Tuesday, November 24, 2009

To the newer locced newbies

I found out recently that my friend, Camille has decided to begin her own loc journey. Her journey started yesterday. It's kinda crazy how locced hair has become a culture all its own...it felt like an addition to the family.
I'm still a newbie to the locced life myself, but I feel that at 3.5 months I've had a bit of experience and can share with the newer newbies what I've learned and/or experienced.
So Cam, this is for you!
  1. First and foremost; do your research. If you don't have any locced friends you can ask questions, turn to the internet. There are many bloggers and vloggers that talk a lot about their locs and their experiences. But obviously if you're reading this, you've already figured that out. I briefly talked about that in my Backstory entry.
  2. When starting your locs you really don't want them to be much thinner than a pencil. While thinner locs look nice, they are tiresome to take care of and are prone to breakage when they are mature. If you have locs that are thin and you're noticing that they're starting to get thinner, try combining them. Some people will twist them together, others will sew them together. There's a lot of information online about combining locs, see what they have to say and decide on what's best for you.
  3. Avoid butters and waxes. While theoretically they seem like they would loc your hair faster, they actually just make your hair sticky and cause buildup and mildew in the long run because they never fully wash out of your hair. Gel, however, breaks down much easier in water and can be washed out...meaning no buildup.
  4. Try your best to stick to natural products. Your hair is natural, it only makes sense to use natural products, don't ya think? I've read about others using Aloe Vera gel to retwist their locs. I would love to start using Aloe Vera gel to retwist mine, but I think I'm gonna finish off the gel I'm using now before I start. I just hate wasting things and it's not like my hair is hating the gel I'm using now anyway. (I talked about the gel I use in my Brief Product Review post)
  5. If you plan to get your hair professionally done, keep watch on what they are putting in your hair and how they are handling it. Stay away from products that contain petrolatum and mineral oil and, as I said before, avoid butters and waxes. Also, know that locs are generally twisted in a clockwise motion. Don't think that just because the person is working in a salon that they must know what they're doing, often times they just know what they're taught and not neccesarily what's healthy for your hair. When chosing a loctician, it's a good idea to choose one that has locs themself; at least they'll have personal experience. When I was thinking about having a salon start my locs, the loctician there was a permed woman...sorry, but I just couldn't trust that. If she were at least natural, I could've felt better about her. Personally though, I think it's best to DIY; I believe it creates more of a bond between you and your locs.
  6. Many people think that you can't wash your hair at all in the baby locs stage; this is just a myth. If anything, the water helps your hair loc faster since the water encourages your hair to curl. The only thing you should be careful of is using too much water pressure; you don't want the pressure to unravel your locs. What I did was use a container to pour water over my head when washing. (Check out my 2 weeks/Just to Clarify post)
  7. There is an awkward stage when your locs are new. Don't get discouraged...just stick with them. It isn't called the teenage locs stage for no reason...think of it as your locs going through puberty; they'll get through it.
  8. Though you may not want to display your locs during it's awkward stage, you don't want to keep them covered up all the time...let them get some air every once in a while.
  9. Keep them moisturized. I've found that a spritz of water and essential oils keep both my hair and scalp happy and healthy. I normally spritz before bed and in the morning and whenever I get a chance in the middle of the day.
  10. Last, but definitely not least, listen to your locs. You'll find that they have their own personality. When they aren't happy, they won't hesitate to tell you.
So that's all I could come up with, but I would be more than happy to share my own experiences and answer any questions anyone else may have. Don't hesitate to ask.