Overdue update/first style

So I'm well past my 1 Year mark (YAY!)

Sorry I havent updated about it. I was doing an internship this Summer for Bell Helicopter and almost as soon as that was done my classes started again. But I digress.

I wasn't able to do much for my 1 year lociversary, but I did look back at the posts and pictures I had before to see how far I've come. It's amaxing to see how much they've grown in one year.

Also, I did my first loc style last week. I was playing around in my hair when I randomly came up with it. It's nothing really special/spectacular, but I did get a lot of compliments on it. And considering that I'm not a person that normally knows how to do much of anything with hair, I'm proud of myself (^_^)

Here are a few pics I took during some down time at work:

That's an Industrial piercing in case you were wondering what that is on my ear (looks awkward from this angle)

Really all I did was basketweave both sides and I left one side with two locs out to act as a sort of bang (I personally think I look weird with all my hair back...I need something to help frame my face)

It wasn't perfect, but I still liked it. At least now I have an option to just letting them hang down with a headband to hold them out of my face.

7 MONTHS

Last week marked my official 7 month lociversary. I realized that I don't seem to need to retwist my locs as often as I used to. Previously I would have to retwist them once every week, but for the past two months I would wait 2 weeks before retwisting them and they have been holding up pretty nicely. I'm not so sure what the change is, I think I've been taking care of the the same way for the most part. Perhaps they're just getting closer to their mature stage and learning to stay in their form as they grow.

I LOVE MY LOCS!

6 MONTHS!! (Halfway there!)

Saturday marked my official 6 MONTH LOCIVERSARY!!

I'm only halfway to my first major loc-related milestone!

I didn't do much to celebrate, I had a friend-date in Valentine's Day (definition: friend-date (n.) - a date with a friend of which there is no romantic interest) since N and I couldn't see each other. The spot that we went to was a little punk rockish and though it does normally fit my usual style (i'm usually a cross between punk, goth, and emo), I decided to do something different.
Before loccing, I always wanted to rock a Mohawk/Fauxhawk but I never quite knew how to accomplish it. The sectioning method never looked right to me and pins just wouldn't work right so I just never wore one. I don't know what reminded me of the style Saturday, but i tried again...the first time since I've locced my hair.
I was never a big fan pins. They can come loose, they sometimes break hair, and they're not always easy to maneuver so that they're not see. I'm also not too peachy on potentially impailing my loc with a hair pin...it feels like I'd be stabbing myself in the finger. So I went straight for the sectioning method and this is what I came up with:

The back looks just as I wanted it to, but I couldn't quite come up with something just right for the front. I don't want it to look just as the rest...that looks odd to me. I tried doing a basket weave on the front, but that didn't look quite right so what I ended up doing was leaving a few locs out in the front to act as sort of a bang. It wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but at least it didn't look weird any more and it helped frame my face a bit better. As time goes on I'll try to perfect it as best as I can. Until then, i love my lochawk!

2 Important Questions

This past month two people asked me the two questions that I feel I will be asked a lot through my loc journey. I know I'll especially get these questions when I go home for the Christmas break because no one from home has seen my locs yet (except for my parents and the one picture I have of myself on Facebook).

---

The first question was...

How do you think Corporate America will accept your ethnic hair do?

My response:
That's a good question for any natural hairstyle.

I refuse to continue to project a European standard of beauty. Using excessive heat and/or chemicals on my body is nowhere near healthy. Why must I emulate physical characteristics of someone else? Why must I compromise my health and physically harm myself and my hair to do so? Frankly, I don't think corporate America's acceptance is worth my health. What's so wrong with how my hair naturally grows from my head? Why not be who I am? It's not as if I'm not presentable and my hair isn't neat so what's the problem with it? Once more I also locced my hair for some personal spiritual reasons, so that job would not only be rejecting my naturalness, but my beliefs as well.
So, to sum this up, when it comes to Corporate America, I know my work can speak for itself. I wouldn't want to work for any person or company that would ignore my work and go against me, my culture, and my beliefs. I refuse to compromise either of those parts of who I am.


This led to the second question...

How are your locs spiritual?

My Response:
Their growth is representative of my spiritual growth; they're a tangible extension of my spirituality.

Though these days most people seem to wear them for nothing more than a hair style, historically they were worn by many different religions.

It's not much different than Jews that don't shave, Arabic religions that believe it is sinful to cut their hair, or even Buddhists that shave their head. Rastafarians view their locs as a symbol of their fight against Babylon, non-violence, non-conformity, communalism and solidarity. These are just a few of many that recognize hair as being spiritually significant.

Most of these religions followed one of two schools of thought. First, some grow/shave their hair as sacrifice (like some Christians would fast or take part in lent). Second, others would grow/shave their hair as a reminder of obstacles that they have overcome through their faith. While I feel that I relate to both schools of thought, I more so grow mine for the latter.

Over the past year or so I have gone through quite a bit, prior to which I've begun to fall off my faith; for a little while I felt like Job. I believe the only thing that brought me through was the little faith I was able to hold on to and the faith of my family. I came through it by the grace of God and faith the size of a mustard seed.

Matthew 17:19-20 "Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, 'Why could we not cast it out?' He said to them, 'Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you."

---

These are just my beginning stages...I expect to hear these two questions much more often. Bottom line is, my locs are my testimony. It is by God's grace that I am where I am now in my life and I will continue to leave my future in God's will.
I'm still working on myself and I'm trying to fall out of some old habits, but as I work on myself, my spirituality will grow and so will my locs.

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.

10 weeks/Hubby knows

Today marks 10 weeks since I've been locced and I finally told my boyfriend (whom I will refer to as N) that I locced my hair.

N and I have been together (we have a long-distance relationship) since I was 15; my Sophomore year in High School. Next month will actually mark 6 years since we've been together. From the time we met he'd always liked my long hair. This summer when I decided to cut it, I didn't tell him anything about what I was planning to do because it was something I really wanted to do and I knew he would talk me out of it.

The way I broke it to him was just letting him see it. He was flying in for the week and I had to pick him up from the airport so I wore a hoodie and wore my hood up. He didn't notice it for a while, we'd driven out of Laguardia and into Brooklyn before he started to give in to his habit of stroking my hair. So he pulled off my hood, paused, and said "WTF?!" Needless to say he was a little devastated and mad initially. Eventually he got over it, said "I think you're beautiful no matter what" (or something to that effect), and he just accepted it. I think he secretly still resented me for it though.

I knew he didn't like short hair, so I knew how he would likely reacted to the cut, but I had no idea how he felt about locs. I was wary about telling him that I wanted to loc it. I didn't want him to be devastated again and locs are more permanent than a cut so it would be something he would have to face for a longer period of time. So I didn't tell him. I didn't have a plan of action; I just didn't tell him. Until this week...

I decided that 10 weeks is long enough. I BBMed him to tell him. This was basically how the convo went:

Me: what if I cut my hair shorter
N: WHAT?! EWW!! NO!! TELL ME YOU DIDN'T!!
Me: no...I didn't cut it again. But now that you have that picture in your mind of what you really don't want, what if I did something else?
N: like what?
Me: (sent picture below) N: wow! I love it!

So I guess I was worried for nothing. I finally told him and he loves it. That made my week!

2 months

I have now reached the 2 month mark of my loc journey. To "celebrate" I washed my hair WITH WATER PRESSURE! You never realize how much of a difference the little things make until you don't have them for a little while (and in my case, also go back). Before today I'd be just been using a container to pour the water/rinse through my hair. While that did get it clean enough, most times it seemed as though the water is washing over the dirt and dander rather than washing it away. I typically did at least 5 rinses to wash my hair. Washing it today, however, i didn't need as much to get as clean. Unlike pouring the water over my head, the pressure of the water seems to push the dirt off the head and hair.

So what's so important about washing my hair with pressure? The significance is that after washing my hair with pressure, my locs remained intact! This means that my hair is definitely locing! I also noticed the change in length as I can now feel them on the back of my neck! WHOO HOO!!

Well I'm not sure if I am making much sense in this post because I can't organize my thoughts right now: I'm falling asleep as I write this, so I'm done for the night.
Goodnight, people!