The ‘Environmental Injustice of Beauty’: The Role That Pressure to Conform Plays In Use of Harmful Hair, Skin Products Among Women of Color

By Victoria St. Martin

ATLANTA–Perched in a stylist’s chair at Yaya’s Natural Hair Boutique, Akeyla Peele-Tembong teared up as she recalled how, when she was a college student, one of her professors suggested that she straighten her natural hair to improve her chances of landing a plum work-study job.