Courtesy of Nairobi Burks

As a young girl, Nairobi Burks was inspired to put sisterlocks in her hair after she saw her mom with the same style. But living in Temecula, California, a predominantly white town, made her feel secluded.

“I wouldn't see a lot of girls my age with this hairstyle. I really struggled to have confidence and to see this hairstyle as valuable,” the 25-year-old family support counselor said. “I would often hide my hair or keep it straight or push it back so that it still looked like the styles that my peers would have."

A style long perceived as unprofessional or unkempt, today stars like Chloe and Halle Bailey challenge this notion by wearing their natural hair in locs. In an industry that often embraces eurocentric hairstyles, the work of celebrity hair stylists Tinisha Meeks and Camille Friend work to push away the negative views of locs in the entertainment industry. Along with the protection from The CROWN Act, Black women like the Bailey sisters show that locs can be versatile.

Over the years, Black people have faced widespread discrimination when wearing natural hair or protective styles. This includes the ultimatum of changing their hair to participate in extracurricular activities or keeping their jobs.

According to the 2023 Crown Workplace Research Study, approximately 66% of Black women change their hair for job interviews. They are two times more likely to experience microaggressions in the workplace if their hair is coily or textured. With the dispute made over the hairstyle, it isn’t until lately that the hairstyle has been revised in its appearance through exposure on Black celebrities.

Locs have been worn by people of color in different parts of the world since ancient times. According to EBONY Magazine, the style can be traced to 2500 B.C. to the Hindu God Shiva, who used to wear locs. In Jamaica, Rastafarians wore locs as a sign of power and connection to God.

In 1786, the Tignon Laws was created by Gov. Esteban Rodriguez Miro of Louisiana that required Black women to wrap their hair with scarves to show that they belonged to the slave class, regardless of their status of freedom.

Jamaican reggae icon Bob Marley was known for his hairstyle that reflected his connection to rastafarianism in the 1970s. Along with comedian and actor Whoopi Goldberg, well-known Black figures like novelist Alice Walker, political activist Angela Davis, and artist Jean–Michel Basquiat further popularized the style within American culture in the 1980s.

In the 1990s, stars like Lauryn Hill and Lisa Bonet received a great amount of praise from the Black community for wearing the style, and were viewed as women who weren’t afraid to outwardly express themselves in a time when hair discrimination had been an issue for centuries.

Then in 2019, Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell authored The CROWN Act, which bans discrimination against hair textures in the workplace and school dress code policy. California was the first state to enact this legislation. Since then, over 20 states have followed in its footsteps.

Dr. Tameka Ellington, author of “TEXTURES: The History and Art of Black Hair” says it’s important to have legislations like The CROWN Act in place because Black people should be able to be welcomed in spaces without having to worry about being policed for their hair.

“Black people have been fighting for their own bodily agency for hundreds of years,” she said.

Ellington says Black people are still fighting for the rights to their own bodies. She also says that politicians and societies who try to uphold eurocentric beauty standards often exclude the likeness of Blackness.

In 2018, for example, a highschool wrestler named Andrew Johnson was forced to cut his locs or forfeit his match in order to compete. Even with his proper headgear, the head referee said that his hair did not meet the standards of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. An athletic trainer then proceeded to cut off the majority of Johnson’s locs.

Ellington says that despite the beauty standards that are set in place by white society, Black people should not allow society’s view to dictate how they present themselves in the world.

Chloe and Halle Bailey posing with wigs. Photo found by Solanaswhore via Twitter.

When sisters Chloe and Halle Bailey, now 23 and 25 years old, started auditioning for acting roles, they wore wigs after casting directors expressed that their locs were holding them back. In an interview with Teen Vogue, Chloe said that the confidence that her mom instilled in her at a young age helped her realize that her locs was what made her unique

“I realized early on in the industry, having locs wasn’t really normal,” she told Teen Vogue. “But I feel like when you are confident with yourself, and you own it, then everyone else has to catch up to that. And I’m so grateful to be given a platform as a young Black woman with locs.”

Courtesy of Tinisha Meeks

When they landed recurring roles on the “Black-ish” spin-off “Grown-ish,” as twin sisters, they were introduced to Tinisha Meeks, a celebrity hairstylist who specializes in all hair textures. She helps put Black hair on screens for the world to see.

“I just feel blessed that right now we’re able to open the doors,” Meeks said. “...when little girls turn on the TV, they see themselves in so many different ways… Just because your hair might not be a texture that is the most popular, it doesn’t stop you from wearing the hairstyle that is the most popular.”

At first, the Bailey sisters were skeptical to let Meeks style their locs, but after gaining their trust she had free reign to create any look that came to mind when styling their locs. From turning Halle’s locs into a short, old-fashioned Hollywood bob for the 2023 Met Gala to adding a tight curl pattern to Chloe’s locs for the “You and Me” music video featuring the rapper Gunna, Meeks has set an example that locs are versatile

In 2023, Halle Bailey starred in the leading role as Ariel in Disney’s live action film “The Little Mermaid.” Soon after its release, thousands of videos of young children — especially Black children — reacting to someone who looks like them as a princess with natural hair went viral on social media.

As Halle began to make history, Camille Friend helped her stay true to herself. The Oscar-nominated head hairstylist for the new “The Little Mermaid” worked with Halle on her natural hairstyle worn in the film.

“I met with Halle and her parents and they told me how important it was for her to wear her natural hair, and what it meant to her to represent ‘The Little Mermaid’,” Friend said. “But do it in a way that was for her.”

Courtesy of Camille Friend

Disney spent $150,000 over the course of filming “The Little Mermaid” to create the finished look of Ariel’s hair. Friend said that production spent eight to ten weeks alone testing different looks with three different shades of red and 30 inch hair extensions to make sure that the hair flowed and looked natural while Halle was constantly in the water.

“Halle had to get acclimated with not only singing, but acting, dancing, stunts and water,” Friend said. “She took on a big deal here and she had a lot to do in this movie, and it’s really grueling.”

In Temecula, Halle’s dedication to wearing her natural hair brought tears of joy to Burks’ eyes. The representation on the big screen made the little girl who felt isolated feel seen.

“Our hair is something that connects us, makes us so unique, and brings out our beauty,” she said. “So I love seeing it on screen, and it truly is an inspiration to me to style it however I want, and unapologetically.”

Looking to the Future

What was once isolating for Burks has turned into a trend. Black youth today seek to emulate the beauty and artistry of locs, according to local Los Angeles loctician, Jasmin Thomas.

“Now you got to look around the culture of it, the rappers, all that. Everyone that you see on TV has locs,” Thomas said. “The kids growing up in this generation, everyone has them. You know, they want to be like those people. They want their hair. They come in, they show me a picture saying, ‘Can you do my hair like Lil Durk?’”

The hairstyle continues to evolve beauty standards, separate from eurocentric style, with hair stylists and Black celebrities who push away stigmas that were once attached to locs.

Such authenticity inspires younger generations. Today’s celebrities like Lil Durk, Halle, and Chloe Bailey cultivate an unapologetic statement that the beauty within locs will be shared by all who see them.

“Wearing natural [hair] is staying true to yourself. It’s a power statement, you know?” Thomas said. “When you see it, it’s beauty. It’s radiance.”