Give dreadlocked men a break

Photo Credit: Mgcini Nyoni

FOLKS were on Twitter the other day saying artist Nkululeko “Khuliyo” Nkala must cut his dreadlocks after Christiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick. I wasn’t there when the bet was made but Khuliyo allegedly said he would cut his locks if Ronaldo scored a hat-trick – which he thought he wouldn’t, but the guy did. Ronaldo made history with an incredible hat-trick versus Atletico Madrid, helping Real Madrid demolish their city rivals and take one giant step towards the Champions League final. Of course Khuliyo didn’t cut his locks but it reminded me of a guy, a barber, who a few months ago cut his locks after someone said they would pay his children’s school fees for as long as they were alive.

This guy actually cut his dreadlocks and I certainly hope his children’s fees are taken care of as a result of this personal sacrifice. Another guy cut his locks at the request of his fiancé who just decided she wouldn’t marry him in dreadlocks. He had dreadlocks the entire time they were dating but she just decided she didn’t want a dreadlocked husband. “What would people say,” she said. And the poor guy cut his locks. I suppose he loved her more than he could ever love his hair. And then Jaden Smith has been trending all week after he cut his glorious locks and then showed up to the 2017 Met Gala with them in his hands!

He chose to accessorise his dapper, all-black Louis Vuitton ensemble with boots, gold jewellery, a grill, and his own shorn dreadlocks. While some may have found Jaden’s final accessory a bit unorthodox, he seemed perfectly at ease, carrying his hair with the kind of elegance that one might hold a clutch. Khuliyo says he didn’t cut his locks, which he has had for the past nine years, simply because they’ve somewhat become an investment. And this is quite common with a lot of people who have dreadlocks. They take time to grow and you really can’t wake up one day and chop them off just like that.

As much as dreadlocked peeps hold on to their locks, many more people in society despise locks, especially on men. I remember some years back, my cousin dated a guy with dreadlocks and no one took the relationship seriously because “rastas are good for nothing”. They’re dingy people who have no direction in life, people assume. Few people regard dreadlocks as just a hairstyle. Many assume because someone has dreadlocks, they’re rastafari.

You get dreadlocks and suddenly your name is prefixed with “dread”, “ras” or “empress”.

Rastafarianism is a young, Africa-centered religion which developed in Jamaica in the 1930s, following the coronation of Haile Selassie I as King of Ethiopia. The religion promotes abstinence from most or all meat, artificial foods, and alcohol, uses marijuana in religious rituals and for medicine and encourages dreadlocks as opposed to cutting hair. They even have their own language where “wa gwaan” and “me a go” mean something to this particular discourse community. A lot of famous artists like Bob Marley and Winky D have dreadlocks and are somewhat inclined to Rastafarianism.

I love Winky D and I think he’s a master at what he does. His locks bring some vava voom of some sort to his look. I mean, can you imagine a Winky D without dreadlocks? I didn’t think so! It’s the same with a lot of people. They can’t imagine themselves without dreadlocks and that’s really okay. What matters most is making sure the locks are washed regularly, retouched and sufficiently oiled. Dreadlocks are a special kind of hairstyle which requires serious maintenance. Nothing will put a sister off like dreadlocks which stink. A combination of oily and dirty hair is a major turn off. And when the locks have blanket bobble all over them, gees! You know you’re in trouble when your locks smell and they have bobble all over. 

A lot of women like to have their dreadlocks styled and this can be absolutely gorgeous but men with hair often have unique challenges. I suppose after the retouch, shampoo and oiling, there aren’t too many options on what to do and you sometimes really don’t want to have them hanging loose and haphazard. It can look untidy, especially if you work in the cooperate field. You’re probably already being judged for having locks in the first place; at least go out of your way to make sure they look desirable. Have them tied back wherever necessary or get a professional to style them appropriately and you’ll be good to go.