Dreadlocks, dreads, locks, locs — whatever your term of choice for them may be — are essentially sections of hair that haven't been combed, brushed, or handled at all, according to celebrity hairstylist Lavette Slater. Over time, said hair becomes matted and knotted into itself, forming the hairstyle we've all come to know.

While more and more celebrities have adopted locs in their faux form today, the style itself still has a dated stigma and skewed associations surrounding it — as we've seen with the Giuliana Rancic and Zendaya controversy. But, contrary to popular belief, they're rooted in more of a spiritual affiliation than a "patchouli" one. In fact, they date back thousands of years.

While it's hard to nail down any kind of exact timeline, we talked to several hairstylists and experts in an attempt to give locs some kind of linear evolution. While the history itself is fascinating and worth a read, in light of recent pop culture events, we also think a quick refresher on all things locs is important to help clear up misconceptions and negative connotations.

In Ancient Greece, kouros sculptures from the archaic period depict men wearing dreadlocks[11][12]while Spartan hoplites[13] wore formal locks as part of their battle dress.[14] Spartan magistrates known as Ephors also wore their hair braided in long locks, an Archaic Greek tradition that was steadily abandoned in other Greek kingdoms.[15]

The style was worn by Ancient Christian Ascetics in the Middle East and Mediterranean, and the Dervishes of Islam, among others.[16] Some of the very earliest adherents of Christianity in the Middle East may have worn this hairstyle; there are descriptions of James the Just, first Bishop of Jerusalem, who is said to have worn them to his ankles.[17]

Pre-Columbian Aztec priests were described in Aztec codices (including the Durán Codex, the Codex Tudela and the Codex Mendoza) as wearing their hair untouched, allowing it to grow long and matted.[18] Bernal Diaz del Castillo records:

here were priests with long robes of black cloth... The hair of these priests was very long and so matted that it could not be separated or disentangled, and most of them had their ears scarified, and their hair was clotted with blood.

In Senegal, the Baye Fall, followers of the Mouride movement, a Sufi movement of Islam founded in 1887 AD by Shaykh Aamadu Bàmba Mbàkke, are famous for growing locks and wearing multi-colored gowns.[19] Cheikh Ibra Fall, founder of the Baye Fall school of the Mouride Brotherhood, popularized the style by adding a mystic touch to it. Warriors among the Fulani, Wolof and Serer in Mauritania, and Mandinka in Mali and Niger were known for centuries to have worn cornrows when young and dreadlocks when old.