Why Black Women Are Turning to Ulta Beauty Salons for Textured Hair Care
As navigating independent stylist policies and escalating service fees becomes more challenging, Black women are increasingly turning to Ulta Beauty salons. The shift follows years of work by textured hair expert Pekela Riley, who established enterprise-wide training across the retailer's locations.
Booking hair appointments has grown increasingly exhausting for many Black women dealing with sudden cancellations, nonrefundable deposits, and ever-expanding rules in independent salon suites. Faced with mounting costs and inconsistent scheduling experiences, an increasing number of consumers are taking to social media to share an alternative option: booking appointments at Ulta Beauty's retail salons.
According to an interview published by theGrio, the retailer's rising profile among textured hair clients stems directly from the work of award-winning hairstylist Pekela Riley. Riley, who is also the founder of hair brand True+Pure Texture, joined Ulta Beauty's Pro Team as a diversity strategist in 2018 to address the widespread absence of textured hair care in mainstream beauty chains.
Riley told theGrio that when she first partnered with Ulta, textured hair was largely invisible on marketing walls and missing from salon service menus. Noting that an estimated 65 percent of individuals across the United States have textured hair, Riley developed an enterprise-wide curriculum to train salon personnel on texture terminology, consultation practices, and specialized offerings such as silk presses. That educational framework remains a required component of Ulta's stylist training process.
In her conversation with theGrio, Riley explained that her core objective was ensuring Black women could enter retail beauty environments without feeling alienated, marginalized, or profiled. Riley noted that corporate retail salon settings provide institutional structure and accountability, giving clients formal recourse when service issues arise—a layer of governance often missing from private, unregulated salon suites.
However, Riley cautioned that experiences at Ulta locations still depend heavily on local staffing. She told theGrio that consumer expectations must remain realistic, explaining that while some metropolitan locations feature seasoned texture professionals, stores in states like Idaho may not have stylists equipped to install complex styles such as sew-ins.
Riley also emphasized that corporate salon offerings are not meant to displace independent Black hairstylists, who remain central to the culture and often launch their own independent brands after gaining salon experience. Ultimately, Riley told theGrio that a successful hair appointment depends on mutual respect, transparent communication, and aligned values between the stylist and the client, regardless of the setting.