Hello Afroniquely You Readers! It’s a pleasure to be here with all you lovely people! As my debut post here on the blog I thought I’d get into one of my favourite loc subjects.
I didn’t get very many questions about my hair during the first year in my loc journey. Other than “when are you gonna redo your hair?” the top of my head was more or less left alone. It wasn’t until the end of my first year and into my second that my babies began to really come into their own. Inevitably, that’s where the questions started.
Image via NoireDesignConcepts.com
My all time favourite question was and is, “how do you make it loc?” I chuckle to myself even as I write this because despite all the information in books and the internet about hair, the general consensus still remains that loc’ing is somehow unnatural. The general public still holds the belief that something has to be “done” in order for locs to be born.
In reality, it is our inactivity not our activity that causes hair to loc. Loc’ing hair is truly a time for the principle “less is more.” Constant manipulation and use of various product can (and often does) stunt the process. Traditional dreadlocs were formed by doing nothing at all. The hair matted, shrank, and compressed all on its own.
If neat manicured locs are more your style, then all you have to do really is “shape them,” the method used to start (braids, twists, interlocking, back combing), keep them clean, do periodic maintenance on the new growth, and LEAVE IT ALONE!
That was the part that was especially hard for me. I was a product/style/technique/routine junkie before loc’ing up so quitting cold turkey came with some withdrawal (lol). But hey, I learned. When I let my babies do their thing.. it was like night and day! The less I did, the more the process took off and the more I fell in love. So if you find that your routine is tiring, it’s probably because there is too much going on. Dial it back and see how your hair thanks you!
Well folks, that’s all for now! Hope I shed a little light here and there.
LOVE THE HAIR YOU HAVE!
-Raxx
