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| The First Month After Installation |
The Grid
As I wrote before, I did the first set rather haphazardly because there was no method to my madness, I actually partitioned and separated the tiny locs using my bare hands, which resulted in locs of different shapes and sizes, not a good thing when you want to try precise styling such as cornrows. Also, some ended up being so thin that they broke off over time while whenever I got a bit of growth it would tangle and I would need to do lots of ripping and tearing at the roots so as to retighten them successfully, which led to thinning, and a not so pretty base at the scalp.
This time I will visit a salon its with an open mind, one to whom I can explain exactly what I want and expect some understanding. Unfortunately the whole 'natural hair' affair seems to be really new in Kenya so this here might be an issue, keeping my fingers crossed, and once I find 'the one' I will definitely keep his or her contacts for reference.
Moisture and Oil
This is going to be more or less the same way I did it the first time; minimal oiling during the first few weeks, them moderate oiling directly on the scalp once I am sure that they will not come undone, as I have permed ends which just makes this whole adventure a bit more well, adventurous. The only oil I will use is coconut oil, while the moisture will be good old H2O, after all I am in Kenya, a temparate country without harsh extremes which in my opinion would call for the big guns. Also, I believe less is more in the end because buildup is a pain in the neck and as it loves to occur around the margins of the head you will probably not notice the grimy sight at the e back of your head when it does occur 😲.
In case you're wondering, buildup is caused by using lots of different products which may react with each other to form some solid dirt, or using heavy products that will not dissolve in your hair or scalp such as mineral oils and wax (yikes). Also, some products will attract dust and such into your hair and as it gets trapped in there and hangs around for wash after wash, it becomes resilient over time. We will talk about this in depth in a future post though, so keep it locked 😉.
Period Between Retightening
This is a crucial point in the care of locs of any kind because if you repair them too soon and too often, they tend to get weak from being overworked while if you wait too long, the roots will tangle and if you had a pattern it might get messy. From my experience and with the locs I had, the best period was two months which allowed for enough growth to have come in but the hair was still manageable. With a light spritz of water and a dab of coconut oil, I would bundle them in small sections and work on one at a time over about two or three days until I was done, and this was with a schedule of working on weekdays from 8a.m - 5.30p.m or even later most days. On such occasions that I did it in the middle of the week, I took advantage of headscarves to hide the mess and still look sane, so this worked for me and will still do.
Nutrition
We tend to ignore this important part of having healthy hair and so I will put it up here. I need to take extra care especially as I am expecting a bundle of joy (☺️) and so will be eating for two plus my hair. The reason this is important is because as much as hair is just so much dead and dying cells, it is affected negatively by bad diet as the body will sacrifice it first to ensure well being of the rest of the body. Some foodstuffs that I have heard to be good for hair include fish, mostly of the cold waters variety such as salmon, water, avocados, eggs, milk, groundnuts, spinach, and bananas, which give a combination of nutrients like calcium, potassium, K, B and A vitamins etc.
If you want to kick it up a notch you can take Biotin supplements which will nourish your hair as well as your nails, but I will always advice everyone to seek out these extras in the food they eat. Lots of water to stay hydrated and help the minerals dissolve well is also really important.
My Hair is as Unique as I Am
This seems to be obvious but wait until you are three months into your journey and feel you are in need of some motivation, so you try and get a quick pick me up by looking at pictures online. The Internet in this case is not your friend dear! We all have so many factors contributing to the length and general state of our hair, it is really difficult to find someone else like you. I am not saying to avoid all the pictures as they serve to motivate for the most part, just don't use them as your scorecard because you're setting yourself up for disappointment. I do get loc envy from surfing the Internet but make sure it stops there, because if I had put them in with the hope that they would look exactly like someone else's that I saw, I would have despaired and not carried my journey to the amazing point that I did. Do not think that your locs have something wrong with them just because you can't find your loc twin online, maybe they are not putting up their pictures for the same reason you aren't; feeling unequal. At the end of the day, simply know that even if no one ever tells you that they rock, someone somewhere will always envy you secretly so hold your head high and werk that natural hair! 😀
So there you have it, these are the five things that I will keep in mind as I prepare to get my second set of locs in. I do hope I will follow them well enough and of course I will let you know how things go by way of posts and pictures, which you will find in plenty on my Instagram handle of the same name. Til next week, keep safe and chao!
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