A Black woman’s locs hold the symbolism of many things: power, beauty, strength, eternal life and being true to yourself. Imara Peters is the perfect illustration of this.
Peters was born on Dec. 20, 2001. She was raised in the city known for its influence on the culture, Atlanta. Growing up, she looked up to her mom’s individuality and that ultimately shaped her into who she is today.
“My mom definitely is one of my inspirations, she means so much to me,” Peters said. “I’m inspired by anyone who isn’t afraid to be themselves.”
The 20-year-old psychology major at Florida A&M University followed in her mother’s footsteps within the loc business. Peters said her mom predicted that she would eventually venture out into being a loctician.
“My mom was a loctician when I was in elementary school, through middle school and she always did my hair,” Peters said. “When I was in high school, she told me a bunch of times that I would start doing hair but at the time I was uninterested.”
Prior to coming to FAMU, Peters said locs were uncommon to see in public due to the negative connotation associated with them.
“Every time I’m on campus and I see someone with locs, I absolutely love it,” Peters said. “Some people see them as unprofessional, dirty or dreadful; which is why I choose to use the word locs and not dreads because they are not dreadful to me.”
Peters’ mother, Greer Peters, said she is proud of her daughter’s journey with not only locs but womanhood as well.
“It speaks volumes to her confidence level,” Peters said. “I watched her whole process from buds to mature locs, and I’ve watched her grow from a young girl into a mature woman, just like her hair. The loc journey is to be experienced, and I am so thankful to share this journey of growth with my daughter.”
Although Peters was indifferent to the idea of being someone’s hair stylist, it wasn’t until she began experimenting and discovering the beauty within her own locs that she gave it a second thought.
“I’ve been doing my own hair throughout my time here at FAMU,” Peters said. “One day, I decided to start doing locs on campus. I opened an Instagram account, 2locdup, and started last year, providing loc retwists and styles out of my dorm.”
“I enjoy watching my clients’ hair transform,” Peters added. “I also enjoy seeing their hair go through the loc journey. I love what I do.”
Elam Richardson, a second year civil engineering student, gave insight into just how good the services are that Peters supplies.
“If you’re gonna ask for a style, she’s gonna do that style better than how you thought it was going to come out,” Richardson said. “On top of that you’re getting the experience of good music, a good movie, and good smells with the incense she burns. She really gives you the Black experience for such a Black hairstyle.”