- Lady Zamar tells us that she’s had her dreadlocks for 12 years.
- She keeps her look consistent because she’s tired of people treating her differently with different hairstyles.
- Chlöe x Halle are a few of her hair inspirations.
Her dreamy vocals, fun and flirty style plus her signature manicured dreadlocks make Lady Zamar the full package.
How else to celebrate her impactful sound than with the launch of her long-awaited third studio album Rainbow?
After the release of the album’s lead singles Castles and Deeper, featuring MEGADRUMZ, fans can enjoy her new offering with the 12-track project that pairs whimsical songwriting with distinct amapiano, Afro-tech and Afro-house beats.
Born Yamikani Janet Banda, Lady Zamar’s rejuvenation in the music industry came with a mind, body and soul evolution. After a highly publicised traumatic experience and a series of vocal surgeries, Lady Zamar is reclaiming her identity.
And what else is quintessentially Lady Zamar than her signature dreadlocks?
Speaking with TRUELOVE her album launch in Midrand, the Collide hitmaker shares with us how she keeps up her self-confidence.
“I think about 10 years from now, would the older me think me right now is a great person and would the older me think I’m beautiful, would the older me hate me. And I feel like I offer myself grace as myself older, for now.”
The songstress gives us some insight into her iconic look:
How long have you had your dreadlocks and why lock them in the first place?
I’ve had my dreads for about 12 years now and I decided to lock my hair because I was really tired of morphing into different people. Like, one day I have braids and certain types of people speak to me a certain way.
Then the next time I have a weave, a little bob cut, and a certain type of people speak to me that way, a different way. Then I’ve got like 30 inches and I become someone else - and I hated that. I hated the constant see-saw thingy of how I looked affected how people treated me and I hated that. So, I wanted a look that would look consistent.
What do you do to maintain them and keep them fresh?
I have them washed every three weeks. I lock my hair quite a lot in braid twists. I moisturise, I sleep with a silk cap and I never let my hair get wet.
Would you ever consider cutting them or doing a completely different style?
No. I do play around with my hair quite a lot but I don’t think cutting my dreadlocks right now would be a good idea.
Who are some of your hair inspirations?
I think Chlöe x Halle really – because I was doing this stuff before they came into the space and then they kind of validated the fact that you can have dreadlocks and play around with it. And it was nice to see young women like myself just play around with their hair.
READ MORE | Hair-story, facts on dreadlocks and tips on locking them
What are your favourite ways to play with your hair?
I really like leaving it but I do like different colour faux locs. It’s just that faux locs are so heavy, they break your hair but if they were not so heavy I would have pink ones, red ones, all sorts of colours.
What kind of products do you use?
I go to Palmer’s on the moisturisers, the hair moisturisers, the hair sprays especially the coconut and the olive oil Palmer’s oil sprays for your hair. I also use Jabu Stone, I love Jabu Stone. The moisturising teal-coloured hairspray and the anti-itch spray.
And I like Mango and Lime, but some of their products are really hard to find but they smell amazing. And, obviously, I always use like a hair perfume because dreadlocks, they retain a lot of smells. So, you don’t want to be sitting with musty hair and they’ve got such a bad reputation.
READ MORE | Noxolo Dlamini pens a letter to her crown - 'I’m probably the luckiest person with 4c hair'
Do you think keeping this consistent look helps with how dreadlocks are perceived?
Ja, I think a lot of women are considered to look like me when they’ve got dreadlocks and that’s a good thing because I think I’m well taken care of. I think I smell good, I look good.
My skin is always giving me problems but it’s skin, you can’t change that. But dreadlocks, I think have gotten a better name because of me.
