Naturals Speak UP featuring Traci (Locs queen)

Traci Amanda Washington

I am 31 years old. Born in raised in New Orleans, La, I attended public schools in the city until my 10th grade year, when I was “shipped” off to boarding school! 🙂 I love the arts – always have. I attended Julliard for a program the winter break of my senior year in high school and I fell in love with the Northeast! The hustle and bustle spoke to my spirit at the time. I had the privilege to attend Howard University in Washington, DC shortly after that, and my Natural journey began.

Growing up in Southern Louisiana in the 80s and 90s, it wouldn’t be a surprise to find out that my hair was permed at a very early age. I’ve always had a “full head o’ hair” and I am also the youngest of three girls. New Orleans heat and humidity, the thickness of my hair, and my mother’s fatigue meant that presses and hot combs would be short-lived, so for my kindergarten graduation (at the age of five), I received my first perm – a Just for Me, of course. And perms were the thing to do. My best friend’s mom did my hair ALL my life and kept it healthy and flowing and permed. Every 4-6 weeks (because my hair was SUPER THICK), I would avoid scratching for two days leading up to my appointment and brave the “hairdresser”!

When I moved to Natchitoches, La for boarding school, it was harder to keep up without my usual beautician, and this became increasingly more difficult when I moved to Washington, DC. I thought about other options. I was influenced by the #blackgirlmagic of the Mecca, Howard University, and the beauty of women with natural hair in the Northeast in general. In the late 90s and early 2000s, the only people in the south really ROCKIN locs and natural hair were rappers, it seemed. (I know because I was often asked if I was related to Lil Wayne or the girl on the Knuck if you Bucked video…le sigh). But I was intrigued. So the summer before my senior year at Howard, (it took me a while to commit. I had NEVER cut my hair before and having long hair was a “thing” for me. I felt that my identity was tied to it) I got two strand twists with fake hair “just to see how I would look” with a natural style, namely locs. That was a new experience for me too – fake hair. This was also something I had never really experimented with. So in my ignorance, I left those two strand twists in for about a month, maybe longer. Little did I know, my crown had other plans. Apparently, unbeknownst to me, I wasn’t supposed to wash my hair and let it air dry with those two-strand twists. In fact, little did I know, I was creating the perfect scenario for locs – but I still had perm in my hair!

 

When I attempted to take the braids out, my hair was matted – it had locked at the roots. My natural hair was attached to the braids and the only thing that could be done (after frantically conditioning my hair with A WHOLE BOTTLE to try to soften it, and when that didn’t work, running around DC to find any and all hairdressers that could help me) was to CUT IT ALL OFF! I cried like a baby. The whole night before, the whole day while hairdresser after hairdresser told me they couldn’t do anything with it, and even while the nice lady chopped all my hair off. “I’m gonna look like a boy. An ugly boy! My forehead is too big – that’s why I’ve always had long hair! And I have strong features – I’m going to look like a MAN!” Oh I cried and cried! She colored it and twisted it up for me that day, so it wouldn’t look like a little fro and when I saw it I was horrified. I didn’t know myself that way….YET! And then Howard happened. And DC happened. Compliments galore! And everyday, I grew more confident about it. I came into owning my crown! When I would visit home, it was still an anomaly and so I also endured my fair share of questions and shady “concerns”, like “but what about when you graduate? How are you going to put a fro under a cap? What about when you get married? How is THAT gonna look with a wedding dress?” But something about my crown gave me strength! I loved it!

 

 

I didn’t give up on my loc dream though. After wearing my hair natural for a few years (2005-2007) – out in an afro, tied back with a long sock…yes, socks make great headbands, braided in styles, afro puffed, etc – I decided to start strand twists with a goal of locking. They were short and had little hang past my hair line. Alot of people call this the “ugly” phase of locs, but I didn’t mind it. Nothing was more traumatizing than my first chop! It grew…and grew….and now it just grows and grows! I’ve had my crown of locs for 7 years now, and sometimes, I miss my afro! I appreciated experimenting with styles, including pressing it – which, by the way, was the healthiest and happiest my hair has ever looked and felt straightened…no perm could touch it! I knew then that I would NEVER succumb to the creamy crack again.

When I moved to NYC in 2008, I began experimenting with styles with my locs. They had finally grown long enough. Now, my hair is longer than it has EVER been. For this reason, I often keep it curled or braided, but I also like the natural straightened look. For me, something about the years of stories that are told within my hair is the reason I love my locs. They carry energy and strength. My hair is heavy, literally, but manageable when styled. Now, when I maintain it myself, I use Dr. Bronner’s Hemp Pure Castile Oil Soap (Peppermint is my scalp’s favorite), and either Tea Tree Oil, Vitamin E Oil, or a very little bit of shea butter (because it’s thinker than the oils) to moisturize it. I don’t style my hair any longer, so I am sure to only visit salons/shops owned by naturalistas that carry natural products – Dawanna at Beauty on de Bayou and Sister Kevin at Afro Swank Natural Hair Studio.

 

People say/said that natural hair was easier to manage. This is NOT true! Healthy hair takes time, patience, love, and peace! Yes PEACE! My hair grew less when I was stressed. It matched the energy my body was sending it. Going/being natural is not a matter of a certain type of hair, or face, or forehead (like I thought back when I first chopped it all off). It is, however, about a certain type of SPIRIT! I carry my crown, but in a lot of ways, MY CROWN CARRIES ME! It is a journey I would not trade for the world.