Don't Dread the GlamLocks!

Last year, our Salon Director Staci decided to do something, uh, different with her hair. We’ll let her tell the story:

Happy birthday, dreads! What an experience this has been, nurturing “my babies” (as I call them), with help and support from our awesome Creative Team at Globe Salon.

So, why dreadlocks? And how did we get here? Let’s go back 365 days ago. On that brisk January Monday, my courageous friend and coworker Samantha met me at the salon early, with lunch and notes in hand. She tossed me a DVD.

“You want to put this movie in? It’s gonna be a loooong day.” Through our intense research, we knew that once we started locking my hair, there was no going back. It was going to be at least an eight-hour process, and we were both in this for the long haul. The commitment had been made.

Tiny pony-tail by tiny pony-tail, Sam worked with tedious one-inch sections of hair. (And I have a lot of hair!). Still, her patience was awesome. And since Globe Salon has the unique position of being located at the head of the downtown Las Vegas parade route, and on this morning, the hustle and bustle of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade kept us feeling energetic … For the first few hours, anyway. Later, I finally relented and put the movie on.

We watched it. Twice.

Nine hours go by. Both of us are hungry and exhausted from a grueling day of doing a single head of hair. Sam’s poor fingers … and my poor booty from sitting all day. Finally, the last application of locking wax was applied to each and every dread baby. The end is in sight!

But first, let’s back up a moment. To get to this point was a two-year process. I wasn’t sure I was ready for the commitment required. I wasn’t clear on the process. And, despite having experimented with hairstyles ranging from a punky, super-cropped blonde flat-top, to waist-length, highlighted “cheerleader” hair, I wasn’t sure I wanted to take my current healthy, pretty-girl look and do something this drastic. And something that would require a clean start whenever I wanted to get rid of them. But I finally decided that, if I was ever going to do it, the time was now.

After we finished, I looked in the mirror and smiled. Sam rocked it—and I was ready rock my new look at the STK Steakhouse anniversary party that night. Off to the Cosmopolitan I went, and at the entrance to STK, at the step-and-repeat, photographers are noticing and complimenting the new dreads, asking for photos. After all that work Sam had put in, it was nice to know I had made a good decision. (Three months later, I saw a beautiful Chanel photo spread featuring a woman wearing ‘locks—more reinforcement!)

So, now, here we are a year later. So far, my experience with ’locks has been … Interesting. Exhausting. Educational. And fun. I wish I had been YouTubing the weekly process, to share the experience visually. Then you’d get to see the many days of frustration, as well as the transformation as the sections of hair started to lock. These dread babies had their moments, let me tell you! Some days the zig-zag crazies made me want to chop them clean off. I wasn’t even sure that they would ever start “behaving.”

But, after much care, they are finally a lot of fun. They are starting to mature, and I’m able to enjoy the look without having to spend quite as much time on maintenance. (Although they will always require about two hours weekly to keep them looking fresh.) In fact, I’m not even calling them dreadlocks. Dreads require a different process and different, less-attentive maintenance. Since these babies are too needy, I’m officially calling them GlamLocks! They are, without question, the most high-maintenance hair I’ve ever had. To answer some of the most common questions, yes, I shampoo them, and yes, when the time comes to move on to something else, I will need to cut my hair. Verrrrrry short! But I’ve been there, done that.

So, happy birthday, GlamLocks (any excuse to celebrate, as Sam says!). It’s been a wonderful year, and I’ve enjoyed answering questions from random people and sharing my experience. I also feel empowered to have finally taken the leap, because without risk there is no gain. And after all, it’s just hair. When I decide to change it, I’ll cut them off and it will grow back, as healthy as ever!