*Introduce yourself
My name is Akua Manfo, although I am known as Blakofe (Black
Coffee). I’m Ghanaian by birth, British
by education and socialization! But proudly
African. I am a TV, radio and Events
Presenter. I also write - from copy for
advertising to social political issues for New African Magazine. And I like to
think of myself as a comedienne!
*How long have you had dreadlocks and what inspired this decision?
Firstly, I no longer call it ‘dreadlocks’ as there is nothing
dreadful about it. I call it wonderloc
or just locs! I was inspired because my
hair was always in braids with extensions.
I got fed up with the constant braiding.
I always do my hair myself and I just got tired of spending hours
braiding.
So I thought to myself, surely
having locs will be just like wearing braids?
After I graduated from University in the early 90s, I locked up.
I wore that for about 2 years and when I got
pregnant with my first child, cut it off because I was itchy all over.
You know pregnancy does that to some
women.
I then rocked short hair for
years.
I grew it abit and went through
the phase of threading it, and doing all sorts of funky styles with my short
hair.
Finally, I tried to grow an afro
but my hair is tough so for me, going back to locs was the natural thing. That
was about 8 years ago.
*Did you get support from friends and family when you took
this decision. If no, how did you deal with the negativity?
Haahahaaha. Family
was a big no no. But from the day I was
born, I have always done what I wanted.
Lol. There was no way my family
was going to stop me from being natural.
I moved back to Ghana in 1995 where natural hair especially locs are
seen in a bad light. It means I am a
fetish priestess or a weed smoker. With
my father being a Chief as well, my family were really ashamed. But now, they have had to accept it. My friends on the other hand I’m proud to say
are natural. ALL my closest friends, Pam, Fola, Joyce, Gamu, Vee, Makeba, Naa,
Shelina, Adade, Lanre all have natural hair.
I love it when we go out in a group.
Each with her own style yet all natural.
*How do you take care of locs?
You know, I don’t fuss with my hair and looks! I loc my hair myself and retwist whenever I
feel the roots are growing. Normally I
do this whilst watching Eastenders and Coronation Street. Kill two birds with one stone! When I’m in Ghana I swim in the sea at least
once a week as I believe it’s good for my hair.
I wash my hair at least once a week, normally with pure black soap and
use regular hair cream. Having said
that, I have tried some natural hair products recently and like them.
*Do you have a loctisian and is it possible for one to lock her
hair without the help of a loctician?
I don’t have a loctisian.
And yes definitely anybody can loc their own hair. I used to relax my own hair aswell as
braiding. I actually don’t like people
touching my hair. There have been one or two occasions where I have treated
myself by having someone else touch my hair.
But I prefer doing it myself. I
once let a woman do my locs and seven locs fell out after. Since then, I am very
cautious who comes anywhere near my hair!
*A lot of ladies and gents would like to have 'wonderlocs' but
have little or no idea on how to begin. Can you share some tips with us?
Wow. Well I simply
twisted my hair and never took it out. I
left the twists to loc. So I call mine
KoFelocs because it looks different to other locs. People think it’s sister locs but it’s
Kofelocs! There are different ways of starting locs just as there are different
types of locs. I know some people use foam to rub their hair whilst others use
their palms. Some people like to add eggs
I hear.
*Since you do your hair yourself, please share how we can
lock our new growth.
Personally I use loc gel. I used to use organic root
stimulator but now trying Jane Carter Solutions. I either just twist it or interlock it. That is, I take each loc and put it into the
root. Lol ...how can I best explain
this. Okay, imagine the root of your hair
as the face of a clock. So you take each
loc and put it at 12 O'clock, then 4 O'clock then 2 O'clock. I'm sure this makes no sense whatsoever! Imagine it as if the loc is a needle and you are sewing... you
may need a very wild imagination though....
* I think I understand. You mean passing the locs through
the new growth at different directions so it stays put. Am I correct? I hope it
isn't painful
You understand. That is it, so simple. It can be painful depending how tough your
hair is. Mine is TOUGH. but if you find someone who does it well, it
stays for up to 3 months.
*What are your favorite products?
I tried African Pride shampoo and conditioner and love it. I
also tried Jane Carter solutions and absolutely love her products. But the problem I have with natural hair
products is that they are too expensive.
Rather than making it an everyday item, it looks like products for the
natural hair market are luxury commodities.
This is very off putting.
*You have a full head of hair, can you tell us how you
protect your hair line?
I don’t do anything.
*What is your opinion on children with locked hair? We know that
some Africans have a problem with this. Some schools will even ask outright
that you cut off the child's hair before he or she resumes. Whats your take on this?
Funny my eldest son had locs when he was about 9 years and
the school in Ghana would not allow it.
I went and told them it was our religion. Oh the fuss.
It was his choice to loc up, not my imposition. You know not everyone looks good with
locs. And I have seen some children with
locs that I feel sorry for because they look a mess! On the other hand, I have seen some little
girls who look adorable with locs. I
have no problem with children with locs. It’s certainly better than plaiting
with extensions.
*Any last words for our Natural/lokced readers?
God created each race with their own type of hair. Today the world says natural hair is ugly,
not fit for the corporate world, not fit for music videos and magazine covers
etc. They say those of us who choose to
be as God created us are ‘Afrocentric’, ‘Controversial’, ‘Radical’ and the
likes. I say we rather are the beautiful
ones who refuse to buy into the beauty myth.
Being natural is not easy. You will lose out on so many jobs, but it is
common sense.
And for as long as we
remain natural, the world will come round to seeing things our way.
When I first started TV presenting, my head
was always in wraps because natural hair was not accepted.
This in Ghana, West Africa in 1995!
Can you imagine that?
These days I don’t have to cover my hair
anymore.
Yet it is still not as
acceptable as fake hair.
There are only
a handful of us in Ghana in entertainment with natural hair.
The vast majority are so fake it’s
incredible.
Be we shall overcome.
*Where can we find Blakofe online?
http://newafricanmagazine.com/blogs/reflections-of-an-ordinary-woman
http://blakofe.webs.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxcyWFCCTvo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw4CKMNO9YY
Thanks for the time and information MsBlakofe. Like me, she has a very simple regimen. I LOVE simple regimens So who wants KofeLocs?!
