by Hosea Hicks |
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| I was in Atlanta, Georgia earlier this week to purchase some new shoes to add to my collection. While roaming from one end of the big peach to the other I encountered a man whose locs were long enough to touch the base of his spine. The consistency and evenness of his locs at that length fascinated me to the point that I deliberately walked by him again to get another look. This Renaissance man stood approximately 5’7 in height which made his profile and the length of his perfect locs more powerful to the eye. Being a master loctician and master cosmetologist my mind began to conjure up volumes of inquisitive things to ask him. My lack of courage outweighed my inquiry so I did not bother to approach him because there were numerous questions to ask him which would have taken entirely too much of his time. It was in that moment that I recalled the feeling of pride and non conformity that I embraced the very first time that Thelon Ryles birth my locs. Becoming a member of a global society of people whose hair indicated a continuation of past and present culture, pride and politics energized me as an individual. The first time that I started the continuous process of locking my hair was in 1999. The very first time that I had the desire to loc my hair came many years earlier. It was during my senior year in high school that I first had the yearning to become loc up! Being innovative in the way I dressed and styled my hair at that time I did not look at locs for all that wearing locs fully embodied. Being a member of the global loc community you are encouraged to demystify every negative untruth and urban legend associated with people who wear locs. The romantic irony is that the process of allowing your hair to embrace itself is called locking. The joy and peace of wearing locs is freedom! People who are proactive about their locs channel an energetic spirit as they face the world and what it has to offer. Locs capture the history of the events in your life. You can ask a person with locs about certain details of their life and they call recall where they were on there process to loc maturity without any hesitation. Wearing locs with all of there regality requires education, affirmation, preparation, dedication and discipline. In the end because of these factors you will achieve admiration. This is the narrative to the beginning of a series which will focus on the history, the origin, and the dos and don’ts to modern locking at the completion of this series it my desire that you will have a more thorough understanding of locs. So until the next time I put pen to paper keep your thoughts “straight”, your opinions “cut short” and your lifestyle “well groomed” ! You can contact me E. Hosea Hicks at hairalive.comb@yahoo.com . |
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| This is part one of a three part series about locs. This week I will inform you on the correct history of locs. Locs have been around since the creation of man. As man evolved so did his knowledge of his environment and the evolution of tools. So prior to the development of the comb everyone could possibly have worn locs. Historians credit the veda scriptures of India with documenting locs as early as 1800 b.c. . The Nazorites, The Greeks, and The Germanic tribes wore locs. The latter two are from European and Mediterranean regions of the world. Locs are worn all over the world. The Sadhus (holy men) of India wear locs, as well as the Somali, the Galla, the Maasai, the Ashanti and the Fulani tribes of Africa. The Aborigines and the New Guineans are also loc descendants. Asian emperors ruled their dynasties wearing locs. When archeologists unearthed the body of King Tut not only did he wear locs, they were still intact. Caesar in his dialogue to the Roman senate reported that the Celtic people “had hair like snakes.” These accounts further strengthen the historical dominance of locs throughout history. The Holy Scriptures support the biblical existence of locs. In the book of Judges 16:13 it illustrates the story of Sampson and his “SEVEN” perfect locs. In the Song of Solomon 6:11 the Shulamite women sings the praise of her beloved by describing the beauty of his locs. John the Baptist, the one who baptized Christ, wore locs. The word dreadlock comes from the Rastafarian movement. The Rasta’s allow their hair to naturally loc without the aid of commercial products or techniques. The word dreadlock was initially meant to fear as defined by the British colonies upon seeing people of color during the slave trade and exploration. But the Rastafarians of Jamaica empowered the word to mean strength to counter the condescending opinions of the British concerning locs. Today locs are apart of every economic class, culture and ethnic group throughout the planet. So until the next time I put pen to paper, keep your “thoughts straight”, your opinions “cut short” and your lifestyle “well groomed.” You can contact me E. Hosea Hicks at hairalive.comb@yahoo.com. |
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| This is part two of a three part series about locs. This week we will target the myths and urban legends concerning locs. People who wear locs are filthy. That is not true. A person’s hygiene cannot be confirmed or denied strictly because they wear locs. All locs are filthy. No, if you do not shampoo your hair regardless if you have locs or not your hair will be filthy. Using beeswax is the most natural product you can use to loc your hair. False, beeswax is one of the most natural products for locs but it is not the only natural product used. Shea butter and aloe vera gel are also other natural products used for locs. When using beeswax, shea butter or aloe vera gel please apply these styling agents with moderation to prevent build in your locs. Product abuse can cause your locs to dehydrate, break, and aid in scalp disorders not to mention trapping environmental pollutants in your locs. Honey, peanut butter, nail glue, and mayonnaise will successfully loc hair. No, these are the culprits of unsuccessful locs and are health hazards. Honey and nail glue when it crystallizes is like glass it can suffocate the skin and trap impurities in the hair. Do I have to explain about the food items? When starting your locs you cannot shampoo your hair. False, you can shampoo your hair when you begin your locs. If you choose not to shampoo your locs during the early stages cleanse your scalp with an astringent. Only people of color can wear locs. No, people of every ethnic background can wear locs. There are numerous techniques that are available for all textures of hair to loc, choose the one that best suits your texture and lifestyle. So, until the next time I put pen to paper keep your thoughts “ straight”, your opinions “cut short” and your lifestyle “well groomed”. You can contact me E. Hosea Hicks at hairalive.comb@yahoo.com. |
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| This is the final installment in a three part series about loc history, myths and successful loc techniques. This weeks’ column is about successful loc techniques. The most common technique is hand twisting. Hand twisting is when you twist sections of hair in a clockwise direction from root to end using beeswax, aloe vera gel or shea butter. Another very stylish and popular application is the double strand set. To produce this look take two sub sections of hair and wrap them right over left from root to end using setting lotion, styling gel, wrap lotion or pomade. This is a very popular look. Some people wear this look as a hairstyle with no intentions of allowing their hair to loc however, If the double strand twist are maintained and left undisturbed the will eventually loc.Comb twist have become the most popular procedure to start loc in professional salons, braid shops and at home. Comb twisting involves twining small or large sections of hair into the fine end of a barbering comb or a coil comb to create coils over the entire head. This procedure allows the stylist more creativity when creating the coils. If left undisturbed and properly sanitized comb twist will develop into very attractive locs.
There are alternative techniques to loc hair that have been developed over the last decade. Sister locs is a technique that involves using a polished silver metal apparatus to weft the hair into instantaneous locs. Latch locs use a latch hook needle to create slip knots into a section of hair from root to end to form locs. These procedures are performed by certified practioners and still require that your hair be natural. The knatty procedure involves matting the hair using a boar hair brush, allowing the locs to form their on unique identity during the loc process. The matting technique works well for people with very straight hair. This technique uses a metal comb to matt sub sections of hair then palm roll the section using pomade and securing ends with a rubber band. Finally, for people with relaxed hair or who want temporary locs, the loc extensions. This procedure uses synthetic or natural hair to wrap around a sub section of hair to completely cover the natural hair similar to braiding. There can be countless other ways to loc hair these are only a few but these are the ones that have more popularity. All over the world there are different approaches to growing locs and the products used to achieve them. So until the next time I put pen to paper keep your thoughts “straight”, your opinion “cut short” and your lifestyle “well groomed”. You can contact me E. Hosea Hicks at hairalive.comb@yahoo.com. |
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