Five Week Loc Update

Oh my gosh! Time has certainly flown since I started my loc journey. It's been five weeks and one day already! I have been so busy with life lately that I haven't had much time to blog. Since my last post, I have had a birthday, my first Deltaversary, and enjoyed Thanksgiving with my family. A lot has happened huh? With all of that going on, my locs have made lots of progress. I believe they are right on the cusp of budding! Heck, maybe they are budding. I am having the most trouble trying to take pictures of the individual babies, so I'll try to describe them.

Let's take this lil boo in the back for example. I think this loc has a lot going for it. It is one of the few locs that is no longer springy and bouncy. It is more compact and does not stretch out anymore. There are also a few areas where I can feel a knot forming. It's like the individual strands are starting to loc, but not just yet. I have plenty of those all over my head. I'm sure its a good sign.

I've been promising pics and they are definitely coming! Unfortunately, I'm an awful photographer, and my camera isn't much better.

Til next time...

My First Wash and Retwist

After three weeks and one day, (Nov. 11)  I shampooed my hair for the first time! I was very, very nervous about my coils unraveling. So many people were telling me that three weeks was too early to wash my hair. I couldn't wait though! I talked about how I wet my hair in my last post with very good results, so I figured everything would work out. I was right! My hair feels nice and clean. I really missed feeling water move through my hair.

To retwist, I used my Jamaican Mango & Lime Locking Gel (Resistant Formula). It took about an hour and a half. My arms were sooo tired after! I was using clips, which I hate. I saw Chescalocs video about how she retwists her hair without clips.

I though my babies were too short, but I figured it was worth a shot. This method definitely worked for me. It was super fast and not using clips was great. The last step, putting them in a ponytail, diiidn't quite work in my favor. Instead of a ponytail, I had two small pineapples. Now my hair is separated in the front and back and kinda weird. It's alright though. I found a method that mostly works. Yay!

I honestly need to put some more pics up here! I'm pretty sure some of my babes are budding. I'm finding tiny knots in some of my smaller locs, while others are getting firm without any signs of buds. I have no clue if that's normal or what. *shrugs* I'm letting them do their thing lol. I like the little knots though. I promise pictures soon!

It's official!

Today was the marker of my third week loc'ing. I'm in love with my hair! I haven't retwisted yet, so my hair is kinda wild. I like it though! In most places, I have about an inch of untwisted hair before the actual coil starts. My hair looks very full. I know a retwist is coming soon though. With my twentieth birthday and Deltaversary next week, I want to look a liiiiitle less all over the place. I'm actually thinking about semi-free forming since I like the more natural look. I will probably be shampooing my hair soon as well. I wet my whole head while in the shower yesterday to see what would happen. Thankfully, all of my coils stayed in place! I love these lil ladies :D

Now the journey ACTUALLY begins...

I'm officially two weeks and one day into my loc journey! The time flew by, even though it hasn't been that long. I feel like I'm actually in my loc journey now. Before I just had some coils. Now people are asking me if I'm loc'ing. I guess they see the roughness and are tryin to figure out what the heck is going on. Oh well! I'm excited that they are starting to look a little rough. That means something is happening and progress is being made.

In other news, I partied like crazy last night! I picked a bad day to actually dance at a party for the first time though. The coily babies at the nape of my neck were soaked from all of the sweat. Gross, I know, but it happened. I was so scared that I would lose all of my coils in one night. Thankfully, I woke up to the same amount of frizzy babies I had before, sporting a lot more frizz than before. I'm okay with that though! I'm happy none completely gave up on me. The few that were startin to firm up are still firm and everything. Yay! No damage done :)

Are my babies 'bout to bud?!

It hasn't even been two whole weeks yet, and I have definitely noticed a change in some of my starter locs. A few random coils are beginning to feel firm near the root. This change makes me excited and cautious simultaneously. I'm not sure why some are making progress while others are unraveling every two seconds. My locs are definitely starting to feel like my own little children. Some are more advanced, coloring in the lines, while others are busy eating the crayons *smh*. I love them all nonetheless.

Anyway...I let the loc'ed duded from the Commons squeeze a couple of my babies. He said that in a couple weeks, the firm locs will be loc'ing all the way down. That is only a little less than a month since their installation. Is that too fast? I know that everyone's hair is unique and different, but dang one month? Maybe this is some weird stage before they begin to bud. From what I've read, the budding stage is full of frizziness, balls of hair at the ends, and a firm ball in the middle. My locs are not frizzy at all and there are no balls at the ends. The firmness is not at the root, but right under it.

I'll be happy if my hair locs fast. My only worry is for the poor stragglers. Some of the coils in the front aren't even coils anymore! They look like loose hair with a twist at the root. I wish I could show you all. Maybe I'll make a video (even though I hate my voice), just so you all can see exactly what I mean.

Until tomorrow...

Life and Times of the Lone Loc'er

In a family full of naturals, you'd think that there would be a few loc'd ladies. Nope, there's only me. The one with the awkward family position. I'm was the first born of all my cousins. I was sort of the guinea pig child to most of my family. I'm the first to experience high school graduation, moving into college, changing majors, wanting and getting piercings, now locs. I feel like I'm driving my family crazy with all of the new things I want to do. Only yesterday I told my family that I'm in the process of loc'ing my hair, and the uproar has already begun! Here is a brief list of reasons/sayings I've heard so far about why I shouldn't loc my hair, especially not by myself.

•  Layci, you must want your hair to fall out!
•  I'm not even sure how this is relevant to loc'ing. In actuality, you keep A LOT of hair, even the ones that you should naturally shed. This statement is the complete opposite of loc'ing.

•  "Dreads" are dirty and gross.
• I get really upset about this one. The fact that locs are dirty is such a misconception. Locs are just hair! Pressed, permed, kinky, curly, any kind of hair can be dirty and gross! Most people I know with locs and read about on the forums wash their hair waaay more than loose people. 

• Locs are not professional.
• It is a shame that people feel this way. This is still a common view on natural hair. I believe that the world is changing. Locs are professional when you make them professional, like any other hair style. They laid this on me then followed up by saying that I'm a black woman, making it even harder for me to find a job. Great! I guess I'll be a housewife which is my dream. I want to work for myself anyway. What a rebel I am. I know for a fact, though, as a loc'd black woman, I will be able to begin an excellent career. I am educated, well-spoken, confident, and hard working. Locs cannot overshadow those things.

• This is just a phase. Wait 'til you get older!
• My birthday is literally twenty days away. I'll be twenty years old. I know that I am not extremely wise or mature, but I'm pretty sure twenty years old is old enough to make a decision regarding my hair. Here is my real problem with this statement. As I continue this loc journey, I will be natural! I cannot understand why my family has a problem with me continuing to be natural. If I were contemplating a perm, I would want my family to be concerned and begging me not to do it. I'm so confused.

• I can't do locs by myself.
• Alright. This is a tricky one. My family is completely aware that I am a college student. Who will be paying for those expensive loc maintenance sessions every month or however often? Not me and certainly not them! I understand that some people enjoy going to their loctitian for professional loc maintenance, but I don't feel like that is for me. I want to experience my hair at every point in this journey. I want my locs to be my own. No disrespect to those loc'ers who do not DIY. This is MY journey, and I want to keep it that way.

• My locs will never look good because they will not be done by a professional.
• *Shaking my head* No, my little darlings do NOT  look their best right now, but they are only nine days old. Locs go through phases and stages that anyone outside of the loc'ed community simply does not understand. All that my family sees are women with mature locs. "They're locs look nice because they go to professionals. Look at your hair," various family members said. They seem to think that people who get their locs professionally done completely bypass any weird, awkward, not so pretty stage of the loc journey. That is so wrong! 

I'm still trying to explain everything to my family, but they are not taking it too well. They think that I will be done with this before Thanksgiving anyway. Any advice on how you dealt with family, friends, randoms who were not so happy about your loc journey?

Happy Eight Days!

Yesterday, I promised pictures, so there they are! I know they are not the best pictures since they are self taken. I will have a friend take some for me soon. My babies are really loose at the root now. I'm not sure if it is new hair or my coils unraveling. Both maybe? Anyway, I'm not sure when I will retwist them. I have become super paranoid about weakening my roots. "Hand in hair disease" has hit me hard, and I often twist them without thinking about it. Maybe sometime next week I'll actually retwist them. Happy Eight Days to my babies!