It seems it’s not just Nigerian football managers that have a problem with dreadlocks, the area manager of a prison in South Africa isn’t too impressed by them either! Mandla Mkabela of Pollsmoor Prison says that allowing Rastafarian warders to wear dreadlocks would “open the floodgates” of indiscipline.

Dreadlocks definitely have an image problem in Africa. If you do wear this hairstyle it’s important to keep the hair and scalp clean; pay regular visits to the hair stylists for conditioning and maintenance; and if you’re having a bad hair day, tie it up neatly with a scarf and/or hair band.

Dreadlocks

You’re not going to see too many dreadlocks at Beijing in the coming weeks, well at least not on members of the Nigerian football team. In an attempt to instill focus and discipline, the team’s manager, Samson Siasia, has banned dreadlocks and ‘weird hairdos’ from their camp. Apparently there are quite a number of players who’ll be affected by this and will have to have their hair cropped short.

Dreadlocks Updo

Ignoring the question of whether men with long or way-out hairstyles are less disciplined than their colleagues with short hair, it does highlight the fact that dreadlocks and rasta hairstyles are perceived as rebellious and unruly, if not unkempt, in much of the world.

But this needn’t be so, there are so many ways of wearing dreadlocks. Take a look at the second picture for example, a lady with her locks held in an updo – what a neat and elegant style it is.

Over the coming months we’ll try and show you different ways of wearing your dreadlocks and natural black hairstyles.