Locs: History’s Pervasive Do

No matter how long a person’s locs, their history is even longer. Check out Groupon’s study of their origins.

Often associated with celebrities such as Bob Marley, Lauryn Hill, and Lenny Kravitz, locs are a style in which sections of hair form thick coils that the wearer does not comb out or cut. Locs are created by one of two principal processes: the freeform method or the cultivated method. Calling the former a “method” is a bit misleading, as it simply consists of not doing anything to hair until it forms itself into locs. The cultivated method can start in a variety of ways, such as braids or single and two-strand twists, that wearers wash and condition but do not brush out. As new hair grows in, it requires twisting, a process that stylists often refer to as “loc maintenance.” Those who wish to skip the budding phase can cheat the look with loc extensions, available at many salons that specialize in natural hairstyles for African Americans.

Though still popular today, some believe the look originated in the societies of east and north Africa, including the Maasai of northern Tanzania and southern Kenya, as well as the ancient Egyptians. To many members of the Rastafari movement, the reason for wearing locks is found in the Bible, specifically the Nazirite vow in Numbers 6:5, which states that “All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head […] he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.” Throughout history, the look has had cultural significance in other religious communities around the world, from India to Jerusalem, as a commitment to shunning material vanity or as a tribute to ancient deities who are thought to have sported the style as well.