I cannot do hair; so when I found out I was having a daughter, I decided I would either big chop again, or start locs. After going back and forth for a while I decided to get two strand twists, leave them in, and just let them loc up. I didn't do a lot of research, I just wanted something that would be low maintenance since I am a first time mom that is clueless about hair. I have now reached my 1 year loc anniversary, and although I do miss my fro, I can say that I am happy I decided to loc.
When I first got them done I was so happy. It saved so much time while getting ready in the morning, just slapping a bonnet on without retwisting at night, I just knew this was going to be a breeze. However, I didn't think about the new growth part. Who was going to retwist my hair? How well will the two strand and the coil blend together? What products should I use? Etc.
Well lets just say that motherhood got the best of me and I started to let myself go. I was only focused on my daughter, and I wasn't getting my hair done at all. Since starting my locs on March 3rd, 2018, I have only gotten my hair retwisted a total of 3 times. SMH I know, I'm slacking, don't judge. In fact, this last time I decided to try and do them myself. I didn't do as bad as I expected, but I do have a lot of learning.
Since it had been a while I started with an apple cider vinegar rinse, then shampooed them to remove all build up and thoroughly cleanse my scalp. I only used oil to retwist them. In the future I will definitely buy some clips to hold the locs in place. I didn't think my hair was growing, but now I can definitely see the difference. I think if I would have actually been taking care of them, and getting them retwisted regularly, I would have saw more growth; but you live and you learn.
I am still trying to get use to the 3 different textures I now have (new growth, coil, and two strand twist). Although it has been a year, only the root and the ends have started to bud and lock up. I am still able to unravel the part that is two stranded. My next endeavor will be taming the frizz and learning some simple styles to do. That will all come with time and practice. I am sure that once I start palm rolling the body of the twist will start to loc. For now I just have to get me a routine going.
I did comb one of my locs down that was way bigger than the rest. This gave me the chance to see if in the future I'd decide to just comb them out, but after all that work I'll definitely just cut them and save them just in case I decide to get them reattached. The process was very long and tedious, and my entire strand is not even fully locked; so I can imagine how long it would take to do an entire head, and I'll definitely pass on that one. I was happy I got to test the process, see the true length and texture of my hair, and split my fat loc into two, but never again will I go through that.
Do you have locs? What is your loc care routine? What are some tips and tricks you have learned over time? I definitely need all the help I can get. I'm thinking that year 2 I might try color and loc jewelry, spice things up a bit. I'm curious to see how long I actually keep my locs in, because a hair cut is starting to sound pretty good. Maybe I should keep the locs up long enough for me to learn how to do my daughters hair on my own. Lol
