My name is Randell. I am west African (Liberian/Sierra Leonean) and the founder of a charity called Kporma (meaning help me). We work on sustainable educational projects in the rural areas of Liberia. I am also a young professional in the Higher Education field. I’ve been loc’d for almost 8 years now. I started my hair journey as an experiment to see how long my hair could get without chemicals.
How long have you been natural?
I’ve been natural for 8 years.
What motivated you to transition? Were you a transitioner or a Big Chopper& why? I started before being natural was a “thing”. I just wanted to see how long my hair could get without chemicals. It was an experiment to proof to myself, that as an African woman, I, too could have long beautiful hair. I choppedoff all my hair to start my locs.
How would you describe your hair?
Medium size dreadlocks – always experimenting with colors and styles.
What do you love most about your hair? I love the versatility about my hair mostly! I can have long, short, curly, or straight hair in just one setting.
What has been the most memorable part of your journey?Has it been easy or difficult or both?! Most memorable part about my journey was my early baby twist days! I used to be so ashamed of how they looked and would try to cover them every chance I got. It’s amazing to me now how people can just add faux locs onto their hair when beginning. I had to struggle! 🙂 I think it made me appreciate my length now even more 🙂
What have your experiences been as a ‘natural?’ Any memorable reactions from family or others?
My hair has become such a huge part of my personality! I love being a “Dreadhead” and I love all the fun things I can do with my hair. Social media has connected me to so many other people with locs. I get to share treatments, styles and etc. My family still laughs at how hard it was for my hair to grow before I got locs. It suits me well and they all love it. Others – mostly people of other ethnicities often are just inquisitive; is it my own hair, can they touch it, do I wash it? That kind of stuff…
What is your hair regimen (including fav products)? I have my loctician in Boston that I visit monthly, for almost 4 years now, but when I was a college student (always broke) Jamaican Mango & Lime was my favorite products. I used their shampoo, conditioner and hair moisturizer. I also love Africa’s Best oils for my scalp and to keep my hair moist. Oh, my new personal favorite is Argan Oil 🙂
What are some of your favorite natural hair websites,YouTuber’s, or blogs? livelaughlovelocs tumblr page is always nice- Chescalocs YouTube page & a lot of IGs pages (4theluvoflocs, locloveliveshere, loclivin, locdolls, dreadloc_nation,etc)
Anything you want the readers to know? Inspirational words? In the words of one my favorite singers/song writers “I am not my hair”! We all have to remember to remain true to who we are no matter what our hair looks like. Also, being natural doesn’t mean being lazy- experiment with your hair! Try new styles & colors. Make your hair a part of you, but don’t get caught up in this “natural hair movement” that you forget who you are! It is not fancy hair, jewelry or clothes that makes us beautiful. REMEMBER THAT!
Where can people find you for more information? IG/twitter: Randilocks web:www.kporma.org
