TRESemmé Announces Return of Future Stylists Fund to Help Advance the Professional Ambitions of Aspiring Black Hairstylists

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., Aug. 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Just in time for New York Fashion Week, TRESemmé is announcing the return of the TRESemmé Future Stylists Fund, an annual $100,000 scholarship program that was created to advance the careers of Black women aspiring to be professional hairstylists. The program is part of TRESemmé's three-tier action plan to elevate the Black community in beauty and fashion. As part of the Fund's second anniversary, TRESemmé is opening applications to the next class of stylists and will invest in continued education to equitable treatment of Black women in and out of the styling chair.

While the first year of the Future Stylists Fund focused on bringing diverse talent into the industry and increasing representation, for its second year, TRESemmé is expanding the program by bringing awareness to the education deficit within the industry.

"We know that Black women have been underrepresented in the haircare industry due to a number of systemic barriers and biases, whether they are sitting in the styling chair or standing behind it," said Esi Eggleston Bracey, EVP and COO Beauty and Personal Care at Unilever NA. "Our long term-goal is to achieve equity for Black women through representation and education, so that ultimately every woman regardless of her hair type or hair texture can receive quality haircare."

In 2020, TRESemmé conducted two national studies on textured hair biases, which uncovered that stylists lack education and training when it comes to styling and caring for textured, curly and coily hair types. The studies found that:

• An overwhelming number of Black women (86%) have reported challenges when it comes to consistent, quality haircare at salons, including difficulty finding a stylist who could care for their type/texture of hair and even outright discrimination or bias due to their hair type¹.
• Surveyed stylists agree that education is the top growth driver that would help them advance in their career (40%) and three in four stylists (75%) wish they had more training in how to style Black hair².

TRESemmé's expanded initiative intends to tackle the training gap by providing access to textured-focused training for hair professionals in the industry. Few cosmetology schools offer training in textured hair, and state licensing authorities rarely require it. That is why TRESemmé will be partnering with a textured hair expert to broaden access to education needed to properly train both new and tenured stylists on how to style and care for textured, curly, and coily hair types in their professional careers. The training program and educational curriculum will be made available to stylists in early 2022.

Future Stylists Fund Application
Starting today through Oct. 10, 2021, aspiring Black stylists interested in attending an accredited cosmetology school or who are currently enrolled in an accredited cosmetology school to become hair professionals can apply to the TRESemmé Future Stylists Fund at www.tresemmefuturestylistsfund.com.

TRESemmé will review submitted applications and select 10 recipients who will each receive the following benefits:

• Funding:$10,000 toward tuition to an accredited cosmetology school of their choice. Socioeconomic status is one element of systemic racism that holds many Black women back. TRESemmé aims to create opportunities for more aspiring Black stylists to earn their professional hairstylist license by offsetting the cost of formal training.
• Experiences: The brand will offer industry access and career-advancing opportunities to recipients, ranging from paid hairstyling gigs, exposure through TRESemmé brand channels, and coaching from members of the TRESemmé family. Black hairstylists face several challenges in the industry, from education to opportunity, so these experiences are another way to help break down barriers and foster meaningful career growth for the recipients.
• Exposure: Exclusive exposure through the TRESemmé channels and community, in addition to mentorship and development resources from members of the TRESemmé network.

A selection committee will review applications and help choose the 10 recipients. This year's powerhouse group of women are leaders in beauty, fashion and entertainment industries, known for their dedication to advancing women and advocating for diversity, equity and inclusion:

• Meagan Good, Actress, Director, Activist
• Lacy Redway, Unilever Global Stylist & Celebrity Hair Artist
• Nai'vasha, TRESemmé Stylist & Entrepreneur
• Sandrine Charles, Founder, Owner of Sandrine Charles Consulting and Co-Founder of the Black in Fashion Council
• Esi Eggleston Bracey, Chief Operating Officer, EVP Beauty and Personal Care at Unilever North America

New to the selection committee this year are celebrity hair stylists, Lacy Redway and Nai'vasha, and actress and activist, Meagan Good, to shed light on the real issues Black women face in the styling chair, even those in Hollywood.

"Every Black woman, even a famous actress, has experienced bias in the salon chair, whether that means we've been charged extra because of our hair type or received inadequate service by a professional inexperienced with textured hair," said Meagan Good. "I am so proud to team up with TRESemmé to ensure women – both stylists and those in their chairs – provide and receive superior service no matter their hair type or skin color."

To learn more about the TRESemmé Future Stylists Fund, keep up with applicants and other TRESemmé news, visit https://www.tresemme.com/us/en/about-us/future-stylists-fund.html or follow @Tresemme #TRESFUTUREFUND on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited. The TRESemmé Future Stylists Fund is sponsored by Conopco, Inc., d/b/a Unilever. Open to Black, female-identifying or gender non-binary legal residents of the 50 U.S. & D.C., 18 or older, who are currently enrolled in, have been accepted to, or are planning to enroll in (within 12 months of winner notification) an accredited cosmetology program with a focus on hair. Begins 9:00 a.m. ET on 8/24/21 & ends 11:59 p.m. ET on 10/10/21. For official rules, click here.

About Unilever North America
Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care, and Foods & Refreshment products, with sales in over 190 countries and products used by 2.5 billion people every day. We have 149,000 employees and generated sales of €50.7 billion in 2020. Over half of our footprint is in developing and emerging markets. We have around 400 brands found in homes all over the world. In the United States and Canada, the portfolio includes iconic brands such as: Dove, Knorr, Hellmann's, Lipton, Magnum, Axe, Degree, Dollar Shave Club, Q-tips, St. Ives, Suave, TRESemmé, and Vaseline.

Our vision is to be the global leader in sustainable business and to demonstrate how our purpose-led, future-fit business model drives superior performance. We have a long tradition of being a progressive, responsible business. It goes back to the days of our founder William Lever, who launched the world's first purposeful brand, Sunlight Soap, more than 100 years ago, and it's at the heart of how we run our company today.

The Unilever Compass, our sustainable business strategy, is set out to help us deliver superior performance and drive sustainable and responsible growth, while:

• improving the health of the planet;
• improving people's health, confidence and wellbeing; and
• contributing to a fairer and more socially inclusive world.

While there is still more to do, we are proud to have been recognized in 2020 as a sector leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and – for the tenth-consecutive year – as the top ranked company in the 2020 GlobeScan/SustainAbility Sustainability Leaders survey.

For more information on Unilever U.S. and its brands visit: www.unileverusa.com
For more information on Unilever Canada and its brands visit: www.unilever.ca 

¹ Results are based on a survey of 1000 Black women (ages 18+) in the United States. KRC Research fielded the survey from October 15 through 22, 2020.
² Results are based on a survey of 500 professional hair stylists who serve at least 50% women in the United States. KRC Research fielded the survey from October 15 through 27, 2020.

Contact: Asia Young, ayoung@webershandwick.com

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SOURCE TRESemmé