The Hanging Loc Chronicles [October 2021]
The Hanging Loc Chronicles are monthly recaps of my loc journey. See September’s entry here.
I officially hit my 1 month anniversary of being loc’d on October 5th. It’s been such a whirlwind and I’m super excited to share my experiences so far. One of the many cool things about this journey is the amount of changes that happened in such a (seemingly) short amount of time. I’ve seen myself transform physically and being on this ride is nothing short of a thrill.
There’s a misconception that loc’s are NOT supposed to be washed for a certain amount of time due to the fear of unraveling or completely stymieing the whole process. My loctician assured me that it’d be okay for me to wash my hair as needed, but to avoid conditioner and oils for the first 6–8 months.
It was recommended that I use Gabel’s shampoo, which I found at my local beauty supply store. I washed my hair for the first time on September 15th, which was 10 days after my initial install. I saw how my hair succame to shrinkage immediately and the locs bunched up. Luckily they did not unravel at all. I immediately braided them to achieve the crinkly curly look that I used to do on my two strand twists.
I discovered the ability to cornrow my hair. This is miraculous, as I was never able to flat twist or braid on my loose natural hair. Since discovering this, I’ve worn my hair in cornrows and or have had it in a platted style, braided down to my head. I specifically enjoy this because it makes putting a wrap on my hair much easier.
I always loved decorating my hair with jewels and clips growing up. I wore beads in the first set of locs I had in 2012. Hair jewels are easy to come by and are a relatively inexpensive option to decorate any hair style. Ragin, aka West Indie Ray, is a huge advocate for loc jewelry and gives great tips and tricks. Here is a video of her answering some commonly asked questions while installing some loc jewelry.
I’ve seen my hair starting to bud at the ends. Some of the locs towards the back of my head have matured quicker than the ones in the front, but I am patient through it all. Some days my locs are super frizzy and sometimes they lie flat. I love my hair for however it shows up, which is all part of my self-acceptance journey. While I can manipulate my hair to do whatever I so choose (because that’s the beauty of having my hair type), letting it do what it naturally wants is what it’s all about. I see it growing, thriving and surviving, therefore, I’ll love it for it’s full self.
I’m excited for the continuing months, years and decades to come as it relates to my hair. I see daily changes in the ways it reacts to my lifestyle and it’s such a beautiful thing to experience. I plan to wash it very soon and wear it in a protective style for the upcoming work week. A protective style is defined as a hairstyle that protects the hair from outside elements. My protective style choices historically have been to use head wraps (I buy all of mine from Wrap Life and local African textile shops), braids, hats, bonnets and ponytails.
I’ve been wearing a silk bonnet to bed most (but not all…) nights and I spritz my hair every morning. As mentioned, I avoid using all oils at the behest of my loctician, however, I make sure my edges are protected by rubbing a dime size of Jamaican Black castor oil on my hairline as needed.
The length of my hair is a bit uneven. It’s gotten to be an inch or so past my shoulder, with about a quarter inch of new growth since September. I’m in no rush to see significant growth, but what I have seen so far is impressive. My goal is to maintain healthy hair, which is “good hair” in my opinion.
