A year ago, exactly, I did a post on
my sister, Nicola, in honor of her birthday. She had recently debuted her locs. Well it's that time of year again and her hair has grown, changed, and evolved over the past year...Her locs are growing and so have her styling options.
Last year's post was more about how she inspired me to learn how to style my hair when I was younger, but this year I decided to focus more on her hair and her routine. She is still my favorite [and only] big sister, and I still think she's pretty dope...but here's her hair story.
Brief hair history: My sister had relaxers from about the age of 10 until she was about 19. She had natural hair back when Lauryn Hill was first rocking an Afro, and was one of the first people I knew that ever tried to grow locs years and years ago. If my memory serves, her hair took forever to loc, and I think she gave up. Since then she has been relaxed, natural, big chopped, grown, braided, dyed, twa'd and many things in-between. It has now been about 13 months since she's become a loc-star...
How has your hair routine changed with locs versus without locs?I don't do too much with it in terms of maintenance. I get it twisted (tightened) every other month, and I try not to get it immersed in water. Working out has made it challenging because it gets soaked, so that delays the locking process. It's different because it was kind of frustrating to work out with it [when it was loose and] natural because my twist outs would get loosened up and I would have to end up blow drying it, or if I had it loose, I would still have to blow dry and press it.
I use Sea Breeze astringent to clean my scalp because I don't want to wash it very often. So that's a big change, because I used to co-wash it every 3 days.
What are your favorite products?I don't use very many products, I just occasionally oil my hair for a little sheen. I still co-wash with the same products I used before, just much less often. Fortunately I don't suffer from a dry scalp like I did before [when she wore her natural hair loose]. I've been trying to find the Jamaican Mango & Lime refreshing spray, but I may try to make my own with essential oils, water, and a carrier oil.
What is your maintenance routine?If I wash it I will re-twist it (or tighten it) myself, but it isn't the same because I don't clip it up and separate it, I just twist with a little gel and sit under the dryer.
How much has your hair grown in the last year? Well, I have tons of shrinkage and curly hair, so I can't really tell. Some pieces have grown more than others, but I know that it has all grown a lot because I can get it into a ponytail.
What are your favorite styles?
I did a lot of roller sets in the beginning but now I tend to pin up one side a lot, using a hair comb, or create a little faux-hawk, or do flat twists and pin them up and later have a curly twist-out, I do braid outs, and Bantu knot-outs. I just had my hair done and my hair dresser (Renee at
Anointed Hands of Glory in CT) does more intricate styles, and she added hair to form this bun. I think it shows the versatility of locs; you can do a lot of different styles. And now that I know that I can put my hair into ponytails, I have even more options, and I will likely do a two-ponytail variation in the future.
My only regret about locs is not doing it sooner. My Mother suggested it 4-5 years ago, but it took me until last year to do it.
Do you have any suggestions for those considering growing locs? It's a commitment, and there is a period where you can't wash your hair at all. I think a lot of people get turned off at that point, but you still have the option of cleaning your scalp with astringents.
To learn more about my sister's hair journey click on the links to last year's story, and click below to read about her hair as a pressed out
twa. |
| So cute! Reppin' for Jamaica & Guyana... |
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