My Hair, My CROWN: A tool to help build hair confidence

Societal bias unfairly discriminates against race-based hair textures such as locks, coils, braids and protective hairstyles. Join us to confront this issue head on with our new educational tool for young people, created by the Dove Self-Esteem Project.

Sadly, many young Black people grow up experiencing hair discrimination and it doesn't stop at school. Black women are 1.5x more likely to be sent home from work because of their hair.* That – along with countless stories of hair discrimination nationwide – is why this curriculum was born. It is a commitment to explore the personal, social, cultural and economic significance of hair.

In Canada there are no laws to prevent race-based hair discrimination and there are also no laws that ensure hair salons, barbers, and beauty schools teach students how to care for natural, textured, afro, and curly hair. 

CROWN stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair. This tool is about creating an equitable and inclusive experience for Black women and girls’ hair as they confidently choose to style it. We’re taking our mission to uplift the next generation and inspire hair confidence with this educational tool. 

Introducing: My Hair, My CROWN

My Hair, My CROWN is a new free tool for educators, parents and mentors. It’s academically validated to boost hair confidence in kids with coils, curls, waves and protective styles, as well as build allyship in others to Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair. The resource was specially created for children aged 11–14, designed to target a key source of appearance pressure for young people – hair and hair culture.

How does it work?

My Hair, My CROWN is set flexibly across 90 minutes (live or remote). The session aims to provide young people with the space to self-identify, and share key confidence-impacting stereotypes and experiences related to hair and beauty. By showing how many beliefs and life experiences everyone has in common and exploring differences, the session leader will provide a safe and open environment to discuss how stereotypes, discrimination and experiences can affect self-esteem. Then, together the group will participate in exercises based on insights and tools that help combat hair-related appearance pressures.

Download the session now and join us in making a difference to young people everywhere. Together, we can help youth navigate and eliminate race-based hair discrimination for the next generation.

*Dove 2019 CROWN Research Study