Loc Washing 101

          After I got my locs installed I put braids over them for the first 3 months. After I took out the braids I washed my hair at least 3-4 times a week without retwisting, I did this for a month. Then I put my locs back into braids. After another 2 months I took my locs out and I continued to wash my locs 3-4 times a week. If I did not fully shampoo them I would rinse them or cowash them. My locs got wet almost EVERYDAY. In the beginning it is very important for you to wash your hair. When you wet your hair your break the hydrogen bonds apart. When your hair is dry, they reform. In the first months of locing you want to break and reform those bonds. That way the hairs can manipulate and loc around each other. In my loc journey I learned several things about washing my locs.

1. DUST YOUR LOCS: Dusting your locs is literally that, getting dust out of your locs. You can use a mirror for the larger pieces. But take your hand and brush it back and forth over your locs while your head is tilted over. You will notice, skin, dust and dirt particles falling from your locs. All of these things is what makes locs ashy, smelly, and full of lint and dirt. If you wash your hair without dusting it, the dirt can potentially get trapped in the locs. 

2.  POP YOUR LOCS: If you are free forming, or semi free forming this is more important for you. When your hair is untwisted the roots will start to loc together. You must go through your head and pop your locs, which is pull them apart. Wet your hair at the root after you dust it, and pull your locs apart. You may hear the hairs, POP. :)

3. DO NOT PUT SHAMPOO DIRECTLY IN YOUR HAIR: Locs are packed hairs that are hard to penetrate. Thick shampoo will not glide easily in and out of your locs. Some of the shampoo may get caught in your locs. Diluting your shampoo in a spray bottle and spraying it in your hair will make a nice thin solution that can move in and out of your locs easily grabbing dirt on the way out.

4. DO NOT USE COLORED OR LOADED SHAMPOO: Shampoo like leave in conditioner as well as other products leave stuff behind in your hair. If you notice moisturizing shampoos are thicker and make your hair "feel" different after use. That "feel goo" is particles being left behind. These are particles you do not want left behind in your locs because this can add to buildup. 

5. DILUTE EVERYTHING:After I shampoo my hair, I mix my favorite deep conditioner in water and I pour it over my locs. I let it sit for 15 min under a shower cap and I rinse. Again, putting thick products in your locs can lead to buildup. 

6. RINSE: This is thee most important factor of them all. Water is very pure and lifting. It can break down and dilute a vast amount of chemicals. Make sure you rinse and squeeze your locs empty. I like to taste the water running out of my locs. If it tastes like pure water then I know my locs are fully rinsed. 

About My Locs pt1

Starter Locs on Average 4b/4c

My main and solo aim is to have long black healthy hair by any means necessary. In June of 2013 I gave myself very small yarn locs. I did not take care of my hair while it was in this style. As someone that does hair as well as knows it down to a science, I often neglect my own hair due to personal laziness. I ended up keeping the tiny braids in for 5 months! Never do that. Some hair types can keep them in that long, but my hair type was definitely not one for it. These braids took huge clumps of hair out of my head and a lot of the natural growth, which I now cannot remember. Lol. I always knew I wanted locs but I wanted to see how large I could get my fro. After I took those braids out, swerve, I went straight to the loctician.  I started my locs in December 2013 with comb coils. I had about 150 locs.

Honestly...

           I did not like my locs what so ever. I thought they were disgusting little worms. On top of the fact that while I was taking out my braids I got annoyed and I literally started ripping the braids out. From me doing that it caused my hair to be thin at the top of my head, I kinda look like I am balding. I did not want to go through the “ugly & bald” stage so I decided to braid my over my starter locs. Braiding my started locs helped me in several ways:

Emotionally
Mentally
Physically (lol)

The braids helped but however at this stage in my loc process They may have paused my loc development. When my locs were in the braids they stayed together and they also tightened up. The braids also gave my hair time to grow back where I had ripped them out. The braids did not allow for my locs to naturally swell and shrink as they would have if they were free.

               

     For the 6 months of my locs I wore braids. 

Natural 4b-4c Hair

You are probably wondering what MY shampoos and conditioners do to my hair. Here is a complete photo exhibit of my hair in its different natural states. In the beginning I am going to show your my hair and then I am going to get down to my ends. 


My Hair

This picture is my hair while I was shampooing it. As you see it is not in twists and you can really see how much my hair shrinks up. Yes, this is after 2 years of hair growth. If you look you can also see how I have several different hair types. My tighter hair which is on the top and center of my head is shorter then the hair in the back of my hair. The hair in the back is a loser curl pattern then the top and that is why it hangs more freely then the hair at the top. 

This is my hair after being shampoo-ed and rinsed. This is before conditioner or any products whatsoever. My hair in its natural state. You can see how tightly my hair curls up and how unruly it is. This picture proves how I do not wear my hair in afros because it will curl up into itself causing tangles and knots. You can also see how I have a very tight coily, kinky hair type as well. 

This is a picture of the loser curl pattern I have in the back. I have two different hair types. They both are very tight and coily but one is loser then the other. This type hangs a bit more. 

SHRINKAGE!!!

The first picture is of my hair after I dried it with no product. You can really see how natural hair shrinks up. Even thought you may not think so, this is a good thing. When my hair is healthy it curls up. Lose, limp or hair that won't curl up is weak or damaged. This lets me know that my hair is not damaged. You will see how my ends are the same. of they don't curl up, we have a problem. 


My Ends

This is images of my hair after it has been washed with no product. This is why it is good to pick a nice shampoo that is ph balanced. The shampoo cleans all of the dirt out of my hair while restoring it to its natural curl pattern. It is not longer dull and stretched out or weighed down by products and dirt. 

These pictures are of my hair and what conditioning does for my ends. The first picture is my ends after I towel dry my hair.  The second picture is my ends with conditioner in it. You can see how the conditioner is giving my ends what it lost from the shampoo. It is filling in the gaps where nutrients are missing and my hair is curling up. Its curling up because the conditioner is closing my cuticles. I can tell when a conditioner is great and ph balanced for my hair because it will cause my ends to to this. The last picture is a closer look at the pieces of hair side by side. 

These show how the conditioner closes my cuticles and moisturized my hair. My ends and hair are uniform and well conditioned. 

Make sure you have good shampoos and conditioners. In the next post I will tell you what ph to use for your shampoo and conditioners. :)

How I Achieve Not Cutting My Ends pt2

Natural Hair Realities 

      In order to take care of your hair to the fullest there are some things that you need to know. But before I tell you any of these things I need you to have an open mind. We tend to believe things that were passed down to us and quite frankly alot of the old hair tips are myths and not true. Until you can accept the fact that what we have been learning about hair is flawed, then you will not grown and progress. Period! Now with an open mind that is ready to learn for change here it is:

1. WASH YOUR HAIR FREQUENTLY- As children of color we were taught that washing our hair was bad. We do not want to be caught in pools, rain, the beach, NOTHING! The reality is that your hair needs to be washed more frequently. Why? Your hair grows out of pores. When your face is dirty what happens? The pore is blocked and you get a gross pimple. That is the same concept with hair. You have to keep the scalp clean and your hair washed. A clean scalp will not have blocked pores so the hair can grown and not have resistance. Also keeping your hair clean will remove the protecting moisturizers from our hair so water and needed nutrients can be absorbed. 

2. OIL, RAW SHEA BUTTER, COCO BUTTER ARE NOT MOISTURIZERS- Don't scream. You have probably been watching youtube videos and reading blogs similar to this and some people act like oils and butters are very moisturizing when they actually are not. Oil and RAW Shea Butter are PROTECTING hair products. Oil can not penetrate the hair. The only oil that can penetrate the hair strand is coconut oil because the molecules are like that of sebum the natural oil our scalp produces. If you do not believe me try this out. 

Dip one piece of paper in oil and one piece of paper in water. Now rip the pieces of paper in half. You will notice that the paper dipped in oil rips very crisply as if it was not wet. The paper in water however is mushy because the molecules of water are small enough to penetrate the paper. The oil molecules are not and this is why the paper rips so nicely, because it was protected. 

With this concept in mind think about your hair. If you have been using oil and raw shea butter and wondering why your hair is not "moisturized" it is because your are protecting your hair while it is in its non-moisturized state. Moisturize with pure water or water based products first and then put on the shea butter and oils. This excludes whipped shea butters because those tend to have extra ingredients in them that can penetrate the hair however even a whipped shea butter should still be used to seal in moisture. 


3. TREAT YOUR ENDS DIFFERENTLY- Your ends are the oldest thing on your head. Think about your ends like an old person. You are gentle with old people, nice and caring. So do the same for your ends. When you are braiding or twisting your hair use a different thicker pomade for your ends or use a little extra on the ends. 


How I Treat My Ends: 

• After applying a deep conditioner a put castor oil on the ends and then I put on a conditioning cap and I sit under the dryer to deep condition. 
• When twisting my hair I use Oyin Handmade Burnt Sugar Pomade because it is thicker and it is also a protecting hair dress. 
• I never let my ends rest on my shoulders or scarves. I don't want to dry them out or cause them to knot. 

These are just a few things that I do but you have to treat your ends better if you want to maintain them correctly. 

4. YOU NEED TO PROTECT YOUR HAIR- I am not saying braids one week, twists the next and corn rolls the next. There are a vast amount of ways to protect your ends. You can wear turbans, wraps, twists, braids, braid outs, twist outs, and even protecting hair products. If you don't want weathering of your ends and hair your have to protect it. If you are someone that wears your hair out everyday then that is not the way to maintain your ends. Wind, sun, acid rain, there are so many things that damage your hair. I am not saying lock your hair away but try different styles where you tuck your ends in. Also try styles that will keep your hair stretched that way it is not curling up into itself. Doing your hair everyday is great but protect the ends. 

5. LET YOUR HAIR DO WHAT IT DOES- This is true to a certain extent. Unless you are free loc-ing your hair, you should not just let it do what it does. Hair is very unruly. It has to be tamed to a certain extent. It has to be washed and de-tangled. Tangled hair knots around other hairs and causes damage. You never want your hairs to fight one another. 

These are just a few things that you should consider when trying to grow your hair to maximum lengths. Do research and get used to the new way of thinking about your hair. 


The Video: 

A Growth Comparison

July 2010 

September 2011