Wash Day!

So after having my locs for 1 week, I decided to go ahead and wash my hair. I know my loctician said to try and wait for at least 2, but my head was very itchy, and it just needed a good wash, also I generally wash my hair once per week anyway, so I am used to the routine.

The back of hair right after a shower

My twists stayed in really well, I had no problems with unraveling. The roots of my twists are interlocked, so I do not need to worry about separating hair from loc. 

Now that I have washed my hair I am currently in the frizzy stage. Thankfully, my hair has some length, so I am able to pull it back for work and still look presentable. When I am in the house and doing errands, I just let my hair run free. I am not ashamed or afraid of my kinky hair, it is all apart of the process. I am confident in my decision and appreciate every milestone that is brought my way.



My next post will be my after wash routine, so subscribe to stay in the know!



Much love,

Amala

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Day 1 of Starter locs!

Guess What?!!! Today starts the first day of my starter loc journey! I am finally all in, and I could not be happier. I have decided to start my locs with two-strand-twists, and my loctician interlocked them at the root. The size of my locs is about small to medium (I do not have an exact count).

These are the tips that my loctician said to keep in mind.

• Wash about every two weeks.
• When I shampoo, do not forget to add moisturizer.
• Use conditioner.
• Come back in six weeks for a shampoo, deep condition, and interlock.

Basically, leave my hair alone, but keep it clean and moisturized. That I can do. From watching Youtube videos of the interlocking process, I was a little worried that it would be too tight. Apparently, I worried for nothing, because she was very gentle, the interlocks are snug, but not tight. It is just enough for me to know that my roots are secure, but my head is not on fire.

Overall I am very excited to start this new adventure in my natural hair journey. For me, it was an excellent decision to have a loctician place my starter locs for me, and I am pleased with the results.

Let me know any tips you would like to pass along, and how long you have been loc'ed. 

Much love,

Amala

P.S. I have an Instagram account called Amalalocs if you would like to keep up with me day to day.

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The Beginning

Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Amala, and I have been loose natural for about 5 years now. 

Me with a twist out

Previous to that I had my hair relaxed for most of my life. My mom has always said, she did not know what to do with my sister, and I's natural hair, so she used a relaxer. Right around the end of my undergraduate career, I started to grow it out. Truthfully I don't really know why, I think I was just tired of the pain and burning the relaxer caused on my scalp, and I just stopped putting myself through that torture, only to have straight hair.

My relaxed hair

Let me tell you growing out my natural hair was not smooth. I did not do the big chop, selfishly I wanted to hold on to as much hair as I could. As my hair was growing out, I would either braid it or create curls with Bantu knots, to help camouflage the straight ends from the curly roots. That worked for a while until my hair became long enough that I felt better about cutting it. By that time I had started a natural hair movement in my house, my sister and my mom had both decided to no longer get relaxers, after watching my beautiful natural hair grow out. It was nice not having to make this journey alone.

Fast forward to now, I find myself loosing joy in the process and maintenance that it takes to keep natural hair presentable for work, friends, life. I loathe the thought of getting a relaxer, so I looked towards locs. I think this will be the perfect transition for me. I will be able to keep my natural hair, but not have to worry about the stress of maintaining it every day. 

I had a consultation with a loctician a few days ago, and I have been doing tons of research. Next month your girl will be loc'ed down, and I can't wait. I write this blog mainly for myself, so I can read back to these early days, and remember, I decided to make it public for those of you who are riding along with me. So let's make this journey together.

Much Love,

Amala

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