When it comes to getting faux anything, you want it to look as real as possible. The same goes for your faux locs—they should appear to be growing out of your head and to have taken years of grooming and twisting by a professional.
That means you need to see the man with the treasured hands—Ronnie Lawrence, or as he’s more widely known, Ronnie Locs. He’s the talent behind the faux locs of Zoë Kravitz, Mara Brock Akil, Cocoa Sarai and Amara La Negra.
The 25-year-old New Jersey native has been doing hair for five years, and in 2017 he really saw his business take off when he created his own method of installation and his own reusable faux locs, which he began selling on his website. But what truly sets him apart from his peers is how the texture of his custom locs mimic the texture of real ones.
“I spent many nights studying and experimenting how to replicate the look of naturally grown new and mature locs,” Lawrence tells ESSENCE. “I mirror what nature does on its own with my crotchet tools.”
While COVID-19 has meant he can’t get to his clients around the country for installs or maintenance, he is still building his brand. And he has a tip for faux-loc wearers who can’t get to their stylist for a touch-up.
“I’d suggest everyone with faux locs keep them oiled at the base where the extension is attached to avoid hard buildup and breakage when taking down later,” he says. “Preferably a heavier oil that will set in the center of the extensions and stay.”
But pandemic or not, Ronnie is keeping the momentum going for his business. And he says he’s just getting started.
“I’m nowhere near done creating these beautiful locs for these beautiful people, and I have many more looks to execute,” he explains. “I’m currently a one-man show, and I am a creative with plenty more art than hair to share with [the world]. I have big plans of turning Ronnies Shops into a luxury lifestyle brand.”
Period.
Check out more of Ronnie’s breathtaking loc work and client selfies in the gallery below.
