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The Science Behind Curly Hair [Sponsored]
Research at the intersection of science and beauty is providing us with a better understanding of hair diversity.
This podcast was produced for L’Oréal by Scientific American Custom Media, a division separate from the magazine’s board of editors.
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May 30, 2024
10 min read
The Science Behind Curly Hair
Research at the intersection of science and beauty is providing us with a better understanding of hair diversity
Scientific American Custom Media
[Three images of red, black and blonde curly hair]
L’Oréal
[Scientific American Custom Media Logo]
This podcast was produced for L’Oréal Groupe by Scientific American Custom Media, a division separate from the magazine’s board of editors.
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Whether your hair is curly, straight or something in between, it’s probably as unique as you are. So why don’t haircare products reflect that diversity? A team at L’Oréal is working to change that by digging into the science of what makes your hair special.
Scientific American Custom Media recently sat down with Sanford Browne, President of Research and Innovation at L’Oréal North America, and Janet Wangari-Olivero, Assistant Vice President of Advanced Research at L’Oréal North America, to learn more about their work.
Megan Hall: Sanford and Janet, I’m so excited to have you both here today. Thank you for joining me.
Sanford Browne: Great to be here.
Janet Wangari-Olivero: Thank you for having us.
Megan Hall: So before we talk about this particular research related to curly hair, Sanford, I’m wondering if you can just give me a sense of the role of research overall at L’Oréal. I think a lot of people would be surprised to hear a company like yours would be involved in science research. So give us a sense of what you’re doing over there.
Sanford Browne: Yeah, so L’Oréal was actually founded by a chemist 115 years ago. He created, amongst other things, the first safe hair color. And really since that moment in time, science and innovation has been at the very heart of what we do at L’Oréal. We’re always pushing to discover new areas, discover new frontiers, and to create really the most desirable solutions and aspirations for consumers worldwide.
Megan Hall: And how do you design that research to be culturally inclusive?
Sanford Browne: Well, beauty first and foremost is an essential need. It’s been there since the start of time. It’s a social need. It’s how we interact with others, but it also reflects society. And today, if you look in the US, we’re becoming a majority–minority nation, and that’s why it’s really important that we understand, very much so, what is the same and what is different when we’re talking about consumers, because they want beauty — not a one size fits all — they want beauty that’s really designed for each individual. They want to have their best self go forward. And that’s why we invest so much in terms of really understanding the fundamentals of skin, scalp, hair, what’s different, what’s the same, and be able to create solutions that go beyond what they’ve ever experienced before.
Megan Hall: Now Janet, you’re the researcher here. So let’s dig into the specific topic for today, which is curly hair. So just on a really basic level, can you explain how curly hair is different and similar to straight hair?
Janet Wangari-Olivero: So curly hair and straight hair have differences, and they also have similarities. Both curly and straight hair are made up of the same amino acids, which indicate that they have similar building blocks. However, they have some differences. Curly hair differs in the shape and the structure from the root to the appearance of the cuticle. When we think about the difference in the roots of the hair, we think about the bulb and there is a difference in the hair shape in that the curly hair has more of a C-like morphology, while straight hair is more like a rice grain. When we also think about the appearance of the hair shaft itself, there are differences between the curly hair and the straight hair. The keratin molecules are arranged differently. When we think about straight hair, the straight hair keratin molecules are arranged almost in a donut-like manner, where you have an inner core that is surrounded by the cellular material. However, when we think about curly hair, it has more of a sandwich-like structure of the cellular material, which leads to its unique shape and unique needs.
Megan Hall: Can you give me a sense of the range of all the different types of curly hair that are out there?
Janet Wangari-Olivero: Oh, yes. Curly hair exists on a spectrum, and it ranges from loose waves to tight curls, highlighting the broad diversity within the curly hair types.
Megan Hall: Let’s talk broadly about inclusivity. What happens when someone isn’t trained appropriately to take care of someone with curly hair?
Janet Wangari-Olivero: So one of the key things that we hear about from our consumers with curly hair is the concept of hair trauma. And these are the experiences that they face when they engage with stylists who lack sufficient skills and training on how to address the needs of textured hair. We find that incorrect styling or the incorrect products can lead to damage, breakage, the loss of hair integrity, underscoring the need for proper education and product usage. We hear this all the time, an estimated 65% of the US population has curly, coily or wavy hair, yet many consumers with textured hair report not having equitable access to professionally trained, licensed stylists with the skillsets and experience to provide service on their hair type. And this is why with our Texture of Change initiative, we are leading the change with our commitment to transform the professional beauty industry through equitable access to textured hair education, partnering with the professional beauty association to form the Texture Education Collective.
Megan Hall: So this happens whether you go to a salon where they don’t know how to treat curly hair or if you use the wrong product?
Janet Wangari-Olivero: Absolutely. And this is why it’s very important to ensure that the science not only translates to the products that are being made, but that also stylists have the right training to be able to treat the unique hairstyles of the consumers that come to them.
Megan Hall: So what is L’Oréal doing to get a more nuanced understanding of all of the hair types that exist out there?
Janet Wangari-Olivero: In 2021, we launched a global typology study to reach all people in their infinite diversity and connect deeply with each individual in real life. We conducted this study in seven countries that represent almost 50% of the world’s population, whether it’s among all genders, skin types, hair types or origins, to truly characterize their hair and skin worldwide, performed on over 15,000 consumers. This unique data set will help us to be more precise in meeting our consumers’ expectations worldwide. And until recently, ethnic origin was used to classify the world’s different hair types. We classified the hair as Asian, African or Caucasian. Today, we are more inclusive than ever because we’re moving away from this ethnic characterization to a more typological scale, using a I-VIII scale that’s classifying hair according to precise measurements of their morphological attributes of the hair fiber. And this allows us to address the different hair tensions and needs in specific beauty routines for different consumers.
Megan Hall: And I understand you’re investing a lot of research into two particular curly hair types. Tell me more about those types and what you’re learning.
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