Loc Venting #2

I read somebody else's blog today (i forget her name); she was writing about how on youtube/blogs/other loc forums that the majority of people, if not most, has "super-manicured" locs, meaning no frizz, no fuzz, scalp showing, and constantly keeping it maintained in a weekly basis. It made me think, yeah, that is true. More and more people are sporting super-manicured locs; it is very rare that you find a free-forming black female wearing thick locs, it is usually always manicured to perfection. Is there anything wrong with that? No, I don't think so, but it is an interesting observation. The only thing that bothers me about it is that it seems like there isn't enough variety in the loc universe (at least in the cyber world). I love thick locs, chunky locs, freeform, manicured, super-manicured, semi-free form, etc, I love learning from loc rockers regardless of what method they chose to loc or what size their locs are. After all, locs are locs regardless of their size or shape. It's just a shame that 1) all you see is just about the same kind of locs, mostly manicured, while the freeformers/people with thick locs are kind of ignored or hiding or something, therefore we can't learn from their experience because there just aren't enough of them wanting to talk about their journey on youtube/blogs/whatever and 2) that whenever you do find somebody who is growing thick locs and not manicuring it, they have a sort of high and mighty attitude where they look down at those who retwist their hair on a 2-3 week basis and act like people who manicure their locs are not "understanding" the journey or "getting it" when it comes to locs. I just don't understand the attitude. I think bottom line it just depends on one's perspective on what locs mean to them and how they should look. Not all of us can handle freeforming. I don't think I could. I used to retwist my hair every 2 months, which I loved. Why did I start retwisting every 3 weeks instead? Mostly because I felt like my hair needed to be "trained" more and because I got frustrated with the new growth constantly unraveling and not locking, so that's why I decided to retwist more often, but my hair isn't the least bit "manicured." I don't retwist it as often because of neatness; in fact, I care less about how "neat" my hair looks. I prefer roots to be showing and to be a bit more on the wild side, but I also enjoy the luxury and joy of retwisting my hair and making my locs feel more fresh. When my hair gets past my shoulders, I'm going to get back to retwisting once every 2 months, but while they are young, I want to train them. Not all of us see locking as a spiritual journey or an extension of one's self. I embrace my nappy roots and love the fact that not all my locs are perfectly cylindrical or same shape and size, but I don't see my hair as a spiritual journey at all. Some of us may like to keep it really neat because of our jobs, or maybe not, maybe some of us just enjoy having really neat locs. I think everybody's preferences are different; neither is wrong. I guess in a way i feel like there seems to be some kind of divide amongst loc-wearers; it is manicured locs vs. freeformers, traditional locs vs. sisterlocs, happy and nappy vs. super neat and fly, etc. I think all locs are beautiful! I wish all of us can embrace the many sides to locs, the skinny ones, the braid locs, the thick locs, and so on, instead of acting like one technique/method is better than the other, and also stop judging others based on what they want to do with their locs and how they maintain it. Let's just keep on learning and stop juding or being prejudice, locs = peace and love! :)

Biotin

This isn't talked about often in the locing community, but I find that taking vitamins has really helped my hair to become really healthy. Other than Centrium, I've been taking Biotin. I've been here a lot of good things about it. Many swear that it makes their hair and nails grow. So far, it has definitely made my nails grow like crazy. I can't stand having long nails (it makes me nervous), so I've been trimming them a lot lately. I've been taking Biotin for about 2 months or so, and so far I'm liking it. I'm not sure if it is really doing a whole lot for the hair on my head, but I know that it takes awhile for it to really kick into your system. I haven't dealt with any side effects of it, which mainly are little things like headaches and/or acne. I've been drinking a lot of water and using witch hazel for my skin, which I'm sure is combating this side effect from happening. The only thing I've been noticing from taking biotin so far is that my hair has felt a bit thicker (the new growth I mean) so i guess it is doing something. If I see any changes, I will definitely update on here. Overall I think it is good to take some vitamins and minerals, not just for your hair, but for your overall health. The next thing I want to try for my hair is Essential Oils, I just really want some extra oomph in my hair care regime, plus I want to make my hair smell a bit prettier esp. since spring time is coming around hehe. I just ordered some rosemary essential oil from Amazon; I should get it sometime this week. I can't wait to try it!

Tam Hats!

It's funny, I'm really not much of a hat person, but I find that tam hats are just SO comfortable, stylish, and fun! I like how it fits snuggly around my head instead of all tight and constricting the blood flow to my brain lol. I'm also noticing that it is kind of popular around this time of year, though it is commonly worn by "rastas" it doesn't seem to matter if you have dreads or not, the tam/berret/whatever you want to call it looks good on just about anybody. Anyways, I bought my first tam at Hot Topic (of all places) which cost $6 (it was originally $14, so it was a pretty good deal!). I admit, i'm not a fan of the color of this hat, but being that it was cheap, I had to get it. It feels so comfortable, it gives my hair that rest and protection from the chilly wind, snow, and of course those pesky lint balls, and most of all, I can wear it all day, any time of year, and it's just sweet and breezy. I'm also planning to make my own tam hats thanks to Pinky2D4 (one of my favorite loc'ed youtube personalities). Figure I might get back to crocheting again, I used to be so good at it years ago as a kid and then stopped, but I can't wait to hone my skills again by attempting to make this hat! I can't wait! Here's the tutorial I'm going to follow:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hkhu6mX_x7w

A Celebration: 13 Months Locked

Today I am 13 months locked! Although I haven't been documenting it month-by-month, it is amazing to see how much it has grown over the past year. And I must say, I never thought that hair could ever be a celebration. I have been natural overall for 2 years; each year has been a celebration of the growth and progress that my hair has gained from YEARS of damaging it SO much with weave, perm, tight-ass-braids, and so on. I never thought I would go down the natural route; I just never thought it was ever an option, I always thought that our hair was meant to be "tamed" and "hidden" until 2 years ago when my lovely hair stylist told me that I could do more with my hair, and voila, she chopped my hair off and I've been natural and maintaining my hair ever since. Crazy, right? And this whole locking process is definitely a trip. A part of me felt like I was meant to loc ever since I had the big chop, and I'm glad to be taking part in the process. Still have a loongg way to go! Even though to the average person being 13 months locked is like "and? so what?", to any natural hair/locked sistah out there, it IS a big deal, and it IS a celebration of the way things are now and the things that are to come! Photos coming up!