14-year-old fashions a tool to ease the discomforts of interlocking Dreadlocks
Fourteen year-old Kwame Salmon has been carrying his dreadlocks since he was two years-old, and naturally the hairstyle has become part of who he is as a person. He says it has earned him nothing but respect from his friends and teachers at Marymount International and around Montreal.
But because of his sensitive scalp growing and keeping the heavy maintenance hairstyle hasn’t always been a comfortable experience, mostly because of the regular process known as interlocking which some say contributes to tightening the dreads, making them stronger and look more uniform.
“Every time my mom had to interlock my hair, I dreaded it because she used crochet hooks, ends of combs and other sharp objects. It was extremely painful to my sensitive scalp,” he told the CONTACT in a recent telephone interview.
Out of pain came innovation.
After years of contemplating ways of keeping his distinctive hairstyle without the pain that accompanied the regular grooming method, the teenager eventually created a tool that has been tried and proven on his sensitive scalp to eliminate the stress of interlocking.
He says his RootLoc tool is ideal for hairstylists and locticians (those who style and maintain dreadlocks) like his mom, Rayshell Salmon, to use on children and adults with sensitive scalps. The secret, he says, is the rounded tips of the equipment.
He added that RootLoc also allows hairstylists to offer instant dreadlocks to those trendy individuals who are not into waiting for months for the style to grow and set.
And he says that the tool is adaptable enough to be used at home.
Earlier this summer, Kwame took his invention together with a line of treatment products for dreadlocks to the Pitch The Dream Contest organized by the Cote des Neiges Black Community Association, and walked away with second prize and a $1500 cheque.
The budding entrepreneur says that’s only the beginning, because once the RootLoc patent is approved, he intends to make this interlocking tool available to the dreadlock community that spreads around the world.
On Saturday, August 28, at the Montreal International reggae Festival, he announced himself to the local market when he launched the The RootLoc Anti-Residue Shampoo, The RootLoc Hair Oil, and The RootLoc Aloe Twist Gel, all developed in conjunction with his mom.
Those interested in the RootLoc tool or products can check them out at the store (soon to be online). For info. email salonrayshell@gmail.com. Or call 514-481-2365.
