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This isn't something I would ever do but I just stumbled across these tips so I'm sharing them.
Twist huh...if I am wearing my hair wash and wear and I don't comb it out for a day or so the knots start.
Can't just braid it and leave it either since I no longer have extensions.
Lots More Here: http://madamenoire.com/237653/10-thi...cking-my-hair/
Earlier this week this woman at Noodles and Company, (if you’ve never tried it, you better ask somebody!) complimented my locs. Before I could even say thank you she went into her story, telling me how she too had tried the lock thing but couldn’t make it past the rough patch. I nodded my head in solemnity and agreement. *Moment of silence for the rough period* It was a lot. And I can’t say I was exactly prepared for it. With that in mind, I thought about all of the things I wish (Cedric the Entertainer voice) somebody would have told me about the lock journey. So in an attempt to help another sistah, who’s considering taking this step, here the things you need to know before you lock it down.
THAT STARTING PHASE IS NO JOKE
As I alluded to earlier, the starting phase, the time before you hair has formed into locs is the most shocking, most unpleasant part of the experience. If someone had told me how… unbecoming this initial phase was going to be, I certainly would have waited longer to lock my hair and might not have done it at all. Now, everybody’s experience is different; but when I decided to lock my hair, I had just cut it so when my beautician spun me around after she had carefully coiled my hair, into what’s known as “starter locs” (aka two strand twists), the shrinkage was so real. I still thought I was cute…just a cute little boy. By the time I got used to the shrinkage, “the fuzzies” started to appear. Since my hair had not locked properly yet, the twists were constantly slipping and I’m sure several people thought I was just too lazy to retwist. (It took almost a full year before people realized I was locking my hair.) And that sad part about it was, for the first couple of months, I really couldn’t do anything about it. I had to wait for the beautician to even wash my hair, let alone retwist it. Sigh Thank God I got past that phase. Now, whenever a woman tells me she’s thinking about getting locs, I warn her by saying it’s not going to be easy; but if you can get through this phase, you’ll love it.
THAT STARTING PHASE IS NO JOKE
As I alluded to earlier, the starting phase, the time before you hair has formed into locs is the most shocking, most unpleasant part of the experience. If someone had told me how… unbecoming this initial phase was going to be, I certainly would have waited longer to lock my hair and might not have done it at all. Now, everybody’s experience is different; but when I decided to lock my hair, I had just cut it so when my beautician spun me around after she had carefully coiled my hair, into what’s known as “starter locs” (aka two strand twists), the shrinkage was so real. I still thought I was cute…just a cute little boy. By the time I got used to the shrinkage, “the fuzzies” started to appear. Since my hair had not locked properly yet, the twists were constantly slipping and I’m sure several people thought I was just too lazy to retwist. (It took almost a full year before people realized I was locking my hair.) And that sad part about it was, for the first couple of months, I really couldn’t do anything about it. I had to wait for the beautician to even wash my hair, let alone retwist it. Sigh Thank God I got past that phase. Now, whenever a woman tells me she’s thinking about getting locs, I warn her by saying it’s not going to be easy; but if you can get through this phase, you’ll love it.
Twist huh...if I am wearing my hair wash and wear and I don't comb it out for a day or so the knots start.
Can't just braid it and leave it either since I no longer have extensions.
I STILL HAVE TO OIL MY HAIR
If there’s one thing you learn being natural, it’s that you have to oil your hair, you have to oil your hair and oil your hair some more. Moisture is absolutely key. But for some reason, maybe I’m just slow, I was under the impression that with locs, since I wasn’t really doing much to my hair anymore, I could slow up on the moisturization process. Once I started retwisting my own hair, I would moisturize the roots and assume that my scalp would be good. It wasn’t long before my hair started breaking in protest. Silly me, I guess I just thought that if my hair was locked, breakage would be next to impossible. Not so. Oil was still vital and that coveted shiny look, I wanted so bad, wasn’t going to be achieved with sprays alone, I had to hit the scalp and the locs themselves.
THE LESS “CHEMICALS” IN A PRODUCT, THE BETTER
The whole going natural movement is more than just about the hair. It’s about what you eat– (still working on that part, I love my processed foods) and what you put on and in your body in general. With that being said, the more natural ingredients in a product, the better it will be for your hair. And more power to you, if you get to the point where your “products” aren’t products at all and are completely natural, (i.e. coconut oil, castor oil, peppermint oil etc.)
If there’s one thing you learn being natural, it’s that you have to oil your hair, you have to oil your hair and oil your hair some more. Moisture is absolutely key. But for some reason, maybe I’m just slow, I was under the impression that with locs, since I wasn’t really doing much to my hair anymore, I could slow up on the moisturization process. Once I started retwisting my own hair, I would moisturize the roots and assume that my scalp would be good. It wasn’t long before my hair started breaking in protest. Silly me, I guess I just thought that if my hair was locked, breakage would be next to impossible. Not so. Oil was still vital and that coveted shiny look, I wanted so bad, wasn’t going to be achieved with sprays alone, I had to hit the scalp and the locs themselves.
THE LESS “CHEMICALS” IN A PRODUCT, THE BETTER
The whole going natural movement is more than just about the hair. It’s about what you eat– (still working on that part, I love my processed foods) and what you put on and in your body in general. With that being said, the more natural ingredients in a product, the better it will be for your hair. And more power to you, if you get to the point where your “products” aren’t products at all and are completely natural, (i.e. coconut oil, castor oil, peppermint oil etc.)
Lots More Here: http://madamenoire.com/237653/10-thi...cking-my-hair/