Hair New Era

1.      Tell us a little about yourself? (ex. name, age, state, school)

                                      i.      My name is Garfield. I'm a 25 year old 2nd year law student at North Carolina Central University. Born on the island of Jamaica, raised in Ft. Lauderdale

2.      How long have you been growing your locs?

                                      i.      September 2006 was my last haircut. I got my first twists done in December of that same year...so depending on what you count as the starting date, somewhere around the 4.5 year mark.

3.      What do you use on your hair, product wise, to maintain it?

                                      i.      Jamaican Mango and Lime Wax with the black top on it. It's the clear wax. They have other ones, but that's the one I use for my hair. I wash with a dandruff shampoo because my scalp is dry and sometimes gets flaky. I also use Pine Tar on my scalp. Smells terrible, but keeps my scalp healthy and helps with hair growth. I wrap it every night before I go to sleep as well.

4.      How often do you have to wash and re-twist your loc’s and who styles them?

                                      i.      At this point, maybe once every couple of months. I used to get it done more frequently when I was gainfully employed, probably once every 6 weeks back then.

5.      What do you think about women with natural hair? Do you care if your woman is relaxed, natural or loc’d?

                                      i.      I love women with natural hair. I noticed that it's becoming more popular these days and I'm all for it.

                                    ii.      It's not a big deal to me. I mean, as long as you take care of your hair and you look good with whatever style you rocking, then I'm not really in a position to complain. I will say that I've always had a love affair with women that have neatly done locks. Probably biased with that because my hair is loc'd too.

6.      Do you think women who choose to loc their hair are sexy?

                                      i.      Hell yes! Sorry...that was a little strong. I love women with loc'd hair. I've seen women with locs and the way they style them, it's just...man...it's a beautiful sight to see.

7.      What are the pros and cons about having your hair loc’d?

                                      i.      Pros are obviously less day to day maintenance. I wrap my hair at night, I wake up in the morning, I take the wrap off and I make moves. No brushing, no greasing, none of the prep time I had to deal with back when I was rocking fades. And I like the way the look. I think it fits my personality and my look. Also, having someone else wash your hair is hands down one of the best feelings in the world. Like...I see why women always get someone else to wash their hair. It feels pretty awesome.

                                    ii.      Cons? Summertime immediately springs to mind. These things get hot. Also, sometimes I can't get to the loctician within the requisite time, therefore, my hair tends to start looking real crazy. And the itching. Not as bad as it used to be, but every once in a while it flares up and I want to run clippers all the way through my hair. Other than that? Not much. Oh...and sitting under the dryer. Definitely not a fan of that.

8.      What made you decide to loc your hair? Have you always had hair or did you start your loc’s from “scratch.”

                                      i.      I've always wanted them, but we're Jamaican. I have Rastas in my family and I wasn't sure if it'd be offensive to my family if I grew them without taking on the entire culture. Plus, I wasn't sure of the costs, or who was going to do them. Finally, my senior year of college, I met someone who said they'd start and maintain them for me, so I got them done.

                                    ii.      As I explained earlier, I got my last haircut in September of 2006, so I pretty much grew my hair from the lowest fade possible, to where I am right now. 

9.      What makes a woman’s hair beautiful to you?

                                      i.      For women with locs, the styles they come up with can be absolutely amazing. I just think the way hair can be framed to fit someone's personality and bring out their best features can makes their hair beautiful. Also the way it smells after it's freshly washed.

10.  Do you have any advice for my readers who are considering loc’ing their hair?

                                      i.      Patience is a virtue. This is a long road, you gotta be willing to see it through to the end. Also, if a product isn't working, don't be afraid to switch up. Ask other people with locs what they use and see if it works out for you. It can take a while to find the proper products that go best with your hair, so don't be afraid to search for them.

11.  Where can we find you on the web?

My name is Jarrett Middleton, I’m 24 years old, born n’ raised in PG County Maryland. I’m employed by C&E services of Vienna Virginia, and this is my first blog interview ever… A little nervous but hey, let’s do it!

I’ve been growing my loc’s since I was 18 years old.  Since then I’ve trimmed 3 times and probably cut about 4 inches off collectively. So it’d be longer right now, but honestly I don’t think I want my hair to  be much longer then what it is…

I use Jamaican Mango & Lime to oil my scalp. Olive Oil organic Professional Shampoo to wash it, and Loc’-set Serum to tighten them. I wash it and tighten every 3-4 weeks. I also receive hot-oil treatments 6 times a year, they help keep my roots strong and healthy.

Well, you already know how often I wash it and twist it but my hairdressers have randomly changed over the years. When I first started, my mother maintained them, she’s actually the one who convinced me to get them! My hair routine and consistency has remained pretty much the same, I believe that  is one of the reasons my hair is still healthy and flourishing.

I LOOOOVE a loc’d up woman with heels and… Lets not get into that lol. Nothing turns me on more than a woman who is comfortable with herself, whether they have natural hair or relaxed hair. Unfortunately women with natural hair styles are difficult to come by. At least in PG County… I have a theory on women with perms, but that’s a topic for another blog somewhere else on the vast population of the world wide web.

Extremely. There’s nothing sexier but I do understand that variety with hair is the spice of life. 

Lately I’ve been contemplating cutting my hair, just because of the simple fact that it’s just hair and it might be time for a change. I believe that’s one of the cons that many people have when their hair has reached a certain length that you’ve been satisfied with for however long you’ve had it, but the pros are limitless. It keeps me warm in the winter, it gives you a strong sense of personality and charisma. Loc’s give you a small edge that many people lack. They give you foundation and they give you a voice. People who grow loc’s are making a statement about who they are….

My mother persuaded me to do it way back when.. Now she probably wishes I never had ‘em. I actually grew my hair 2 or 3 times before I finally started my locs. At first I didn’t even want to grow them, but I’m very happy that I did. Thanks Mom!

Where do I start!? The texture, the smell, the feel, the diversity, the effort they put in to it. Almost everything you can think of makes womens hair beautiful. I believe a woman’s hair says a lot about who she is, whether it’s natural or not.

Before you begin, be aware of what you want out of your hair after it’s loc’d. Understand the effort it takes to maintain them and please if you choose to loc your hair, be prepared to represent the rest of loc nation well!

I’m not difficult to find at all. Follow me on Twitter @LocksNtees. E-mial me at JayMn04@gmail.com. Please feel free to ask me any questions regarding locs or life in general lol.

Thank you Alex, for giving me this opportunity!

I was directed to the Remi via Twitter from one of my followers. When I saw his loc's I just had to have him on my blog. When I reached out to him he was open to the idea of being this months loc'd man and I was very excited that he agreed to the interview. His loc's are gorgeous; read his story below.

Enjoy!

My name is Aj Kimpson and I am from Clinton Maryland. Currently a senior at bowie state University, majoring in Psychology.  

Growing locs for 4 years of love and hate, LOL.

The woman who does my hair uses the Jamaican mango and lime products but it is washed and conditioned with Dove’s shampoo

My hair is for the most part washed and re-twisted every month I’ve waited longer at times but a month is the ideal time being that the grain of my hair cancels the longevity of “fresh locs.” 

I honestly just ask for a woman to take care of herself whether it is natural or with weave, as long as you’re presentable and not showing off damaged hair you are alright with me.

I find some woman with loc’d hair sexy, but it’s all on how you present it.

The pro’s of having loc’s is being free willed and not conforming to anyone’s set rules of how I should wear my hair. I’ll get a haircut when I feel as though that’s what I want to do or any other style of hair.  The con’s are being negatively profiled with others who don’t share the same goals or morals as me, and it also gets in the way at times like showering brushing teeth and things of that sort

I was about 19 when I started my loc’s still stuck on trends and not wanted to be the last man standing with twist or corn rolls; a lot of people won’t admit that. I cut my hair down to a good start size so they would lock faster.

Beautiful hair stands out to me, when its noticeable and done well. I observe a lot of things and I barely miss anything so if it’s a track slipping chances are I seen it or if a girls scalp is dry I probably didn’t miss it, but everybody has bad hair days so I don’t judge the first time. As far as what’s beautiful hair, I would say anything that’s done nice and not trashy natural or permed or even the invisible part when it’s not gaping wide.

If any readers are thinking about loc’S, ONE word patience . Do the time don’t let the time do you

You can find me on twitter.com/staxxisback 

My name is DeAngelo Wright. I am 21 year old college student attending Prince Georges Community College in MD.

I have been growing my locs for a year now.

What do you use on your hair, product wise, to maintain it?

I usually use beeswax to retwist/style my dreads.

How often do you have to wash and re-twist your loc’s and who styles them? 

I get my hair washed every three weeks and a friend of mine retwists them.

 What do you think about women with natural hair? Do you care if your woman is relaxed, natural or loc’d?

I love women with natural hair is every way. A lot of women hide behind weave now days. So, to me, it’s good to see women who are wearing their hair natural.

Yea I do, only the ones that can really pull it off though.

What are the pros and cons about having your hair loc’d?

One good thing about getting locs is that you don’t have to get your hair done that often. Dreads are much easier to have compared to twists and cornrows but once you loc your hair there is no going back.

What made you decide to loc your hair? Have you always had hair or did you start your loc’s from “scratch?”

I decided to loc my hair because that was the style I wanted before I chose to cut my hair. I also wondered what it was like to have locs, so I tried it. I grew my hair for 6 years before loc’ing.

The texture and how she “rocks” her hair along with keeping it healthy.

Do you have any advice for my readers who are considering loc’ing their hair? If you want to do it, go for it. Find a routine schedule on when you can get your hair done and go from there. Also find ONE person who does your hair.

  Where can we find you on the web? Facebook.com/JimmyJones..Twitter.com/@ _JimmyJones

One of my high school English teachers was real heavy in afro-centrism, black empowerment, self-love and historic black anthology. She also had locs and gave me a book to read on locs and their history. Through reading this book that I can’t seem to remember the specific name of right now taught me that locs in the biblical time were a sign of royalty and courage only worn by Kings and their warriors. I thought this was interesting and started my loc’ing journey. I have always had hair and didn’t exactly start from scratch but it wasn’t much length in the beginning.