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Black hair textures & styles in video games are "limited, inaccurate... and often highly stereotypical," and the Dove personal care brand is aiming to change it

Dove's open-source Afro Hair Library aims to address inaccuracies in how Black hair is rendered in video games

A still from the Afro Hair Library — Image credit: Afro Hair Library

News by Jules Chin Greene, Staff Writer

Published on Wed Apr 23 2025

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If you remember playing video games back in the early to mid 2000s, then you'd remember that Black video game characters had exactly one hairstyle. And it looked terrible every time. The situation has somewhat improved today, but there's still a long way to go. And Dove - yes, the personal care brand - is here to help fix this persistent issue in the video game industry.

Dove has launched a campaign called Code My Crown that utilizes the open-source Afro Hair Library to provide a guide for various Black hairstyles. The guide was created by people within the Black community, ensuring accuracy and a diversity of different styles and hair types. Included in the guide are reference images so that creators can see how various hairstyles look in the real world.

The initiative was built on the collaboration between "independent 3D artists and leading Natural Hair stylists," including the game maker, A.M. Darke. Darke's work as an academic focuses on Black virtuality, or the representation of Black people within virtual spaces. So if the Afro Hair Library catches your interest, I recommend looking further into Darke's work, as there's much more where that came from.

You can take a look at the Afro Hair Library right here.

The gaming industry has come a long way since Pong blew all our minds in the 70s. We've got everything you need to know about the next big thing in games. Of course, Grand Theft Auto VI is going to be the big game of 2026, but there are plenty of other games coming out between now and then. Here is our starter guide for every gamer:

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Jules Chin Greene: Jules Chin Greene is a journalist and Jack Kirby enthusiast. He has written about comics, video games, movies, and television for sites such as Nerdist, AIPT, and Multiverse of Color.