Yes honeychild is who I was talking about this is how she said she took out her locs...
in the spring of 2001, i noticed disturbing bits of lint INSIDE the ends of a couple of my locks in the back. i attacked the problem with a bottle of conditioner and a pushpin. you can see a couple of the telltale puffs at the bottoms of the locks at right.
as i worked up the lock to where it was dust-free, i realized what i had already known theoretically about locks: they are mostly made up of hair that your scalp has already shed; holding on by the strength of the lock itself. all this hair poured out of the lock as i cleaned it, and they unraveled about an inch or two as i picked them apart to get inside. i became curious: how long was the hair that was actively growing out of my head? i decided to pick an unobtrusive place and see if i could unravel one all the way to the root.
and thus, the grand experiment was born. none of the other locks on my head had the amount of lint of those few in the back; but once started i was motivated by curiosity even more than hygiene. there aren't many pics of the process because trust me it was a month of raw fingers, paper bags full of loose hair, and an increasingly strange head of locks/twists combination hair that i mostly covered up with headwraps.
method: spritz w/water. saturate with conditioner. insert pin near end, jiggle around to loosen hair, pull down. repeat. repeat. repeat ad infinitum. once i could gauge how long my hair was, i could cut off the locks at about 8 inches and start a third of the way up from the end.
i loved my locks. but once i'd had them for a couple of years, i started really becoming wistful for the squandered styling potential of my fro. i totally enjoyed the freedom of locks and LOVED the ease of care -- wash and twist, occasional oiling was about all i had to do. but i used to wake up some mornings having dreamed about combing my hair. a couple of other things i do not miss: 1. they were very hot in the summertime; i love hot weather, but underneath all that heavy hair it could feel oppressive. 2. i was becoming dissatisfied styling-wise. they had just passed my shoulders and were starting to look long & straight... not a flattering aesthetic for me IMO. 3. they were really heavy when i danced. i wanted to feel light.
in retrospect, i actually consider it a rather ridiculous endeavor. i was and still am glad i did it; felt very triumphant and excited all through the process and afterward; i think i'd heard it could be done but i'd never known anyone to do it. but when i think about how much time it took, i am forced to consider myself a nut case. plus, of course, now that i've had my fro back for two years, i get thoughts all the time like what was i THINKING to pull out all those beautiful, easily maintained locks! (this mostly happens when in need of a deep condition and a trim, LOL). what can i say ... the grass is always greener. it's all a journey. ;o)
