Many people are aware of the stereotypes that popular culture has attributed to locs, but not many are aware of the true origins of the style or what the hairstyle means to the people who wear it for cultural or religious reasons.

While locs have been a popular hairstyle among the black community for a long time dating back to ancient Egyptian times, a new variation, the “Gyspy Loc,” has gained popularity over the last few years. Savis Davis Austin is the person behind the style that many women have rocked, including the likes of Karen Civil.

We had the pleasure of speaking with Savis about how she created her signature hairstyle, what inspires her creativity, and her biggest lessons as a woman in business. Check it out below:

Introduce Yourself

Hello, my name is Savis Davis Austin. I am a wife, mom and entrepreneur. I’m most known for my creative hairstyles and what I bring to the loc industry.

You’ve been a pioneer in creating the Gypsy Locs. How did you come up with your signature style?

I actually like to thank a good friend of mine Taylor -she was the first person I initially did the style on and she loved it and praised me for the spin I put on a package of hair that we randomly found in a store. After that I did my hair and started posting just because I thought I looked cool and before I knew it I had hundreds of women wanting to book with me. I started doing it for free cause I just love the style and really found a creative outlet but months later after not charging I realized I could really be charging for this which led me to start my entrepreneur journey.

You’ve got the opportunity to do hair for the likes of Karen Civil and Tae Heckard, how does it feel to know that your style has reached people all over the country?

It feels amazing. I’m so blessed really before I did hair I was so lost and just didn’t feel like I was good at anything. So to invest so much time into something and it is received by the world as Art just makes me feel empowered, not only for myself but my city.

What inspires your creativity?

It’s wild to have to say but the lack of creativity that most black women miss out on due to workspace rules that I myself experienced, my aunts, my grandparents, etc. I create looks for them, I create with them in mind for sure.

You’ve sported many vibrant hair colors. What would you say to someone who wants to experiment with their hair color but has reservations?

I say do it! Make sure it’s rooted in what you wanted, not because of trends or celebrities having it. Find your individuality within whatever look or color you desire.

What has been your biggest lesson as a woman in business?

Take my time! I think I am a master of multitasking because I’m a mom lol but I learned I’m terrible at it when it comes to business so that showed me how to take it task by task, day by day! Once you move like that the universe, God the creator opens ways for you because you're honoring yourself and slowing down truly trusting that you're on time regardless.

How do you balance your creativity and business with being a wife and a mother?

Soooo lol I’m new to that world lol I honestly didn’t believe that there could be a balance between work and family cause something is going to get a smaller percentage of you. Now I’m big on breaks because that’s why I work for myself so I can take breaks as needed. I'm not on anyone else’s time so I’ll close my calendar for a month and just be about family but when I come back to work I make sure I’m not overworking myself

Speaking of being a wife, you are married to artist, Mvstermind and help him with many of his endeavors. What is it like being married to an artist and how do you both manage your busy schedules?

It’s a beautiful thing that we both wake up and love the reality that we want. We’ve learned to take it day by day and that household comes first. We see relationships thrive or end doing what we’re doing, taking up space how we’re desiring to take up space so our biggest responsibility is to make sure our household isn’t suffering! So if that means canceling 1-2 out of 5 meetings that week cause we’re not grounded then that’s what it is or me not taking so many appointments the next month cause Moon is wanting us home more then that’s what we do! We’ve learned that God is always working things out for us cause we put family first.

In addition, you are into holistic living and practices such as veganism, juicing, cleansing, and eating clean overall. How long have you been on your holistic journey and what benefits have you experienced from it?

It’s so funny I have what most might consider a weird eating calendar so 3 weeks a month we’ll be “vegan” or eat mainly fruits and veggies then 1 week we’ll eat meat (clean, halal meat) then do a detox lol but I find that to work for our personalities our body types.

Implementing herbal uses and being mindful of my body has allowed me to be mentally well, and physically well. I come from bad decision making, not so well upbringing to where if I wasn’t mindful of what I put in my body, or softer approaches to health then I’d definitely be in a dark space like I once was. I recommend everyone to play around in that world cause we’re seeing the state of the world when we don’t so now it’s like taking different approaches to see other possibilities and outcomes.

What do you want your legacy to be?

Damn good question! I never use that word lol it’s such big energy. Wow.

I would want my legacy to be millions upon billions of dollars left to my family and community (of course) but more of us being mindful, being you, being your whole self, being an example of this for the next few generations I’ll be alright with that

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