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Dove Releases New Curly Hair Emoji

By Cameron Wolf
Photo: Dove

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Even as emoji have expanded exponentially to include racially and sexually diverse cartoons as well as a whole new recent set perfect for sexting, there was still part of the population that we have not been able to communicate textually until now: curly-haired women. Dove has set out to solve this problem by launching a keyboard filled with every type of curly-headed woman imaginable in support of the brand's "Love Your Curls" campaign, according to The Huffington Post.

"One in three women in the United States have curly or wavy hair, yet there are zero images of these women today in the increasingly common language of emoji," Uniliver's VP of haircare Rob Candelino said in a press release. "That felt wrong to us, so we are fixing it and hope by doing so, we will continue inspiring all women to love their curls."

The new keyboard, which is already available for iOS and Android, includes 27 different curly hair cartoons. Some are variations of already existing emoji, like heart eyes, while others show babies and umbrella-toting redheads, all with springy locks.

Dove also partnered with Sali A. Tagliamonte, a professor of linguistics at the University of Toronto, to explain why having these emoji is so important. "If people can use tools of communication that reflect who and what they are, this can have a positive effect on their self-confidence and quality of life," he says. Dove also surveyed 1,500 people in the US and found that 80% of women with curly hair believe "the existing female emojis underrepresent their hair type."

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