I had started to daydream as I looked out of the huge window on a perfect sun filled day enjoying my lunch. A friend walked up and we chatted awhile, I can’t remember about what really, when she asked me if I were wearing a wig. I was kind of shocked at first but I thought it was  obvious that it was my own hair. It was what the kids would call today a mow hawk.  Earlier that summer I had gone to the hairdresser and she turned my afro into one of those “curls.” Not one of those greasy things that are the butt of jokes, but an actual mass of naturally curly looking ringlets. That’s before the rush to “curl” the masses and professionals just slapped whatever rod was available in their arsenal and beauty supply shops sold these kits to the masses and eventually everybody was doing it.

Competition is good for the consumer when it brings about a better product, but the curl only rushed in subpar services and products. We are on the threshold of repeating history. It seems that in the freedom to finally practice our craft, few if any have done research, only to post half tidbits of information to become hair gurus. When I started out, I wanted to be innovative.  I was blessed with the invention of a different tool design, different loc-king patterns, natural products and tons of friends family, and strangers, who answered my questions as well as allowed me to experiment on their hair. There were others as well, mavericks, that put out an excellent product.That was fifteen years ago and in this money grab,  this current natural hair phenomena, I don’t see new and improved, or different, just poor imitations of what’s out there. Nappylocs is a family tradition, part of a body of knowledge, so that little kinky haired girls never have to swing a towel, pretending to have long hair. Let’s do better.

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