Month 26

Recently I've noticed that my new growth is going through its unruly phase and has been quite resistant to locking up even to the extent that some areas in the front have begun to break off so I'm slowly reintroducing regulated retwist maintenance to tidy things up a bit. Having gone for so long without maintenance it's been quite the surprise to see how much my locs appear to have grown. I'm certainly heading towards a healthy 6 inches in length and my styling options have really expanded over the last couple of months. Alas I must be honest, I am still teetering in a love 'em or hate 'em mind set about my locs. As I've noted before, I really had envisioned so much more growth in the first two years of this journey and I'm still holding out for the miraculous "growth spurt" fellow dreadlock-ers rave about after their locs have matured. Though I must be grateful, I need only scroll through old blog posts to see that I've come a long, long way follow my big chop back in January 2012.

And let us not forget that strong healthy hair is the true goal here. Having opted out of a seven year commitment to chemically processed hair, that was never in the best condition I must admit, this journey has certainly taught me how to maintain and nurture my nature afro hair with relative simplicity and maximum affordability.

The weather here in the UK is hotting up but a steady routine of washing with moisturising shampoo and conditioning with raw coconut oil is helping to keep my hair strong and healthy. One thing I much improve for truly healthy hair and scalp is my water intake heading into the warmer months.

Got any tips for keeping your hair moisturised during the summer, share in a comment below. And don't forget to keep an eye out for extra photos added to the NaturaLocs tumblr page.

DREADLOCKS ARE...

**Photography ownership is held with the blog account holder. DO NOT use without permission.**

She's Gone Natural Too: Where is she now?

So last weekend my family came to visit me and I was amazed to see how much my mother's hair had grown.

I thought it only right to update you on her progress over the past eighteen months.

Started from the bottom:

Pixie cut wig:

Now we're here:

Since Autumn last year she's been keeping her hair braided under a wig, much to my dissatisfaction. I've always felt my Mom looked more youthful and fresh with a curly fro so the straight pixie cut was out with me but nonetheless it seems to have worked wonders as a protective style and even she was impressed with the growth as I insisted she have here hair out for the weekend.

She explained that her main reason for sporting the wig was essentially for convenience. After 6 months of being natural her hair had grown to a point where it took twice as long to maintain and style than here previous re-laxers and I have to agree. As if committing to cornrows every night and picking it out every morning wasn't enough she also had to endure the hour long process of de-tangling, washing, conditioning, deep conditioning and restyling along side her already busy lifestyle.

The reality of natural, especially at the in between stage beyond a twa, is that you have to make extra time to care for your hair if you want to wear it out. Which is why so many naturals wear wigs, sew-ins or extensions while they wait for their hair to grow.

All that aside her hair is currently in the best condition is has been in for several years. She no longer suffers with wispy, floppy hair as we've discovered here natural texture is a fluffy coil that's wonderfully thick and full.

- Naturalocs

Year 2

Current Hair Stats:

Colour: Dark Red

Big Chop: 5th January 2012

Loc Birthdate: 3rd April 2012

Current Length: 5 inches

Starting Method: Comb coils and two strand twists

Number of Locs: 55

Maintenance Method: Palm-rolling

Current Shampoo: Crème of Nature Kiwi & Citrus Ultra Moisturizing Shampoo


An account so far:

Day 1: I started out with braids, twists and, rubber bands put in at a salon.
Day 3: I removed the rubber bands and installed comb coils.
Months 1-3: My locs started to form.
Month 4: I had an issue with build up (Organic Root Stimulator Loc & Twist gel) and had to trim my ends and combine locs.
Months 6-7: I started the palm-roll method.
Months 8-9: I experienced severe unravelling.
Month 10: I had my locs professionally maintained at a salon.
Months 11-12: I combined more locs.
Months 13-14: I used the crochet method.
Month 15: I coloured my locs.
Month 16: I did no maintenance.
Months 17-20: I started palm-rolling again and reinstalled some of my locs with two strand twists.
Months 21-24: Growth!

The most difficult part of my journey was between months 8 and 12 when my hair really struggled. I've since learnt that locs, and especially the thicker locs I was trying to attain, need regular maintenance to assist with their formation in the first year or so. I realise that  low maintenance locs have their drawbacks, at least in the beginning, such as greater shrinkage and much slower maturation. Nonetheless, my locs did reach maturity around month 18.

I had noticed that around month 20 my locs were slimmer than they had been at around months 12-15 and I did wonder if this is normal condensation. I've since learnt that frequent retwisting will make locs thinner over time. Having cut back on maintenance over the last 4 months they have thickened up to a size I'm really happy with.

In terms of how they feel and behave, currently they don't have any stretch beyond the root (which thankfully limits shrinkage), and they feel dense and compact. They also hang instead of stick up and frizz isn't a problem any more.

Although my two strand twists in the front are completely entwined they behave in a very different way to the older locs. They stick up a lot now and require more maintenance. They're also a lot slimmer and more stretchy. Being only 7 months old now, they'll most likely take another year or so to reach full maturity.

(click to enlarge)

roots grown out since
last July

a little progress with the
ponytail

I cannot wait for the next 12 months of my journey.


Click here to compare with year one.

DREADLOCKS ARE...

**Photography ownership is held with the blog account holder. DO NOT use without permission.**

Month 23

Whoa, I'm only 31 days away from being two years loc'd. I'm currently experiencing a lot of tangling at the root of many of my locs. It's not causing any adverse effects but it's strange to feel how they're starting to interweave.

Here's a shot of one of my intentional congos (two or more locs with only one base or root):

I still think I have a lot of new growth and I can't tell if any of it has loc'd up in the last six months. Things seem kind of stagnant lately so there isn't much to update on but I'm hopeful for more fattening up and perhaps the two strand twists in the front will move out of their unruly phase and start to hang.

DREADLOCKS ARE...

**Photography ownership is held with the blog account holder. DO NOT use without permission.**

Month 22

Oh dear blog, it feels like for ever.

Let me keep things real on this dreadlocking journal. I wish I could upload a reel of cute head shots sporting my luscious mane of flowing locs but currently my hair is so dry, knotty and shrunken beyond belief. I did rinse my hair a couple of times since my last post but I've been so distracted lately I keep forgetting to oil it before it dries and we all know what kinky afro hair feels like when you let it air dry without moisturising it quick.

But my hair has thickened up so much in the past three weeks.

I'm still suffering with dry scalp, it doesn't itch much but it is starved of moisture which makes sense as I never keep myself hydrated (must do better).

I'm about to wash, oil and style my hair and continue this post soon...
________

Update cont. 22 Feb.

My five month old two strand twists are starting to get nice and plump. I have a few pairs of locs that have merged at the roots so I twisted together the ones I liked and popped the others apart. Kind of looking forward to my future two headed dragons (two locs, one base) after seeing all the videos from PeaceandLoveHarmony.

DREADLOCKS ARE...

**Photography ownership is held with the blog account holder. DO NOT use without permission**

Update: A Week Later

Hi guys,

Just delivering a brief update from last week.  I've washed my hair 4-5 times since then, massaging in coconut oil and letting it air dry each time. My hair felt dry at first but it's softened a lot in the last day or two.

So you could say I've adopted a wash 'n' go routine. I'm not sure how things will develop from here but since I can't rush nature all I can do is wait it out.

In regards to new growth, I saw a video that has me a little concerned:

thoughts?

DREADLOCKS ARE...

**Photography ownership is held with the blog account holder. DO NOT use without permission.**

Update: Puffy Roots, New Growth, Length?

Hi all,

I've just washed my hair and am currently sat with a shower cap on feeling deflated. Essentially:

• I'm tired of shrinkage.
• I'm tired of my roots not loc'ing up.
• I'm tired of a retwist being the only option to show my length.
• I'm tired of having short hair period.

It's been months since I examined my roots and running my hands through them today made me smile. But it's because of these puffy roots that the rest of my hair still looks short. My roots are a good 2-3 inches long and my locs are a good 3-4 inches long. It's that half and half thing that really makes them look so odd to me. Now if my locs were 7-8 inches and my roots were 3 that'd be fine.

I remember feeling this way in September and now it's January. I see you all with long locs and I know it's possible, but it's been 21 months already! At first I knew it was the buds that were swallowing up some of the length but over the last month or so I've noticed that my buds haven't  made any visible progress. Actually all progress seems to have stopped in general.

Yes it looks fine when I retwist them and my grandmother certainly approved of my last hairstyle but it feels so limiting, trying to preserve that level of neatness. It's lost its charm.

I don't really know what to do next. I need advice on how to work with short locs without the pinned up grooming. I've decided to give my hair another year before either getting extensions or putting this journey on hold until I have a length I'm comfortable with. 5 inches in almost two years just isn't fair.

I'm going to oil and dry my hair and then leave it until I get some input from you guys :)

DREADLOCKS ARE...

**Photography ownership is held with the blog account holder. DO NOT use without permission.**

Locspiration: Long Locs

I had to share...

I've been secretly crushing on a particular set of dreads for a while and just this week I fell in love with another. Their locs couldn't be more different but I admire them equally.

Locksylicious aka @thyka_layone

Cosmos aka @cosmotoomuch

They both have various other social media pages including facebook, pintrest, and, twitter.

I have a long way to go to get long, beautiful locs and it helps to look a head and see the fruits of other people's labour. I'm so inspired to keep growing my locs through all the challenges, concerns and doubts. Thanks to blogs like theirs I've been able to really visualise how my own locs may turn out and it's exciting.

I hope you enjoy the unique qualities of each of these ladies. Let me know what you think, post crushes of your own and be sure to drop in with a message for these two loc'd women by clicking the links above.

UPDATE: Dec 13 - I've just found this beautiful lady on instagram - mwilliams7

I'm certainly inspired going into the new year.

DREADLOCKS ARE...

**Photographs are publicly available on Google images. Original owners: please send quires/removal requests to naturalocs@hotmail.co.uk**

Month 16

Current Hair Stats:

Colour: Dark Red (click here and here for more info)

Big Chop: 5th January 2012

Loc Birthdate: 3rd April 2012

Starting Method: Comb coils

Number of locs: 51

Length: 3-4.3 inches (unstretched)

   

 Hope you like the new colour. I can't believe I'm writing to you, celebrating sixteen months of loc'dom from right here in Marseille. Locs are pretty popular amongst the masses here too.

I was still washing my hair on average twice a week but as I've just recoloured it (faded colour in previous post) I don't want to wash it that often. When I do wash it it's in cool-cold water, that way the colour doesn't run.

I'm also still trying to palm-rub my locs more often because they're still pretty fuzzy. Other than that though my tips have completely sealed and they're looking very healthy. I think they've condensed a even further this month as I can hardly describe them as "puffy" anymore. They're of course much easier to manage than they were twelve months ago and I haven't had to anything to them all on this trip, though I imagine the 40˚C heat will take it's toll eventually.

  

Since I'm really attached to washing my hair a lot, and short, thick locs don't stay twisted for very long I've been using a different maintenance technique to help my new growth form. I've been crocheting for around four months or so and I think I've improved on my technique enough to share it with you.

Compared with conventional retwisting I've found that crocheting:

- allows you to wash your hair more frequently without new growth unravelling
- lasts longer/indefinately
- controls loose hair, especially around the hair line
- causes less tension on the scalp
- can allow for a less groomed appearance, if that's your thing
- allows you to manipulate your hair immediately afterwards, without unravelling
- requires no product(s)
- is best done after washing on completely dry hair
- shouldn't be done immediately before washing otherwise it'll come undone to some extent
- can take longer to complete but easy to do over a couple of days as and when you have time
- doesn't require clips so can be slept on straight away
- is harder to master

When I first tried it I didn't really know what I was hoping for I was just tired of unravelling. After a few goes with a micro crochet needle (not a crochet hook), I learnt that the best results come from light and infrequent crocheting that way locs don't become stiff and rigid. If you crochet just enough to form the beginning shape they'll still have a soft spongy feel being pretty hollow in the middle but they thicken up and fill in over time. Also I've learnt that there is such a thing as 'over crocheting' which can lead to hair loss. Each section of hair should only be crocheted once; so each time you do it you should only crochet loose new growth. The most important lesson I've learnt was to never crochet to the root/scalp. I like to differentiate between "roots" and "new growth" just for my own clarity on this method. I think of "roots" as being the first 1 inch section from the scalp and the "new growth" as being the loose hair from that inch to where the loc has already formed.

I tried to find related videos for use of the crochet technique on afro/black hair but I could only find one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nOZqBWwkng

frizz after several days of swimming in the ocean

DREADLOCKS ARE...

**Photography ownership is held with the blog account holder. DO NOT use without permission**

Combining: An Ode to Dreads

Ode to my thinner locs

How you grew was never easy nor a burden,

I have come to know you as my loc'd companions growing like innocent vines over night.

What time it has taken cannot be lost from this journey of mine.

You're the roots of a tree that will one day bloom in reflection of your wonderful beginnings.

The section in question is right at the front and contains 12 dreads. They've actually loc'd completely and have matured beautifully but I've become somewhat dissatisfied with their size. I'm certain larger dreads are for me and sadly these twelve won't get much thicker than they are now.

Because they've come so far I've avoided combining them but surrounding dreads now look waay thicker by comparison and this section really stands out once they're all retwisted.

I'm writing this post not to complain and then simply combine them. I want to remember that these 12 were the first to dread up and they've given me a glimpse into how my future loc's will frame my face. I've been so pleased with them and reaching this bench mark feels so rewarding but I know when they get longer I'll want thicker dreads flowing in their place. Combining them will form new, meatier locs and they'll thank me one day when they see how pretty they have become.

a couple in the back too

I had intended to just grow them out and intertwine the new growth at some point but I've already attempted to comb out one and it was near impossible without damage. If I don't combine them now I'll have to contend with two headed loc's in the future that I'd just end up cutting.

Oh, I recently watched YouTuber LeslieMonique who documented her equally emotional dread combination. She has now had dreadlocks for 4 years.


Next post: Photos of my newly combined locs...  Combined: Tweleve Became Six

DREADLOCKS ARE A LIFESTYLE

**Photography ownership is held with the blog account holder. DONOT use without permission**

Frustrated: A Moment of Revelation

Can I off load some of the emotional baggage from my dread journey so far? This weekend I reached an all too familiar low. Nine months in and my hair still resembles an unkempt fro.
 



month 6 after washing

month 9 after washing

I previously noted that I suspected my locs were forming particularly slowly but only this month did I declare ,myself finally loc'd. Well, both statements are true. I have several locs that are firm and delightfully dread-like but on the other hand I have huge sections of locs that are nothing more than tufts of tangled hair waiting for instruction.
 

2" fully loc'd

I wash, palm-roll, backcomb and twist and still nothing happens. I can't work out why only a handful have dreaded. After all they are tangled, matted and growing ever longer. I get shrinkage and budding but nothing more. At first I thought my locs were too big but some of my smaller locs have yet to progress either.

I've thought about extensions, braiding and interlocking but I can't bring myself to do it.

So, I have had enough. No matter how I look at it something isn't right. It's been on my mind all weekend and as I was walking off the bus, admiring yet another head of locs up a head, I decided to pipe up and ask him for advice.

We chatted and laughed and to my relief he had a lot of good advice. He told me he was seven months into his journey and that he too went through a challenging stage but for him the solution was to get someone else to twist his hair thoroughly and only wash it once a month. He explained that he had chosen to wait six months before washing his hair for the first time but can now wash it regularly. So washing is my problem? For months now I've been washing my hair up to 3 times a week. It made sense to me to keep my scalp clean but am I over washing? Well, tonight's conversation has convinced me that I am. 

To my understanding, dreadlocks are made up of shed hair that isn't able to leave the head and so tangles and matts instead. With such frequent washing it's not surprising my hair hasn't been able to complete this process, only ever getting to the tangled stage before being washed disturbed all over again.

I've decided that I will not wash my hair for a month, 31 days in all. I'll get someone to twist it and then leave it alone. When the urge gets too strong I'll go to a professional and ask them what they recommend, if nothing else they should give me the reassurance that I can last a bit longer. So I'm going to let it be until February 15th. I mean how dirty can hair get in one month?

Now there was talk of products, in particular beeswax which, I don't mind sharing, is not the first time it has been recommended to me by someone with beautiful dreads. I have my doubts but what do I have to lose? He also mentioned gel but I'm not going down that route.

Now, I know my hair will easily hold a twist with water alone but once the water evaporates I'm left with very dull, dry hair, which is partly why I wash it so often. Ho-hum-dread-dom, do I take the advice of the successfully loc'd or struggle through on my own?

 

DREADLOCKS ARE...

 

**Photography ownership is held with the blog account holder. DO NOT use without permission**