Lock It Up! Support Thread (Sisterlocs, Dreads, Freeform, Etc)

[sunkissedskin]

I've been struggling with my natural hair for four years now. It's embarrassing how many times I've big chopped LOL. I have thin, fine, low porosity, protein sensitive hair and it's just way too high maintenance for my liking. Plus, I'm severely challenged in the styling department (can barely do a simple twist or bantu knot) and dealing with it is, quite frankly, a nightmare.

Clearly I'm not about this life.

So, I've made the decision to loc my hair and I couldn't be more excited! Called and booked my appointment for Tuesday. I'm starting out with comb coils. My hair is super short right now so it'll be interesting to see how they turn out. Will be back to update and fill out the questions.

Hopefully locs will be the answer to keeping my hair on my darn head.

 

[BrandNew]

I am in love with your locs Foxglove!

 

[BrandNew]

Got my hair retwisted last night. I'll post a length picture when I take down this style in a week.

 

[sunkissedskin]

I'm back with my comb twists! I really love how they turned out. My loctitian says to come back in 3-4 weeks for my first wash/retwist. Yay!

1. How long have you been on your loc journey? Approximately 4 hours. LOL.
2. What made you decide to embark on a loc journey? My loose natural hair is very high maintenance and I don't have the energy nor motivation to deal with it. Plus, I love how locs look, especially at longer lengths.
3. How long do you plan to stay loc'd? For a long, long time.
4. What type of locs do you have? Sisterlocs, Traditional, Cultivated, Freeform? Cultivated, I think?
5. What process did you use to start your locs? Comb twists.
6. How do you maintain your locs? I'll be seeing my loctitian for maintenance until my hair begins to lock and I feel confident enough to manage it on my own. At least I hope so (as I mentioned before, I am extremely styling-challenged).
7. What, if any, products do you use on your locs? I believe she used ORS Lock and Twist gel.

 

[Arian]

I'm back with my comb twists! I really love how they turned out. My loctitian says to come back in 3-4 weeks for my first wash/retwist. Yay!

1. How long have you been on your loc journey? Approximately 4 hours. LOL.
2. What made you decide to embark on a loc journey? My loose natural hair is very high maintenance and I don't have the energy nor motivation to deal with it. Plus, I love how locs look, especially at longer lengths.
3. How long do you plan to stay loc'd? For a long, long time.
4. What type of locs do you have? Sisterlocs, Traditional, Cultivated, Freeform? Cultivated, I think?
5. What process did you use to start your locs? Comb twists.
6. How do you maintain your locs? I'll be seeing my loctitian for maintenance until my hair begins to lock and I feel confident enough to manage it on my own. At least I hope so (as I mentioned before, I am extremely styling-challenged).
7. What, if any, products do you use on your locs? I believe she used ORS Lock and Twist gel.

Congrats on your loc journey!

 

[Platinum]

Congratulations sunkissedskin :woohoo:

 

[caltron]

@sunkissedskin Your hair is so beautiful. I love comb twists. Do they stay put or do you have to keep twisting them up? I would love it if I could get comb twists to start mine but I'm afraid of them unravelling. I have fine stranded 4a/b hair too.

ETA: Is that you in your siggy?? OMG you are gorgeous!

 

[Platinum]

I'm thinking about retwisting my Locs today (Palm roll method). I'm not sure if I'm going to try a commercial product like Taliah Waaijid or try to do with an Aloe Vera Gel mix.

 

[sunkissedskin]

@sunkissedskin Your hair is so beautiful. I love comb twists. Do they stay put or do you have to keep twisting them up? I would love it if I could get comb twists to start mine but I'm afraid of them unravelling. I have fine stranded 4a/b hair too.

ETA: Is that you in your siggy?? OMG you are gorgeous!

Thanks caltron!! So far, so good. I tie my head with a satin durag at night and shower with a cap on. No unraveling yet. They have gotten really flat though, so I might try to spritz with a bit of water and fluff them out a little (as advised by my loctitian). Hopefully they stay put! She also says that if I see any coming undone, to just use a water-based gel and twist them with my finger. Especially the ones near my temples, because I wear glasses they are more prone to unraveling.

And no that's not me, unfortunately. I wish. I can't wait for summer!

 

[ChasingBliss]

Since my recent retwist, I've enjoyed the look and feeling of the neatness in the front. So I've been keeping the the front locs that frame my face retwisted (of course not in the mega tight way my loctician does it). Because I can get a nice little ponytail going it's able to stay together for the day.

 

[ChasingBliss]

I'm back with my comb twists! I really love how they turned out. My loctitian says to come back in 3-4 weeks for my first wash/retwist. Yay!

1. How long have you been on your loc journey? Approximately 4 hours. LOL.
2. What made you decide to embark on a loc journey? My loose natural hair is very high maintenance and I don't have the energy nor motivation to deal with it. Plus, I love how locs look, especially at longer lengths.
3. How long do you plan to stay loc'd? For a long, long time.
4. What type of locs do you have? Sisterlocs, Traditional, Cultivated, Freeform? Cultivated, I think?
5. What process did you use to start your locs? Comb twists.
6. How do you maintain your locs? I'll be seeing my loctitian for maintenance until my hair begins to lock and I feel confident enough to manage it on my own. At least I hope so (as I mentioned before, I am extremely styling-challenged).
7. What, if any, products do you use on your locs? I believe she used ORS Lock and Twist gel.

Yaaas, your locs are going to be beauutiful. Love the sizing and pattern.

 

[Arian]

Soooo, my next retwist is next Thursday. I haven't complained very much during the journey, but here goes my next big rant...

LINT! I have been picking apart some of my twists because of lint buildup. It happens primarily on the last row. I have tried not to disrupt any buds that have formed by picking the lint out with a safety pin. My hair is black, so lint buildup is very noticeable. I can see that the lint issue is going to be a problem for me.

Anyone else having this problem?

Also, some of my twists have become deformed...lumpy (not like budding, but like they have drawn up or not uniformly twisted)..
Is this normal?

 

[Platinum]

Soooo, my next retwist is next Thursday. I haven't complained very much during the journey, but here goes my next big rant...

LINT! I have been picking apart some of my twists because of lint buildup. It happens primarily on the last row. I have tried not to disrupt any buds that have formed by picking the lint out with a safety pin. My hair is black, so lint buildup is very noticeable. I can see that the lint issue is going to be a problem for me.

Anyone else having this problem?

Also, some of my twists have become deformed...lumpy (not like budding, but like they have drawn up or not uniformly twisted)..
Is this normal?

Arian are you wrapping your hair at night? If not, you may want to use a satin bonnet. Are you using terry cloth towels to dry your hair? As for the "lumpy" appearance of your locs, remember, your locs are going through some changes so I believe what you're seeing is normal.

 

[Platinum]

10 months loc'd! I'm loving my journey and seeing some growth. Sometimes, I wish that I had opted for thinner locs. But then I started meeting people who have thinner locs who mention combining them to make them thicker.

I decided to retwist (palm roll method) last night. I used Taliah Waajid Lock It Up gel. It was okay but I think I'll probably look for a good homemade loc'ing gel recipe.

 

[LavenderMint]

Lint is definitely a nemesis. I've dyed my hair a couple of times just because of it; I've even taken a permanent marker to it in desperation before. (My lint is all in the back, too)
The ways to cut down on exposure to lint include avoiding linty/fuzzy fabrics in your clothing/accessories, using jersey fabric or t-shirts to blot your hair, and tying up (or down) your hair before bed or using silk pillowcases.
After a while, I just gave up- now I do what I can and keep rolling. One of my co-workers got caught up in picking lint out and ended up combing out her locs over a weekend or two.

Soooo, my next retwist is next Thursday. I haven't complained very much during the journey, but here goes my next big rant... LINT! I have been picking apart some of my twists because of lint buildup. It happens primarily on the last row. I have tried not to disrupt any buds that have formed by picking the lint out with a safety pin. My hair is black, so lint buildup is very noticeable. I can see that the lint issue is going to be a problem for me. Anyone else having this problem? Also, some of my twists have become deformed...lumpy (not like budding, but like they have drawn up or not uniformly twisted).. Is this normal?

 

[LavenderMint]

...I used Taliah Waajid Lock It Up gel. It was okay but I think I'll probably look for a good homemade loc'ing gel recipe.

I recently tried Kinky Curly Curling Custard for my retwist. Only used about a tablespoon of the gel and I diluted it down with water (about two or three tbsp) & aloe gel (about a tbsp). So far the hold has been awesome and flexible, not crunchy and not drying. It smells great and I had a lot left over that I just stuck in the fridge. I'm sure this jar of KCCC is going to last for a while!!

 

[kandiekj100]

I'm 5 months into this here loc journey. Feelin' good and feel like my hair looks decent. I'm still having scalp issues and oil just doesn't seem to cut it. I think the only thing that seems to work is rinsing my scalp. Maybe a weekly scalp rinse in the shower, with a retwist of the edges (if necessary) in between full retwists is what I need to do.

I also wanted to upload a photo, but I don't know how.

 

[ChasingBliss]

Did my first retwist on Sunday. I really didnt plan it. I had just washed my hair and was not in the mood for a fuzzy look for the week. Decided to take my chances remembering everything I saw and learned through youtubes. Got out my mango lime twisting gel and went ot work. Came out beautiful. I was very surprised because I really wasnt expecting it to turn out as nice as it did. Then I realized just how easy it was. I mean everybody kept telling me but I didnt believe it. Furthermore I was happy for the first time that I didnt have a gazillion locs.

 

[LavenderMint]

Did my first retwist on Sunday. I really didnt plan it. I had just washed my hair and was not in the mood for a fuzzy look for the week. Decided to take my chances remembering everything I saw and learned through youtubes. Got out my mango lime twisting gel and went ot work. Came out beautiful. I was very surprised because I really wasnt expecting it to turn out as nice as it did. Then I realized just how easy it was. I mean everybody kept telling me but I didnt believe it. Furthermore I was happy for the first time that I didnt have a gazillion locs.

Was that Jamaican Mango Lime gel? How did you like it? I quit using it forever ago when I noticed it was taking my nail polish off; tossed out a half full jar after seeing that. I hadn't noticed before because I rarely wear nail polish. Did they change the formulation?

 

[Arian]

Retwist is today. I just noticed that I don't take pics of me before retwist, so I will post one in the thread for reference.

 

[kandiekj100]

Found that my pics file size was too big. Put flexi rods and satin covered sponge rollers in my hair and have been sporting this all week. I also played with having it swooped to one side and also doing a French twist hub the back and the froby pushed up to one side like a bang.

 

[Arian]

Got it to work finally. Look at my roots before the retwist. Crazy!

 

[Platinum]

I'm really loving my Loc'd journey! I wish I had decided to loc years ago! I need to post an updated pic. @kandiekj100 Looking good! I love that style! @Arian that's some serious growth!

 

[Arian]

Fresh retwist! She let me know that I'm still progressing well, and that I'm loc'ing "really fast". That is an exaggeration, I'm sure.

 

[Arian]

Ok. A lot of my twists are starting to look like this. This can't be normal, right?

 

[BrandNew]

Anyone else having issues attaching pics to their posts?

 

[Arian]

Anyone else having issues attaching pics to their posts?

You have to resize them to smaller pixels. I downloaded an app to compress my pics from my phone.

 

[BrandNew]

I still can't figure it out . I'll be back with pics some other time then.

 

[caltron]

I've been plotting my move to locs. I am one of very few blacks in my workplace, and the most of the whites I work with are not cool. I think for the next few months I'm going to start wearing kinky twists to get them used to more natural-inspired hairstyling. Then I'll move to some starter locs. I'm not sure how my starter locs will be received and I'm afraid that some smart comments will undermine my confidence and cause me to give up. I'm wondering if I should wear them under a wig at work until I feel confident enough in them myself to "come out" and give them a chance to mature.

 

[Foxglove]

I'm almost at my 8 month mark

View of my loose ends