It is just after noon inside Your Natural Image hair salon in South Kansas City, Missouri, on a Thursday in July. The 16-year-old Cornelius Mitchell has just come from under the dryer.

Mitchell, a Black student at Raymore-Peculiar High School, wears locs. They’re black with brown tips that extend just below his broad shoulders. Right now, they are pretty puffy, but once his stylist retwists them as part of his loc maintenance service, the hair will have a tighter, fresher look.

Locs run in Mitchell’s family, he said.

“My sister started growing her locs since she was a toddler,” Mitchell said, as his stylist pulled tight on one loc. “And my mom has locs too. She has really long locs.”

Mitchell has been growing his hair for about three years now, investing a lot of time and effort. But d

See Full Page