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.**

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...

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

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.**

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.**

Month 20

And in the spirit of the season I wish each of my lovely readers a safe and merry Christmas and a prosperous new year.

Today my locs have reached the final quarter of their second year and compared to last December they have come a long, long way. It was about this time last year that my locs had just entered what I now look back on as the 'rough stage' when my hair refused to take shape. This year my locs are fully formed and much easier to manage. They're a comfortable 4.5-5 inches un-stretched which isn't much in twelve months but that's ok for now.

My two strand twists are three months old and I've since put in a few more for fullness. They are the most well behaved starter locs I've had. The buds are making their way down towards the tips and the two strand twist pattern is hardly noticeable. I'm looking forward to beyond this phase perhaps in the next three months by which time I'll be closing in on my 2 year milestone.

I'll leave you with a few pictures as always.

finally starting to see a length difference

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**

Loc Spot: Festival Locs (2)

Another summer, another chance to relax, dance and admire those inspiring loc wearers. This year I went to a local Caribbean festival to soak up the atmosphere under the sun.

If you'd like to identify or remove a photograph please send an email request to naturalocs@hotmail.co.uk

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**

Washed Locs: Pictures

Here are the pictures for Washed Locs and a Product update. I was very happy with the results using this cleansing method. As you'll see I still had a "unravelled fro" appearance afterwards but I think it photographs worse that it actually was. They'll probably be this way until they mature.

During

shampoo at the roots

After

 

soft and clean

Retwisting

 

air dried

Finished results

 



the clips flattened my dreads a bit

DREADLOCKS ARE...

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