As a person with locs, I am frequently being asked questions about my hair. I figured I would take the time out to answer as many of those questions as I could right here for all you curious folk!
Q: When did you start your locs/ how long have you had your locs?
A: I started my locs August 27, 2009. With that said, I've had my locs for a year and 8 months. I had been researching stuff on locs for a while before that though.
Here's what they looked like in the beginning:
and here is the most recent pic I have after a retwist (March 2011):
I try to take a picture after every retwist just to log my loc journey. I'll stop once my locs get to the length I want them to be.
Q: How long do you want your locs to be?
A: I haven't quite measured it or anything, but I know I want my locs to reach a little past my chest. Once they get to that point I plan to start trimming them. I'm personally not a fan of having locs that reach past my butt. From what I've heard, locs get really heavy after a while. I don't need to be walking around with a football players neck, and an average everything else. Not okay with me. I do see some cool styles pulled off with REALLY LONG locs tho. I can respect it. It's just not for me.
Q: How long does your hair have to be to start locs/How long was your hair when you started your locs?
A: To start dreadlocks, your hair should be at least 3-4 inches in length. I have very kinky hair. If you took one of my curls and fully extended it, my hair was about 5-6 inches long when I started my locs.
Here's what I looked like:
"You need to pick your afro daddy, because it's flat on one side." Shameful, haha.
Q: Where'd you get your locs started?
A: A buddy of mine took me to a shop called "Nu Beginnings" in Rosedale, New York. If i remember correctly it cost somewhere around 75 dollars to get a wash and retwist. I stopped going after a while for a couple of reasons, cost and product use mainly.
Q: What did you/do you use to retwist your locs?
A: My locs were started with a concoction one of the ladies at the shop made. She told me what was in it, but was reluctant to, so I don't think she would like me putting her business all out in the open. I remember black beeswax was involved. I'm not against using wax in the very beginning stages of locs. From my experience the hold of wax is a little better than gel. It just leaves a residue I don't like, and it's a lot heavier. Wax is kind of difficult to wash out completely as well (of course that depends on how much you use). I stuck with black beeswax for a while before switching to Jamaican Mango and Lime Resistant Formula Locking Gel. I've been using that for about a year now.
Q: What products do you put in your hair?
A: Other than the twisting gel, I try and spray my hair daily with a little mixture I made. I took a little spray bottle (you can find at a dollar store, walmart, target) and filled it mostly with water, then added some rosemary oil, some Jamaican Mango and Lime spray oil (which consists of olive oil, mineral oil, castor oil, VITAMIN E, Babassu oil, carrot oil, and a few other things), and a tiny bit of jojoba oil. These keep your hair healthy and hydrated, especially in between washes. I also use JM&L's no more itch spray every now and then. My head typically doesn't itch that much anymore, but when it does, I have it at hand.
Q: Do you have straight square parts?
A: I think my hair was STARTED with straight parts, but I'm sure they don't exist anymore, haha. I've had a couple different sets of hands "take care" of my locs. Some of them really knew what they were doing, others not so much. Some people went and made new locs out of some stray hairs. Others thought they had to take my locs out to retwist them (I...I don't even know). Point being, so many different things have happened to my head that I'm sure my straight parts are gone. They really aren't necessary though. Straight parts just make things a little easier. You can still style your hair and all that with crooked parts.
Q: Are you ever going to dye your locs?
A: I've thought about it a few times, but as of right now, no. I haven't seen a color that made me think "OH DANG, THAT NEEDS TO BE UP IN MY HEAD." Until that happens, I'm sticking with my natural hair color.
Q: Do you retwist your locs yourself?
A: You'd think after all the trauma my locs have endured that I would just sit and do it myself right? No, I don't retwist my locs myself. I know how. I just don't. It's incredibly tedious, so if I can manage to have someone else do it, I go for that option. I will start doing it myself in the future I'm sure. Things also get tricky when I'm retwisting the back of my head. I can retwist someone else's head, but when it comes to doing my own, I prefer not to.
Q: How often do you retwist your locs?
A: I try to get my locs retwisted once a month. Sometimes I go over that, but I try hard not to go under it. When I first started my locs I was obsessed with them looking neat so I had them retwisted every 2-3 weeks or so. That resulted in me creating a handful of really thin locs. I ended up combining a few of them here and there to make sure they didn't pop off. Nobody likes weak, pop off locs. My hair is a lot stronger than it use to be.
Q: Can I touch your locs?
A: No.
Just kidding. Nobody asks me that. They just put their hands in my head, and ask me questions all after the fact -.-
Q: Do you think I would look good with locs?!
A: Please stop asking me that question, haha. There are so many different things that could alter that image. Thin locs? Thick locs? dyed or not? Your hair texture. I'm not a fan of that question. If I think someone would look good with locs, I probably say that to them at some point. Please don't ask me just because I have locs, haha.
Q: Are you Jamaican/Rastafarian
A: No. That's pretty much all I can say to that. I've had people come up to me speaking patois/patwa before because they assumed I was Jamaican. I'm not.
and lastly:
Q: What made you decide to get locs?
A: I had been wanting locs for a long time before I started them. First it was because I wanted to have long hair that I could do stuff with. I got bored of brush cuts, fades, and afros VERY quickly. It was always the same thing. Maybe I'd put a cool little part in my hair somewhere but that wasn't enough for me to be happy. I wasn't a huge fan of braids either. I saw people walking around with super intricate designs in their head, and I personally thought it just looked bad, so that wasn't an option. The more I thought about dreadlocks, and the more I researched them, I realized how much patience it took. That's what really solidified the decision for me. I wanted to test my patience, and prove to myself that I could do it. I loved the way they looked, and wanted to grow as a person (in terms of patience), so I finally went for it. When I still lived with my mother, she wouldn't allow me to get them. She said men should have short hair. I had to wait until my sophomore year of college to start them.
Feel free to leave me a comment with any more questions you may have about my locs, or locs in general and I will answer as soon as I can!
