The History of Locs

Hey, Curls hey! It’s your girl, Daneen here with another fabulous month of blogs. We're calling this month, Loctober!

Now, I love all things regarding natural hair, but loc… Locs make me, happy!

They literally make me smile.

I

---

When I look at my books and I see a full day of loc services, whew! The stars have aligned! Okay, I’m being dramatic, but I really love them. I have a long-standing love for locs and i remember being intrigued by them from early childhood. Having an aunt that had them, I was exposed to the style early on. I remember comparing them to the hair of my Cabbage Patch Kid doll. I grew up loving the different sizes and lengths, learning and being the cool neighborhood kid that was able to groom and style locs! Seeing artists like Goapele and Lauryn Hill and of course, the Marleys. Locs have been and will always be my favorite natural style.

---

What are locs?

---

Locs are rope-like strands of hair that are

formed by mating. The earliest evidence of locs dates back to India in 1800BC. The first evidence of the style in Africa came around 500 BC. During the 1600-1800s, Africans who brought the style to the Americas (and other places around the globe) could not perform their regular hair grooming practices, and therefore arrived looking unkempt. After traveling months on ships with no hygiene available, it's unsurprising that their hair appeared matted and locked. It's said that slave owners referred to the "dreadful" sight of the captives, thus the term "dreadlocks" and its negative association.

Image credit: Pintrest

While locs have been around for millennia, in modern times the style has seen a resurgence in popularity, we kicked it off in the 1970s, and we haven’t looked back since!

---

The different types of locs,

Traditional: Medium to large

---

Microlocs: Extremely small locs that resemble strands of hair, usually installed using two-strand twists.

---

Sisterlocs: a trademarked pattern style loc, about half the size of traditional locs.

Image Credit: TheZoereport.com

---

Typically, the tighter the natural curl pattern, the faster the hair will lock. People with tightly curled hair may begin their locs with simple coils or two-strand twists, while someone with a looser texture may have to braid their hair or even opt for instant loc to achieve their locs.

Locs are versatile and low maintenance. They are the epitome of a get-up-and-go type of style. After having your locs groomed, moisturizing every two to three days, and covering them at night is ALL you need to do in between appointments. Locs are highly versatile. They can be modest and demure to fabulous and over the top!

I hope you enjoyed our first week of Loctober! From this here blog to Instagram to TikTok! Please be sure to Follow us on all Social media to stay on the up and up and tune in next week to read about starter locs!

Follow us on IG