Nowadays, as you walk along Bermuda's streets you are bound to see someone sporting a natural hair style. Whether it is braids or a short Afro, Bermudians have been embracing their natural selves for many years. However, in the last decade, the Island has seen a boom in the number of people sporting locs, also known to many as dreads.

Just 20 years ago, there was only one known loctician on the Island - Bethanne (Thomas) Raynor. Now, the demand for the natural hair style is so popular, there are many locticians in Bermuda, even in salons which historically catered to processed hair care.

The Royal Gazette sat down with three locticians; Mrs. Raynor, Kita Hill and Malik Riley. Each spoke of their passion for maintaining a person of colour's natural beauty.

Mrs. Raynor, a former runner-up in the Miss Bermuda contest said she naturally fell into the hair care business. Her mother and father operated a hair salon and barber shop when she was a child.

“I started braiding hair when I was 14. It was my forte,” she said.

In 1987, the mother of two opened Hair at Last on Roberts Avenue. Her business has since relocated to Union Street.

“In the 80s, I got into loc grooming although I didn't have many clients,” said Mrs. Raynor, who herself wears calf-length locs.

Initially, she said, her clientele for loc grooming was small as many people feared they would be ostracised by society.

“People often affiliate locs with drugs, even in this day and age,” Mrs. Raynor said.

But she recalled how she told people, “Just wait until the mid-90s”.

“And for some reason, around that time you started to see more and more people growing locs. It was such a boom, even people such as doctors and lawyers were wearing locs,” said the international award-winning stylist.

As is the case with lawyer Larry Scott, 56, although he has only been growing his locs for a little over two years.

“It was such a sense of freedom for me. I wanted to make a statement about who I am,” Mr. Scott said. “I felt I could now be me instead of trying to be someone else.”

Although he said he has been questioned and criticised for growing his hair, Mr. Scott said critics do not faze him.

“People, especially my male peers, thought I had gone mad, but I receive the most compliments from women older than me.

“They stop and compliment me. They touch my hair. Those are the moments that reinforce my decision to grow locs, especially when they were in that funny phase.”

Mr. Scott said critics even suggested he would lose clients over his hair, but he said he has experienced the opposite. In fact, he said, he has acquired more.

Laquita (Kita) Hill, owner of Kim-Kita's beauty salon and barber shop said her desire to work with natural hair drove her to switch careers after being employed by the Bermuda Hospitals Board for 15 years.

“I started out as a hairdresser about 30 years ago,” said Mrs, Hill. “In 1996, with the support of my husband, I decided to return to my first love. But this time, I wanted to work with natural hair.”

So, Mrs. Hill -who is a certified barber, loctician, and cosmetologist -went off to to the United States to study natural hair care.

“It was easy to get back into, since I had a hairdressing background,” she said.

The grandmother of one said initially she groomed clients' locs from her home, but as the demand for her services increased, she decided to open her own salon. Kim-Kita's hair salon opened its doors 3 years ago on Court Street.

It has since moved to a new location on Church Street, while four barbers are now operating of from her former Court Street locale.

Besides herself, there are three locticians, a hair stylist, and a nail technician.

As she cited judges, administrative, and many white-collar workers among her clients, Mrs. Hill said it does not appear that people are worried about negative reactions to their hair.

“People are embracing their natural selves more.

“I think many of those who are growing locs are growing them out of consciousness. I don't think locs are going anywhere.”

And Dianne Ramsay, who is a client of the salon, agreed.

“I think it's wonderful. I believe when a person grows locs, it shows their thoughts and mindset have evolved, especially on a spiritual level.” Ms Ramsay has been wearing her locs since the 80's. She said she grew her hair after she became tired of using chemicals to maintain her hairstyle.

At first, The Royal Gazette employee said she did not set out to grow her locs. It just happened naturally. She said she initially wore her hair in twists, which eventually started to lock on their own.

“So I decided to continue growing them,” she said.

While she said she has not experienced any overt negative reactions to her hair, often she is peeved by the “silly” questions people ask her.

“One of the most annoying things asked is whether I wash my hair,” Ms Ramsay said. “And another one is ‘How long would it take to wash them out?'.”

However, Ms Ramsay said she is so proud of the predominantly Black hairdo that she said she hates when people call them “dreads”. “It's insulting to hear people refer to them that way. Dreads make me think of dreadful and they are anything but that. I love them.”

And that is exactly how 22-year-old Malik Riley wants his clients to feel when they leave Eden hair salon. Mr. Riley, who hails from Washington DC, began working at the Reid Street establishment four months ago as the salon's loctician.

He has been in the hair business since he was 16, and is also a professional photographer.

“Many people are wearing natural styles these days. When my clients leave my chair, I want them to feel good about themselves because they've made the decision to become natural,” Mr. Riley said. He also noted that many women were converting to twists and locs because they were experiencing hair breakage, often associated with chemically-treated hair.

Since joining the team at Eden, Mr. Riley said he has been well-received and is building a clientele. On their hair he uses a line, Cultured, which is manufactured by his father's company.

Traditionally, Eden is known for its services geared to those with chemically-treated hair.

“Over the years, we have had a number of clients who were seeking services for twists, locs, and other natural hair services,” said manager Rawle Fraser.

“So we hired Malik in order to diversify our services offered.”