How I Gave My Hair The Care That It Needs Most

In August 2019, I was about to start a new season of my life and one of the ways I prepared for it was by locking my hair. I know that hair is not really the thing people focus on when moving into country or getting married, but if you knew me and my light feathered hair plus tender scalp, you’ll understand why hair management was top on my list. This year made it two years since I made that decision, and Sis! I still cannot believe the hair growth I’ve experienced. My locs now hang just above my shoulders. Before I locked, I spent time and money once every 3-4 weeks to braid and stay at the salon for almost 5 hours. I’d used wigs, but those bands gave me headaches. What about your natural hair? People sometimes asked. I was juggling 2-3 jobs; I didn’t have time to twist at night and style in the morning and, I am very lazy when it comes to hair care.

After deciding I was going to loc my hair, I was still scared, though. Locking is such a permanent hairstyle (unless you chop it off.) I wasn’t sure if it would suit my face, and I didn’t even know anything about locs. So, I just upped and went to loc it. Two years later, what have I learned?

1. Find a very good loc stylist to start your locs. Getting locs is like building a house, if the foundation is bad, everything won’t go well. Or learn from the locticians on YouTube.
2. Be prepared to be “ugly” for a while. The early loc stage is called the ugly stage for a reason. The locs are short and just look weird on your head. You can actually fix this by braiding on the locs or wearing wigs!
3. Learn about locs. There are lots of YouTube videos to learn about your hair and how to care for it. For example, it took almost one year to know that the re-locking gel caused the whitish build-up that seemed permanently attached to my hair! Now, I use just oils. I also used to re-twist my hair every 2-3 weeks, which is bad because it makes your roots thin. Don’t be like me, start early.
4. Your locs will attract lint like ants to sugar. That’s just the fact. You can reduce this by sleeping with a silk bonnet and using satin/silk pillowcases.
5. Re-twisting the hair can be tiring, though, especially as the hair grows longer. I sometimes spend 3-4 hours re-locking, but I do it every 3-4 months.
6. In the end, it’s just sha. Wash it, moisturize, and leave it alone. Your hair will grow!

Looking back, locking my hair was the best decision I made. It saves me so much time. On days when I am running late, I just take off my bonnet, shake my hair out, and off I go. I don’t have to think about what to do with my hair. If I want to go fancy, I put it in a ponytail and add some accessories. If you don’t mind having the same hairstyle or you are lazy like me, loc your hair sis!