“Love your hair and it will respond with love”
That was the saying I was thinking about when I decided to stop straightening my hair and do the “big chop” in 2012. Learning to manage the little three-centimeter afro that resulted was not easy, especially since I always dreamed of having long hair. But in the end, it was the start of a wonderful hair adventure for me.
I’m originally from “butterfly island,” more commonly known as Guadeloupe. It was there that I discovered a hairdressing salon dedicated to natural hair, where I took a job. Over time, teaching myself, I learned and perfected different lock braiding techniques and hairstyles. I was constantly amazed how many different hairstyles were possible!
The salon also specialized in the maintenance and care of dreadlocks for their large clientele, which gave me the opportunity to master the “twist” method used to make and tighten locks.
I loved accompanying clients on their hair transition adventures, helping create locks from scratch and watching them take shape, a process which requires so much patience. But I could see how it made them feel so happy and good about themselves, and that planted the seed of “wanting to be locked” in me.
In 2014, I felt like the time was right for me to take the plunge and begin my own dreadlock adventure, after having worn my all-natural hair for 2 years. Unlike most people, I enjoyed looking at myself in the mirror during the maturation phase. My unruly hair made me look like a lioness, which I liked. I often spoke to my hair, expressing gratitude and love.
Over time, I realized that it was not my new hairstyle that I liked to see in the mirror, but rather a version of myself that looked and felt like the real me.
I was attentive to each step of the adventure, each month I noticed an evolution, a change that reinforced my decision to go in this direction. I knew my goal, I knew where I was going and I knew I would get there.
I regret nothing. On the contrary, every day I proudly wear my real crown. I consider dreadlocks to be the most natural representation of hair because it is by leaving it free, without disentangling it, without touching it, that locks are formed.
Feeling fully yourself, free and natural, are in my opinion major assets for living fully – and for expressing yourself with your hairstyle.
