Onika's Blurb
"I've never been into fuss or frills - I wear barely any accessories, I only wear make-up for special occasions and I hate worrying about hair styling. I got my first perm when I was 10 - my mum had some creme leftover from doing her own hair and my sister's hair was longer and therefore too precious to play with.
I didn't mind the chemicals (although the scabs that came up sometimes freaked me out) - it was the impermanence of it all that made me weary - constantly having to worry about regrowth and fussing with different pins and bands and burning myself with curling tongs trying to figure out new styles.
My sister has always been much better at that sort of thing so she helped me for a while - but by the time I was in college I was pretty sure that I wanted my hair in dreadlocks so that I'd never have to comb, part, tease, plait or unplait it ever again. My mum was sceptical - "you'll never get a proper job" was the only argument she knew would make me think twice.
I cut it down to the 3 inches of natural regrowth I had a week before my 18th birthday - then my sister created tiny twists over my entire head. As they grew I combined them into twos and then fours until I had the thickness I wanted and three years later my dreads were shoulder length and everyone I knew said they suited me and I had never looked better.
I've lived in New York , working as a brand innovation consultant, for 6 years now and I've cut my dreads into a shorter style a few times - usually in the Summer when they get heavy and the oil irritates the back of my neck in the heat which is extreme. But I love that my hair suits my lifestyle as well as my face - all I have to do is twist the roots, trim the ends and watch my natural, soft and shiny dreads grow faster as the years go by. It's been 10 years and I can't imagine ever going back."
The revolution is finally about to be televised. Live from The Onikaverse.
www.onikaverse.com
.jpg)
