“I think it is ridiculous, the notion that locs are unprofessional. How do you equate professionalism with a hairstyle?” says Friend. “This stigma is based on people’s fear and lack of education. The beauty of Black hair is about the freedom to wear your hair how you choose.” Friend’s work on the big screen is helping society at large get comfortable with seeing people with locs move through spaces.
With that in mind, says Friend, it’s essential to have informed professionals on set, so they can accurately depict different styles of locs within these representations. “All hair requires maintenance; hair is alive and holds energy. Locs are simple to preserve and maintain with the correct technique and products,” she says. “Clients and actors deserve a skilled professional caring for their hair.”
Friend describes locs as “versatile” and having the ability “to be worn in many types of styles” such as “twists, knots, braids, curls, and crimps.” Like many, I found inspiration in styling my hair on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, where creators demonstrate that with locs, the possibilities are endless.
Imani Goodridge was nine years old when she had her sisterlocs established. “I was allergic to braiding and human hair, which limited the number of styles I could comfortably do. I’d had smaller braids on my natural hair before and thought starter sisterlocs didn’t look much different,” says Goodridge. She was inspired by her mother’s sisterlocs but said having the smaller locs as opposed to traditional locs worked better for her active lifestyle. “I swam competitively for about seven years. If I’d gotten traditional locs and used a palm rolling retwist method, my retwists would’ve unraveled as soon as my hair came in contact with water,” she says.
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That’s just one example of how having locs has positively impacted Goodridge’s life.”Sisterlocs have gifted me with freedom and given me back my time. Unlike those with loose natural hair, my daily activities aren’t dictated by how my hair is styled,” she says. By sharing her own journey with locs, Goodridge hopes to empower others to try the style. All in all, her hope is to inspire others to “do what makes you happy and makes you feel beautiful. Life’s too short to care about other people’s opinions.”