• Salon industry racial-inclusion activist and master colorist, Keya Neal, continues her mission to eliminate the deep-seated racial divide within the salon industry.

• Neal is providing stylists with crucial education crafted to fill in the gaps left by traditional cosmetology school through the Texture Vs Race Summit.

• Educators include Leysa Carrillo, Jin Bang, Gabrielle “Strawberricurls” Allen, Jamal Edmonds, and Kashonna Holland.

•  The Texture Vs Race Summit will take place from May 24th - 26th at the Turf Valley Resort in Maryland.

The first Texture Vs Race Summit was hosted in New Orleans in 2019. After a successful summit, the Texture Vs Race curriculum toured salons and cosmetology schools across the nation providing industry-leading education on cutting techniques and color formulation for textured hair, in addition to racial sensitivity and inclusion training.

The next Texture Vs Race Summit for 2021 will take place in the Turf Valley Resort in Maryland, from May 24th - 26th.

WELLA Company is the title sponsor for the event. Additional sponsors for the Texture Vs Race Summit include Framar, Joico, Alfaparf Milano, Pivot Point, Salon Centric, Redken, Mizani, Dudley Q, BeKekoa, Malibu C, Matrix, and Wondercurl. All sponsor brands will provide attendees with a trade-show-like experience in the newly formed Interactive Discovery Pod. The Interactive Discovery Pod will open the showroom floor to brand activations where attendees can acquire SWAG, additional digital education, and more information on the brand's products and mission.

The three-day summit will contain in-depth education and hands-on training on how to cut, shape, style, color, and formulate for the unique needs of the various hair types and textures present in the world. Even more importantly, attendees will be given a safe space to ask questions and learn more on the subject of racial issues and hair to help attendees gain a better understanding of the discrimination faced by their Black and non-white colleagues.

“It begins in the schools," says Neal. "Stylists receive next to no education on how to work on curly and textured hair. Instead, our education primarily focuses on techniques focusing on straight, finer hair. So now you have stylists with incomplete training who are unable to work with textured hair, shying away from it because of their lack of knowledge. Not only does this perpetuate the notion that curl and textured hair is 'hard' to work with, but it also affects clients who are turned away simply because of the hair that grows out of their head. That's not the client's fault! That's a sign that the institution failed to teach their students how to work with the various fabrics of hair."

For more information about the Texture Vs Race Summit and information on how to register, visit https://www.kolourkulture.com/tvr2021.