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| Bored At The Office; About A Month Into My Journey |
The Beginning
Like I've probably mentioned before, I had perm after I left highschool, big mistake because I didn't take good care of the hair so I lost quite some length, after which I decided to make things better by shaving a Mohawk 😊. After I grew my hair out to some more or less even length with cornrows, I decided I had in fact done it all, and locs were the next thing on my agenda, so a friend took me to a salon that had a good deal to have them started. This was great as I was broke and in college so getting them done on a budget was the icing on the cake.
The Result
So after I got the comb coils of medium thickness put in, I excitedly went home to analyse my latest adventure and I was instantly regretful. They looked miserable, and although I had known I would have to go through this stage of short, strange, and ugly baby locs, I had not thought it would be this terrible to be honest, so I hit the internet to try and find some motivation. Obviously, I was not disappointed at all, as there were hundreds of pictures of locs in all shapes, colors, and sizes, and it seemed that you just couldn't go wrong with locs, so soon my frown turned upside down and I was dreaming of long, luscious, mature locs in my future.
The Discovery
One image suddenly caught my attention and I clicked on it, to be directed to a page with similar pictures, and the more I looked the more I fell in love. These locs were tiny, almost thread-like strands of hair that rendered themselves well to quite a variety of styling. They were locs but didn't look quite like them, and on doing some quick research I learnt about sisterlocks, braidlocs, and all their variants, and I knew that I had to have them immediately! So I went home, and over the period of a week I painstakingly took apart the traditional locs I had, replacing each with about four of these new hybrids, and then I hid them away safely in braids.
Trial and Error
Over time, I started to see some things that I had done wrong, starting with the parting pattern (or lack thereof). I had just separated the locs manually, so I had different sized locs around my head, and my share of tangles. Also, the regular braiding I did made them loc a bit slower than they should have, and grow rather thin at the roots, so I stopped this as soon as I found out. Another thing was that as I was putting them in, I used a mixture of three strand twists and two strand twists which I came to learn results in different patterns for the locs, with two strand twists leaving a noticeable pattern for quite a long time after locing. The wax used in the original locs was another thing; because I didn't wash it out before starting the braidlocs, it hang around to make things a bit hard when I tried retightening the first time using a crochet. In spite of all these, I was too happy with the results I had gotten to think of taking them down at the time, plus all the time and resources already spent made taking them down to start afresh; not the best idea. Little did I know then that it always costs less to do it right from the very start. ....
More Lessons
As they loc'd, I bleached and colored them, styled them, and generally had a ball with them, but I noticed over time that I always had trouble retightening them because no matter how soon I did it, there would always be tangles I needed to deal with, and ripping them apart weakened them plenty. When I got pregnant and got faster growth but less time, this problem intensified so I would try shortcuts like having cornrows braided into them and for a while it worked, until I could no longer live the lie after delivering and losing pretty much all the time I had.
The Decision
At this point I started toying with the idea of cutting them off a bit more seriously, as I had thought of it off and on, so back to the internet for image inspiration I went (why do I never learn?) And inspiration in plenty I got, so I picked a style I liked, then on the night of the 31st I cut them off one by one, and that morning went to the supermarket in search of gel to style it with. I have to admit it was good while it lasted, and I got some complements here and there, but sooner than I had anticipated, I started to long for my sisterlocks. The initial idea was to cut them off, save them, enjoy the short hair and grow it out into a small afro, then have them put back in by a professional, and the old ones somehow sewn in, but then patience has never been my strong suit, so I soon tired of either having to comb my hair daily or look like a hooligan.
More Internet
Some more image searches convinced me that I could actually get a perm with the awkward length of hair I had and rock it, so off to the shops I went and got myself some perm, and conditioner. The new 'do did look good I guess, but I soon tired of that too, with the constant oiling and combing and styling, so I tried getting it plaited at different salons but was told to wait for about a month to get more growth. A month??! I didn't have that kind of time! I needed the braids now! But there was nothing at all that I could do. I had already waited two months from my last retouch and apparently the growth forgot that it was 4c hair and came in really soft and I had had it. A month later and still unable to plait or braid, I had some yarn braids put in by a friend and needless to say they started to come undone almost immediately. This hair was driving me up the wall 😓 but I did not despair just yet, and after a month I was back at the salon but with a different request.
The Conclusion
I decided to get the locs in once and for all, and after visiting quite a few clueless salons, I found one with a lady that could follow my instructions, and she put in the tiny three strand twists for me, though I fear she may have gotten tired halfway through and put in large ones in one side and in the middle of the head, but a few polls have reassured me that they are even and actually thinner than what I initially had (though this last bit I doubt) but I am finally at ease. So what will I do about the short hair and permed ends, you ask? One word for you; yarn!!!
Hopefully I will be done by next week and be able to post pictures so until then, fingers crossed 🤞🤞😊. Stay safe loves, and be sure to come back for my next post on an instructional of what to do, and what not to do, and of course do subscribe for email updates so you never miss a post, or follow my instagram page with the same handle (@wearyourhairblack) and I will follow right back! 😉
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