I wanted to wait it out for another week at the least and until the end of the month at the most but with the recent perspiration activities and going back to work in a few days I just had to rescue the situation.
It's been said by countless loc'ers before me but it felt so GOOD to have clean flowing water on my head and being able to massage and scrub. The buildup was there but it wasn't any dirtier than when I've washed my loose hair after a week. I didn't have any shampoos or anything so I went with a vinegar** and baking soda rinse and finished up with distilled witch hazel. I was prepared to rinse thoroughly because of all the advice I've read about buildup at the ends of the locs and loc'ers often not cleaning enough for the sake of keeping the style so I went for it, plus the vinegar wasn't something I particularly wanted any residue of. The result: clean hair, clean scalp = BLISS!
And in loc news, the typical unravelling suspicions came true. From front to crown (and the last back row) the coils unravelled spectacularly. I knew it would happen from when I left the gym so it didn't feel half as disapointing as it could have but still boo-hoo. The back and sides somehow survived and at worst needed a re-twist but everywhere else was a total remake:
Re-twisting took around 2 1/2 hours and was relatively straight forward. I left out the locking gel because there was slight, flaking last time but more so because I had visions of locs years down the line filled with dried gel gunk (that's what youtube vids will do to you). Instead I just used the dampness of the rinse and applied olive oil to each finger coil and secured them with bobby pins before going over them with the hair dryer on medium hight heat (don't forget the diffuser attachment people!)
...Better.
I wish I'd been able to hold out a little longer because I want them to thicken up but then I'd have to avoid going to the gym altogether and it seemed pretty pointless. On the plus side I did get to experience making "starter locs" for myself and it gave me a chance to rework the parts at the front to look more row-esk as opposed to the random parts that I had tried to like, but couldn't.
Man this is hard. I just want to leave my hair alone, throw on a cute hat and go, but it's proving more troublesome than necessary and every time I feel excited I remember it's been less than two weeks. So much fuss and not much to show for it. Nonetheless I still believe in a year's time I will have dread love.
It's been said by countless loc'ers before me but it felt so GOOD to have clean flowing water on my head and being able to massage and scrub. The buildup was there but it wasn't any dirtier than when I've washed my loose hair after a week. I didn't have any shampoos or anything so I went with a vinegar** and baking soda rinse and finished up with distilled witch hazel. I was prepared to rinse thoroughly because of all the advice I've read about buildup at the ends of the locs and loc'ers often not cleaning enough for the sake of keeping the style so I went for it, plus the vinegar wasn't something I particularly wanted any residue of. The result: clean hair, clean scalp = BLISS!
And in loc news, the typical unravelling suspicions came true. From front to crown (and the last back row) the coils unravelled spectacularly. I knew it would happen from when I left the gym so it didn't feel half as disapointing as it could have but still boo-hoo. The back and sides somehow survived and at worst needed a re-twist but everywhere else was a total remake:
 |
| twa? |
 |
| the lone surviving coil at the crown |
 |
| not a complete loss |
Re-twisting took around 2 1/2 hours and was relatively straight forward. I left out the locking gel because there was slight, flaking last time but more so because I had visions of locs years down the line filled with dried gel gunk (that's what youtube vids will do to you). Instead I just used the dampness of the rinse and applied olive oil to each finger coil and secured them with bobby pins before going over them with the hair dryer on medium hight heat (don't forget the diffuser attachment people!)
After sleeping in the bobby pins and the satin wrap they look...
...Better.
I wish I'd been able to hold out a little longer because I want them to thicken up but then I'd have to avoid going to the gym altogether and it seemed pretty pointless. On the plus side I did get to experience making "starter locs" for myself and it gave me a chance to rework the parts at the front to look more row-esk as opposed to the random parts that I had tried to like, but couldn't.
Man this is hard. I just want to leave my hair alone, throw on a cute hat and go, but it's proving more troublesome than necessary and every time I feel excited I remember it's been less than two weeks. So much fuss and not much to show for it. Nonetheless I still believe in a year's time I will have dread love.
DREADLOCKS ARE A LIFESTYLE
**Photography ownership is with the blog account holder, DONOT use without permission,**
hahaha! you lasted longer than me! good for you. i still don't know how people make it to a month. I did a baking soda and ACV for my first wash too. the smell was awful. anyway, great blog! and thanks for the witch hazel idea. never thought of it.
ReplyDeleteI guess tea tree oil and dry shampoos help a number of people, but a month is indeed a long time. And no one mentions the smell of ACV, it is quite alarming when testing it for yourself. I used witch hazel as a more tolerable substitute as the smell doesn't linger after rinsing. Let me know how it works for you :-)
DeleteThanks Violeta