I Lost a Loc

Two days ago I lost a loc. I also took down one because of an error during the retightening process. I may seem calm now but at the time I freaked out. 

I lost a freaking loc! Well - technically two.

Lemme fill you in on what led to that moment of horror. 

Tuesday marked my retightening day but I had to wash my hair first. Nothing unusual there. What was different this time though was that prior to that morning I saw some white stuff in the last row of locs. I could not tell if it was just lint, build up (from not rinsing as thoroughly as I thought I was), mold/mildew or a combination of the three. That led me straight to YouTube researching how to remove the mold since I already knew methods for the other two. By Monday I had a plan for Tuesday morning. 

• Spray hair with Apple Cider Vinegar and leave it for 20 minutes
• Use tea tree oil shampoo
• Follow up with Listerine
• Condition with tea tree conditioner

What actually happened might have been the reason the fragile loc gave up the ghost. Everything went as planned until the shampoo. It refused to lather so I resorted to Dr. Bronners then went back in with the tea tree oil shampoo. In short, I lathered a total of three times. Way more than I do on a normal wash since starting these locs. After that, the rest went to plan.

Fast forward a few hours and after a very long day, I am near the end of my reti. I proceed to do the four point rotation on the loc I'm about to bid adieu to. Everything goes well and I happen to notice the bottom three inches looked a lot thicker than the roots but I ignore it. My interlocking tool (A repurposed plastic needle) slipped off of the loc and naturally, I replaced it and continued working. That's when it happened. The thicker part decided to break away from the root completely. 

For a few moments, all I could do was stare at it. How did it happen? Was it stress? Overmanipulation? Or maybe I had disturbed it too much with the unusual and harsh wash routine? Considering how Houdini escaped once more, along with another loc in the last few rows at the back and Houdini's neighbour barely holding on, I had to accept the over the top measure made the poor thing let go. 

The other loc though - that loc traumatised me. I honestly thought the worst had happened when three inches of a four-inch loc came off but I was wrong. Somewhere around five rows later I managed to create a loop and pull through it forming a knot near the base of the loc. None of my usual techniques worked to correct the error. Half an hour and one sore head later I gave in and asked my boyfriend for help. He could not tell the difference between "what I do with my head and what I claimed to be wrong". 

It was after ten, I was tired and frustrated and getting nowhere so after an hour of struggling, I made the decision to take the loc down to release the knot and start it over. The knot still would not budge when I reached that part. Frustrated, I went to the bathroom mirror, immediately found the problem and removed it in a few seconds. Why didn't I think to do that first? Might have been able to save myself an hour of pain and frustration. *sigh*

Lessons learnt. 

I'll stick to my usual routine until I am fully loc'd. I will take my time when I am near the end of a reti to avoid making mistakes like I have been doing since November and I will go back to washing once a month. 

Til next time - lata!

Should I?

After three months I have come to realise that I have reached the point in my journey where I have to make a decision. Should I become a sisterlock trainee or not?

It may seem as though this questions just came out of nowhere but it didn't. I've always been fascinated with locs even when my mother would not let me grow any. I've started my sister's locs and I am considering doing my cousin's. I installed microlocs on another cousin in January but she took them down shortly after when she started a new job that does not like its employees to wear locs. Let's just say I've had three heads of practice including my own and I would like to switch careers so I could make a living from it.

The idea cemented itself while talking to my consultant during the last retightening. Now I'm hooked on the idea of taking the sisterlocks training and getting an apprenticeship with my consultant if possible. There is one flaw in this glorious plan though. What if I don't like it? 

Sisterlock training costs about US$1500 and to top it off, training does not happen in my country so I would have to travel to another Caribbean island or the United States. I get that it would be an investment in my future career but again I ask, "What if I don't like it?"

My SO made the perfect suggestion but I am no sure how it would work having two jobs. The full time one I have now is tiring but....maybe I can do it. Maybe I might realise that I love doing locs more than anything in the world and have found my true calling. Or maybe I'll be bored within a week and walk away. All that's left to do is convince someone to let me work with them until November.

If it works out I'll let you all know. If not....que sera sera. Wish me luck! 

Til next time - Lata!

Three Months Gone

I know I just posted my 10 week update but that went by a while ago. While work had me all over the place and stressing out, the day marking my 3 month anniversary (for lack of a better word) passed by without me noticing.

Originally, the plan was to create and upload a video to YouTube outlining the changes and how the journey has been so far. But that idea went up in smoke. I could not care less about recording and editing a video around that time simply because of work. Oh Heavens, help me! I have not been in the sun this much since I was eleven and thought it was fun to get away from being inside all the time.

Now, I have had my third retightening done and I am excited to report that the slippage has been drastically reduced thanks to one simple trick I've been using. Instead of washing my hair every two weeks like I was doing before, I am now washing it once a month. If my scalp is dirty before then, I use a mixture of vinegar, water and witch hazel to gently cleanse the scalp. On a side note, please remember that the recipe for this concoction was given to my by my consultant so it isn't something I made up by myself.

Anyways, by reducing the amount of manipulation to my wet hair, I managed to have only 3 locs slip during the first week. On the other hand, I did have to retighten the one loc four times before my last appointment. By the time I made it to the consultant'c chair, all that remained of that one loc was a knot near the tip. Up to now, I am still completely baffled by my hair's ability to unravel from the root and leave one of two knots in tact. Smh.

Oh well, maybe it won't be so bad next month. Til next time - Lata!

Surviving Summer With Long Locs

I don't know about you, but I live in the Caribbean and it is HOT. This year will be the first where I haven't had to struggle to keep my locs out of my face and off of my neck so I'm going to share one of my favourite styles today. 

This style is a two-fer and the first part involves using coils. I found this just over a year ago thanks to a YouTuber known as Junglebarbie and what I like about the style is that it does wonders for locs of all lengths. Watch the video and let me know if you tried it. 

Part 1

Part 2

So simple and elegant and best of all? Easy to modify. Well that's all for now.

Til next time - Lata!

Growing Locs Quickly

If you do enough research on YouTube you will come across my loc god Damien Walter. He is a firm believer of having a establishing a healthy hair regimen. According to him you must use a clarifying shampoo followed by a moisturizing shampoo then a deep conditioner with protein. I am a firm believer of this method. By clarifying, moisturizing and conditioning you increase the strength of the hair on a superficial level. If the hair is not properly moisturized, the individual strands will break and by extension, the locs with thin or break. 

To truly moisturize and strengthen the hair you should ensure you drink enough water. This varies from person to person so experiment until you hit the perfect amount. Strong hair is less likely to break and will assist with hair growth. Avoid products that have waxes or that are not water based. They may feel moisturizing but actually add nothing apart from build up to your hair.

Speaking of less likely to break, monitor the amount of tension you place on you scalp. Locs may be thicker than individual hairs but there is still a very real risk of losing hair due to the stress. Constant pulling of the hair at the roots will lead to balding in the areas where the pulling occurs the most. 

Let your hair grow free. Over manipulation of the hair can cause breakage. Relax every once in a while. Use hair bands or scarfs to cover your wild looking roots. You can also experiment with semi-free forming. Checkout Jasmine Rose on YouTube to get an idea of how to keep locks looking neat when not retwisting. Do not be afraid to leave styles in your locs for two weeks at a time. Believe me, your hair will do its thing and in no time you'll start to notice growth when you least expect it.

The final secret to growing your locs is to be patient. Don't measure your hair growth every two weeks. Ignore them particularly during the initial phases of locing. Your hair will shrink while it locs and take up to two years to regain the length you lost initially. If you want long flowing locs now or within the next six months, forget about growing them and invest in loc extensions or faux locs. 

That's all for now. 

Til next time - Lata!