Education

Education & Curriculum

Building texture capability at scale.

Pekela Riley develops professional education for artists and organizations that need more than a demonstration. Her work translates years of professional judgment into learning that can travel—from one artist to an educator network, a salon organization, a digital platform or an enterprise system.

Pekela Riley styling a model’s sculpted afro on a campaign set.
Education · On set with Pekela

Education Capabilities

01

Texture Foundations

Foundational learning that builds fluency and confidence across curls, coils, waves and diverse service situations.

02

Curriculum Development

Original curriculum architecture, learning objectives, technical frameworks, facilitator guidance and educational content.

03

Enterprise Education

Learning designed to move across teams, markets, locations and professional networks.

04

Train-the-Trainer

Programs that equip educators to understand and teach the reasoning—not merely perform the steps.

05

Digital & LMS Learning

Professional education structured for modular, digital and scalable knowledge transfer.

06

Service Expansion

Education that helps salon organizations responsibly expand capability in texture, extensions and related services.

07

Product & Tool Education

Technical education that translates product or technology features into what they actually mean in the hands of a working professional.

Selected Enterprise Work

Ulta Beauty campaign model with short defined curls.
Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty

45%increase in texture services in Ulta salons, per internal Ulta Beauty reporting

As a member of the Ulta Beauty Pro Team beginning in 2018 and the company’s inaugural Diversity Strategist, Pekela helped strategize texture education addressing technical skill, cultural understanding, salon service and the guest experience. That work evolved into Ulta Beauty’s first enterprise-wide texture curriculum. Following implementation, internal Ulta Beauty reporting showed a 45% increase in texture services in Ulta salons.

Read the Ulta Beauty case study →
Model with a high sculpted ponytail in leopard print, from the Dyson Eunoia Collection.
Dyson

Dyson

Pekela has led and created key texture education for Dyson Hair, translating tool technology into professional application across curl definition, wash-and-go styling, airflow, attachments, finishing and extension blending. Her work with Dyson demonstrates a central principle of her education philosophy: professionals need more than features. They need to understand what the technology is doing to the hair and why.

Read the Dyson case study →

Texture belongs inside the definition of hair

Texture should not sit beside “hair” as a specialty lane. Pekela’s position is that texture knowledge belongs inside the definition of professional hair knowledge itself.

That means moving beyond the idea that texture education is primarily about curl-pattern labels, product application or repeating a finished style. Professional capability requires the artist to observe, reason, choose and adapt.

Reasoning-Based Texture Education

Technique can be repeated. Understanding can be applied.

Pekela’s methodology connects technical execution with the reasoning underneath it: hair behavior, consultation, preparation, product choice, tool technology, tension, heat, shape, finishing, cultural context and client experience.

The goal is not to make artists copy Pekela. It is to help them understand why a technique works so they can make sound decisions when the next head of hair, tool, product or service variable changes.

Texture Education at Scale

A masterclass can create a powerful moment. An organization that needs consistent capability requires a system. Pekela translates Texture Fluency into curriculum architecture, learning objectives, train-the-trainer, digital/LMS learning, educator enablement, service expansion and assessment where appropriate.

Built for organizations that need more than a masterclass.

Pekela’s education work is best suited to organizations looking to build lasting professional capability—not simply create a moment on stage. Engagements may include curriculum strategy, content development, educator training, live facilitation, digital learning, service expansion and ongoing professional education.