Donna's Salon Utopia

Discussion: Locks Locks! From: tojane Posted: February 26, 1999 Can we have a discussion about locks? Most people call them "dread locks," but a little while back, Alice Walker insisted on dropping the "dread" from the locks, because, "there is nothing dreadful about them." Most people don't realize the politics (and the HISTORY) behind them. Shall we talk about this? I've been considering locking my hair for some time now, but am not ready to do it, not because of any spiritual or political thang; but for the simple fact that I like to play with my styles, and change from time-to-time. But seriously, I love the way they look on so many other beautiful people! Here is a little tidbit of politics that takes us beyond the side of the Atlantic. Back home, in Nigeria, locks have very definite meaning. The only people who wore them were either crazy, a part of a certain caste (outcaste) of society, or a "Rastafarian." I went back a couple ye...

Last night I sat down and tried to lock my hair. It actually looked good at first, however as I continued to do it...I realized it did not look the way I wanted it to. I would recommend that anyone that wants to lock their hair seriously go to a certified loctician. This would have been the second time I would have locked my hair and I was not pleased with the previous results either. The last time I tried to lock my hair I used bee's wax and that was a really bad idea. This time there was barely anything in my hair. Although the twists I formed stayed, I did not like the way the twists were sitting on my head and it did not look very good. I took the ones I had done out and decided to stick with the same hairstyles I have been doing for years now. They are "tried, tested and true." Does not mean I do not appreciate a beautiful head of locks though.

Locks of Love operate in the United States and Canada. It provides hairpieces to disadvantaged children suffering from any diagnosis resulting in hair loss. It is a public, non-profit organization. The benefits of Locks of Love are great. They help to improve the self-esteem of young children who often may be ridiculed for not having hair due to an illness. Unlike other charitable organizations that accept donations of money, the main charitable donation base of Locks of Love is hair. People who can afford to lose their long locks to share with disadvantaged children who cannot afford hairpieces or wigs, donate their hair to Locks of Love that work with designers who create hairpieces and wigs. Here is their mission statement from the Locks of Love website: “Our mission is to return a sense of self, confidence and normalcy to children suffering from hair loss by utilizing donated ponytails to provide the highest quality hair prosthetics to financially disadvantaged children. The childr...