Adrienne Small is an award-winning, licensed master cosmetology instructor, global hair educator, platform artist, and healthy hair and color specialist. With over 20 years of professional industry experience, she specializes in executing high-impact, transformative hair color, explicitly tailored for textured hair.
“What I love most is helping stylists move past the fear surrounding textured hair,” shared Adrienne. Among her many roles, Adrienne educates with brands including Blonde Solutions and The Doux, with a strong focus on textured hair, color and scalp health. Adrienne said that healthy hair is always the goal, but “‘healthy’ won’t look or behave the same on every client.”
Hair is made up of the same basic components, but it doesn’t all respond the same way. Adrienne explained that texture-inclusive education “gives stylists the confidence to adjust instead of assuming one formula or technique will work for everyone.”
“One of the biggest mistakes is focusing only on the desired color and not the condition of the hair,” Adrienne continued. “I always say preparation determines performance and if the hair isn’t in the best state, I don’t care how well you formulate; you won’t get the best results. Other common issues are poor saturation, and assuming textured hair is automatically strong because it feels coarse.”
Adrienne explained that the key to healthy transformations and results is to evaluate the hair before choosing anything. Every client has different needs and long-term goals, and each client must be individually assessed and catered to accordingly.
“I’m looking at elasticity, porosity, density, strand thickness, curl pattern, previous color, and the client’s normal routine,” she continued. “Two clients can have a similar curl pattern but need completely different formulas and aftercare.”
“Pay attention to the scalp- it’s the foundation your strands call their home.”
When styling textured hair, Adrienne said that the biggest gap in knowledge is “confusing texture with race.” She explained: “Stylists need more hands-on education using real models with different textures, densities, and strand sizes, instead of mannequins or one curl type labeled as ‘textured hair.’”
As a brand educator for Blonde Solutions and The Doux, Adrienne truly believes in their products and said that both brands understand performance without ignoring the health and versatility of textured hair. “Blonde Solutions gives me control while lifting, which is especially important when I’m working to preserve the hair’s natural texture and integrity,” Adrienne continued.
“With The Doux, Press Play is one of my hero collections for silk pressing because it helps me create a smooth, polished finish without sacrificing the integrity of the curls. For curly styles, I love the Block Party Collection for its anti-humidity, moisture, and definition.”
Adrienne’s top tips for keeping curly and coily hair healthy is to cleanse consistently and use products that can be properly removed. “If you use heavy creams or gels, know that a clarifier or detox shampoo once a month is your friend and stop being afraid of regular trims,” she added. “Pay attention to the scalp- it’s the foundation your strands call their home. Most importantly, learn what your own hair needs instead of copying someone else’s routine simply because their hair looks similar.”
Stylists // Nicole Crajewsk, Adrienne Small
Makeup Artist // Naudells Nicole
Model // Stephanie
Photography // Jorge Lugo