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...

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Month 25

Short update, hope you enjoy the photos. My locs have be refreshed and restored to their healthy, hydrated state after recently maintaining my hair.

go to basket weave

freshly retwisted

fresh colour - Jeans Color Chili Red

stocked up on a 400g jar
ordered from www.dolphinfitness.co.uk

I did a shower cap oil treatment with the coconut oil above and my hair is so soft and shiny but I do need to back get into the routine of wearing my head scarves to preserve the moisture. I'm so keen for some more length I'm even considering kinky twist extensions for the summer but we'll see. Other than that I'm still enjoying the journey and steady maturation of my dreadlocks.

DREADLOCKS ARE...

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Update: Maintenance and the loc that got away

Hello all,

I want to thank all the loyal followers of my blog for there humour, advice and, kind words over the course of this journey and to the recent followers I've gained I extend to you a very warm welcome. Leave comments and ask questions and I'll be glad to share ideas.

Today, I severed a loc. My intentional two headed dragon was starting to bug me so I decided to snip the thinner of the two and the result looks pretty good to me.

Over the last few weeks I've been sporting various basket weave styles now that my hair is long enough to work with but recently I've noticed I don't really like my hair out and down. I'm still self conscious about the length and I've grown tired of the untamed roots. So last week I received a 0.75mm crochet hook and set to work tidying up my other two headed dragons. Nothing too noticeable but I did enough to realign my grid pattern and help the two headed locs along. I was sure to only crochet lightly just to form a spongy cylindrical shape and still left a quarter inch gap so that my roots remained loose and flexible.

after crocheting

For the moment I want to remain open to the thick and full fuzz I have going but I also what my roots to start loc'ing together so I think crochet sessions every six months will work for me and I'll just keep with the up-dos when I want to be fancy.

I'm also rocking the basic stretch headband on days where I just need my hair to lay down with little effort.

I'm about to finishing re-colouring my hair and I might also do a retwist in a bid to smarten up for a meal I'm going to tomorrow.

I prefer to retwist with the large
duckbill clips as they don't put
as much tension on my roots
and they don't compress
my locs as much.

DREADLOCKS ARE...

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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...

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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...

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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**

Month 18

So my last post was pretty full and really deserved to be a topic all on its own so I reserve this one for my eighteen month old locs. Not a lot to report. They're thick and becoming less unruly all the time (aside from the bottom rows that remains curled and crooked). I see the length in my ponytails but I still can't wait for them all too reach my neck/jaw. Getting a lot of loose hair (about 2" long) at the nape line, is that normal?

Really enjoying this colour, especially as the roots have grown in properly. If you want to colour your I really recommend semi-permanent, no ammonia, no alcohol, hair dyes as I personally vouch for how low risk and non-damaging they are even if used three times a month.

I'm back to retwisting twice a month for now and my hair is in great condition in the cooler more humid weather.  I have a feeling shrinkage has come to end (past the roots), so it'll be length, length, length from here on out.

 

DREALOCKS ARE...

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Month 17

Hello all,

As some of my locs made one year and five months today I'll continue with the photos and updates I was planning to share with you.

Aside from my unloc'd roots, shrinkage didn't seem as prominent as it had been which was allowing my locs to appear longer and making styling a little easier. I'd been comfortably wearing my hair in the following style for days at a time - click here.

Five months ago I wrote that I was going to avoid trimming my locs to be able to see as much growth as possible and I'm glad to say that since my ends had sealed I was been able to do just that. The one thing I did feel the need to do was groom my locs via pruning (trimming stray hairs along the outer shafts) in order to control frizz. I found that palm-rubbing wasn't effective enough due to how frequently I was washing my hair.

(photo take in mid August).


when will the ends stop curling up like this?

(photos taken a day before combing out my locs).

retwisting with coconut oil

The overall condition of my hair is quite good at the moment. As the weather in August has been modest compared with July's hot spell, here in the UK, my hair has been able to retain its softness between washes. I've just been infrequently spritzing my hair with water and applying my raw coconut oil.

Remember that time I was so frustrated with my "unravelling fro" that I sort advise from a loc'd guy I saw on the bus? Well recently it was my turn to give advise, on a bus no less. A lady with slim, probably shoulder length locs (that were up in a ponytail at the time) asked for advice on minimising damage when colouring her hair. I was ogling her locs at first so I was slightly taken aback when she chimed in with her question. I directed her to the products I'd used to lighten my hair with considerably less risk/damage than when I'd experimented with bleach. She seemed keen to give it a go and got off the bus shortly after, but not before asking whether I was free-forming and then complimenting me on how bright and thick my locs were. That sort of made my day.

 (photos taken a week before I started combing my locs out - click here).


I'll leave it there and get back to everyone once I've decided what I want to do with my locs and two strand twists.

DREADLOCKS ARE...

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

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...

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Update: My Locs in July

 Early/Mid July:

retwisted after new colour

frizz pre-palm-rubbing

Late July:

post palm-rubbing

this pic captured truest colour in natural light

DREADLOCKS ARE...

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