My Hair

June 11th, 2007
I have a pet peeve. It’s in regards to my hair. In a couple of printed magazine and newspaper articles, my hair has been referred to as braids. I’ve been asked numerous times if they are extensions. My hair is not in braids, nor are they extensions. They are loc’ed. What is loc’ed you might ask? It is the preferred term for a natural hairstyle popularly known as dreadlocks. Dreadlocks were first worn by members of the Rastifarian religious group in Jamaica. One of the religious rites includes not combing or cutting the hair. Bob Marley, who began practicing Rastifarianism in 1967, made the style popular when he became an international singing sensation and human rights activist. I am not a Rastifarian, nor do I practice any of the Rastifarian religious rites. I do, however, love the natural curly, kinky texture of my hair - so I wear it naturally coiled into itself. I wash it once or twice a week (and yes, it takes forever to wash and several hours to dry) and I maintain a neat look by separating the individual locs once every couple of months. When I’m making a video or preparing for a presentation or show, I go to a “loctician” (a hair stylist that specializes in grooming and styling locs) to give me a clean, polished and unique style. I have been wearing my hair naturally since 1992 (meaning no chemicals or perms) and I have been loc’ing my hair since 1995. I keep it cut to the middle of my back because I don’t like to sit on my hair, and because it gets really heavy when I’m trying to exercise. Why do I refer to my hair as “locs” instead of the typical term “dreadlocs”? Because I don’t think there is anything dreadful about naturally kinky hair - I think my locs are beautiful and healthy. They even look good on Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean! So now the mystery of my hair has been solved… Check out my next blog about my first acupuncture session. Awesome!!!