Contract Protections
Textured hair is already in the agreements.
Here's what productions need to know. Plain-language summaries of the hair provisions across 4 AEA agreements plus SAG-AFTRA and AGMA, with rule numbers and effective dates, so you can check every line against the source.
Last reviewed: August 2026 · Contract Update 2 · Educational, not legal advice
On this page
Actors' Equity Association LORT · NEAT · Off-Broadway · Broadway Touring What travels, what doesn't SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical · Commercials AGMA Opera & Dance The word with no definition "Qualified" The contract-to-production gap What no agreement builds Coming in the next update More AGMA · Crew-sideHow to read this page
Every summary below is plain language, not contract text. Requirements differ by agreement and by contract cycle, which is exactly why this page exists: there is no one universal rule, there are specific lines in the specific agreements you work under. Each section tells you three things: what the agreement says, what that means operationally, and what the agreement does not build for you.
This page covers performer-side agreements: the contracts between performers and the organizations that employ them. Crew-side agreements, which govern who performs the work in the hair and makeup department, are a different instrument. One crew-side note appears under Touring, because what those agreements leave out is itself an obligation the production carries.
Read the agreements you work under. Every section links to the union's official source. If you find a provision we should add or a line that has changed, tell us.
Actors' Equity Association
AEA: relevant provisions
under review.
Actors' Equity agreements contain relevant provisions concerning hair services, appearance changes, performer consent, sanitation, and discrimination. The full agreement language is available to members and applicable producers through Actors' Equity Association. Texture Ready™ is currently confirming what agreement-specific information may be summarized publicly.
Texture Ready™ is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Actors' Equity Association.
Touring · Scope note
On the road the protection travels.
The expertise doesn't.
Performers on tour carry their AEA protections into every venue. The crew executing that work is covered by a different instrument. The IATSE Non-League Bus & Truck agreement recognizes hair stylists and hair artists as covered classifications and names a Head of Hair and Makeup as a department head. Across the full agreement, the words hair texture, discrimination, and diversity do not appear.
That is not a criticism of the agreement. Crew-side agreements set who performs the work and under what conditions. They were never built to define competency. But it means a tour can be fully staffed, fully union, and fully compliant, and still have nobody in the building qualified for the hair in the chair.
Why touring is the hardest test
New city every week. No home salon, no local relationships, no standing vendor. A wig room that lives on a truck. Product that has to be sourced ahead, not found on arrival. Every gap the performer-side agreements leave open gets tested every 7 days, in a market the production has never worked in before.
That is a production infrastructure problem, and it is solvable before the tour leaves.
Source: Non-League Bus & Truck Collective Bargaining Agreement, IATSE, Articles 1, 12, 19. Performer-side touring agreements are summarized in a future update. Read at iatse.net.
SAG-AFTRA
SAG-AFTRA: two contracts,
moving in two directions.
SAG-AFTRA · Film, TV & Streaming
2026 TV/Theatrical Agreement
Ratified June 2026 · Effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2030
What the agreement says
- The hair and makeup equity provisions added in 2023 carry forward: productions reimburse performers who source their own hair and makeup services from a qualified professional, pay a minimum of 2 hours for that time, and offer a consultation.
- The word the provision uses: "qualified." The definition it gives: none. The fully executed 2026 Memorandum of Agreement modifies the 2023 agreement and leaves these provisions unmodified.
- New in 2026, for background actors: a $35 adjustment when directed to report in a style requiring extensive self-styling, and the hair goods adjustment rises to $21.50.
What that means operationally
The reimbursement path is a fallback that presumes the production didn't staff the work. A production that plans hair as a department rarely touches it. The new background adjustment prices self-styling. It compensates the gap; it does not close it.
What it does not build
Nothing defines who counts as qualified, and the next contractual chance to define it is 2030. Until then, the definition has to come from the production. That is the entire gap this standard exists to close.
Source: 2026 SAG-AFTRA Memorandum of Agreement, fully executed May 27, 2026, ratified June 5, 2026, modifying the 2023 Codified Basic Agreement; hair and makeup equity provisions carried forward unmodified; Schedule X, Section 9 background actor provisions as amended. Read at sagaftra.org.
SAG-AFTRA · Commercials
2025 Commercials Contracts
Effective 2025
What the agreement says
- Producers make commercially reasonable efforts to give the performer contact information for the qualified hair stylist or makeup artist engaged for the shoot, for consultation, at the fitting or 24 hours before the first work day, whichever comes first.
What that means operationally
This is the process-forward contract. It assumes the stylist is booked early enough to consult before the day, which means hair planning has to happen in pre-production, not at the call. On a commercial timeline, that is a bid-stage decision.
What it does not build
The consultation is only as good as the stylist's fit for the hair in the chair. "Qualified" still isn't defined, and the bid still has to price the right expertise before talent is cast.
Source: SAG-AFTRA 2025 Commercials Contracts, makeup, hairdress, and wardrobe provisions. Read at sagaftra.org.
AGMA · Opera & Dance
AGMA: set company by company,
and increasingly specific.
AGMA agreements are negotiated per employer, so there is no single national rule. The direction of travel is consistent, and recent agreements are among the most explicit anywhere on hair texture. One current example:
AGMA · Example Employer Agreement
AGMA and Seattle Opera, 2023-26
September 1, 2023 through August 31, 2026
What the agreement says
- Management provides all costumes, wigs, hair coloring, and makeup with awareness and sensitivity regarding skin and hair color and type. Article 42.1.12
- Oversight is provided by a staff member experienced in working with artists of various skin tones and hair textures. Article 42.1.14
- Management-requested grooming changes are reimbursed, and appearance changes require 6 weeks notice before first rehearsal. Article 20
- Wig fittings are scheduled, compensated work, with hair-styling supplies and paid time to restore the artist's own hair after a fitting. Article 14.3
What that means operationally
"A staff member experienced with various hair textures" is a staffing requirement, not a sentiment. It has to be true on the org chart before the season starts. The fitting provisions make hair time paid time, which is a scheduling and budgeting fact.
What it does not build
Experienced isn't verified by the agreement, and requirements vary company to company. If you work under an AGMA agreement, read your own: yours may say more, less, or something different.
Source: Agreement between AGMA and Seattle Opera, September 1, 2023 through August 31, 2026, Articles 14.3, 20, 42. Terms are employer-specific. Read at agmanatl.com.
The agreements keep using one word: qualified. None of them define it. 4 AEA agreements answer who chooses the technician 4 different ways. The TV/Theatrical contract just renewed through 2030 without defining it. Until the contracts answer the question, the production has to.
The contract-to-production gap
The agreement can set the obligation.
It can't run Tuesday.
Every provision on this page assumes somebody operationalizes it. The contract can establish the protection. Texture Ready™ helps you build the production capable of delivering it.
- Who verifies the technician is qualified?
- Who holds final determination on hair personnel?
- Who maintains the hair under the wig?
- When does performer consultation happen?
- Where is consent documented?
- Who is watching the 48-hour clock?
- How much time and money go into the budget?
- Who holds maintenance, and restoration at close?
- What happens when casting changes?
- What's the escalation path when the plan isn't working?
Coming in the next Contract Update
- AEA Production Contract 2025-28 rulebook once the terms are published
- Additional AGMA employer agreements as they are reviewed
- AEA touring and short engagement agreements for performer-side road work
- Crew-side agreements as a companion page
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Review log
- August 2026 · Update 2 · Added AEA Off-Broadway 2024-28 and the AEA Production Contract for Broadway and Sit-Downs, summarized from the published 2022-2025 language with a status flag on the successor agreement ratified October 30, 2025. Added the 4-agreement comparison table and a touring scope note on the IATSE Non-League Bus & Truck agreement.
- August 2026 · Page published. LORT 2023-27, NEAT 2023-26, SAG-AFTRA 2026 TV/Theatrical (verified against the fully executed May 27, 2026 MOA) and 2025 Commercials, AGMA/Seattle Opera 2023-26.
The fine print
These are plain-language educational summaries, not contract text and not legal advice. Specific requirements vary by agreement, contract cycle, and jurisdiction. Always read the agreements your production works under, and consult counsel for legal questions. Texture Ready™ provides production infrastructure and education.
The protections exist. Build the production that can deliver them.
Bring your agreements to a 30-minute scoping call. We'll walk the lines you work under, name the gaps, and map a scoped path to close them before your first hair call.
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