Strangers have stopped me on a few occasions to compliment my dreadlocks and how I just let them hang. I noticed that my “hanging” dreads seemed to be part of most compliments I get so it got me curious.

I asked one of my complimenters (who also had dreads that were tightly styled up) why my hanging dreads seemed to be a thing. She replied “Because you are free. My manager would never let me wear my dreads down, he would fire me. Many women I know wear their dreads up because of work.”

Then there are those that think my dreadlocks are totally inappropriate. One of them being my aunty who said “You go to meetings to see your clients with that hair? Hai man. Glam yourself up!”

The experiences of brown skin women and their hair remain a topical subject in 2023.