Product Code Database
Dreadlocks, also known as dreads or locs, are a Hairstyle made of rope-like strands of matted hair. Dreadlocks can form naturally in very curly hair, or they can be created with techniques like twisting, Backcombing, or crochet. (2025). 9781932633931, Allured Business Media. ISBN 9781932633931
Other origins have been proposed. Some authors trace the term to the Mau Mau, a group of whom apparently coined it from British Empire in 1959 as a reference to their dreadful hair.
In their 2014 book Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America, Ayana Byrd and Lori Tharps claimed that the name dredlocs originated in the time of the Slavery: when transported Africans disembarked from the slave ships after spending months confined in Hygiene, White people would report that their undressed and matted kinky hair was "dreadful". According to them, it is due to these circumstances that many people wearing the style today drop the a in dreadlock to avoid negative implications.
The word dreadlocks refers to locks of entangled hair. (2025). 9781932633931, Allured Business Media. ISBN 9781932633931
Several languages have names for these locks:
There were priests with long robes of black cloth... The hair of these priests was very long and so matted that it could not be separated or disentangled, and most of them had their ears scarified, and their hair was clotted with blood.
Cheikh Ibra Fall, founder of the Baye Fall school of the Mouride Brotherhood, popularized the style by adding a mystic touch to it. This sect of Islam in Senegal, where Muslims wear ndjan (dreadlocks), aimed to Africanize Islam. Dreadlocks to this group of Islamic followers symbolize their religious orientation. Jamaican Rastas also reside in Senegal and have settled in areas near Baye Fall communities. Baye Fall and Jamaican Rastas have similar cultural beliefs regarding dreadlocks. Both groups wear knitted caps to cover their locs and wear locs for religious and spiritual purposes. Male members of the Baye Fall religion wear locs to detach from mainstream Western ideals.
In Europe in the 1970s, hundreds of Jamaicans and other Caribbean people immigrated to metropolitan centers of London, Birmingham, Paris, and Amsterdam. Communities of Jamaicans, Caribbean people, and Rastas emerged in these areas. Thus Europeans in these metropolitan cities were introduced to Black cultures from the Caribbean and Rastafarian practices and were inspired by Caribbean culture, leading some of them to adopt Black hair culture, music, and religion. However, the strongest influence of Rastafari religion is among Europe's Black population.
When reggae music, which espoused Rastafarian ideals, gained popularity and mainstream acceptance in the 1970s, thanks to Bob Marley's music and cultural influence, dreadlocks (often called "dreads") became a notable fashion statement worldwide, and have been worn by prominent authors, actors, athletes, and rappers. Rastafari influenced its members worldwide to embrace dreadlocks. Black Rastas loc their hair to embrace their African heritage and accept African features as beautiful, such as dark skin tones, Afro-textured hair, and African facial features. Hip Hop and Rapping artists such as Lauryn Hill, Lil Wayne, T-Pain, Snoop Dogg, J-Cole, Wiz Khalifa, Chief Keef, Lil Jon, and other artists wear dreadlocks, which further popularized the hairstyle in the 1990s, early 2000s, and present day. Dreadlocks are a part of hip-hop fashion and reflect Black cultural music of liberation and identity. Many rappers and Afrobeat artists in Uganda wear locs, such as Navio, Delivad Julio, Fik Fameica, Vyper Ranking, Byaxy, Liam Voice, and other artists. From reggae music to hip hop, rap, and Afrobeat, Black artists in the African diaspora wear locs to display their Black identity and culture.
Youth in Kenya who are fans of rap and hip hop music, and Kenyan rappers and musicians, wear locs to connect to the history of the Mau Mau freedom fighters who wore locs as symbols of anti-colonialism, and to Bob Marley, who was a Rasta. Hip hop and reggae fashion spread to Ghana and fused with traditional Ghanaian culture. Ghanaian musicians wear dreadlocks incorporating reggae symbols and hip hop clothes mixed with traditional Ghanaian textiles, such as wearing Head tie to hold their locs. Ghanaian women wear locs as a symbol of African beauty. The beauty industry in Ghana believe locs are a traditional African hair practice and market hair care products to promote natural African hairstyles such as afros and locs. (2025). 9781000182996 ISBN 9781000182996 The previous generations of Black artists have inspired younger contemporary Black actresses to loc their hair, such as Chloe Bailey, Halle Bailey, and R&B and Pop music singer Willow Smith. More Black actors in Hollywood are choosing to loc their hair to embrace their Black heritage.
Although more Black women in Hollywood and the beauty and music industries are wearing locs, there has never been a Black Miss America winner with locs because there is pushback in the fashion industry towards Black women's natural hair. For example, model Adesuwa Aighewi locked her hair and was told she might not receive any casting calls because of her dreadlocks. Some Black women in modeling agencies are forced to straighten their hair. However, more Black women are resisting and choosing to wear Black hairstyles such as afros and dreadlocks in fashion shows and beauty pageants. For example, in 2007 Miss Universe Jamaica and Rastafarian, Zahra Redwood, was the first Black woman to break the barrier on a world pageant stage when she wore locs, paving the way and influencing other Black women to wear locs in beauty pageants. In 2015, Miss Jamaica World Sanneta Myrie was the first contestant to wear locs to the Miss World. In 2018, Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers of Britain was crowned Miss Universe wearing her locs and became the first Black British woman to win the competition with natural locs.
Hollywood cinema often uses the dreadlock hairstyle as a prop in movies for villains and pirates. According to author Steinhoff, this appropriates dreadlocks and removes them from their original meaning of Black heritage to one of dread and otherness. In the movie Pirates of the Caribbean, the pirate Jack Sparrow wears dreadlocks. Dreadlocks are used in Hollywood to mystify a character and make them appear threatening or living a life of danger. In the movie The Curse of the Black Pearl, pirates were dressed in dreadlocks to signify their cursed lives.
In West Africa, the water spirit Mami Wata is said to have long locked hair. Mami Wata's spiritual powers of fertility and healing come from her dreadlocks. West African spiritual priests called Dada wear dreadlocks to venerate Mami Wata in her honor as spiritual consecrations. Some Christian monks and Bahatowie priests of the Ethiopian Coptic Church lock their hair for religious purposes. In Yorubaland, Aladura church prophets called woolii mat their hair into locs and wear long blue, red, white, or purple garments with caps and carry iron rods used as a staff. Prophets lock their hair in accordance with the Nazarene vow in the Christian bible. This is not to be confused with the Rastafari religion that was started in the 1930s. The Aladura church was founded in 1925 and Syncretism indigenous Yoruba beliefs about dreadlocks with Christianity. Moses Orimolade Tunolase was the founder of the first African Pentecostal movement started in 1925 in Nigeria. Tunolase wore dreadlocks and members of his church wear dreadlocks in his honor and for spiritual protection. The Yoruba language word Dada is given to children in Nigeria born with dreadlocks. Some Yoruba people believe children born with dreadlocks have innate spiritual powers, and cutting their hair might cause serious illness. Only the child's mother can touch their hair. "Dada children are believed to be young gods, they are often offered at spiritual altars for chief priests to decide their fate. Some children end up becoming spiritual healers and serve at the shrine for the rest of their lives." If their hair is cut, it must be cut by a chief priest and placed in a pot of water with herbs, and the mixture is used to heal the child if they get sick. Among the Igbo people, Dada children are said to be reincarnated of great spiritual power because of their dreadlocks. Children born with dreadlocks are viewed as special. However, adults with dreadlocks are viewed negatively. Yoruba Dada children's dreadlocks are shaved at a river, and their hair is grown back "tamed" and have a hairstyle that conforms to societal standards. The child continues to be recognized as mysterious and special. It is believed that the hair of Dada children was braided in heaven before they were born and will bring good fortune and wealth to their parents. When the child is older, the hair is cut during a special ritual. In Yoruba religion, the Orisha Yemoja gave birth to a Dada who is a deified king in Yoruba. However, dreadlocks are viewed in a negative light in Nigeria due to their stereotypical association with gangs and criminal activity; men with dreadlocks face profiling from Nigerian police. In Ghana, among the Asante people, Okomfo Anokye are identified by their dreadlocks. They are not allowed to cut their hair and must allow it to mat and lock naturally. Locs are symbols of higher power reserved for priests. Other spiritual people in Southern Africa who wear dreadlocks are Sangomas. Sangomas wear red and white beaded dreadlocks to connect to ancestral spirits. Two African men were interviewed, explaining why they chose to wear dreadlocks. "One – Mr. Ngqula – said he wore his dreadlocks to obey his ancestors' call, given through dreams, to become a 'sangoma' in accordance with his Xhosa people. Another – Mr. Kamlana – said he was instructed to wear his dreadlocks by his ancestors and did so to overcome 'intwasa', a condition understood in African culture as an injunction from the ancestors to become a traditional healer, from which he had suffered since childhood." In Zimbabwe, there is a tradition of locking hair called mhotsi worn by spirit mediums called svikiro. The Rastafarian religion spread to Zimbabwe and influenced some women in Harare to wear locs because they believe in the Rastafari's pro-Black teachings and rejection of colonialism.
Maasai people warriors in Kenya are known for their long, thin, red dreadlocks, dyed with red root extracts or red ochre (red earth clay). The Himba women in Namibia are also known for their red-colored dreadlocks. Himba women use otjize and roll their hair with the mixture. They use natural moisturizers to maintain the health of their hair. Hamar people in Ethiopia wear red-colored locs made using red earth clay. In Angola, Mwila women create thick dreadlocks covered in herbs, crushed tree bark, dried cow dung, butter, and oil. The thick dreadlocks are dyed using oncula, an ochre of red crushed rock. In Southern Africa, East Africa, and North Africa Africa, Africans use red ochre as sunscreen and cover their dreadlocks and braids with ochre to hold their hair in styles and as a hair moisturizer by mixing it with fats. Red ochre has a spiritual meaning of fertility, and in Maasai culture, the color red symbolizes bravery and is used in ceremonies and dreadlock hair traditions.
Historians note that West and Central African people braid their hair to signify age, gender, rank, role in society, and ethnic affiliation. It is believed braided and locked hair provides spiritual protection, connects people to the spirit of the earth, bestows spiritual power, and enables people to communicate with the gods and spirits. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the Atlantic slave trade saw Black Africans forcibly transported from Sub-Saharan Africa to North America and, upon their arrival in the New World, their heads would be shaved in an effort to erase their culture. Enslaved Africans spent months in and their hair matted into dreadlocks that European slave traders called "dreadful."
Natural Black hairstyles worn by Black women are seen as not feminine and unprofessional in some American businesses. Wearing locs in the diaspora signifies a person's racial identity and defiance of European standards of beauty, such as straight blond hair. Locs encourage Black people to embrace other aspects of their culture that are tied to Black hair, such as wearing African ornaments like cowrie shells, , and head tie that are sometimes worn with locs. Some Black Canadians women wear locs to connect to the Black studies. Dreadlocks unite Black people in the diaspora because wearing locs has the same meaning in areas of the world where there are Black people: opposing Eurocentric standards of beauty and sharing a Black and African diaspora identity. For many Black women in the diaspora, locs are a fashion statement to express individuality and the beauty and versatility of Black hair. Locs are also a protective hairstyle to maintain the health of their hair by wearing kinky hair in natural locs or faux locs. To protect their natural hair from the elements during the Season, Black women wear certain hairstyles to protect and retain the moisture in their hair. Black women wear soft locs as a protective hairstyle because they enclose natural hair inside them, protecting their natural hair from environmental damage. This protective soft loc style is created by "wrapping hair around the natural hair or crocheting pre-made soft locs into cornrows." In the diaspora, Black men and women wear different styles of dreadlocks. Each style requires a different method of care. Freeform locs are formed organically by not combing the hair or manipulating the hair. There are also goddess locs, faux locs, sister locs, twisted locs, Rasta locs, crinkle locs, invisible locs, and other loc styles.
In the 1970s, hippies from Australia's southern region moved to Kuranda, where they introduced the Rastafari movement as expressed in the Reggae of Peter Tosh and Bob Marley to the Buluwai people in the 1970s. Aboriginal Australians found parallels between the struggles of Black people in the Americas and their own racial struggles in Australia. Willie Brim, a Buluwai man born in the 1960s in Kuranda, identified with Tosh's and Marley's spiritually conscious music, and inspired particularly by Peter Tosh's album Bush Doctor, in 1978 he founded a reggae band called Mantaka after the area alongside the Barron River where he grew up. He combined his people's cultural traditions with the reggae guitar he had played since he was young, and his band's music reflects Buluwai culture and history. Now a leader of the Buluwai people and a cultural steward, Brim and his band send an "Aboriginal message" to the world. He and other Buluwai people wear dreadlocks as a native part of their culture and not as an influence from the Rastafari religion. Although Brim was inspired by reggae music, he is not a Rastafarian as he and his people have their own spirituality. Foreigners visiting Australia think the Buluwai people wearing dreadlocks were influenced by the Rastafarian movement, but the Buluwai say their ancestors wore dreadlocks before the movement began. Some Indigenous Australians wear an Australian Aboriginal flag (a symbol of unity and Indigenous identity in Australia) tied around their head to hold their dreadlocks.
In a village in Pune, Savitha Uttam Thorat, some women hesitate to cut their long dreadlocks because it is believed it will cause misfortune or bring down divine wrath. Dreadlocks practiced by the women in this region of India are believed to be possessed by the goddess Yellamma. Cutting off the hair is believed to bring misfortune onto the woman, because having dreadlocks is considered to be a gift from the goddess Yellamma (also known as Renuka). Some of the women have long and heavy dreadlocks that put a lot of weight on their necks, causing pain and limited mobility. Some in local government and police in the Maharashtra demand the women cut their hair, because the religious practice of Yellamma forbids women from washing and cutting their dreadlocks, causing health issues. These locks of hair dedicated to Yellamma are called jade, believed to be evidence of divine presence. However, in Southern India, people advocate for the end of the practice. The goddess Angala Devi in Indian mythology is said to have cataik-kari matted hair (dreadlocks). Women healers in India are identified by their locs of hair and are respected in spiritual rituals because they are believed to be connected to goddesses. A woman who has a jata is believed to derive her spiritual powers or shakti from her dreadlocks.
In the Rastafarian belief, people wear locs for a spiritual connection to the universe and the spirit of the earth. It is believed that by shaking their locs, they will bring down the destruction of Babylon. Babylon in the Rastafarian belief is systemic racism, colonialism, and any system of economic and social oppression of Black people. Locs are also worn to defy European standards of beauty and help to develop a sense of Black pride and acceptance of African features as beautiful. In another branch of Rastafari called Bobo Ashanti, dreadlocks are worn to display a black person's identity and social protest against racism. The Bobo Ashanti are one of the strictest Mansions of Rastafari. They cover their locs with bright and wear long robes and can usually be distinguished from other Rastafari members because of this. Other Rastas wear a Rastacap to tuck their locs under the cap.
The Bobo Ashanti ("Bobo" meaning "black" in Iyaric; and "Ashanti" in reference to the Ashanti people of Ghana, whom the Bobos claim are their ancestors), were founded by Emmanuel Charles Edwards in 1959 during the period known as the "groundation", where many protests took place calling for the repatriation of African descendants and slaves to Kingston. A Boboshanti branch spread to Ghana because of repatriated Jamaicans and other Black Rastas moving to Ghana. Prior to Rastas living in Ghana, Ghanaians and previously had their own beliefs about locked hair. Dreadlocks in West Africa are believed to bestow children born with locked hair with spiritual power, and that Dada children, that is, those born with dreadlocks, were given to their parents by water deities. Rastas and Ghanaians have similar beliefs about the spiritual significance of dreadlocks, such as not touching a person's or child's locs, maintaining clean locs, locs spiritual connections to spirits, and locs bestowing spiritual powers to the wearer.
In professional American football, the number of players with dreadlocks has increased since Al Harris and Ricky Williams first wore the style during the 1990s. In 2012, about 180 National Football League players wore dreadlocks. A significant number of these players are defensive backs, who are less likely to be tackled than offensive players. According to the NFL's rulebook, a player's hair is considered part of their "uniform", meaning the locks are fair game when attempting to bring them down.
In the NBA, there has been controversy over Brooklyn Nets guard Jeremy Lin, an Asian-American who garnered mild controversy over his choice of dreadlocks. Former NBA player Kenyon Martin accused Lin of appropriating African-American culture in a since-deleted social media post, after which Lin pointed out that Martin has multiple Chinese characters tattooed on his body.
David Diamante, the American Boxing ring announcer of Italian American heritage, sports prominent dreadlocks.
The Perception Institute conducted a "Good Hair Study" using images of Black women wearing natural styles in locs, afros, twists, and other Black hairstyles. The Perception Institute is "a consortium of researchers, advocates and strategists" that uses psychological and emotional test studies to make participants aware of their racial biases. A Black-owned hair supply company, Shea Moisture, partnered with Perception Institute to conduct the study. The tests were done to reduce hair- and racially-based discrimination in education, civil justice, and law enforcement places. The study used an implicit-association test on 4,000 participants of all racial backgrounds and showed most of the participants had negative views about natural Black hairstyles. The study also showed Millennials were the most accepting of kinky hair texture on Black people. "Noliwe Rooks, a Cornell University professor who writes about the intersection of beauty and race, says for some reason, natural Black hair just frightens some White people."
In September of 2016, a lawsuit was filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against the company Catastrophe Management Solutions located in Mobile, Alabama. The court case ended with the decision that it was not a discriminatory practice for the company to refuse to hire an African American because they wore dreadlocks.
In some Texas public schools, dreadlocks are prohibited, especially for male students, because long braided hair is considered unmasculine according to Western standards of masculinity which define masculinity as "short, tidy hair." Black and Native American boys are stereotyped and receive negative treatment and negative labeling for wearing dreadlocks, cornrows, and long braids. Non-white students are prohibited from practicing their traditional hairstyles that are a part of their culture.
In 2017, the United States Army lifted the ban on dreadlocks. In the army, Black women can now wear and locs under the condition that they are groomed, clean, and meet the length requirements. From slavery into the present day, the policing of Black women's hair continues to be controlled by some institutions and people. Even when Black women wear locs and they are clean and well-kept, some people do not consider locs to be feminine and professional because of the Kinky hair texture of Black hair.
Four African countries approved the wearing of dreadlocks in their courts: Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. However, hairism continues despite the approval. Although locked hairstyles are a traditional practice on the Africa, some Africans disapprove of the hairstyle because of cultural taboos or pressure from Europeans in African schools and local African governments to conform to Eurocentric standards of beauty.
Following a review of our guidelines for the longest dreadlock, we have taken expert advice and made the decision to rest this category. The reason for this is that it is difficult, and in many cases impossible, to measure the authenticity of the locks due to expert methods employed in the attachment of hair extensions/re-attachment of broken-off dreadlocks. Effectively the dreadlock can become an extension and therefore impossible to adjudicate accurately. It is for this reason Guinness World Records has decided to rest the category and will no longer be monitoring the category for longest dreadlock.
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