All humans, no matter their ancestry, are connected through loc’d hair. While people may know this as dreadlocks, dreads, or locks, the preferred term by many who wear them is “locs.” Throughout human history, loc’d hair has been part of cultures the world over from the ancient Greeks, to early American slaves traveling from Africa and the West Indies, to the 1930s Rastafarian Jamaicans, to modern-day Americans.
“Loc’d hair proves we are all one,” Aissa Aset Bey, owner of Loc Legacies, said. “No matter what corner of the planet we come from, if there was not such a thing as a comb, brush, razor, scissors, pick, or blade to cut strands, everyone on the planet would have loc’d hair. All humans, and nearly every animal with hair, would have loc’d hair. I found a lot of solace in that.”
Aset Bey has spent 26 years in the hair industry perfecting the art of loc’d hair. She not only works with clients in her Omaha shop, but also educates others on how to help their clients properly care for their hair naturally. A caregiver at heart, having had early dreams of medical school or being a massage therapist, she went to cosmetology school and wanted to focus on hair as a form of self-care. In the early days of her career, the term “self-care” had not yet been popularized, but Aset Bey knew she wanted less of the toxic aspects of the hair industry and more access to natural hair care, helping others achieve the same.
Loc’d hair is the most natural hairstyle, she said. While Aset Bey identifies as a Black woman, with half of her family Black and the other white, she didn’t feel like she belonged anywhere per the societal agreement and standards. As a stylist, she did some deep diving into loc’d hair and its origins, and found that there is much disagreement about which culture it belongs to. While the majority of her clients are of African American descent, she also works with many who are of European and Asian backgrounds, and they wear locs for a variety of reasons.
“I will say, for my own people, there is a lot of cultural reclamation there. It’s very precious and very sacred,” Aset Bey said. She explained the term “sankofa,” from the Twi language of Ghana, which means “to go back and get it, don’t forget your past and don’t forget where you came from.”
Aset Bey does not like the term “dreads” because “there is nothing dreadful about my locs!”
“Locs allow people to reclaim parts of our culture that have been snatched away from us. Spiritual disciplines that have been taken from us. It goes back to Africa, Brazil, Mexico, there’s a broad diaspora that has happened over centuries,” she said. “Being able to go back and get it—and reclaim the past to piece our futures together without confusion, and knowing the rituals and ceremonies that have been attached to our loc’d hair—is important,” she added.
When meeting with clients, Aset Bey holds a consultation for what their loc’d journey will look like. She asks about the roots for why someone wants loc’d hair, whether spiritual, aesthetic, or cultural. There are many ways for one to get started and carry out loc’d hair. Texture can play into the overall look, whether hair is straight or wavy, thick or thin. She may offer crocheting hair so that it has some structure to begin with.
Many worry that loc’d hair can hurt, but it varies from person to person. For those who are neurodivergent, Aset Bey said that getting hair twisted may feel uncomfortable. To ease her clients and help them to relax, she may use herbal-based products that produce an aromatherapy effect. The self-care component about feeling good and enjoying the space and time being pampered is taken seriously.
“We look at the fact that some people come in already triggered. They’ve had a highly sensitized day or week and I want to be sure that they enter a safe space that feels comfortable, like home,” Aset Bey said. The products and essential oils she uses are as nontoxic as possible, including aloe vera, flax seed gel, lemongrass, and lavender oil, among others. Clients typically come to Loc Legacies every four to six weeks as they grow their loc’d hair. For those with more mature locs, it may be every three months. “By then they have had enough education to care for their locs on their own,” Aset Bey said.
Much like Aset Bey in wanting clients to have a relaxed salon experience, Jordan Palmer, owner of JPalm Hairdressing, takes ensuring comfort a step further by asking each client which pronouns they use and asking permission to touch them before consulting on a style.
Palmer and wife Alex Bauer run the salon that has racked up nearly half a million TikTok followers and 13.4 million likes on their videos. They receive so many questions and comments—both negative and positive—about the question, “Can I touch you?”
Pinned to the top of their channel, @jpalmhairdressing, is the full video explanation from the gender-affirming, hair cutting specialist. While most assume that someone will need to touch them during the consultation, hair cutting, and styling, Palmer takes it a step further and explains that the simple act of asking can put a person at ease. She also explains that by normalizing this question, in a space where it is obvious and clear that a person will be touched, it will make it much easier for people to say “no” in a situation where being touched is not so clear.
“We filmed and put it on the internet and it went viral. A lot of people are watching and they are commenting on the consent question,” Palmer said. Their business increased after their videos went viral on Instagram. “The day the first video went viral on TikTok, all of a sudden the appointments blew up. It was wild! It is the most effective marketing tool,” Palmer said.
Bauer added that the videos nearly doubled their business and their time management got better as the business grew. “Many of our clients are neurodivergent, former military with PTSD, or violence victims, and part of JPalm’s mission is to be accessible. You can still have the same experience if you are in a wheelchair because accessibility is very important,” Bauer said.
“With TikTok, the clientele got younger, wanted edgier things, and I had to get better at cutting hair faster,” Palmer said.
While Palmer holds the cosmetology license and Bauer manages the shop, both strive to make everyone feel the warmth, love, and acceptance upon entering the space. Advertising as a “queer, femme-owned salon” in Omaha, JPalm Hairdressing strives to be accessible for all. Gender-free pricing for haircuts and styles, easy accessibility to the washbowl for those who may be wheelchair-bound, and a vibe that puts their clients at ease helps make them unique in the hairstyling industry.
“We are one of the few salons in Omaha that does genderless pricing. Cutting hair is cutting hair,” Bauer said. Palmer added, “It has no gender. We have limiting ideas if you think about what a girl’s haircut versus a boy’s haircut is. It’s our form of customer service and there are a ton of people who want that experience and want to be taken care of that way in a salon.” She added that people undervalue how delicate it is to have hair done.
“Obviously, I’m going to touch you. But I’m going to take special care to ensure that you are comfortable with me before I touch your head,” Palmer explained. “People deserve to be comfortable with what they see in the mirror. We have a responsibility to our clients to treat them with care. Clients appreciate that we ask their pronouns. Asking before I touch, accessibility, working on clients who are nonverbal, can be barriers to communication. You can get your hair done and be comfortable doing so here and we post normal conversations about hair.”
Videos are regularly posted to their social media sites. Bauer said that when she edits the videos, she can see the change in the smiles once the style is complete. There is always a “before” and “after” photo or video. The smiles clients have after the work is done is what the two are really proud of. “The tenets of our salon are to be accessible, getting the haircut that you want, not the haircut that you think you should have,” Bauer said.
“They want to have a personal experience. They are being paid attention to. They are getting a conversation and an explanation. A lot miss the mark,” Palmer said of other salons. “I’m going to spend money on myself and get the haircut that I want, not the haircut that my spouse or stylist wants. Self-care is not just a face mask and a bath. People who choose to come here are going to be safe and affirmed and will leave here more confident than they were coming in,” Palmer continued. “No self-love is bigger than having the hair that you want. You can go to any salon and get highlights and a quick haircut and there a lot of those out there. What makes us different is that we are really taking the time to give you the hair you want. Giving you an experience where you feel affirmed and tailored to give you what you want.”
This article originally appeared in the January/February 2025 issue of Omaha Magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
