I’ve attempted to lock (dreadlock) my hair five times. Every time I would finish a set of braids or twists, I’d always think, “This is the time I’ll make it.” Yet soon after growing my own dreadlocks, it would always become nothing but an unfulfilled desire. It is difficult to grasp exactly why something so basic can become a mountainous feat, considering that locking one’s hair seems all but effortless in description. However, locs are similar to a garden; one must simply plow the field and plant the seeds. Then step back, and with a little loving care, watch their flowers bloom. Now I have been locing for several months, fearless of my future garden. Yet many women and men can take my first statement and insert any number of times they’ve attempted to loc their hair.
The newbie locer is the equivalent of a first time mother. They are happy and content with their new babies, sometimes for a full twenty four hours before the panic sets in. Then the rush of anxiety begins.
Did I make the parts straight enough?
My loctician says not to wash them for three months.
My sister-in-law’s cousin’s boyfriend says to twist them every two weeks.
Is it locked yet?
The fact of the matter is that most of these fears are irrelevant; they do nothing expect hinder us from our goal, mature locs. So with help of uneducated friends and family, newbie locers pound their heads into oblivion, and a year, six months, or even a week from maturity, raze their infant locs, and trade them in for dreams of what might have been. So how exactly do we get it right? What do locers who reach maturity and beyond have going for them that so many newbies lack?
Patience is an asset and if you don’t have any then locing may not be for you. Despite your method, regardless of how much salt and lemon juice you apply to your baby locs, they will not mature in a week or a month or three months, and sometimes not even in a year. Lack of patience kills many new locers at the threshold. There is no time table for locing; there is no predetermined amount of time before baby locs to mature. If you set one for yourself you will be sadly disappointed.
Water is not the enemy. Many new locers visit the loc board on Nappturality (www.nappturality.com), or other hair boards, explaining that their loctitcian or stylist said not to wash their hair for three months or longer. For whatever reason water has been made in to the mortal foe of dreadlocks, but like most things in the black hair world, it is in fact the complete opposite. Water does not disrupt the locing process, for many it helps, and no one should believe that a filthy scalp will lead to health locs. The bottom line, wash your hair when you need to as much as you need to.
A loc is a loc, but method can help. There are about one dozen ways to loc with new ones popping up all the time. Contrary to how you start, the end result is the same. However, method can sometimes make the difference between reaching maturity and frustration. If your hair unravels easily, you may want to consider two-strand twists over coils. If you like or need to wash your hair often, braids or interlocking may be best for you. Some methods such as braidlocs are unknown to many stylists; don’t allow anyone to talk you out of the method that’s best for you in light of one they are familiar with.
You don’t have to be a chemist. Every hair board user knows that there are a ton of ways to create natural shampoos, conditioners, moisturizers, and spritzes for their locs. Many newbies become enchanted with the mixing possibilities and end up with complicated routines or drowning their locs in product. You may have to ease up on the blending of fruits and oils and accept that store bought products work fine for you, save the concoctions for after maturity.
Your baby locs are going to act like…well babies of course. They will stick up when you want to them to lie down, they will make you crazy some days, and you can’t fight the frizz. Frizzing is a part of locking; it will and needs to happen. No amount of twisting or products will change that. Invest in a head wrap for the days your babies won’t behave.
Say no to loc envy. Your locs will not look like anyone else’s, especially the person that may have inspired you to loc. There is a definite boarder line between admiration and envy. Find the beauty in your own locs, and don’t be disappointed if your locs don’t turn out like Lauryn Hill’s or Goapele’s or any other locked media beauty.
Don’t nitpick. In the beginning, it can feel like there is some divine blueprint to locking, and if one tiny thing goes “wrong” it will ruin your chance to have the locs you desire. Researching locing, do what works for you, and most of all keep it simple. Allow your baby locs the room they need to grow and you will surly reap the benefits of mature locs.
Helpful links: www.nappturality.com, www.sisterlocs.com, www.going-natural.com and www.dreadlocks.com.
