Antonia Gentry wants to “embrace” her natural curls after years of feeling a “very real stigma.”
The 25-year-old “Ginny and Georgia” actress has teamed up with Aveda for the hair care brand’s Be Curly Advanced line, having previously battled against a lack of “representation” or “education” in caring for textured hair in Hollywood.
“When I was straightening my hair as a kid, it was to hide,” she told People magazine.
“But now if I want to switch up my hair, I have the tools to protect my hair into different styles, and it’s less about hiding and more about a way to express myself because curly hair can do so much, and I love being a part of the representation that you can embrace your hair,” she added.
Whether it has been on sets or red carpet events in the past, Gentry felt “a sense of anxiety” whenever she needed to get her hair done.
“I’ve had my hair break off, I’ve had my hair thin out, I’ve had it fried, dyed so many things that came from that lack of expertise and that lack of education on how to do my hair.
“The one thing I’ll never let happen to my hair again is spraying it down with water and then taking a curling iron to it while it’s soaking wet to somehow re-curl my already curly hair.
“I remember that happened to me and my hair was sizzling and I was just sitting there very, very confused and scared. I was like, ‘Why are we doing this?’ ” she explained.
Gentry has now become more comfortable speaking out if there’s anything she isn’t happy with.
“I think there’s a very real stigma against actors, especially with textured hair in the chair of feeling that they can’t really speak up about things that they aren’t comfortable with because they don’t want to be labeled as difficult to work with,” she said.
However, she is now proud to be speaking out, particularly through playing Ginny and getting to show her own experiences on-screen.
“I’ve been approached by a lot of fans that have curly hair and have told me — young and old, many different ages, different genders — that seeing a character be able to wear their natural hair in a show has made them accept themselves more,” she added.
