Curly is Beautiful: Tunisian Women Lead a Natural Hair Revolution

 

For years, Tunisian mother Mouna Jebali straightened her thick curls with a flat iron, believing, as so many of us were taught, that “neat” hair meant straight hair. But when her young son’s tiny curls began to grow in, she had a breakthrough.

“That’s when I told myself, no curly hair is beautiful,” she says.

Her journey took her to Pineapple Studio, the first natural-hair–focused salon in Tunis, where women come not just for styling but for healing from years of stigma.

Breaking the Straight-Hair Standard

Across Tunisia, as in much of the world, natural hair has long been labeled “unprofessional,” “messy,” or “inappropriate.” Many women still feel pressure to straighten their curls for job interviews, weddings, or even everyday life.

This mindset has a name: texturism, the idea that looser or straighter textures are more acceptable than tightly coiled, kinky, or Afro-textured hair. As journalist Nawal Benali explains, “The further you move away from what is considered Afro, kinky, or curly, the more socially accepted you are.” These standards, rooted in colonial and Western ideals, pushed generations of women to erase their Indigenous and African features.

Courage and Community

Salon co-founder Dhouha Mechergui remembers her mother straightening her hair before every religious holiday. Choosing to return to her natural curls wasn’t easy, it took courage and persistence. Today, she often feels like more than a stylist: “Sometimes I play the role of psychiatrist, because I know making that decision is very difficult.”

Health has also become part of the conversation. A major U.S. study linked chemical straighteners to higher risks of uterine cancer, giving even more reason for women to move away from harsh treatments and toward embracing their curls.

The Rise of Homegrown Curl Brands

While countries like France and several U.S. states have passed laws banning hair-based discrimination, Tunisia has no such protections yet. Instead, women entrepreneurs are leading the way.

In 2021, Sirine Cherif co-founded Kamaana, Tunisia’s first haircare brand made specifically for curls. “When we started, we were the only specialized brand on the market,” she recalls. “A few months later, bigger brands launched their own curly-hair lines.”

Now, Tunisian companies like Zynia and Lilas Cosmetics are part of a growing curl-care industry. For Cherif, this isn’t just business, it’s social change. “We are proud to have encouraged people to be themselves, to resist pressure, and embrace their natural hair,” she says. Her brand has grown 42% each year since launching. “We want to start a curl revolution.”

Curly, Confident, and Proud

From Tunis to the diaspora, Tunisian women are showing that curls are not a flaw to fix—they’re a crown to wear proudly. And every salon, podcast, and curl-friendly brand is helping rewrite the beauty standard: curly is beautiful, exactly as it is.