I Love My Locs ... But Not Your Assumptions

The last relaxer I put in my hair was way back in 1999.  At the time, I didn’t make an intentional decision to wear my hair natural.  I wanted to rock micro-braids, and my hairstylist advised I would have better results with the braids if my hair wasn’t chemically treated.  I wore my hair in braids and twists for a few years.  Before I knew it, I had a head full of natural hair and an afro reminiscent of the one Angela Davis rocked back in the day.  It was fierce!!!

Even though I wore my hair in braids and twists for years, I was always attracted to locs.  Locs are and have always been simply beautiful to me.  And if they are well-maintained (because we all know some folks don’t always regularly maintain their locs), I feel they look so stately and regal.  When I was pregnant with my son back in 2003, I decided to bite the bullet and loc my hair.  It was the best hair decision I have ever made.

Pipe cleaner curls

This October, I will be celebrating my 14^th year of wearing my hair in locs.  My loc-aversary, if you will.  What I have found over these many years is that because I have locs, people make certain assumptions either about me or my hair.

Curled locs

I wear my hair in locs, so I must be from Jamaica.  You read that right.  You would be amazed how many times I have been asked if I was from Jamaica.  If by Jamaica you mean my hometown of Anderson, South Carolina, then sure.  I’m Jamaican.  Hey, mon!!

I wear my hair in locs, so I must smoke weed.  I do not nor have I ever smoked weed, and I didn’t realize how many people really think weed-smoking is a prerequisite for wearing your hair in locs.  Go figure.

I wear my hair in locs, so I don’t wash my hair.  Here’s a newsflash.  My locs?  Hair.  The hair is uncombed, not unwashed.  So … I use shampoo and water just like everybody else.

I wear my hair in locs, so I have a criminal record.  Excuse me.  What the hell kind of assumption is that?  I am college educated and gainfully employed.  I don’t have a criminal record.  I’ve never been in jail.  I mean … really?!?!?  The fact that someone would equate locs with criminality does make me want to smack ‘em upside the head, so I guess a record could be in my future (lol).

I wear my hair in dreadlocks, so … lemme stop you right there.  I despise the term “dreadlocks” because there is NOTHING dreadful about my hair.  Unless you want to die by my killer side-eye, don’t ever use “dreadlocks” around me.

I wear my hair in locs, so it’s okay for you to touch them.  Let me clear this up for you real quick.  DO NOT TOUCH MY HAIR!!!!  Nothing annoys me like someone who assumes it’s okay for them to put their hands on me or my hair.  First of all, don’t invade my personal space.  Secondly, it’s hair.  Get over it.  Thirdly, everybody’s hygiene ain’t the same, and I have no idea where your hands have been.  Please keep them out of my hair.  I don’t want your hair or spirit all over me.  I am not a pet, so don’t try to stroke my hair for your entertainment. 

I wear my hair in locs, so that means I will loc my kids’ hair, too.  No.  That’s incorrect.  I will never forget that when my now 13 year-old son was an infant, one of the ladies at his daycare asked me with her face all torn up and her nose stuck in the air, “You’re not going to put the baby’s hair in ‘those things’, are you?”  I remember my response being something along the lines of, “And if I did, what does it matter to you?  Do you have a problem with my hair?”  She apologized after picking her face off the floor.  But, as much as I love my hair, the decision to make the commitment to locs is a personal one.  If you see my kids with loc’d hair, it’s because they made the choice to do so themselves.  I’m not making that decision for them.

I often hear from folks that they are surprised at how versatile my hair is.  Chile, don’t hate me because my hair is beautiful (lol).  The styles I have had over the years with my locs are endless.  People are constantly amazed with them all.  Honestly, I’m amazed myself.  My hairstylist NEVER disappoints and keeps my locs looking their absolute best.

Two-strand twists in a bun with a wrapped loc bang.

My locs are wrapped around pipe cleaners.

Wrapped locs.

Loops and chains.

And really, folks.  After a photo that went viral recently on social media, we can no longer make ANY assumptions about people with locs.  Did you see this photo … of a Ku Klux Klan member at a rally … wearing his hair in locs?  A Klan member (ie. a racist, a white supremacist, a hater of all things Black) … with LOCS, y’all!!!  Da hell?!?!?

I am reminded of the lyrics to India.Arie’s hit and will close with them …

I am not my hair.
I am not this skin.
I am not your expectations.  No.
I am not my hair.
I am not this skin.
I am the soul that lives within.

Shout out to Glenda Jones of Sincerely Yours Salon in Durham, NC.  She keeps my hair looking FLY!!!