of Black scientists, Royal Oils from Head & Shoulders provides expertly designed scalp relief and luxuriously moisturized hair for all natural, relaxed, curly and coily crowns.

About Gold Series from Pantene

Gold Series from Pantene Collection is a breakthrough line designed to provide strength and moisture for women with relaxed, natural, or transitioning hair. This superior care and styling line was co-created with scientists, stylists, and dermatologists who understand the unique needs of textured hair. Each product in the Gold Series collection is powered by Pro-V blends and protective conditioning and repair agents formulated to work together to improve moisture, strength, elasticity, smoothness, and shine.

About Procter & Gamble

P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands.

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