Storm Reid says she struggles to find stylists who can work with Black hair: 'It feels dehumanizing'

Storm Reid is disheartened by the lack of stylists who know how to work with Black hair.

The Euphoria star, 18, is currently working with the hair care brand Dark & Lovely, and spoke to People about how she struggled to find a stylist that knew how to “deal with Black hair.”

“In a way, it feels dehumanizing … when it's the time for your hair to look nice and there's nobody on set to be able to help you achieve that,” the actress explained. “They really just don't understand Black hair care. It's disheartening and it's heartbreaking.”

She shared that director Ava DuVernay, who she worked with on A Wrinkle In Time, was the first person who made sure that there was a head stylist on set — Kim Kimble — who knew how to care for Reid’s locks.

"I think that changed my life," Reid said. "It changed the way I saw that we can have these Black department heads really be there and take care of you."

Many Black actresses have spoken out about on-set stylists not knowing how to properly handle Black hair. In 2016, Viola Davis spoke with Essence about the frustrating issue.

“It’s very difficult when [stylists] don’t understand our hair. It’s almost like they need to be educated,” she explained. “I’ve reluctantly told them, ‘That’s not going to work,’ or, ‘You have to do that over,’ and they get offended because they think we’re saying that we’re different from them. We are different, but I’m not being offensive.”

Last September, Meagan Good told Us Weekly that she’s experienced this issue for “the past 25 years.”

“I’ve had some great experiences and it’s sad, in a way … it’s like before I get to a job — and I kid you not, even today — I’m holding my breath hoping that the person can do my hair,” she said. “And when I find out that they can, it’s like I can breathe.”