Answering a Reader Question #761

Anonymous Wrote:

 Hello Dania,

 I'm an aspiring male model looking for representation. My question is about hair. I'm African-American, and usually either keep my hair very short or grow out an afro. I've been thinking about getting dreads, but I'm not sure how that flies in the industry. I want neat, well-kept locks, but I know there's still a stigma attached to them regardless. Can you offer some insight into this, specifically for fashion and commercial modeling? Thanks.

Hi, Anonymous!

Sadly dreads as a hairstyle is still not widely accepted in the modeling industry. There are models that have this hairstyle in the industry, I'm sure, but the actual number is likely very small.

If you want to pursue agency representation, you'll have to appeal to the standard requirements, which means staying clean cut for the most part.

I would suggest looking at the websites of modeling agencies you're interested in submitting to and checking out the photo galleries of the male models currently on the roster. If the African-American male models don't have dreads and all appear to have similar haircuts/hairstyles, then you can pretty much guess that that is how they prefer the men to look.

It will also depend on the market you're hoping to work in. Medium to smaller markets may be more flexible when it comes to hair, while larger markets will obviously subscribe to the standard male hairstyles. Do a bit of research to see what's popular right now on agency rosters and from there you should be able to make the right decision for your situation.

Comments

  1. MauriceOctober 15, 2014 at 12:11 AM

    Thanks for the insight! I'm at that point where I was considering growing them out, but I don't want to miss an opportunity just because of the way I choose to wear my hair. Looks like I'll be keeping it short and sweet for now.

    - Same Anonymous

    ReplyDelete

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