I began my loc journey on February 10, 2021, in the middle of a pandemic, during Black History Month, and towards the beginning of my spiritual journey.
After about a year and a half of “I really want locs,” “Chloe and Halle look so good,” and building a Pinterest board, I finally did it.
Dumb Doubts & Motivation
I’ll admit, my desire to loc my hair goes back even further. But in high school, I was too concerned with my image to commit to locs. I was too scared of not having the hottest new hairstyle. Too scared of having my hair be short when I already dealt with being masculinized by my male peers. Too scared of the “dread head” label and all its negative racial implications.
But eventually, the little things started to shift my perspective. Seeing only three people a day in quarantine made me less worried about how I’ll be perceived. All these crazy “hairstylists” who don’t (can’t) do 4C hair getting exposed on Twitter? Yeah, they’re more than enough reason. The thought of not having to worry about what you’re going to do with your hair next is bliss. Not paying wig prices anymore!? I think that was the final nail in the coffin for me honestly. The wigs I could afford to buy didn’t usually have a customization option so they wouldn’t even fit my big head half the time.
By the way, we’re going to talk more about hairstylists, professionalism, and texturism on the Chatting with Chanise podcast. You should totally follow and support me on Anchor FM and Spotify. Much love.
Starting Out
I’m from a city where people don’t do hair for real, so finding someone to start my twists was still a task. But once I found them, got my grid started, and learned how to take care of my locs, I was in love.
I was very particular about having smedium (yes smedium) sized locs, not having control of this aspect was another reason I held off for so long.
For a period of time, I considered starting out with loc extensions, but my stylist at the time talked me out of it. She was right. I wanted my spiritual connection to my locs to be as strong as possible. I wanted my locs to represent strength, courage, beauty, and patience. Clinging onto extensions to skip the “ugly phase” would have undermined all of that.
Granted, I did wear one of my leftover wigs over my locs for a little bit. But in my own defense, I was too scared that my coils would come undone if I had them out and about.
Why a Loc Journey
I love my locs so much. Like genuinely. The list of reasons why could go on and on, but I’ll keep it short.
- Maintenance at this point is low as hell. I’m at the point where I physically cringe whenever I come across a detangling video; terrible memories.
- I was forced to become comfortable with myself in an entirely new way. I didn’t realize how dependent I was on wigs until I had to convince myself that not wearing one in public wouldn’t be the end of me.
- It’s been amazing watching them grow. When you’re not obsessing over hair length, you’ll be shocked to see how much growth you have in between retwist. Kind of gives a time lapse effect.
- I wake up, shake, and go. What can I say, I’m a simple woman. The time I would’ve spent doing my hair in the morning gets reallocated to resting longer.
- I do feel more spiritually connected to my hair. My hair is no longer a burden but rather a beautiful extension of myself that keeps me grounded. A newfound appreciation for my crown.
To anyone who is unsure, get like Nike and just do it.
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