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!

Styling Challenges

Since my installation I have been less than enthusiastic about styling my hair. For the past two to three years I have had locs midway down my back and learned a lot of styles to get that hair away from my neck. With these microlocks my go to style is a side parted cork screw (bantu knot) out. It has only been the last week or so where I tried a braid out and a mini roll on one side.

Right now I am feeling meh about the whole styling thing. Don't get me wrong. It isn't that I don't know how to style short locs, it is simply that I don't want to put too much effort into it. I have not been able to truly enjoy having hair barely long enough to reach my shoulders without doing some major manipulation beforehand. I love not having to do much to get ready for work. I love not spending hours experimenting with styles I regret almost immediately. Right now I am just enjoying my new found freedom. 

In the mean time I have attempted to start my sister's locs and have been styling them frequently for her. Since her hair naturally sticks up I am left trying to force it into a style that makes her look decent. She has more traditional locs but I am tempted to restart the entire process with larger locs like she had originally wanted but we'll see. I am tired dealing with hair when I don't have to so I'm taking this time to relax before they styling bug hits. 

The problem with microlocks is that there are no real styling tutorials specific to one type. The term micro covers so much that finding someone with a similar size of locs is difficult if not impossible. Maybe I will continue my attempts to make YouTube videos to give others like myself an opportunity to follow someone with similar sized locks. Or maybe not.

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!