PK brings unapologetic texture & black culture to Ulta Beauty

“I see PK on the gram doing her thing with Ulta Beauty, traveling from coast to coast…but ummm WHAT IN THE WORLD IS PEKELA DOING AGAIN?” Lol

Since I left from behind the salon chair over a year ago, pivoting on a leap of faith to pursue elevated opportunities within the greater world of hair, many know I work extensively with Ulta Beauty – but are somewhat confused as to what I do.

So, what do I do?

I BRING ULTA BEAUTY UNAPOLOGETIC TEXTURE AND BLACK CULTURE

I personally know sisters who’ve cried after leaving a salon inside a mainstream beauty chain, because they were turned down and told “We can’t do your hair.”

Shocked and embarrassed, these sisters ask “Why can’t you do my hair? The uneducated reply from a “licensed hairstylist” is often “Because we can’t do that type of hair.”

So, you mean to tell me, when a black woman walks into a national salon with big curly hair and texture, there’s a shutdown in service because nobody in the salon knows what to do with it?

This would be the equivalent to walking into a hospital or clinic full of doctors, and not being seen because they don’t know how to treat anyone with your skin complexion.

Yes…it’s that absurd, offensive, disrespectful, hurtful and shaming. This pain point has existed for far too long in the beauty space – and I’ve found it my new career calling to change it.

Beauty and Hair World…understanding black hair and texture is SOMETHING YOU NEED TO KNOW!

Salute to Ulta Beauty for recognizing this transformation desperately needs to happen in the industry. In this exclusive Q&A I’ll share with you the significant impact I’m seeking to have as its very 1st African-American female Ulta Beauty Pro Member.

What is your role as an Ulta Beauty Pro Member?

My role with Ulta Beauty bridges across several areas of expertise. I’m in a cohesive contributor role to artistically create the aesthetics for beauty images with the marketing team. One of the core focuses includes styling and showcasing beautiful, authentic and unapologetic texture on women of color. These are the very images that show up to the world that we will now see in any of the 1,000+ Ulta Beauty stores – behind the register, down the aisles, on the windows – in addition to national ads.

I also represent an inclusive area of styling and education for the in-store salons that hasn’t been focused on. I’m a core contributor to the company wide regimen for what texture diverse skill sets and education looks like for the Ulta Beauty stylist.

This involves designing process for creating clarity, normalcy, etiquette, comfort and high quality 360 degree servicing for texture and black women consumers. The goal is to do this to such an empowering extent – black women soon can walk into any Ulta Beauty and be serviced, regardless of the stylist’s race.

How does this role further lean into Diversity & Inclusion?

You don’t have true inclusiveness without texture. Texture is the aesthetic. If you don’t have education on texture or imagery for it, how inclusive is your culture?

Kudos to Ulta for stepping up and committing resources to make this happen. However, even with such commitments, our society and even leading companies championing D&I have a long way to go.

Many black professionals find ourselves to be a 1st in new spaces we occupy, where we in some humbling way exist as the Jackie Robinson for that league or profession – that has failed to accurately represent us, how we show up and show out in the real world. In these roles we are in a sense pioneers, because we are a voice for the voiceless.

I find myself in this same space, and seek to create a newfound level of diversity and inclusion, along with appreciation for showcasing unapologetically black texture and culture on a world stage.

Why is there a lack of diversity & inclusion in beauty? 

To answer this, all we have to do is look back at our history books, or more so what was left out of them. The lack of diversity and inclusion in beauty goes back to the systemic history of elitism, racism & discrimination. This includes the classism & hierarchy of beauty, which I believe is not natural – it’s programmed and taught. We’re now moving into a space of undoing these biases.

What are the solutions you’re bringing to the table to fix these systemic biases?

As a conveyor of unapologetic texture and the understanding of aesthetics across the full texture spectrum, one of the most radical things I can do is simply be myself. The danger in these spaces where beauty decisions are made and projected to the mainstream at large, is not being your true self within your platform – which for me unapologetically celebrates black hair and black culture.

Speaking up is also very important, as my role is beyond just touching hair or wowing people on Instagram. It’s about real representation! When intent is genuine, you can always successfully discover the best solutions through honest conversation – and you can be unapologetic in this space.

My responsibility is also to ensure Ulta fulfills its progressive brand intent by presenting texture from a sincere place, to prevent any imaging or messaging from coming across as token, superficial, or pawns of trend.

I am that eye for people who aren’t present, and the voice for those voiceless in beauty, history and trends for all people of color – but disproportionately BLACK PEOPLE…PERIOD!

How has your 20yr career prepared you for this role?

It’s given me a better sense of self. These spaces of transformative diversity and inclusion, even in beauty, require a certain level of knowingness, self-confidence, and self-acceptance to navigate as a black person in a predominantly white space. This occurs through experience, as there’s no class that really prepares you, and I’m still learning myself.

I’ve also been prepared through the diversity in clientele I’ve had throughout my entire career, as I’ve styled hair for every single texture type on women from all different races. At Salon PK we’ve always prided ourselves on being able to style both straight and curly texture. To us, it’s like being bilingual!

My diversity in clientele has also included various professions, diverse lifestyles, different backgrounds, and a multitude of personality types and value systems. What’s interesting is I’ve discovered the biggest diversity in people is not how we look, or certainly not how our hair is, but our value systems.

So, at Ulta I’m educating people on the micro-diversity of black women with texture and diverse value sets. The value system of appreciating our uniqueness, having our voice heard, and being given space. This covers everything from understanding how to do a color twist-out on 4C hair – to not having a black model crying on set because she’s always the last to shoot. I want to ensure the culture we’re presenting on the poster is reflective on set and in-salon.

What impact will your contributions have on the Ulta Brand?

In essence I’m seeking to normalize texture, along with the diverse value sets and beauty of black women.

Any entity that becomes a true mirror of society and beauty is revolution in and of itself. Ulta has taken a strong leap with its elevated intent and commitment to multicultural texture – and I want to leverage upon this commitment to shatter the industry glass, to create unapologetic and unprecedented normalcy.

It shouldn’t be a shock and awe moment or statement to see a black woman with beautifully styled natural hair. It’s also not about the intricacies of the hairstyle, which also requires me to check my master stylist ego. In bringing Ulta this new service set for texture, I also have to be true to what can be achieved with Ulta Beauty’s offerings at this level of service.

This isn’t a runway – this is a lifestyle for the everyday woman to find herself in this store. If you can find yourself in a beauty story, it has to inspire your life in some powerful way. I understand the impact of not seeing these images growing up, and today I know the power of being inspired by them.