The smartest Dutch celebrity is not only black, she also wears her hair naturally curly! She was on the first cover of Going Natural and you've probably seen her before.
Dolores Lioness
For those who don't know, presenter Dolores Leeuwin emerged as the smartest Dutch celebrity from BNN's National IQ Test. With a score of 159, she also broke the record of the BN Test, which was 142 last year.
With her beautiful dreadlocks she was on the cover of the first issue of Going Natural. I immediately interviewed her about her career and of course her hair.
It's been a while since you went to the production department at Teleac via HR. Did you already have dreadlocks then?
Yes, I already had dreadlocks then. At some point they started to break and then a hairdresser took all the dreads off with the clippers and cut everything to a millimeter... that was so nice, all that fresh air on my head and my head suddenly felt a lot lighter. My husband didn't like it as much... I had that for two years and then I let my dreads grow again.
How did your locs break?
They got really thin at the scalp because hairs kept breaking off. That was probably because my hair got heavy because it was so long. Because I washed it regularly, it got tangled at the scalp and I had to pull them apart all the time...not really good either.
Now you work at Klokhuis, how did that come about?
I was very cheeky! I knew someone was leaving. Then I asked a director friend if he wanted to make a short introductory film of me and I sent that together with a letter to “Het Klokhuis”. After about 40 screen tests, or so it seemed, I was hired together with colleague Margreet.
You have very nice dreadlocks. Have they ever been a problem in your work, a job application or something?
Thank you and no, never. It is absolutely not a point of discussion for me: no one but me decides whether or not my dreads come off. If my hair is already a problem… I am willing to make concessions in certain areas, but I don’t really understand what my hair has to do with my capabilities.
Many women think that afro hair, especially dreadlocks, is not yet accepted. They are afraid to walk around with unrelaxed hair because it would not be presentable and think that it could be a problem when finding a job or even doing work. Do you agree with this or is this just an idea of these women? Where do you think they get this idea?
It will undoubtedly happen that dreadlocks are not accepted in certain work environments, but in those environments nothing that deviates from the norm is probably accepted, including mats, spikes or super trendy clothing. And as for the execution of the work: if the hair is in the way, just put a band in it! Problem solved.
To be honest, I think my father (who also has dreads) suffered more from them 20 years ago than we do now.
I only get positive reactions to my hair probably because my hair is well maintained. People often think that they are not real also because they are quite long. But they really are!
Why did your father suffer more from it 20 years ago?
I didn't really hear him talk about it, because he didn't care what others thought of him. But I do know that people looked at him a lot on the street and made comments about him. Because boys with locks were by definition, contrary, lazy, profiteers of society and especially drug addicts. Now locks, in the Netherlands at least, have become a fashion phenomenon: both white and black have them now.
Was your father your example for going into lugging?
At first, no. When he started, I was 12. He was a real rastaman then.
I actually thought it was a lot of “fuss” at the time. Dreadlocks require a lot of maintenance and he is old-fashioned: “Rastas who go to the hairdresser to maintain their locks are fakes” so he dutifully did his hair every day….wherever he was. It was only later that I started to appreciate it.
How did you start with dreadlocks, braids, curls or twists? Did you do it yourself?
The very first time I started with dreadlocks was after my “curly-time”. Yes, I also did all sorts of things with my hair. I sat in front of the TV and started rolling wax. (You will never get that mess off your hands!) It looked a bit weird at first, because the regrowth of that curly was still there. When the dreads got a bit longer, I cut off the remains of that curly
I hear from many women that the initial phase is very difficult because the hair does not want to sit the way you want it to, it does not want to lie down yet, etc. After how much time was your hair curled and did you also find the initial phase difficult? If not, why not, if so, why and how did you get over it?
The very beginning is difficult, yes. The hair doesn't stay attached, so every time I washed it (and that happens quite often because I do a lot of sports) I had to start twisting again. The second time I started with dreads, I went to a hairdresser in Amsterdam, Housewives on Fire, who does dread maintenance. I go there once every 3 months. They take the regrowth and the hairs that break off at the dread and put a thread around it at the root. The advantage is that my dreads never break off again and my hair always looks neat. I can wash my hair whenever I want and it doesn't come loose anymore.
Did they put wire around your hair in the beginning? Just around your hair, around a twist or around a braid? Did you also go every 3 months in the beginning or did you have to go more often?
I started braiding them myself and when they were about 3 centimeters long, I went to the hairdresser for the first time. They put the threads around the braid.
I go more often now than I did in the beginning because my hair, somehow, grows faster now than it did in the beginning when it was a lot shorter.
How do you care for your locks, does it take a lot of time and do you need a lot of hair products?
I wash my hair about 3 times a week with very normal shampoo. I always add a little hair grease (green DAX) so that it continues to look cared for and shiny. It takes a veeeeery long time after washing before it is dry and wet dreads are heavy.
You've been up to all sorts of antics. Have you ever relaxed?
Yeah, I relaxed, I had curly hair, I had braids (which I kept up for exactly 4 weeks by the way): the whole shebang!
I stopped relaxing because my hair didn't like it and I didn't either. It's not good for your image when you're 16: either your hair explodes or that stupid rain cap on your head in fog. Moreover, hair rollers didn't work very well at school camp. After all, you had to take at least 3 hours off for every hair wash.
Curly was also not a success: greasy cushions, greasy edges in your shirts and shuffling or walking in the rain was definitely not an option.
Thanks Dolores, you will be an inspiration to many women.
Ok then! And, you're welcome
Congratulations Dolores! You are not only beautiful, kindhearted but now also proven smart. You make us proud!