Locs 'N Tatts: First off Keisha, how old are you and where are you from?
Keisha: 22. Raised in Brooklyn, NY. Family from Guyana, South America. I've recently moved to Queens, NY.
Locs 'N Tatts: Were you born in NY or Guyana?
Keisha: Actually I was born in Maryland. My dad was in the US Air Force so we lived a bunch of places.
Locs 'N Tatts: Oh I see, so how long have you had locs for?
Keisha: 3 years and 8 months.
Locs 'N Tatts: Just a little longer than me. What inspired you to loc your hair?
Keisha: I've always thought locs were beautiful. Several people in my family have them. Locs make me feel more connected to my Caribbean and African heritage. I was tired of perms.
Locs 'N Tatts: Did you have a positive or negative reaction to you starting locs from your family & friends? I have family members with locs but still had a few negative comments.
Keisha: My closest friends and family were very supportive but other friends and family members thought I would give up and not stick with it. They also thought I shouldn't have cut my "long beautiful straight hair".
Locs 'N Tatts: And how are they about your hair now?
Keisha: Now that it's a bit long, they like it. It's something about black people's obsession with long hair I think.
Locs 'N Tatts: Yeah it's like long hair equals beauty. Long straight hair actually. How often do you maintain/style your locs and what products do you use?
Keisha: As my hair has gotten longer my maintenance has gotten less and less. I was weekly to bi weekly. I retwist every 3 weeks on average. I use eco styler gel for my retwists. For moisture retension I use olive oil and coconut oil mostly.
Locs 'N Tatts: Do you do your hair yourself or go to a salon?
Keisha: I've gone to the salon to start my locs and once again when I turned 21. I do my own hair.
Locs 'N Tatts: Did somebody teach you how to do it or did you teach yourself?
Keisha: I learned from YouTube videos.
Locs 'N Tatts: Ah yes, got to love YouTube for that. You have your own channel, right?
Keisha: Sure do. I've been documenting my journey from day one.
Locs 'N Tatts: In hindsight I really wish I had done that, it will be a lovely thing to look back on.
Keisha: Yes it's kinda crazy that I can look back and see the stages I went through. I wouldn't remember otherwise.
Locs 'N Tatts: How long have you been blonde for? Have you experimented with other colours?
Keisha: I've been blonde since my 22nd birthday. So since March. I've played with various shades of red prior.
Locs 'N Tatts: Oh cool, I had red before the purple, I might try blonde next. As you know I love locs, but I also love tattoos too. How many do you have?
Keisha: I have 3. They are all on my left arm. I may create a half sleeve
Locs 'N Tatts: Nice. And how did you family and friends react to the combination of locs and tatts? Both are so beautiful yet can be received so negatively.
Keisha: They point out the artist look that it gives me. Sometimes my mom stresses that I cover my arm until I'm stable in my career. I'd rather get comfortable in a career that accepts my look.
Locs 'N Tatts: I hear that, no sense in conforming to a style that is deemed 'acceptable' in the workplace if you're not being true to yourself. What kind of field do you want to work in?
Keisha: Right now I'm in the education field. I'm not sure if this is where I want to stay though. I'm trying to figure that out before I go to grad school. I work with high school seniors, helping them get into college.
Locs 'N Tatts: You have time to figure it all out.
Keisha: True.
You can find Keisha on YouTube and on Instagram @killadoesthat
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