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!

6 Week Update

This past week has been so hectic I have hardly had any time to myself. Last Wednesday marked six weeks since I started my microlocs and my first retightening. Before my appointment, my consultant messaged me to remind me of the day and time. Good thing too since I thought it was the Thursday. I could just picture the look on her face as I strolled in one day late for my appointment. SMH. 

After I got the reminder I had to decide if I would wash my hair before. I usually wash my hair on weekends when I have the most time to allow the strands to air dry. I do not do it during the week as there is only about one and a half to two hours of sunlight left after I get home. Currently I wash my hair every two weeks to allow the locs to bud. Too much washing can cause the hair to unravel in the early stages. Luckily for me, it's the summer so I got home earlier than usual and was able to cleanse my scalp before the appointment. 

I felt anxious about the appointment because I had somehow managed to lose a few locs. When my consultant washed my hair everything was fine but when I did it myself? The delicate locs at the front and back walked right out of my head. I could not believe it. For two weeks I wore styles to hide the unraveled locs hoping the days would go by quicker.

Finally the day or retightening came and I was ecstatic. Not only was I going to get back my crisp grid pattern but I was going to regain my lost locs - or so I thought. My grid looked nowhere near as clean as when the locs were installed and my lost locs are on probation. The loctician is hoping that the hair thickens up enough in those areas before reinstalling the locs in those areas. A lost cause if there ever was one. I have had locs before and those areas always did their own thing. On the brighter side, I did have a lot of new growth and I can feel some budding and thickening going on. 

Below are two photos taken five days apart. The first was taken the day after the retightening and the other was taken today. Can you spot the difference? Let me know down below.

That's all for now. Until next time - Lata!

Update

Yesterday my consultant contacted me to arrange my four week retightening after my two week check. Oh joy! I get to walk around for another two weeks while letting my roots grow even longer. I was hoping I would get an appointment this week but once again Bad Luck Chuck comes charging in. At least all of my appointments will be every four weeks from here on out. 

My hair has the ability to frizz regardless of the weather and right now those fly away strands are tangling with each other, making it difficult to run my fingers through to comb out my cork screws (bantu knots). I am not sure how I will keep this up for another two weeks. In the meantime, I have reduced the amount of manipulation I do to my hair on a weekly basis and hope the styles stay at  least a week.

I dislike using a lot of products and have been weaning myself off of them for years, Before starting microlocks I only used oils and water after my washing routine. I clarified, moisturized then conditioned meaning at any given time I had no less than eight products but most of them were shampoos or conditioners I experimented with to see what worked with my hair. The oils I used consisted of coconut oil, mineral oil, rosemary oil, peppermint oil, lavender oil and castor oil. Now I get to treat my hair as though I got sisterlocks, thanks to my consultant.

My consultant has been amazing so far. According to her, I am a walking talking advertisement for her work so she will make sure that the quality of work is always high and as long as I follow her directions, she will be proud to say so. Speaking to her I learned that she has had customers who have ignored her instructions and returned to her weeks or months later hoping for a miracle after messing up. Apart from that I love the fact that she calls all her clients to set up and remind them of upcoming appointments and clearly stated the price to new customers.

I am excited to see where this goes and enjoy having a consultant just excited as I am along for the ride. 

Til next time - Lata!

5 Signs You Aren't Ready For Locs

1. Someone told you to get them

One of the worse things you can do is commit to something just because someone else mentioned you should do it. Sometimes it works out but let's be honest here, most of the time it doesn't and you resent the position you are put in because of it. 
If a family member or significant other suggests you get locs, you should know if it is something you want and can commit to before jumping in. Write a pros and cons list, learn about starter locs, the phases of locs, the do's and don't's and decide for yourself.

      2. You change your hair every week (colour, length etc)

If you like trying out the latest hair tends or the newest hair dye then you might want to give locs a pass. I know people who seem to be stuck in a cycle of cutting their hair, growing it out, relaxing it then cutting it again. One minute their hair is blonde, the next it's purple, then blue then red all withing three months. If you cannot be bothered to stick to one style for more than a few weeks then locs aren't for you. By the time your hair starts to bud you'll be bored with it and ready to cut it off in a heartbeat.

      3. You don't know how to take care of natural hair.

You may have been natural your entire life but if you still struggle to grow you hair past six inches or have managed to make your edges disappear or worse yet, you've been using the same products for years even though they're clearly not working then put off your loc journey until you sort that ish out.
If your hair is always breaking, that might be a sign that something is wrong. You could be dehydrated or putting something in your hair that's damaging it like too much heat. Start changing things up. See what works for your hair and get real comfortable with it before you do anything else.

      4. You think you can treat them the same as loose natural hair.

Locs are not the same as loose natural hair and should not be treated as such. You can easily wash out anything from loose naturals but not from locs. I have had glitter in my locs for two years! Nothing I did would get it out. I spent hours picking at this purple/green reflective piece of torture at every opportunity. I washed my hair, did apple cider vinegar soaks and for a short time it would be hidden in the other hair but that one fleck stayed. I say all of that to say this, things like waxes, shea or cocoa butter will be near impossible to get out. Not only that, they will also trap lint and you'd have no choice but to use dyes to hide it or risk leaving holes in the shaft of the locs after trying to pick it out.

      5. You are impatient.

If you expect your locs to mature in less than a year, babes, you're in for a rude awakening. Locs can take up to two years to fully loc up. If you are expecting your hair to reach your target length withing months after starting them, prepare to be severely disappointed. 
But, if you are willing to stick with it, growing locs can be a rewarding venture that allows you to fall in learn about yourself and your hair. It can help you appreciate the journey while striding towards your end goal.

So that's it. I may not be a professional but I do believe that locs aren't for everyone and I hope people read this before decided to start their journey.

Til next time - Lata!

My Addiction

Since my big chop in 2008 I have started locs a whopping 5 times. This time being the fifth and hopefully last time. The first time I used "box braids" with wool to start them. These locs were doomed from the start and lasted about six months.

When I started, I knew nothing at all about locs except that I wanted them. The hair dresser advised me to use Jamaican Mango and Lime products and I faithfully used them all through this and the next loc journey. After six months my hair had barely grown an inch and when I took out the wool, the amount of grease and build up grossed me out completely. This led to me combing out the locs and washing my hair several times. I attempted to repeat the process using wool a few weeks later but did not like how the braids look and took them out after a month or so.

My next attempt to grow locs started with what I call plait-twists. Basically, the hair is twisted except at the base where it starts as a braid. I got a cousin to do as many of these as she could. I didn't know it then but that had been my first set of microlocks. For 18 months I loved them - right up until one fell out. I still hadn't learned much about locs. Every other month I tried a new product but always went back to Mango and Lime products. When that lock came out in my hand I freaked out and started to take down my locs once more. It took a week and a large plastic bag but I did it. I would have inserted pictures here but I can't find any for my first two sets of locs.

After that, I kept my loose natural hair for five months before I gave in. My longest lasting loc journey started in May 2011 around my birthday. I had asked the hairdresser for medium locs which she started with twists but the final result turned out way larger than I intended.I had minor issues I thought would go away with time with this journey. I didn't like the way the parts had been made, the fact the ends were thicker than rest of the loc nor the fact the middle locs were nearly twice the size of most of the other locs and three times bigger than the smallest ones. But I struggled with it for nearly five years - afterall, I did't hate them. 

During that time I finally learned about locs. I stopped using a lot of products and found that using just oils and water could hold my retwist but I still resented the size of my hair. What made me take them down though, I'm not sure how to explain. My first apartment had mold and I think it got into my hair but I didn't notice until I fell asleep with wet hair and woke to find the 'lint' in my back row had moved from two inches to one inch away from my scalp. I immediately took out the back row. I knew it would take a long while to do a complete take down so I waited until I got time home. It took three days while sick to complete but by the end I had loose natural hair again along with a damaged thumb - that's a story for another day. 

My next loc installation started a mere two months later. I knew I wanted smaller locs but I also did not want to spend to much time on my hair. I used finger coils and spent weeks trying to get all of them close to the same size. I even enlisted the help of family members but something was still off. They started budding and locing faster than any of my other locs but the middle of my head felt exposed. I didn't mind it too much but one day I found myself reluctant to wash my hair because I knew I would have to spend the rest of the weekend maintaining it. My chosen maintenance method at the time, interlocking, took a lot longer than palm rolling to finish and I hated it. Week after week I struggled to bring myself to dedicate that much time to one task and finally, two weeks before my birthday I made a decision. I would get a professional to deal with it for me. It didn't take long for me to start wondering if I am letting someone else deal with it why not get the locs I really want? And so I took down my locs for hopefully the last time.

Presently, I have 312 locs and I love it. It takes my consultant one hour to do a complete retightening so I have plenty of free time. I also don't have to use any products in my hair which means no build up. If I do decide to start another loc journey after this then it might just be sisterlocks.  

Til next time - Lata!

Why Microlocks

Remember in my first blog post I mentioned flip flopping between having sisterlocks or microlocks installed? And how I finally managed to decide? Well today I will be covering how I came to a decision.

First off, I must say that I love the look of all types if locs but I adore the smaller ones even more. So the first question I had to answer for myself (as a former self maintainer) encompassed two issues in one. 

• What loc size are you comfortable with if you decide to maintain the locs yourself?

My second foray into locs resulted in small ones. And I loved them. So far they have been my absolute favourite and I wish I knew then what I know now so I could have saved them. To make up for that I decided at least 250 - 300 locs would be ideal (well below the sisterlock minimum)

• Will you regret the size of loc you choose in a few month or years?

I took down my locs on two separate occasions because I disliked the size. The second set, though smaller by half, still felt too large and left me with a vague feeling on dissatisfaction the entire time.

• How much time are you willing to devote to maintaining your hair?

After nearly three years of self maintenance I am no stranger to spending entire weekends with my hands in the air. Ideally though I wanted to spend no more than an hour getting my hair tightened every month by a professional and no more than 10 hours spread across 5 days if done by myself.

• Are you willing to save up for the sisterlock installation?

Yes and no. I wanted the locs installed as soon as possible after the last loc take down. I may love the softness and texture of my loose natural hair but I hated dealing with it and was too tender headed to let someone else style it for me. Saving up for the installation would have meant a month of dealing with loose natural hair.

• Do you have two or three consecutive days to spend sitting in a chair?

Two days? Yes. Three? No. One weekend dedicated to my hair? Not a new concept. Regardless of which loc I chose I knew I would be spending over eight hours with the installation. The real question was really "Are you willing to spend two days sitting in a chair barely moving?" Since you already know I got microlocks, there is your answer.

• Which type of loc can you afford right now?

Microlocks. Sisterlocks would have cost $1,100 but microlocks were just $500.

• Can you afford the long term costs of having them maintained my someone else?

Yes. $100 is not too much to pay every four to six weeks until the locs mature. It is a small price to pay to have my weekends basically free instead of struggling with my hands in the air.

• Is there really that big of a difference between micro and sister locs?

Apart from the grid? No. Microlocks can be done as small or even smaller than sisterlocks. With the consultant I chose, the difference fell to the microlocks being larger than sisterlocks. I still got the grid and just over my ideal number of locs.

So there you have it. My reasons for choosing microlocks over sisterlocks. 

Braid out on three week old microlocs

Til next time - Lata