Today we’d like to introduce you to Dede The Loc Goddess.
Hi Dede, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I started as a little girl imitating my mother as she did hair in the neighborhood I grew up in. Everything she did for her clients I did on my dolls. As I got older, she taught me different techniques and I practiced on other people. At the age of 13, I was getting paid to do natural braid styles on my school friends and family. As I got older and my mom saw how dedicated I was, she and I turned our laundry room into a makeshift in-home beauty salon.
When I reached adulthood and became a mother, I had to take on jobs to provide for me and my son but every off day and sometimes when I got off work I would take on clients. Every time I lost a job I always had hair to fall back on. Since doing hair was my passion, I started getting serious and invested in myself and enrolled in natural hair school in 2018.
I was one of the top students in my class and salutatorian. After graduating and passing the state board and receiving my license I immediately begin working in a salon under my instructor. Now I’m a co-partner in my salon and I haven’t looked back since. Today, I am known as Dede the Loc Goddess.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It was not always easy. There were times I didn’t have the money for my weekly school payments because I still had bills I needed to pay. I wasn’t working while I was going to school. My son’s stepdad was the only one working at the time.
My car broke down one time and I just cried, I didn’t know what to do until my battle buddy volunteered to come pick me up. Everybody knew how important this was to me. Everything worked out in my favor as it always does.
We’ve been impressed with Trending Stylez with K.P and the Loc Goddess, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Our salon specializes in all things natural hair. Braids, locs, wigs, crochet, and much more. We are two dedicated women who are committed to our craft. I specialize in locs. What sets me apart from others is I taught myself how to do locs. Even in hair school, there was a chapter about locs but nobody knew about them. They looked to me for advice on how to maintain locs.
I went through all the ups and downs like using the wrong products and having to learn how to manipulate certain textures of hair. I read up on information, started paying attention to ingredients, and perfected my craft to my and my client’s liking. What makes me proud is knowing that I’m walking in my purpose. I look back to when I was a little girl, my teen years to now. It’s always been about hair. When I was young people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up and it was always the same answer “I WANNA DO HAIR”.
So no matter how hard my job gets I just say to myself “I’m walking in my purpose” and ride the wave. Do you know how many people do a job that they love and like going there every day? I don’t know that many either. I am currently making my oils and who knows maybe a whole line of products. You just gotta stay tuned.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Always be prepared for the unexpected. When Covid came I had to come up with something. I had a few family and clients that came to my home to get serviced. That was still dangerous. I was just trying to survive. Taking risks.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dedenaturalstylezandlocs.as.me/
- Instagram: @thelocgoddess23
- Facebook: Dede Naturalstylesandlocs
