When it comes to styling locs and faux locs into some of the most creative and dynamic styles you’ve ever seen, no one’s doing it better than hairstylist Sherelle Holder. Her salon, Karibbean Kinks, in Prince Georges County Maryland (about ten minutes away from Washington, D.C.) specializes in natural hair care and styling.
Whether you’re a man or woman with long locs or short locs, thin or thick locs, the 32-year-old Tobago native has a head-turning style for you. Though she’s been doing hair for 15 years, she didn’t always understand how powerful a simple beauty service could be for the spirit.
“It actually took me a few years to grasp the impact that I started having in people’s everyday lives by simply doing their hair,” she tells ESSENCE. “But I knew hair was my calling when I noticed the level of passion I had for my craft, the amount of positive energy I would put out, and, in turn, receive. Being the best part of someone’s day is indescribable.”
With styles that can take up to three or more hours depending on the details, Holder and her team’s work are like pieces of art. She credits her “very active hair imagination.” She said she even wakes up with styles on the brain, getting inspiration from everywhere, including things you would never associate with hair. And she’s a big lover of color and patterns.
“What I love most about my work is the transformation. The clients walk in but they strut out,” Holder says. “A lot of my clients cry after their service, saying that it’s a confidence booster for them. I also love when clients sit in my chair and say, ‘Do you.’ It’s like a switch turns on and everything pours out. I still surprise myself. I came into the hair industry creative, and while growing I just took it to a different level with locs.”
Check out some of our favorite standout designs from Karibbean Kinks, proving that there are so many innovative ways to style your locs.
