Growing up in a predominantly white area, my afro-textured hair has often been treated with deep caution, confusion and perhaps, at best, a bizarre curiosity – almost like I was an animal in a zoo.

People asking if they could “touch my hair” long after their fingers were already grasping my curls in fascination was a fairly common occurrence. Sometimes, they’d compare my hair texture with other Black people’s hair in the vicinity, surprised that our hair textures weren’t all the same.

So, whenever I’ve had my hair done within white spaces, I’ve experienced a lot of attitudes like this. Visiting the wrong hairdressers could be a strange, mentally draining experience. I’ve heard horror stories about Black women simply being turned away, with hairdressers admitting there would be nothing they could do for them. For the most part, whenever my hair has been in its natural curly state and not straightened, I’ve gone to Black-owned salons as it’s obvious that the average high street hairdresser would have no clue what to do with my hair.

Will the new rules requiring all hairdressers to cater to Black hair make a difference to Black women?