Hair entrepreneurs benefit from dreadlock revolution

THE hair industry continues to blossom despite the tough economic times and the bus terminals across the road from the Workshop in Pine Street (Monty Naicker) and Commercial Road have become a common spot for men and women who get their dreadlocks planted or styled.

The need to have ‘natural hair’ has seen a mushrooming of hair entrepreneurs on the streets, ready to offer their services. This coincidentally comes amid the outcry over incidents of alleged racist attitudes towards natural black hair which were reported at various schools across the country last year. Dreadlock stylist, Ntokozo Hadebe said she begun her trade in 2011 and has seen progress in her business as more and more people are getting into the craft.

“I did not have any prior experience with hair, I just started doing dreadlocks and since then I have not looked back. People love my work. A lot of my customers come to me because they were referred by someone. I think the reason why we have seen a rise in this trend is because many people do not want to wait and it is this need for instant long hair that is pushing the demand for ready locks in the market,” said Hadebe.

Dreadlocks can take several years to grow and for clients wanting the extensions, the stylists use a method known as crocheting, where the dreadlocks are either woven in individually using a thin crocheting hook or sewn together using a needle and thread. They are able to convert relaxed and European hair into dreadlocks by weaving additional human hair pieces into the straight hair – giving a client long-locked hair instantly. The process usually takes about two hours to complete depending on the length and thickness of the hair. The price range can go from R300 to R1500 depending on the size. Since this is a fairly new technique, stylists have not built stockpiles of natural locks and the competition is intense.

Hadebe said most of her clients prefer using hair from a relative as most them say they are not comfortable with having someone else’s hair on their heads.

“Dreadlocks can be very expensive if you do them at a salon, but people prefer it here because it is affordable and they get good service. Anyone can have dreadlocks as long as they have an Afro. It takes about three hours to plant the locks and an hour to retouch and style them,” she said.

The origin of dreadlocks is unknown – they have been most closely associated with Rastafarianism, but many African communities have a long history of wearing them. Some people grow dreadlocks as part of their ethnic identity, cultural or religious beliefs such as Kenya’s Maasai warriors who are instantly recognisable by their red-tinted locks.

But for many people around the world, locks are no more than a fashion statement.