By Tia Mckinney

Noel Griffin is a master loctician and the owner of INoeLocs, LLC located in Batesville. She has been known to turn drab to fab when it comes to the culture of locs.

Locs are also commonly known as dreadlocks or dreads. Although they are historically a part of the Rastafarian religion, they have become a fashion statement for many or a way to connect with their culture.

Noel previously worked at a 9-to-5 in Memphis before stepping out on her faith and skills to open her own salon and being a full-time entrepreneur. INoeLocs started out in 2011 in a college campus dorm room on the campus of Mississippi State University.

She started out doing her own hair to save herself from spending hundreds on maintaining a hair style while being a full-time college student and athlete. Eventually, other students wanted to know who was taking care of her hair along with her roommate’s and her answer was simple, “me.”

While interviewing her she told me the story of how her roommate thought it was comical to start telling people that she charges for her hair services and that is how she got “her first actual paying client.” From there her clientele grew tremendously.

Although the education and clientele was there, Noel left Mississippi State when she became pregnant with her daughter and returned home to Memphis. People at home saw her work, knew she was great, and began contacting her by phone and social media to book appointments once they knew she had returned.

Her work only got better which began to attract the likings of strangers. The only struggle was not having the safety and security of a salon. She decided it was best to stop her loctician journey and turn to the working field and finish her education. Returning to work, she wasn’t making the living she desired for her and her daughter even with overtime. She decided that she could not live “paycheck to paycheck and needed a side hustle that I was good at.” This is where the rebirth of INoeLocs came into play.

She began taking clients again in 2020 to increase her income for not only herself, but to be a provider for her daughter and set a positive example for her. She would take clients before work, after work, on her off days, and sometimes even travel to them.

Most of her traffic began to come right out of Panola County. After much prayer, hard work, and willpower, Noel decided to step out on faith and quit her job in 2021 to become a full-time entrepreneur. In 2022, she opened a salon. Her salon is located directly behind the Panola County Courthouse in Batesville, where she takes clients daily.

She has also been known for her incredible sneaker collection and social media transformation videos of clients. If you want to book this legendary loctician, check out her website www.inoelocs.com!

Round of applause for this hometown hero!