Why I loc’d my hair and what I’ve learned from this journey so far

I just had my 8 month locaversary and sometimes I still can’t believe I loc’d my hair. When I first told people I was thinking about getting locs (I say locs instead of dreadlocks, just a personal preference) most of the reactions were of shock and somewhat unbelief because of my history of changing my hair so frequently. If this were years ago, then I’d agree with and understand those reactions, but now that I’m older I just don’t have the energy, time or desire to change up my hair and maintain it like I used to. I feel like I was at a point in my life where I’ve literally had every trending hairstyle, every color and I was ready to retire so to speak lol. My go-to styles were braids, goddess locs and wigs. It started taking me longer and longer to do those styles and the simple wig maintenance has turned into something so complex with the frontal lace, gel-glue and concealer that it just turned me off. I sweat too much and it’s too hot in Alabama for that! Also, maintaining my natural hair had become a chore as well. So, the only thing left to do was loc it up!

Best hair decision I’ve ever made

I would say hands down this is probably the best hair decision I’ve made and the only thing I regret is not making it sooner. Although it may seem like I’m restricted in what I can do with my hair because it is loc’d, well it actually has provided me with so much freedom when it comes to my hair. I can literally get up and go (which is a real get up and go) and do nothing to it if I don’t want. I can style my locs or not style them, I can lay my edges or let them do their thing. I just don’t have the same concerns and duties of doing something to my hair each morning that I used to have and it feels great! Loc’ing my hair has given me so much more freedom to just be and not worry about keeping up with or learning the latest hair trends, putting on a wig everyday or making sure it’s laid, and so on.

Your locs are not going to look like someone else’s

When I made the final decision to loc my hair and even after first starting out I was obsessed with trying to find loc’d ladies with my hair texture and with the same amount of locs that I have so that I could see how mine would look in the future. I have in my head a certain way I want my locs to look so if I could possibly see how mine would look in the future would be great, right? Ehh.. not so much because my locs are not going to look like someone else’s no matter how similar in texture our hair is – it’s just not going to turn out the same. Everyone’s hair responds to the loc’ing process differently based on texture, how the hair grows, the length, the density, etc. So I gave up on trying to see my locs in the future and just let my hair do it’s thing!

Do what works for you

To go through the awkward/ugly phase or get loc extensions? To interlock, comb coil or two strand twist? So many choices in how to start your locs. In the loc community (yes, that’s a thing lol) there are preferred methods and routes that many will suggest you take in the starting phase, but I say do what works for you! I started my locs with two-strand twists and then about 3 months into the journey as I was beginning to experience budding and loc’ing I decided to speed up the loc’ing process by interlocking my hair. Why did you do this? Isn’t this “cheating”? To some the “process” you should go through to achieve matured locs is more of a spiritual journey and one should embrace each and every stage. This is great, but I wanted my locs to look like locs and I was over my curly ends and looking like a little girl lol. So, I decided to interlock a very small amount of human hair into my hair to maintain the length and create locs. It was a lengthy process, found it on YouTube, but so worth it. Now I LOVE my locs and they are exactly how I envisioned them in the early stages.

Low maintenance doesn’t mean no maintenance

I sometimes forget that I still need to maintain the health of my hair. Because locs are a low maintenance style it can be easy to forget to make sure my hair gets the nourishment it needs. I also do not retwist as often as I did initially, but I still have to make sure my hair receives some TLC in between retwists. I spray oils and rose water into my hair weekly, wash it as needed (usually once every week or every other week because I exercise daily), I like to massage oils into my scalp and on my loc strands as well. I don’t use any conditioners as conditioner is a natural detangler and can cause build up in the locs. I just try to be mindful of the things I put in my hair as well as the weekly maintenance of my hair.

Patience is key

Although I did speed up my loc’ing process by interlocking, my hair still isn’t fully loc’d/matured, which means I still have a ways to go. A fully matured loc is one that is similar in size and shape from top to bottom without any budding or bumps.  With my locs you can still see my curl pattern, I still have some budding so I still have some time before my locs are fully matured so with that being said, patience is necessary in this process because it will take a while to achieve the desired look.

Have fun and enjoy the journey

I’ve been having fun with my locs! I recently dyed them blonde. I’ve also rinsed them black and have even curled them. I can throw a wig on over them if I ever get a desire to wear a wig. I still have options for change with my locs which I love and I’m not stuck to just one look.

I’m enjoying my loc journey and can’t wait to see how my hair continues to grow and change. Just like life, it’s a process, always something new to learn along the way and every stage is beautiful.

Live well,