The Loctician with No Locs

We are all too familiar (and still mesmerized) by the phenomenon of the beautician whose hair is never done.  Now meet the loctician who doesn’t have locs.

Loctician and resident stand-out personality at the De Luxe Gallery in Brooklyn, Mike has had 3 set of locs of his life.  Ever comical - yet deep (or at least inquisitive), Mike hosts a real-people-talk style pop culture conversation show after hours from the shop each week. 

Covering anything from the Sandusky trial to debating the reality of reality tv shows, plus comic PSAs by Ya Main Man Mike himself, one quickly identifies the charisma that has easily allowed Mike transition in and out of locs without the “hair attachment issues” he finds so many loc-wears to develop towards their length.

Without further adue, Locs & Branches presents the complex simplicity of Ya Main Man Mike as through his answers on the whens and whys of each set of locs and some the wild reactions he for not being “staying the course” in others eyes.

1st Set & Cut:  To be honest, Mike admits, in 1995 when he first loc’ed his hair he was just joining in on the fad. Ironically, his first set turned out to be the set he kept for the longest- 5 and a half years.

Mike had been considering cutting his locs for over a year when he and his then-girlfriend thought she might be pregnant – an event the couple was not quite ready for.  When Mike found out that she wasn’t pregnant (a Hallelujah moment for sure) he figured, what a better occasion to make that change.

2^nd Set & Cut - A show of solidarity: Two and a half years into his second set of locs, Mike and his wife found out they were expecting their second child. Mike’s wife, who also had locs, didn’t want to go through pregnancy with the responsibility of maintaining locs, so he cut his off with her as a show of support. (Awww!!!)

3^rd Set & Cut – The story of a working married man: The old no-hair-done beautician adage just caught up with him.  Plain (tired) and simple, Mike just couldn’t find the time to take care of locs to his satisfaction while also taking care of children and bills.

While being quite a smooth and Artful Dodger about it all himself, some of the people in Mike’s life took Mike cutting his hair harder than Mike himself.  His mother, having only boys, in an apparent sense of shock and mourning commented, “Oh my god! Now I know what it’s like when a daughter goes and cuts all her hair off,” while other friends were not only in shocked, but shunned and stopped talking to him altogether.  

Without going into the details of what happens when others place strong judgments and expectations on another person outside of themselves, it rolls off Mike’s shoulders now, pointing out how everybody that really mattered stayed. (Yes, Mom was one them).  In light of that positivity Mike shares that the hardest thing about cutting ones locs is the getting over whiplash-affect: “You know that thing where you go to toss your hair back [he gestures] and there’s… [nothing].” LOL.

Follow Mike at @yamainmanmike on Twitter and see episodes of the Corna Convo here on his youtube channel yamainmanmike1.

Real Freedom: Are you using your locs to run away from your naps?!

This Independence Day weekend I want to drop a rare Curator editorial on you to give pause and props to the freeform and knotty/natty dred in our family.

I’ve been reflecting for some time on the sort of harsh division that exists between some wearers of the manicured American style locs as they seem to look down upon the style choices of the freeformers and less meticulous kept knotty dreds.

To tell the truth, starting the loc’ed life as an American-style dred, I too have shied and been ashamed to let my neat parts give way to anything other than crispness. In my personal life, puffy roots were a signal of financial brokeness and/or personal neglect— being too busy, too tired, or sometimes just too lazy to put my hands in the air for 3 hours and twist.

I knew why my puffy roots bothered me, but I remained troubled by the pure vehement some American dreds had toward those who chose to be more organic with their style — Especially since freeforming is the origin of locs as we know them.

The most common comments from dissenting American dreds about organic/freeformers are particularly disturbing to me because the words they use and disgusted sentiment they speak from so closely resembles the purposefully derogatory things underexposed person of non-African descent say and have said about natural Afro-texture hair.

“It looks dirty!” Sneers. “Wild” and “unkept.” Even “nappy” is among commonly voiced expressions of a organic resentment.  If the commenter is P.C. we get the barely diplomatic, “That’s for some people. It wouldn’t look right on me” - knowing all the while that the actual translation is “I’m not going to put myself out there like that.” (What’s “that”? The naive position that allows someone to be foolish enough to allow their dedication to cultural pride interfere with professional or any other attainment while knowing everyone else will be judging you on a mainstream expectations.)

I know that got heavy right then, and I’m not writing this tell to anyone what to do (other than perhaps gently dissuade you from being a hater). But I must share this:

Whether you were natural before, or went directly into locs from a big chop, us African-Americans with locs are a part of the natural hair family.  When we have loose natural hair we celebrate the Afro-coil’s strength and versatility. However, often when we come to locdom much of our attitude changes, reverting, if you will, into acting as the texture that enables us to do the things we do and its smallest particle, the nap, become the enemy. In turn  regarding those who allow either to coexist with their locs with a profound negativity.

My acceptance of freeform and “knottiness” has been cultivated over time. Though I still don’t favor one massive loc growing out of anybody’s head, I can partially attribute my broadened perspective on exposure to a greater exposure that has shown me beauty in freeform, chunky, and knotty heads (Thanks, Brooklyn). 

The rest is that, in my own life I got tired of feeling some kind of way that every hair was not perfectly preened when in fact the point of purposefully natural hair is appreciate it its natural state and abilities. Having entered another phase where my new growth just didn’t want to stay twisted I paused, reflecting on all the positives of just being (the chief reason being “No stress” - I didn’t get locs to stress them) I realized and asked myself, “Am I using my locs to run away from my naps?”

For 4 years, deep in my subconscious the answer had been “Yes,” and it shouldn’t be. So I changed. I’m letting it grow without stressing, twisting gently, casually.  It’s a glorious feeling.

Just for you, Locs&Branches, I prolonged my shampoo just to share pics with you. Freeformers and natty locs, please share pics with me this week.  American-style locs how do you feel about free form and using locs to avoid naps?

If these locs could talk…

What would your locs say (to or about you)?