Cosmoversial: Conversations with VCU Curls Table of Contents

Dread Locs 4

Kenya 6

Shrinkage 8

Gideon 10

“ 12

Looks Beyond 14

Length Check 16

What’s Your Curl? 18

Curator Remarks 20 RVA Hair Directory

Image Enhancement Center 00 E. Broad Street

Luv My Hair 105 E. Main Street

Taylor’s Barber Shop 11 E. Broad Street

McCornmick’s Barber Shop 100 E. Broad Street

Silk Hair Studio 1657 W. Broad Street Locs DOB: March 21, 2018

Dread Locs

“Bad hair means you look like a slave no At the turn of the century It’s time for us to rede- fine who we be You can shave it off like a South African beauty Or get in on lock like Bob Marley” Cherelle Fun fact: Each has been individual locking her cluster of hair for 6 locked curly months in the hair strands is referred photo below. to as a loc or These 39 locs dread. have had 6 maintenance treatments. The longest dread is 8.5 inches. I am

Kenya,

not my A life long journey of circling back to my natural curls. HAIR “Little girl with the press and curl age eight, I got a Jheri curl Thirteen, and I got a relaxer I was a source of so much laughter at fifteen when it all broke off Eighteen and went all natural” Shrinkage is Healthy.

Shrinkage is Decievig. Transition from relaxeed hair to natural hair began at age 14.

Shrinkwage is Real.

In 2015, freshman year at VCU, Keeana began to proudly wear her natural curls consistently. This close up view shows the definition of each curl. Light colored hair also brings out the de- tails of each hair strand. Each cluster of hair strands creates a coil. HS R I N K AG E Gideon, VCU Accounting senior, has been growing his hair from low cut waves since 2017. BEFORE (to the top left)

Curl Type

4C Gideon’s hair was treated with D2 Pamper Me deep shampoo and conditioner by Nyasia Milan, owner of Styles By Milan. Nairobi set- AFTER ting lotion and Aunt Jackie’s (to the right and bottom left) styling products were used to coil each twist. After twists were set and dried, Nyasia finished the style with Madinah Oil and D2 Shine Me Serum. Gideon For decades, people with naturally curly hair have been deprived acceptance in society for who they are. I am not my hair. What do you think of when you hear natural hair? (Hair Type)

Same twist out style as Gideon on a looser curl pattered hair. Length Check Jaz is an aspiring VCU student that faces regular sham- ing of her loose curl pattterned hair at her high school. She hopes that if her future brings her the diverse learning environ- ment of VCU that she will wear her hair comforatbly, whether it is curly or straightened.