Although there are many famous African-Americans who helped launch the Natural Hair Movement, Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu are of the most notable.  These two women helped inspire a generation of young Blacks who do not have to deal with the day-to-day oppression that is typical of the pre-Civil Rights era, but who are seeking the same Level of consciousness, personal acceptance and equality that began in the 1960s.  


By the mid-1990’s however, there was a proliferation in Conscious Hip-Hop and R&B.  As with Bob Marley and Reggae, popular artists and songwriters such as Hill and Badu wrote inspiring lyrics and opened the door for the acceptance of natural Black hair styles.  As a result, many African-American women began rejecting relaxers and chemical processes often to the extent of shaving their heads.  What makes this phenomenon so significant is that a decade earlier, Tracy Chapman received much criticism when she released “Fast Cars” in 1988 and doned a very short, pre-dreadlocks style.

Chapman’s story is indicative o
f the dual reality of dreadlocks; although dreadlocks are natural hair, they were still taboo in the African-American community.  Whether it be the misconception that one can not wash dreadlocks or that they must be cut completely in order to wear alternate styles, African-Americans, both relaxed and natural, continued to harbor negative perceptions of dreadlocks.  It was only in larger metropolitain areas in the US that dreadlocks were in high incidence and this is possibly due to the greater number of Jamaican immigrants in these areas.  

In the latter part of the 20th century dreadlocks were gaining footing in African-American sub-culture, but it wasn’t until the 1998 release of Lauyn Hill’s multi-platinum, Grammy Award winning debut solo album “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” that we see a notable increase in individuals wearing the style.  Hill, who’d already gained popularity as a member of the Hip-Hop group The Fugees, had natural hair for some time but it was the depiction of her on the album’s cover with dreadlocks and inspiring lyrics of self-love contained within that inspired many African-American women across the country to consider dreadlocks as a viable styling option.

Gradually as more African-American celebrities began to wear dreadlocks, the hair style’s visibility in popular American culture increased as well.  Given that celebrities often dictate African-American cultural trends, many people began to either adopt dreadlocks for themselves and question common dreadlocks misconceptions.  For example, the unkempt look of dreadlocks does not necessarily mean that dreadlocks are "unclean."  Many have learned that although dreadlocks do not require the use of traditional styling tools, it does have its own unique and hygienic means of hair care and as more people opted for the style, new techniques and systematic ways of growing dreadlocks were developed.

Rasta locks or Organic locks are often the images that come to mind when most think of the dreadlocks hair style.  However, Nubian locks, Sisterlocks™, Brotherlocks, Interlocks and Salon Locks are all ways in which matted hair can be styled.  What differentiates each term is the manner in which the dreadlocks are created and cared for.  Thus today with increased choice, high visibility and greater understanding, dreadlocks are gradually moving from the spiritual and taboo realms and are now being embraced by popular cultures throughout the world.