Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Fashion dreads and locks

GETTING THE HAIR RIGHT


Traditional rastafarians wear their hair in huge tufts. Locks are usually formed without the use of any moisturising or visits to hair salon, as is the case with fashion dreads Photo taked from" http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Dreadlocked_rasta.jpg

Dreadlocks and the fashion dread

An important aspect of identifying with the fashion side of rastafarianism is copying the very popular dreadlocks. Dreadlocks have been worn by Rastafarians since the establishment of the faith, and is the main identifying feature of the movement. Locks within the movement, evolved out of rastafarians' need to have a feature that instantly identifies them. It was said that they looked dreadful wearing locks, and hence the name dreadlocks. However, rastafarian's deep-rooted belief in the wearing of locks was influenced by one of the three Nazarite vows in the book of Numbers in the Bible.

"All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow."
-Numbers 6:5


Today, many persons have moved away from the biblical foundations of the wearing of dreadlocks, and have opted instead to associate with it because of its fashion appeal. Over the years, dreadlocks have increasingly become a genuine fashion 'must', with persons preferring this hairstyle over the usually relaxed or natural hair.
The difference between dreadlocks worn by most rastafarians and those worn by fashion dreads is that the latter often go through the process of getting it interlocked in order to keep it neat and well groomed. The process involves regular wash, moisturizing and interlocking where stray hair caused by growth is integrated within the main locks using a special type of comb. Hair wax or any other type of holding moisturizer is used to keep the hair in place.



Dreadlocks similar to these are usually interlocked, to achieve the neat look that is seen here. The use of dyes and 'bleaching' agents have also become popular with fashion dreads.
- Photo taken from http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/ccs/dreadlocks.jpg

Latoya Smith* is a 20-year-old student who has opted to sport 'locks' instead of relaxing her hair. Her reason for this is simple, she says. "I decided to grow locks because its easier to maintain. I don't have to wake up every morning and worry about combing my hair when getting dressed. All I do is rub some moisturizer in it, and I am good to go." Smith has been growing her hair for three years, and says she plans to continue for a long time. She also admits that the fashion appeal of locks was what initially persuaded her to try it.

Leslie Green* also sports locks. He is a 21-year-old engineer, who says he was initially attracted to Rastafarianism and subsequently dreadlocks. He adds however, that his locks soon became untidy, and he therefore decided to have them professionally interlocked. He adds that, while he doesn't subscribe to all the tenets of rastafarianism, there are some aspects that appeal to him. Dreadlocks is one of them.
* Names changed by request.

For additional information about locks check out the following link: Grooming your locks