Dreadlocks | Zikoko!

Dreadlock styles may seem super expensive and difficult to maintain, but that’s not the entire truth.

There are several loc styles, from low to high budget, that require little to no maintenance.

Dreadlock styles for men

If you’re a guy who’s thinking of upgrading your hair game, here’s a list of styles you should consider.

Long twisted locs

A cool option to try if you’ve grown out your locs for a while. You might also want to throw in some colour for extra pop.

Cornrow dreads with a side cut

For clean dreadlocks and fresh cut combo that always gets the baddies going.

Mohawk locs with a bun

The thing with mohawk locs is that you can go as wild as you want with the sides. A side cut and parting is always a winner.

Short twisted locs

Source: Instagram/@nigerianlocs

This is the shorter variation of long twisted locs. A cool choice for those who’re still training their locs.

Jumbo spiky locs

Source: Instagram/@dreadspalaceabuja

You might have some difficulty sleeping properly, but this is a top-tier style that’ll easily set you apart.

Side-swept short locs with fade

Source: Instagram/@dreads_and_naturals

Throw in some dye to the tips, and you just might cause trouble for people in relationships when you step out.

Macro locs

Source:Instagram/@dreads_and_naturals

Men can also rock macro locs and look fire in it.

Criss-cross locs

This can last for weeks or months depending on what suits you.

Bob Marley locs

Source: Instagram/@nigerianlocs

Trying to get into the Jamaican Rastafarian vibe? Here’s your stop, but it’s high maintenance.

Braided locs with ponytail

Source: Pinterest

One cool advantage of having long locs? You can style it into a ponytail.

Blonde spiky locs

Source: Instagram/@dreadlocks_guru

It doesn’t even have to be blonde. You can try other interesting colours like honey brown, burgundy, or whatever suits your complexion.

Long blond locs

Just look at this and say it’s not a hot serve. The only downside is you’ll spend all your coins on keeping it clean.

Side-swept spiky locs with a fade

Source: Instagram/@elozonam

A bold look if you like to do many things with your hair and still keep it clean. Four things going on here: Blonde colour, spiky locs, hard-parting and a fade.

Jombo twisted locs

Source: Instagram/@dreadlocks_guru

Unlike the spiky jombo locks that’ll disrupt your sleep, this is a much more convenient option. And you’ll still look like today’s Agege bread.

High-top locs with strands

Source: Instagram/Instagram/@dreadlocks_guru

Another nice option if you want to enjoy a clean cut.

Dreadlock hairstyles for women

Locs are a perfect option if you’re a lady who doesn’t enjoy the weekly run to hair salons. You might spend money and extra hours on maintenance, but will you notice if you only go to the salon once a month? Whether you’ve made a decision or are still considering, here are dreadlock styles that should be on your radar.

Side-swept braided locs

Source: Instagram/@dreadlocks_guru

This dreadlock hairstyle can take your look from zero to 100 real quick — in a good way. You might have trouble sleeping sha.

Dyed spiked locs

Source: Instagram/@dreadlocks_guru

A real killer style for Gen Z baddies looking to experiment with locs.

Mini bantu locs

Source: Instagram/@dreadlocks_guru

Might look painful, but this is one style to go for if you want to occasionally pour water on your head and have zero worries about sleeping positions.

Lenthy curly locs

Source: Instagram/@dreadlocks_guru

Best for those who want interesting ways to style their long locs. You can either visit a loctician or DIY with bendable rollers for this look.

Starter locs

For when you’re just starting your dreadlocks journey.

Double-bun locs

Source: Instagram/@dreadlocks_guru

A hard yes to this look because you can even do it yourself.

Mohawk with spiky locs

Source:Instagram/@dreadlocks_guru

Only hot babes can combine spiky locs with a mohawk and make it look good.

Micro locs

Source: Instagram/@nigerianlocs

You’ll satisfy your craving for locs and still get to make other non-loc hairstyles if you want.

Jumbo bun

Source: Instagram/@dreadsbytms

You’ll need lengthy locs or lock extensions to pull this look off.

Dyed bantu locs

Source: Instagram/@dreadlocks_guru

A simple way to take your bantu locs from regular to baddie status? Throw in some colour.

Micro locs in cornrows

Source: Instagram/@dreads_and_naturals

The versatility of cornrows! Try this look if you already have macro locs and want a stylish way to retwist them.

Barrel roll locs

Source: Instagram/@dreadspalaceabuja

Not a fan of free falling or cornrow dreads? This is a nice and easy-to-maintain alternative.

Bob locs

For baddies with lenghty locs, looking for a fun way to style them. Add baby curls for that extra jazz, or not.

Short locs with dyed tips

Source: Instagram/@dreadspalaceabuja

One of the dreadlock styles that is a lifesaver when you don’t want to do too much with your locs but still stand out.

Twisted locs

Go with a colour that suits your complexion or try a combo mix. Either way, this style will pop.

Adeyinka Odutuyo

July 20, 2023

Inside Life

Dreadlocks, Locs, nigerian hairstyles, Nigerians
Long locs are nice to have but they’re not as seamless to care for as they seem. Before I locked my hair, it was long and so I thought I’d have long locs flowing on my shoulders. Nobody prepared me for the shock when I saw the spaghetti strands on my scalp. I also had to go to the salon every two weeks. Here are seven more things you should know before beginning your loc journey.

1. Locking your hair hurts like mad

They don’t tell you that locking your hair hurts like crazy. All the methods hurt but palm rolling hurts a little less. However, it’s not for every hair type. Your loctician will choose the best style for you. just make sure to take painkillers a couple of hours before heading to the salon.

2. You’ll go to the salon more times than you imagined

You probably think when you have locs, you won’t have to go to the salon as much but you do. But in the early days of your locs, you’re not allowed to manipulate your hair yourself, else your locs will loosen. Loctitians usually advise locs newbies to visit the salon every two weeks to a month. Also, as your hair grows longer, it becomes harder to wash your hair. Guess where you have to go to? Salon!

3. When you loc your hair, it’s going to shrink

Most people think when they loc their full long hair, they’ll retain the length. But nothing prepares you for how much your hair will shrink beyond recognition.

RELATED: Gorgeous Low Maintenance Hairstyle Options for Women

4. It doesn’t grow as fast as you imagine

Everyone wants long, beautiful locs. But they don’t know it takes years of growth and care. Don’t believe me? Refer to the previous point

5. Dyeing your hair is more complicated

Dyeing your hair with locs is much more complicated. Now you have to worry about the dye reaching every bit of your hair. You’re also at more risk of losing hair to dye than people with regular Afro hair.

RELATED: Beginner Tips to Know Before Dyeing Your Hair

6. You can’t use products in your locs

For healthy locs, you’re advised to avoid using products the way you would on a ‘fro because it can cause a build-up of dirt in the strands of your locs which is unhealthy.

7. Your head feels heavy

Sometimes your head can feel heavy because, well… dreadlocks are heavy. It could also be due to a build-up of dirt, especially if you haven’t washed your hair in weeks. The solution is to let your hair down and, if, possible, go to the salon and wash it!

Now that you have the facts, are you reconsidering locks? Or would you like to try something less intensive? Try Knotless braids.

Mariam Sule

April 20, 2022

Inside Life

Dreadlocks, Locs
As told to Mariam

Last week, I asked Nigerian women to share their biggest insecurities with me for an article. Sandra* was one of the women that reached out to me. After she responded, I asked more questions and this is what she told me:

I was born with dreadlocks. When I was two years old, my parents cut them off. The option of not cutting the hair simply didn’t exist for me. Anytime my mother talked about it, she gave me the impression that keeping a child’s dreadlocks could result in something negative happening in the child’s life. My sister was born with locs too and they were cut as well. After my haircut, there were bald patches where my edges should be. I didn’t think too much of it at first, but as I grew older, it became the only thing I could see when I looked in the mirror. It was as though my hairline kept receding.

I was about 9 years old when it became a problem for me. People were always offering advice, and I was always eager to try. I used spirit on my scalp. I put weed in my hair cream. I bought a special hair growth cream. One time, one woman told me to use my first urine of the day to wash my hair. I was desperate, so I did it. When all the creams and concoctions didn’t work, I was accused of being a witch who was cutting her hair to torment her parents. I also used to wet the bed at the time so it was easy for them to assume something was wrong with me.

My mother would ask me if I was secretly shaving my hair to frustrate her. One day she came back from work and said that I had a spirit husband, and I needed to pray if I wanted him to leave me alone. She told me we would be going for a deliverance session when she came back from work the next day. In my head, I was thinking “Omo, what if they actually cast a demon out of me tonight?”

I don’t remember how the deliverance session went. I know there were a lot of prayers and that became a regular occurrence. My mother would always ask her pastors to pray a special prayer for me. We went for two more deliverance sessions, where they tried to cast the demon living inside me. Nothing worked — I was still wetting my bed and my front hair refused to grow.

I started dodging the deliverance sessions. I would tell my mother I was too tired or that my stomach was paining me. Sometimes she would still force me to follow her to church but I used to get very tired so I would always have an excuse to leave.

When I was 13, I went to boarding school and I stopped attending deliverance sessions completely. But things there were also bad. People would call me ugly to my face. I felt ugly. They would ask if rats ate my hair. Even though I was popular because I won many inter-school competitions for my school, my identity was still largely tied to my hair. People described me as the tall dark girl without front hair. My school only allowed us to make all-back, and it was the one hairstyle that fully displayed my alopecia so I cut my hair. Even when my hair was low, the bald patches were still obvious.

In SS2, when I became head girl, the school included a beret as part of our uniform and I heard one of the house mistresses say it was because the head girl has no front hair. As I grew older, I got used to comments and they stopped bothering me. When I finished secondary school, I noticed that random people started to compliment me on the road. They would stare when I walked past or say they liked my height, my stature or my smile. I started to wear those compliments. I started to see beauty when I looked in the mirror. I realized that I always liked what I saw in the mirror but I needed someone else to like it too. My self-esteem improved. Even though in my first year of University, people still told me I wasn’t pretty, it didn’t hurt as much.

I studied physiotherapy and I got to interact with a lot of medics. That’s how I learned the term for my hair’s condition was alopecia. I haven’t been able to see a dermatologist but it felt good to know.

I rarely go to salons because my mood sours whenever people mention my baldness and hairdressers always want to recommend something. I also don’t like when people touch my hair so I make my hair myself most times. On most days, I feel beautiful but I can’t wait until I can afford surgery because I’d like to know what I look like with a head full of hair.

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QUIZ: What Colour Should You Dye Your Hair?

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Mariam Sule

April 1, 2021

Her

Alopecia, Culture, Dreadlocks, hair
The third episode of #MORETHANINKANDLOCS features Funfere Koroye. Funfere Koroye is an Industrial Designer and Product Developer with years of experience.

Cool, calm and collected, Funfere told us the stories behind his tattoos and their meanings, like the most famous one being his piece on a mask of the Benin Empire, a relic which is still being held by the British.

To Funfere, his tattoos are “sort of like a bit of education.”

Despite not having any bad reactions, Funfere has had bad experiences especially with “people not taking him seriously during job interviews or pitching work to clients. Because in the mind of Nigerians especially our elders, someone with tattoos somehow would mess up their project or not do the work well.”

About his tattoos, Funfere says “I never really understood how ink on my skin stops me from being who I am. I mean I am a hardware designer, it’s like the work is on the computer, it’s not happening on the surface of my skin.” But he was ready to be denied opportunities, and it was their loss.

Sharing his opinion on society’s bias towards tattoos, Funfere says “if you don’t want to work with me based on how I look, or if you don’t want to work with me based on how I dress, then the problem is with you, not me.”

Funfere is # MORETHANINKANDLOCS, and this video tells us why.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJQCXo093D0&t=67s

Let us know what you think!

Boyin Plumptre

June 14, 2019

Creators

Dreadlocks, Funfere, MTIL, tattoos
In a country where constant electricity and a standard healthcare system – some of the most basic amenities a normal society should have- are extreme, almost unattainable luxuries, you would think the Federal governmenmt would busy itself with trying to make the country at least bearable for its citizens.
But as Nigerians, this is what our leaders do when they are not launching questionable ‘anti-corruption’ books.

As if this isn’t shocking enough, the federal government recently complained about the state of social values during yet another anti-corruption themed event in Abuja last week.

Apparently, they believe gay people, ‘wearing of dreadlocks’, sagging and hair painting are having a negative impact on Nigeria’s social values.

Speaking at the event organised by the Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria, The Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, Dr. Garba Abari, said: “It is pertinent to note that the advent of satellite broadcasting has continued to pose a serious challenge to our traditional culture and religious values and our identity as a people. Our youths are now being deceived by the international media with values that are at variance with our culture and the teachings of our religion. “The wearing of tattoos, dreadlocks hairstyle, sagging trousers and the painting of hair have become a vogue among our young men and women. “Our youths are now publicly clamoring for the legalization of gay marriage and are about to boldly take the campaign to the hallowed chambers of the National Assembly to press for it as a fundamental human right.”
But is that the work we sent them? Nigerians are expectedly angry and are raising the points:

Are gay people and locs the reason why Nigerians don’t have light at home?

Is fixing our problems instead of doing oversabi too much to ask of our government?

The government could start another oversabi ‘war against indiscipline’ because #NaTheWorkWeyDemDeyDo

At this point, one can only hope Nigeria gets the better leaders her hardworking citizens deserve soon enough.

Maryam

June 6, 2017

Gist

Dreadlocks, federal government, gay, homosexuals, Nigeria
Known for his soothing voice and signature dreadlocks, Canadian musician, The Weeknd, shocked the world when he showed off his new look while promoting his upcoming album, ‘Star Boy’.

Shocking as this big chop may be, that’s not why we’re here o!

Because there’s only one Star Boy we know and trust, the one and only hit maker, Wizkid.

We’re confused o! Who should be the original Star Boy? Share your thoughts on The Weeknd’s big chop in the comments section.
While the world waits patiently for The Weeknd’s album, you can listen to a snippet from his single with Daft Punk here.

Maryam

September 22, 2016

Gist

Dreadlocks, music, nigerian music, the weeknd, Wizkid
Cultural appropriation.
Definition: The use of elements of one culture by members of a different culture (Wikipedia).
White people have been known to do stuff generally associated with Black people.

Like Kim Kardashian’s cornrows.

Or Iggy Azalea’s rap style.

Or Rachel Dolezal pretending to be Black.

Cultural appropriation is a problem not just because White people do a Black hairstyle, but because when they do it, it is considered new or trendy. It erases Black people as if they don’t matter.
Black people have always spoken against it. If White people want to borrow some peculiarities from Black culture, they should be willing to embrace everything else.
But this girl took it to another level. She physically came after a White guy at her university, because he had dreadlocks.

In a video that has since gone viral, the girl and her friend are seen confronting the young man. She asked the guy why he had dreads and was appropriating her culture.
As much as she’s standing up for an important issue, she rather went about it the wrong way.

Violence never settles anything. And this is bullying!
Also we have some important questions.

Do Black people own dreads?

Do Black people not use Filipino, Malaysian, Indian, European and Brazilian hair?

Do they not dye their hair various colours?

Watch the video.

This topic about cultural appropriation will not end anytime soon. Its history goes back to slavery. But we need to be aware of what is appropriation and what isn’t.
[zkk_poll post=26301 poll=content_block_standard_format_13]

chioma

March 30, 2016

Gist

Dreadlocks, dreads, white man
There are numerous benefits that come with having locs.

Like looking good in the morning, without styling. I’m basically able to wake up and go.

Pinterest

Needing minimal products for styling.

Being able to dance in the rain if I wanted or go swimming.

Black Hair Information

Saving tons of money that would have otherwise be spent on hair extensions. Heck I can run my hands through my hair without feeling tracks from weaves on my scalp.

London Curls

Getting nods of acknowledgement when you meet a loc brother or sister.

Pinterest

Or people seeing you as an inspiration to start their locs.

But there are also the not-so-nice aspects, which I’m sure fellow locheads will totally get.

1. When people call it “dreadlocks”.

Please it’s called locs. There’s nothing dreadful about the hair.

Pinterest

Yes I know the title says ‘dreadlocks”. That’s because it’s what Nigerians call locs. I’m here to tell you that it’s incorrect. So please, take note.

2. Seeing someone with long locs and wishing yours could grow faster.

But why?

3. The longer they grow, the longer it takes for them to dry.

ChescaLeigh

4. Having to go through extra security checks at the airport.

Daily Mail

Probably because they think that drugs get hidden inside the locs. To give them credit, it’s been done before. Doesn’t mean all locheads are like that though.

5. Some people thinking that you must do drugs.

Seriously?! Yeah, Bob Marley smoked weed. That doesn’t mean we all do that though.

6. Having to hide your locs when you go for job interview.

Bronze Goddess

Bummer.

7. Or getting funny looks when you leave them out.

Sometimes, you don’t get the job.

8. Meeting your boyfriend’s or girlfriend’s parents for the first time and seeing their reaction to your locs.

I’m a good person. I promise.

If you have locs, you’re bound to get questions like this:

9. Do you wash your hair?

No, I don’t. My locs are self-cleansing.

10. How do you wash it?

The same way you wash your hair.

11. Were you born this way?

Not necessarily. If anybody with kinky hair decides to stop combing their hair, it’ll matt over time.

12. Are you from Jamaica?

Nope. That’s neither here nor there.

13. Do you like reggae? You must be a musician.

Not really. I’m not a musician, but I can sing.

14. Are you a Rastafarian?

Yah man! Yaga!

Sigh, not a compulsory criterion.

15. Are you a footballer?

Max Mag

It’s only Michel Obi or Jay Jay or Kanu that have locs abi?

16. Why is your hair standing up?

Black Women Natural Hairstyles

Because it’s short?

17. Being told by relatives: “How do you expect to find husband/wife with this kind hair?”

You don’t say. I didn’t know that was a criteria now.

18. The polite ones ask “Can I touch your locs”. Other times, you’re not asked. They just go ahead and touch. It happened to Ava Duvernay.

Missed train dealing w/ a man who touched my hair + when I asked what in all the hells he thought he was doing replied “Is this racial?”

— Ava DuVernay (@AVAETC) June 13, 2015

19. Are you a lesbian?

Really? Why is it a crime for girls to have short hair?

Getting statements like these on a regular basis:

20. I like your your hair, but it makes you look rough.

Nobody asked for your opinion.

21. I like locs, but I can never do it. I don’t think it’ll fit me.

That’s nice to know.

Despite it all, the pros still outweighs the cons, by far and I wouldn’t change it for anything.

Featured image: Patience Edet

chioma

March 26, 2016

Oldies

Dreadlocks, Lochead, Locs