Dove's new campaign says all types of hair are 'beautiful'
What is the definition of beautiful hair?
That's what Dove's latest campaign, #LoveYourHair, is digging into.
The initiative, which launched Thursday morning, aims to showcase women of different shapes, sizes and colors, and to urge them to wear their hair how they want, whenever they want to.
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"I grew up thinking I couldn't be blonde because Asians just didn't do that," says one woman named Sable Yong, in the video.
"A friend once told me if I put color back in my hair it would make me look better," another said.
They are a part of a study by Dove Hair conducted by Edelman Intelligence, which found 86% of women in the U.S. believe that society and media has put immense pressure on them to look a certain way.
And it's difficult not to empathize with them.
From a woman with pink hair being stiffed on tips for having pink hair, to reports of some schools threatening to expel students with Afro hair-dos, hair has been at the forefront of the beauty conversation.
Even a cursory search for "beautiful hair" on Google Image search, returns one specific type, a style that belong to white women.
"We're a brand that for more than 10 years has worked to change the conversation around beauty and ensure it is a source of confidence, and not anxiety, for women," said Rob Candelino, Unilever's VP of marketing and general manager of hair care, to Mashable.
"We believe it's incredibly important to continue serving as this champion as it specifically relates to women's relationships with their hair."
Yong said she was drawn to participate because she felt there was a complete lack of representation for her hair type.
"Theres always been this narrow depiction of what constitutes 'beautiful' hair and mostly completely lacking in diversity," she told Mashable. "There's a fear of deviating from that 'beautiful hair' norm because we'll be judged negatively, not taken seriously..."
Whatever concept of "beautiful hair" currently exists, these women are proving that letting their locks loose is the most empowering thing they could do.
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David joined the Mashable team as its first fashion hire. He's written for the Wall Street Journal, Elle, GQ, Harper's Bazaar, Esquire, Details, Nylon, Refinery29, Fashionista, and covered the men's market at Women's Wear Daily. David has appeared on E!, Vh1, the Style network, and was a stylist at Capitol records.
