Bye Bye Locs
Hi Loves,
If you saw my IG post I know you are here to find out what I’m doing with my hair. And if you REALLY know me then you aren’t really too surprised. Hehe. People with locs please don’t be mad at me and say I betrayed y’all. lol The truth is I love my hair, and I loved my locs, but I decided to comb out my locs of 10 months because I felt I was not properly cultivating them, and was unhappy with a few things. At the time I started my locs last year I was completely frustrated with my hair and I feel like I jumped into the world of locs without properly preparing myself and doing the proper research. There were a few factors that contributed to my comb-out. Here they are…
Size– I wanted my locs to be like a medium thick size. Which they were, however the longer I had them in and the more they started to form, I was realizing they may be a little too big. My hair is super thick and I prob could have had 2-3 locs in every 1 of mines. I felt like I really couldn’t style them in many ways because they were soo thick. Keep in mind the average locd person has about 100-180 locs. I had 52. So I felt very limited in the type of styles I could do without the help of a professional and that was probably my biggest issue.
Starting Method– I started with 2 strand twist as you may know. Which seemed like a great idea in the beginning. This method for me personally was a frizzy twisted mess. I felt like my hair was sooo frizzy and I constantly had strands of hair sticking out of my locs. I think starting with coils over time gives you a smoother more even consistency if that makes sense. My locs were definitely forming but even after 10 months they were not looking or starting to look even and uniformed, like locs. Half of it looked like locs (the part closest to my roots) and the other half of it looked like a raggedy 2 strand twist. Lol It just wasn’t a good look and I was over it.
Overall Maintenance– Again I feel like I jumped into this loc thing without doing the proper research on how to care for them. Like most people, I assumed I didn’t really have to do anything. Just oil my scalp make sure its not dry and I’m good. Lol But that is not the case. I think locs need just as much attention as loose hair. There were several products and tools I bought for my hair over this 10 month period another factor to consider if you plan on caring for your own locs sometimes. Shampoos, oils, leave in conditioners, clips, scarves for bad hair days, and styling products are all things to consider having on hand before you start this journey. Of course I had all these things but the same products for loose natural hair are not always the same as products recommended for locs.
The comb out process was actually not that bad (as long as you have a good show to watch) but I do not plan on going through that again. Lol the next time I loc my hair it will be permanent. Although combing out my locs was extremely tedious, it made me soo grateful I only had 52 locs and they were so thick because that made it a lot easier to comb out. It took me about 5 days to do it because I originally was going to wait until 1 year to decide what I would do but I looked in the mirror one day and I just started combing… After all my locs were out I planned on just putting 2 strand twist back in my hair, but after shampooing and conditioning my hair, I was soo tired. My hands were literally aching from all the combing out and detangling. So I blew it out trimmed my ends (only a tiny bit, they need way more off) and I have been rocking 2 cornrows every since. I plan to leave my hair out for a bit. I do plan to loc it again, I’m not sure when exactly but in the meantime I will most likely do 2 strand twists at some point. Having my hair back just reminds me why I got locs in the first place! lol I just don’t wanna deal..
I feel like that set of locs was kind of like trial and error for me, so this time when I loc my hair again I am fully prepared for the journey!!
So there you have it. I combed out my locs because…. I wasn’t readyyyy. *Kevin Hart voice* lol
And now you know if you are thinking about starting locs; size, starting method, and overall maintenance are 3 major things to consider.
Thanks for stopping by!