ROCKFORD - The stories you hear in Angie Upton's shop prove that women can have a spiritual but all-too-often-painful relationship with their hair.
Upton owns The Loc Shop, which opened in August at 329 Church St. She promotes the acceptance of natural hair for people of all ages and races, but especially for African-American women who've traditionally - some since childhood - used harsh chemicals to relax and straighten their hair.
Ann Marie Wright of Poplar Grove consulted with Upton this month about her daughter's hair and her own hair. Born to an African father and an Australian mother, Wright described her hair as a 'curse' and said it's never grown much on its own since she was child.
Upton discourages people from referring to their hair as 'bad' or 'good.'
'Your hair is the gift God gave you,' she says. 'My job is to go out there and help women see the beauty in their hair.'
Upton is from Rockford but worked as a lobbyist in Washington. She left that career to pursue her passion for natural hair.
In 1997, she lost most of her hair and suffered second- and third-degree burns from a hair-relaxer product that reacted badly with her scalp. That led her to invent the SisTwist, a natural-hair extension that helps people transition away from chemically treated hair.
Upton ran a successful hair shop in D.C. but moved back to Rockford in 2007 to be closer to her family.
She demonstrated the SisTwist product as a contestant at last year's Stateline FastPitch Competition, a contest for entrepreneurs. She didn't win, but working with staff at Rockford's EIGERlab, a business incubator, gave her valuable marketing experience.
'Until you understand how a city functions and how to market for the people in that city, it doesn't matter that you had a shop before. You have to learn the area and what your clients really want here. I honed that process with the FastPitch program.'
Things moved fast for Upton after that. She had hundreds of clients coming to her home for hair services.
And she knew she needed a space to expand her business and reach more people to educate them about the natural-hair movement.
'African-American people have been processing their hair to make it straight for years,' Upton says. 'Getting them to look into doing something natural and seeing the beauty in that is one of the hardest challenges I have.'
ROCKFORD - The stories you hear in Angie Upton's shop prove that women can have a spiritual but all-too-often-painful relationship with their hair. Upton owns The Loc Shop, which opened in August at 329 Church St. She promotes the acceptance of natural hair for people of all ages and races, but especially for African-American women who've traditionally - some since childhood - used harsh chemicals to relax and straighten their hair. Ann Marie Wright of Poplar Grove consulted with Upton this month about her daughter's hair and her own hair. Born to an African father and an Australian mother, Wright described her hair as a 'curse' and said it's never grown much on its own since she was child. Upton discourages people from referring to their hair as 'bad' or 'good.' 'Your hair is the gift God gave you,' she says. 'My job is to go out there and help women see the beauty in their hair.' Upton is from Rockford but worked as a lobbyist in Washington. She left that career to pursue her passion for natural hair. In 1997, she lost most of her hair and suffered second- and third-degree burns from a hair-relaxer product that reacted badly with her scalp. That led her to invent the SisTwist, a natural-hair extension that helps people transition away from chemically treated hair. Upton ran a successful hair shop in D.C. but moved back to Rockford in 2007 to be closer to her family. She demonstrated the SisTwist product as a contestant at last year's Stateline FastPitch Competition, a contest for entrepreneurs. She didn't win, but working with staff at Rockford's EIGERlab, a business incubator, gave her valuable marketing experience. 'Until you understand how a city functions and how to market for the people in that city, it doesn't matter that you had a shop before. You have to learn the area and what your clients really want here. I honed that process with the FastPitch program.' Things moved fast for Upton after that. She had hundreds of clients coming to her home for hair services. And she knew she needed a space to expand her business and reach more people to educate them about the natural-hair movement. 'African-American people have been processing their hair to make it straight for years,' Upton says. 'Getting them to look into doing something natural and seeing the beauty in that is one of the hardest challenges I have.' Upton reached out to the Rockford Housing Authority to find people skilled in braiding and plans to do more teaching in the coming months and years. 'Most of the best braiders have this wonderful gift of doing natural styles, but they lack the ability to transfer that skill into a business. What I do here is not only hair, but we train, we teach people how to braid hair, we teach them the business side of things so they can take those skills and make a great living.' The Loc Shop has seven employees, and passersby will notice that the shop is lit up during all hours of the day with customers getting SisTwist styles or maintenance on their dreadlocks. The shop takes walk-in appointments from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. but has slots available 24 hours a day because, Upton says, people who work second and third shifts still need their hair done. The space near the corner of Park Avenue and Church Street - which used to be an Italian fudge shop - has large windows and orange curtains that complement the orange-and-white mosaic-tiled floor. Incense is usually burning, and there's a space where customers can create their own organic oil blends. Upton says it's an exciting time to have a business in Rockford. 'The growth and movement in the downtown made it look like a city again for me. I love it. ... There's a lot of energy here and a lot of positive things happening in the city.' About 35 percent of the shop's customers are Caucasian. Andi Lodestone of Rockford made a spiritual connection with Upton last week during a four-hour appointment to put her hair in dreadlocks. Lodestone had gone to other shops where people had said her hair couldn't be dreadlocked. Upton never doubted the possibility. 'This woman works miracles,' Lodestone says. 'More happened here than just hair. ... I am truly going to love my hair and my life just as they are.'Melissa Westphal: 815-987-1341; mwestpha@rrstar.com; @mlwestphalThe Loc Shop Owner:Angie UptonAddress: 329 Church St., RockfordPhone: 779-423-1467Hours: Walk-ins from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday; the shop is available 24 hours those days but by appointment only after regular hoursWebsites: thelocshop.org, sistwist.com
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