Only 10% of Women Love Their Curly Hair

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Photo: Getty Images

Today Dove Hair launched a new campaign called Love Your Curls. According to their data, one in three women in the US has curly hair—but you’d never know it. It’s easy to forget that A-listers like Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Hudson, and Taylor Swift all had gorgeous curls—and then they abandoned them, favoring sleek strands on camera, on stage, and on the red carpet. Straight has been deemed more desirable and more beautiful by the masses for about two decades, but why?

Related: Luxe Curly Hair Products Under $10

I’ve always had really curly hair, literally from day one. The lengths evolved over the years (even a short attempt at bangs, which turned out to be a major fail), but the constant was always tight dark curls. I grew up with only the men in my family having similar curls and hair texture. Meanwhile, the ladies in my life had no idea what they were dealing with. One grandmother often referred to my hair as a “rats nest” while she struggled to comb thru the curls and style them for special occasions.

Related: Curly Hair Essentials

Thankfully in recent years, there’s definitely been a curly hair movement as women ditch their straightening treatments in favor of their natural curls and trade in their flat irons for curling irons. So I was surprised by the new stats from Dove Hair that only 10% of women feel proud of the their curls and only 4 out of 10 curly-haired girls think their hair is beautiful. Dove Hair’s new video campaign aims to help women of all ages and cultures who are too afraid to show off the beautiful hair they were born with. Kudos to the brand for urging ladies to feel confident about their curls rather than cover them up, and giving them quality products—like their new Quench Absolute collection—to help them do so.

“Straight and sleek hair has often been considered the beauty ideal, but we were overwhelmed by just how many women in the US have curly hair and then, we began to see how emotionally charged the relationship with one’s curly hair can be,” Rob Candelino, VP of marketing for Unilever haircare, told Yahoo Beauty. “As Dove Hair, we have a responsibility to drive positive social change and The Love Your Curls campaign is intended to inspire all women to join us in making a difference. If women show the world just how much they love their curls, they will positively impact the next generation to do the same.”

Related: 100 Years of Black Beauty in Under a Minute

While I haven’t always known the best way to groom them or been frustrated when they don’t always cooperate, I like that my curls make me stand out. Now when I’m in the mood for a change I do go for the occasional blowout, and remember how my mom used to say “people pay a lot of money for those curls.” So young ladies out there: love your curls and embrace them. Not everyone can have them!

Check out Dove Hair’s new campaign below: