I installed microlocs on my hair fourteen months ago and I am obsessed with my locs.
Johanna asked, “Why microlocs?” It was a simple question and I gave her a quick reply ; however, I think it is an important question. One which I have not fully answered. It may be impossible for me to fully answer, but I will explain as best I can.
The decision to loc my hair having been made, in March of 2022 I washed and hennaed my hair and then partitioned my hair into what I considered reasonable sized two strand twists. I had 96 locs. What turns a two strand twist into a loc? Intention and time.
I was deep into my research of all things loc’d and dreadlocked. One thing I heard a few times is it is hard to determine the mature size of your locs but a good determinant is the size of the grid or parts you use to establish your locks. It is reasonable to expect your fully mature locs to grow and expand to fill the size of the part at the base of the loc where the new growth emerges. That made sense to me. I began to consider the size of my parts realizing that my locs were compressed. To my eyes, my locs looked fine but they were not filling the part. To my eyes, there was a lot of scalp showing where the hair had been parted, that is, my grid. I was concerned that should my locs grow to fill the size of the parts they might be too thick for me to style. As a loose natural, the ability to style my hair in a myriad of ways was a benefit and a comfort to me despite me not having a lot of long natural hair. In other words, my (loose natural) hair was not long but I could style it in a lot of different ways. While I had chosen to loc my hair to give myself a chance to gain and retain length, I did want to give my future self as many styling options as possible.
At the time, my research uncovered video after video where microloc and Sisterlock content makers showed a multitude of loc styles. As a loose natural, being able to style my hair was very important. following my big chop my hair style options had been very limited. I did not want a repeat of that.
It would not be until after I had made the decision to take down my first set of two strand twists and re-install smaller locs that I would see a video by Naps Are The New Black where she and another loc content creator with traditional locs compared loc hairstyles that I began to see the flexibility of traditional locs. Flexibility in styling my locs seemed greater with microlocs.
Another reason I chose microlocs is my hair density. I have medium to high density hair. Microlocs allowed me to minimize the visibility of my scalp. To this end, my parting grid also helped hide my scalp. Across the back of my head my parts are offset. I do not have a straight center part down the back of my head. As a loose natural, I seldom parted my hair down the center. I preferred a side part. So, my parting grid has high and low side parts and a center part from the front hairline about 4 to 5 inches towards the crown. If I need to part my hair in the center, it will be a sloppy part. Not having a center part has been a blessing in disguise. Instead of a center part I have bangs! I have wanted bangs since I was a child. My mother did everything she could to give me bangs, too. My bangs always stood at attention and seldom lay down on my forehead. With microlocs my little girl dreams have come true. I have bangs that lie down across my forehead and they are luscious thick bangs, too. I wish my mother could see my bangs. Once again, I thank God for leading me to locking my hair.
Close up you can see the individual locs, but from a distance microlocs look a lot like loose natural hair. At 14 months, you can still see the curl at the ends of at least a third of my locs. The ends of the other locs are closing.
In my next post, I want to talk about experiments I have tried with my locs. If I can share something I learned, it may help inform you on how a particular practice or routine might work for, or against, you.
Be well. Stay Loc’d!
Bettye
Microlocs and Me: A Woman’s Loc Journey
I am thirteen months into my loc journey and I am obsessed with my hair. As a black woman in America in 2023 I think that is making a strong positive statement. I had the idea of writing a blog within days of starting my loc journey simply because the novelty of being in love with my hair was completely new to me. I was excited to share this process so that more people, …well, yes, more women of color… would try locking their hair and consequently fall in love, too. Like religion, when you find a good thing you just want to share it with anyone who will listen.
I am noticing there are more women on newscasts with dreadlocks or locs. I believe this is progress. Seeing a hairstyle on television helps make that hairstyle more accepted in the general public. It is becoming more common to see a black actor or actress with braids, natural hair and occasionally locs. On East New York (CBS) a few weeks ago there was a mother of a murder victim with locs. The actress wore her hair pulled into a ponytail at the base of her neck throughout the episode but she had locs.
It is still a worthy effort to normalize locs currently.
Semi Freeforming
I mentioned that I was engaging in an experment – the semi freeforming experiment. In this experiment, you stop interlocking and retwisting your hair as a means of maintaining your locs. Several YouTube loc ladies are semi freeforming – Holistic Flo, Amber Loryn and LaurenNicole are three whom I follow and recommend. Note that these ladies do not have microclocs. They do however describe their own loc journey maintaining locks with minimal loc manipulation. Based on their channels, I believe they do not retwist their locs every one to two months. I believe their maintenance is more separating their locs every three to six months.
The one thing I have noticed consistently is that there are no hard fast rules for semi freeforming. The only requirement seems to be allowing your locs to form on their own with manipulation as needed to keep your locs from joining together. Even in this loose context there was a lot for me to consider. I have mentioned that I did not understand how twisting your hair would cause it to loc. I knew the hair on my crown would unravel. The curl pattern is looser there. I thought the hair in the back of my head would lock easily. My sister had joked when I began my journey saying that my hair would lock in 3 months. I thought that would be three months of me re twisting loc after loc; so, I decided I would maintain my locs by interlocking.
I interlocked each of my baby locs at about one and a half weeks because I was already seeing unraveling and I did not want to have to re-establish my foundation grid. I interlocked again at 4 weeks. This time in order to get 2 rotations in each loc I ended up interlocking my hair close to my scalp. My scalp did not appreciate it. The tension from my tightened locs irritated me and my scalp ached for about a week. I promised my self I would never retighten my locs so close to the scalp again.
About this time on my loc journey I discovered Yannie, the Locologist on YouTube. Yannie has a well deserved reputation and following on YouTube. She typically posts videos about mistakes people have made with their locs and better still, she gives advice on how to combat the problem. One of Yannie’s truisms is don’t retwist or interlock your hair every 4 weeks. She brings the message home by showing how people have damaged their locs by retightening or retwisting too often. Some of her clients only get their hair retwisted every 6 months. Since I love to run water through my locs when I shower, retwisting is not a long term maintenance option for me. I will retwist with water if I have hair growing away from my locs and I am not ready to interlock. I see now how retwisting encourages the loc to grow in coils.
Spraying my locs with water helped relieve some of the tightness. I believe it helped because the heavier, wet locs pulled away from my scalp just a little. During this time I would spray my scalp with water and then apply oils to my scalp almost every day.
I did better with my retie at 8 weeks. My retie at 12 weeks was a bit of a fiasco. I managed to tie one lock in with another loc. It was very difficult getting my loc unconnected. In frustration I used scissors to cut a few strands. Months later these strands would refuse to join a loc and several times the strands were braided into the correct loc. At one year loc’d those strands were braided and interlocked (for the umpteenth time) into the right loc and it seems that finally this is where they will stay.
Pauline, the YouTube loctitian behind En Toi Beauty, has said that if you have Sisterlocks or Microlocs you are not a good candidate for semi freeform locs. My locs are pretty chunky for microlocs; so, I thought I would prove her wrong or at least test her theory. At 7 months loc’d most of my hair decided to grow into the locs. There were plenty on the top of my head and on the sides that had not committed despite having been interlocked. In November of 2022 I decided not to interlock any more and see if my hair would lock while staying separated. I have loved the feel of my locs since day one. Everyday, I run my fingers through my locs and feel the base of each one to make sure there is no marrying. When I found locs tangling together, I would very carefully pull the hair strands out of the wrong loc, I do not pop my locks because I would rather not have to weave in the broken hair ends as the strands grow longer. When I have come across strands of hair that have come out of the loc or grown our of the loc, I split the errant strands into 2 sections and braid them with the loc.
In February 2023, I panicked. There were about 8 locs with hair growing outside of the locs. There was a lot of new growth and I had continued to run water through my hair while I showered. No braiding. No banding. My routine is simple.I separate my locs under running water, squeeze out the excess water after my shower and dry my locs with a microfiber towel.
I decided to pivot. Did I mention that locs are very freeing? Locs are very forgiving and they will let you pivot. I chose to interlock my hair instead of continuing on my semi freeforming journey at that time. It occurred to me that my locs had changed in ways I had not anticipated so perhaps I would have a freeforming journey later.
I notice that my locs in the back have not locked in 3 months of low manipulation. I decided to see how long I could let my locs go between retightenings. In February I interlocked my entire head. Two months later in April I interlocked the crown and the sides only. The locs in the back were doing fine. None were trying to marry a neighbor and all of the hair was growing inside the locs. So, the experiment continues.
Currently, I am enjoying the frizzy roots in between retightenings.
The thing about issues is one woman’s issue is not necessarily the issue the next woman has. My extensive YouTube research led me to believe unraveling and bunching would be big problems. Very few videos mentioned itching.
As I reviewed the entries in my loc journal, I was surprised to see that I mentioned itching on April 2, 2022, the day of my loc install. Full disclosure,I finished my microloc install in April but I had previously installed 96 locs the previous May. When I divided those locs, I went row by row , spraying my hair with water and separating each loc. I did not take them down, or rewash my hair.
Some women take issue with not washing your starter locs for 4 weeks. I did not have an issue waiting four weeks to wash my hair. As a loose natural, I usually washed my hair every four weeks. With newly loc’d hair I had a hard time going four days without washing my hair because my scalp itched so badly from the first day. The intensity of the itching was unexpected. Fortunately, I found a few ways to make the itching stop. First, I sprayed my scalp with rose water. I used a clean, regular spray bottle hijacked from spraying another hair product. I sprayed the rose water 2 or 3 times a day on my scalp. After 3 or 4 days I felt a build up on my locs from the rose water. I wonder if this is specific to my locs because this surprised me. I had not heard about rose water causing a film on hair or face. I wonder if anyone else has had this minor issue?
I decided to cut the rose water with tap water fifty/ fifty. That resolved the issue for me. Please note, we have a whole house water filter because our water comes from a well. If you have hard water you should try distilled or spring water when spraying your locs.
Moisterizing my scalp with the rose water mixture worked but, I knew better than to go to bed with wet locs. They might crink up, shrink up or worse mold up and smell. I knew there had to be another solution to the itchy scalp situation.
Essential oils, specifically peppermint and tea tree resolved the itchy scalp issue. I used either sweet almond oil or apricot oil as carrier oils for the essential oils. I used 2 drops of tea tree oil in a 4 ounce bottle. To that I added 10 -15 drops of peppermint oil and then filled the bottle with either sweet almond oil or apricot oil. Occasionally, I added Jamaican Black Castor oil to the mix. For adding fragrance to my locs, I would use lavender or orange essential oils added to Jamaican Black Castor Oil or Argan Oil. These are my favorite scalp oil blends.
At one year loc’d the itching has subsided. if my scalp itches now it is a sign of dryness or a need to be washed. I now apply oil to my scalp after washing or after rinsing my locs only if my scalp feels itchy after I massage and towel dry my locs.
My first shampoo did not happen for 4 weeks; however, with the itching I had to run water over my scalp. My locs were too short to braid and band. I did twist a few together before deciding to just section my locs , fold over the ends and place a black hair tie on the little bundle. This left plenty of space for me to massage my scalp WITH THE PADS OF MY FINGERS – ONLY. Despite the itch, using my nails to scratch would have only made matters worse. So, again, the issue was a non issue. I washed my locs at my one month “locaversary” but I had been wetting my scalp completely by the end of my first week of being loc’d.
One thing I did to ensure I did not change my mind was to interlock my newly installed two strand twists. I chose to do a 4 point rotation. I think this helped by minimizing slippage – that is, hair strands slipping out of the loc. When I retwisted my locs after this first retie, I have used a 2 point or a 3 point rotation.
In the sections where my hair has a looser curl pattern, over time I have noticed more slippage and more expansion and contraction of the size and shape of the locs. I am now one year loc’d and at the ends of my locs , the two strand twist section, there is a little more thickness and a longer retention of the curl created as the two strand twist locks up on it self. This size difference has not been an issue for me. I admit I do manipulate my locs. I will roll a wildly shaped damp loc between my fingers. I roll it back and forth between my thumb and forefingers – only the section I want to shape. I don’t roll the whole loc between my fingers or palm roll it. Palm rolling looks like it applies a lot of tension to the roots.
I started my locs with two strand twists. Bunching is usually an issue with locs started from twists. When my locs started bunching at about 3 weeks along the journey, initiallyI was excited. Bunching was evidence my hair was going through the process of becoming locs. My hair stated bunching mostly at the top of my head where my loose natural hair had a softer curl pattern. I believe it is 4B. I have not had a professional give me an opinion. Not a priority.
My locs in the back were not experiencing any bunching and very little slippage. Those locs in the back fell like ringlets of curls the first time I wet them with water. The sizing of each of these locs was perfect for my hair. Each loc filled its grid and still does. These locs’ new growth consistently grows into the loc. This is the area where I am currently thinking about semi freeforming.
How I would maintain my locs was an issue, or so I thought. I had 212 microlocs. I wanted versatility but I also wanted to maintain my locs myself. The summer before I loc’d my hair , I met a woman with locs down to her calves. She had been growing her locs for 20 years. She told me that she didn’t retwist her locs any more and hadn’t retwisted in years. She maintained her glorious 4C silver, white and grey locs by keeping them separated. She washed her locs with “regular” shampoo. She sometimes used conditioner. She usually wore her hair down. I sensed immediately that she was giving me encouragement while describing her simple loc maintenance routine. The message was clear. I have this beautiful head of long hair and it is not hard to maintain.
After I installed my two strand twist locs, I told my daughter I was unsure whether to retwist my hair or interlock. She scoffed and said “You better interlock.” I ultimately did interlock my hair.. I couldn’t understand how rolling the hair was going to create locs. I didn’t see how the hair would stay twisted long enough to lock up. At least, not my less coilly hair.
I did my first interlock within one week of having installed my locs. I didn’t want my locs to disintegrate into loose hair. At 4 weeks, I washed and hennaed my locs. It was the best henna application I had ever done. I didn’t worry about henna particles getting into my locs. I already knew how quickly they fade out of my hair. The coverage was good but I decided I would not apply any more henna. Instead, I would see what my natural hair color looked like.
After squeezing most of the water out of my locs I wrapped my head in a grey microfiber towel and squeezed out more water. I then began interlocking my locs. I interlocked again at two months and again at 3 months. I then started seeing videos about interlocking too frequently and the types of damages that can occur. I raise for your attention the YouTube channels that brought me awareness: Yannie, The Loctologist; Alexis Harris; and Naps Are The New Black (who actually has microlocs.)
When I was 3 months loc’d, we took a little vacation to Mexico. My daughter and I were in the pool pretty much everyday. I had been to Mexico at least 3 times before and never gotten my hair wet in one of the pools. With locs, I was free to jump into the pool any time I felt like it. I would wash the pool water out of my locs with my mixture of Dr. Bronner’s and water which I applied via spray bottle. By dinner my locs were ready to go out for the evening!
While in Mexico I I brought home a bottle of luxury shampoo from the hotel. My daughter had used this shampoo conditioner mix on her locs while we were in Mexico and she loved the way it made her locs feel. I tried the same shampoo conditioner mix sparingly when I returned homeand the slippage was really alarming to me. I have not used conditioner in my locs since. I will probably try conditioner again at some time in the future when my locs really need conditioning. Right now, they are doing well without any conditioner at all.
My final issue was the mental hurdle I had to climb to see my locs as beautiful when they began to bunch or unravel. I had had two locs unravel the first week which was another reason I chose to interlock my locs.
I have been told that I “Rock my short locs”. I think the tricks I used to process the changed appearance may be helpful. First, I told myself that nobody cared what my hair looked like. I did not tell my husband I had loc’d my hair. When we were in Mexico he asked me if I had done the same thing to my hair that Schuyler had done. I said, “Something similar.” I had been wearing twists for the month of February and March. I had finalized my loc install on April 2 and this was July. Obviously, my hair being loc’d was not a big issue for him.
It was May before anyone asked me about my sisterlocs. I thanked them for noticing and explained that I had microlocs and I had installed them myself. So, so proud.
The image at the beginning of this post is from my 3 month loc journey. It was taken in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico. Shrinkage is really real, but locs will grow. It takes patience.
This one got away from me and its a long blog post. If you stuck with me this far, thank you for your time and attention. I will talk about loc structure, how it affects loc growth and length retention in my next blog.
Until next time, blessings and I hope you love your hair!
It is the most simple thing in the world really. Coilly, curly hair will curl on itself. The tangles my mother combed out of my coilly, curly hair every month until I was twelve are a testament to this. At age 12, I graduated to having my hair permed to make it more manageable. I imagine a lot of women can identify with this ritual. I left my hair permed for the next decade except for a brief period when I got a hair cut in Denmark and the stylist gave me a fade. Not the look I was going for but I wore my hair short and natural for a year before I went back to perming my hair.
In December of 2012, I decided I had had enough. My hair would not grow past a certain length because I always had breakage or split ends or some type of damage. I felt like a failure and I felt like my hair was a failure. I decided to go natural. I decided I would grow a thick afro that would sit on my shoulders. Occasionally, I would twist it and have waves of curly hair. Much to my surprise, that never did happen.
My daughter decided to go natural, too. She was in college, not far away. We shared notes and made comparisons. She was more adventurous. She made wigs, wore wigs, added extensions, colored her hair. I too colored my hair. I used henna to cover the grey and white hair that peaked out every month. I loved my natural hair. I learned a lot about it. I learned that all of my hair is not 4C, There are some looser 4B curls in different sections. I learned that my hair loves Jamaican black castor oil. I had a shelf in my closet just for my hair care products my hair didn’t like as much. I was the poster child for the slogan: “My Hair is My Hobby”.
Sometime in 2016, my daughter had Sisterlocs installed. She cut her hair to reduce her cost of installation. I couldn’t imagine spending a thousand dollars for a hairstyle. I was perplexed, stymied, not convinced that this was a good decision. She tried to convince me to loc my hair with her. My husband was just as insistent that I did not. So, it was very easy not to loc my hair. But, my curiosity was piqued.
As time passed, my daughter’s locs grew and grew. They are now mid back length and very beautiful. It was Christmas of 2021 when my daughter came home for the holidays, when I knew for certain I had to start my loc journey. It did not matter that my husband’s opinion had not changed. After 35 years of marriage, I felt pretty sure a hairstyle change would not be a big issue. What drove my decision more than anything was the thought that I didn’t want to leave earth, that is – die, without ever having had long hair.
All of the old concerns about locs being unwashed, uncared for hair had been swept away by my very thorough research at YouTube University and vicariously through my daughter’s lived experience. I knew that whether I chose to wash my hair once a month or once a week was a decision for me to make. How I would maintain my locs would be my choice. I set out to find a loctitian.
I had reached out to a friend’s loctitian in 2019 for a consultation. She was not taking on any new clients. In December of 2021, I reached out to another local loctitian. She replied in November of 2022 that I should call to get on her schedule. By that time, I had already installed my locs and I was seven months into my loc journey.
In January of 2022, I installed two strand twists to see if I would easily get bored of wearing my hair in the same style. I have friends who have worn their hair in the same style for years. While none of these friends are black, I thought perhaps I could try to adopt their approach. Clearly, a one month trial was in order. Usually, Sisterloc consultants install a few “test” Sisterlocs for clients to see if this is a style they will enjoy. Anyway, it seemed like a good idea.
I had not been much of a 2 strand twist wearer. Twists for me were typically a means to getting curly or stretched hair. It turned out I enjoyed the way my two strand twists looked. It did not bother me that they did not look like locs. It was enough to get an idea what living with locs might be like.
January’s experiment went well. In February, I took down the twists; washed and hennaed my hair and re-installed two strand twists. It occurred to me, “why not just install two strand twists in your hair each month?” In March, I noticed that as I took down my twists, conditioned, detangled, washed, hennaed, conditioned, and oiled my scalp and hair before installing two strand twists again that the effort was taking about as much time as wash day with loose natural hair. It also occurred to me the detangling process would at least be eliminated if I left my hair in two strand twists. As I write, I now know combing, parting and detangling two strand twists keeps the hair strands from matting together to become locs. In March I decided this time I am going to install two strand twists and officially start my locs. Making the mental declaration is the first step.
Over the course of one day I installed 96 two strand twist baby locs on my hair. I felt pretty accomplished. I told my daughter. She was happy for me and proud I had finally taken this step and loc’d my hair. She was also surprised I had actually done it and, I found out later, she told her old college roommate she wasn’t sure how long I would keep them. Meanwhile, I liked getting up in the morning and not having to stress over what was I going to do with my hair today. The feeling of freedom for me was almost instantaneous. That was March 26, 2022.
I was sure I had done the right thing locking my hair. But, I was afraid I had not given myself enough locs to satisfy my desire to have loc style flexibility.I Sprayed my locs with my new mister spray bottle and divided each loc into two or more sections. This dividing took place over two days. On April 2, 2022, I declared my microlocs installed. I had 212 locs. In 3 months time this number would shrink to 210 microlocs as I combined 4 locs into 2. I had thought if I have 200 or so microlocs and I decide I want more traditional sized locs, I can simply combine some together.
First week loc’d after DIY install of 212 locs. The Shrinkage was significant. Even so, I loved the ringlets formed at the ends of my locs.
I Know What I Know
I had done my research. I knew I was supposed to keep my locs moisturized by spraying daily with water, or rose water, or aloe vera gel. (Over time I have refined what goes into my moisturizing spray bottle.)
I knew I wasn’t supposed to wash my locs for 4 weeks. Some people seem shocked to hear this ; but, as a loose natural, it was common for me to wash my hair once a month. I was more surprised by the YouTubers who washed their locs within the first month. Today, I’m pretty sure you do not have to wait 4 weeks to wash your hair…especially if you interlock to maintain your locs. Even if you started your locs with finger coils there are ways to wash your hair. You can braid and band your locs.
I knew about braiding and banding my locs if, and when, I was going to wash them. One big surprise was my locs had shrunken so much after the daily misting moisturizing I did not have enough hair to braid. So, if your locs are short, you just band your locs together before washing. At one year loc’d, I can now braid and band. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.
I now know that when you wash your locs for the first time should not be dependent upon some arbitrary date. The need to shampoo your hair is particular to your scalp and locs’ requirements. You should feel free to wash or my favorite, rinse your locs when they need it.
I knew to use a clear shampoo and not creamy detangling shampoos or conditioners. I was ready for the first wash with Dr. Bronner’s Castle soap in Peppermint. I have since bought Dr. Bronner’s Shampoo in Rose and in Eucalyptus. These are the only shampoos I have used with the exception of a conditioning shampoo by Giogio Di Acqua I used while on vacation. My daughter had used it on her locs and was pleased with the conditioning. In my defence, the product is mostly clear, certainly not creamy and I forgot that she has been loc’d about 7 years while I was only 3 months loc’d. Her mature locs enjoyed the conditioner. I, on the other hand, could feel the coating of conditioner on my locs even after I rinsed my locs three times. As my locs dried, I noticed a lot of strands slipped out of my 4B locs. If you have a looser curl pattern, I recommend that you do not use conditioner on your locs during the first year.
The use of conditioner in locs is one of those “Hot Button Topics”. If you use conditioner on your locs, how long have you been loc’d and when did you start using conditioner? How do you use conditioner?
I am curious as to how you use conditioner because while I do not use it, I also do not use shampoo the same way I did as a loose natural. I now put my shampoo in a spray bottle and dilute the shampoo with water. Dr. Bronner’s Shampoo is a concentrate which has to be mixed with water. I dilute a little more than specified. Spraying the shampoo places it directly on the scalp. I use the balls (tips, pads) of my fingers to massage the shampoo into a lather. I rinse this out and reapply shampoo. Again, I focus my attention on the roots and the scalp. I then squeeze soap through the length of my locs. I rinse them several times with warm water until no soap washes out of the locs.
One of the freedoms microlocs has given me is the freedom to wash my hair in the shower. Let me expand on that. For the first time in my life I have the freedom to just let water run through my locs every time I get into the shower. I no longer worry if, and when, my hair gets wet.
I used to wash my loose natural hair in the kitchen sink because I hate hair from my head getting stuck on my body. To my very pleasant surprise, I don’t mind washing my hair in the shower because loc’d hair sheds only a very little bit. If you’re not looking for it, you will likely miss, or maybe not miss, the shed hairs.
I knew I needed to use a microfiber towel to dry my hair. Some YouTube loc stars only use a teeshirt. I have never tried that. I bought extra large grey microfiber towels from Amazon. I love them. They leave no lint and they dry my locs pretty quickly. Once towel dried, damp locs are easy to style. Again the joke was on me. 210 microlocs and I usually just “play the harp” while running my fingers through my hair until my locs are shaped the way I want them to be for the day. To “play a harP’ one curls ones fingers and gently plucksat each individual harp string. In this analogy, your microlocs are the harp strings. I find myself “playing the harp” through my locs several times a day. I know the conventional wisdom is to keep your hands out of your hair. I really love the feel of my locs so much I thank God for bringing me to this new state of being where I truly love my hair and all of the weird things it does. So thankful for having installed my microlocs.
For 12 years, I had been a “loose natural” (loc terminology to describe someone with natural hair that is not loc’d). So, I knew about hair shrinkage. Shrinkage comes with the territory when you have 4C and 4B textured hair. Even with this knowledge, I was surprised that my hair went from longish 2 strand twists to skull hugging baby locs.
I knew that I needed a silk or satin bonnet or scarf to tie up my locs at night to keep them from having all the moisture sucked out of them by cotton sheets; as well as, to protect my locs from lint. A satin or silk pillowcase would not have been effective for me. I enjoy pulling the covers over my head when I sleep. As a loose natural, I already had a collection of satin like bonnets. As a sewer, I decided to cut up a satin pillowcase to make a bonnet for sleeping. This is my favorite bonnet. I toss it in the wash once a week.
Why Microlocs?
As you may have noticed, I started my loc journey with 96 locs . I then started second guessing my decision. I went back to YouTube University. It began to become obvious, the more locs I had, the more opportunities I would have for styling my hair and hopefully, there would be fewer reasons to become bored and cut off my locs. I thought about the versatility my daughter has with 700 Sisterlocs. I knew, however I did not want to maintain 700 locs. But, I could maintain 200 locs. I went to work untwisting and retwisting my locs. Two strand twist microlocs gave me the flexibility to change my mind about the number of my locs.
I have always been sensitive about my forehead. My edges have always been sensitive to tugging and friction. I decided that I would make my locs extend down from the crown of my head towards my face and neck. I did not want a scalpy look. Sharp, crisp, well defined parts or a grid were not on my list of “must haves” for my locs. Microlocs gave me the ability to have fringe bangs that stayed on my forehead for the first time ever! Microlocs allowed me to protect the delicate hair around my temples and hair line edges. The general shape of my hair with microlocs was pleasing to me.
With microlocs, when you are styling your locs, it is the shape of the hair around the face that matters. This is especially true with short microlocs. I used my fingers to guide my locs into the pattern or shape I wanted them to assume while they were damp following my morning misting spray. Typically, I did not have to think about my locs again until it was time to wrap them up at night to go to bed.
I installed my locs on a brick pattern, more or less. There are definitely horizontal lines across the back of my head from the nape of the neck up to the occipital line – which I interpret on my head as just above the ears. The section above the ears moving to the crown of my head has a few locs that have a diagonal edge. Not my best decision. I believe installing an all over diamond grid relies on larger partings. With my smaller partings, I have occasionally interlocked these angled edges with the wrong loc. Based on my experience, I recommend you stick with a square shaped loc base or rectangular for microloc installation. Let me know if you have a different take on the shape of the base of the loc. Two strand twist microlocs were easy for me to determine the size and shape and location of each of my locs.
At the top of my head, I wanted to have the flexibility to style my locs with a center part as well as a part on either side. I was careful to install my top and front locs after these partings were made. I did not intend to part my hair exactly down the center in the back. If I want to wear pigtails I will have an uneven line down the back of my head. I thought that was less of a problem than not having full coverage of my scalp in the back. The offset brick pattern I used insures fullest coverage possible of the scalp. Not breaking that pattern with a straight line was a design choice I made. Thus far, it has not been a problem.
The biggest joke I think is this: most of the time since installing my microlocs in April of 2022, I have worn my locs without imposing any style on them. With microlocs, especially when they are short, it’s about the health and shape of your hair. If your locs are healthy, they are going to look good. One morning while walking in the park, I started a conversation with a woman whose behavior interested me. Turns out she was very receptive to electricity in the air. As she finished explaining her actions, she said, “You take really good care of your hair.” I took that as a compliment. My baby locs had been sprayed and they were luscious. I know that some mornings the sun strikes my gray hair and makes it look like a halo.
This post got a little lengthy. In my next post I want to share some of the issues I have dealt with as a new traveler on this loc journey. Itchy scalp was a particular problem.
What types of issues have you encountered on your loc journey?
Microlocs and Me: Journey to Hair Freedom 