Dove Hair Calls for an Expanded View of ‘Beautiful Hair’

8 out of 10 US women feel pressured to wear their hair a certain way¹

PR Newswire, ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., April 21, 2016
There are traditional standards of what “beautiful hair” looks like and they tend to be narrow and homogenous. According to a new study commissioned by Dove Hair, these standards and ideals put pressure on women to have hair that looks a certain way, and often leaves them feeling as though their own hair is not beautiful. In fact, Dove Hair found that only 11% of women love everything about their hair and wouldn’t change anything about it.¹

The Dove Hair study also uncovered that 86% of US women believe media and society put a lot of pressure on women to have hair that looks a certain way¹, adding that most women (81%) feel the hair we see in advertisements and in the media makes women in general feel bad about the hair they have.¹

To alleviate women from these pressures, Dove Hair is announcing the launch of its #LoveYourHair campaign and film - a challenge to conventional beauty norms and a reminder that beautiful hair is not singularly defined, instead it is an expression of self that should make women feel beautiful and confident. As part of #LoveYourHair, the brand will showcase and celebrate all hair types, textures, styles, and colors. In doing so, Dove Hair aims to broaden the definition of beautiful hair to ensure hair is a source of confidence that pushes women forward and never holds them back.

The film, which showcases the stories of real women who wear their hair how they choose, regardless of external pressures that may have told them otherwise, aims to inspire more women to do the same. Dove Hair believes nothing should dictate the way a woman expresses herself and knows women are craving relief from external pressures. In fact, 90% of women agree that it would be great if all women decided to love their hair and celebrate it.¹ Throughout the campaign, Dove Hair is inviting women to show the world how their own, unique hair makes them feel beautiful using the hashtag #LoveYourHair.

Dove Hair calls for an expanded view of ‘beautiful hair’ #LoveYouHair Tweet

“Our research indicated that the vast majority of women don’t actually love their hair, and most feel tremendous pressure to conform to societal beauty norms. This was heartbreaking to us,” said Rob Candelino, Unilever VP of Marketing and General Manager of Hair Care. “Dove believes that all women are beautiful. We work to help women see their hair as a source of confidence that never holds them back. The Dove #LoveYourHair initiative is designed to celebrate all the wonderful, real life stories of women who choose to quiet these outside pressures and wear their hair the way they themselves feel most beautiful and confident.”

Dove Hair is also working with Elizabeth Benedict, editor of “Me, My Hair, and I: Twenty-seven Women Untangle an Obsession,” to decode the relationship women have with their hair, and to further understand the impact it has on women’s’ lives and self-esteem. “I’m thrilled to be part of the Love Your Hair campaign because it fits perfectly with what I’ve learned talking to women across the country about hair. We need to love our hair and ourselves more and those two things are intrinsically connected.” said Benedict.

Show us how your hair makes you feel beautiful via the hashtag #LoveYourHair, and view the film here.

Stay tuned for more news on how Dove is inspiring women to change the definition of beautiful hair later this spring by following us @Dove on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.