The Blues Part 2
Ok.....so I went through my hair looking for those 1-2" broken locks. I counted 16 of them. There may be a few I missed. Am I compulsive or what? lol!!! I can also see a few that will meet the same fate as the other 16. My oldest sister, who also has sisterlocks, says I am "outlandishly trippin". Geesh sis, ouch(-: However, she did break some things down to me about damaged hair and the locking process. She told me that those damaged ends will have to come off anyway and that I should slowly trim them off. She also said that those damaged ends will not lock. Good point sis. I will mention this at my 6 month retightening coming up: that is, to see if it is safe to trim my ends now. I guess this is another good reason to make sure the hair is well trimmed before installation. I'll have to post a picture of my sister's locks in a future posting, for her process has been rather smooth. She did a lot of the right thing I didn't do before installation. I just wanted to get mine in yesterday.
So......I have decide that I'm going to embrace those 1-2" broken locks and be at peace with them and myself. When I think about it, those ump-teen locks that are missing are not that noticeable with the right parting of the hair, since most of the breakage occurred around the crown and top of my hair. I just can't imagine the alternative if not sisterlocks. Forward march.
Thanks Goodnaps, Chosen Vessel, Muslimalocs,Cocoanaps, and N'drea for your advice and encouragement. I really helped.
Still in love with my sisterlocks (broken locks and all).
9 comments :
Hi Aya - I couldn't get online for the last several days, so I'm just catching up. Don't let this stress you out. Some may thin and even a few will break, but you have many more and the broken ones will be off to a better, healthier start. You may be able to condition, but I would keep it away from your scalp to avoid slippage. Good luck!
I think the advice people are given
is to not trim their hair prior to locking and in hindsight this is not good advice. Especially if you
are already dealing with damaged ends.
The hair is going to continue to go through its natural phases including shedding even with dreadlocks. So it's important to keep the hair healthy.
I'd rather have hair that unravels as opposed to no hair to lock at all.
Seems like a deep conditioning is excellent due to your circumstance. Just don't get too
carried away using too much conditoner and leaving
it on too long. I swear by the SL Reconstructor and like to give myself a treatment every 3 months or so.
Then if you still think it's best, clip the dead ends. They are going to continue to be problematic.
Go with your gut honey. You gotta have healthy hair first
so you'll have something to lock at all. Dealing with unraveling is secondary in my opinion.
Brenda & Goodnapps: You are giving such great advice and encouragement. I really appreciate it. Sure wish I did my homework prior to imstallation, but.... It's all a learning experience. Goodnaps, I will look into the sl reconstructor. Sounds like a good idea.
Aya also remember that stress can cause hair loss so don't fret just be gentle with your styling through this transitional time and use the products suggested by Akilah, and your locs still look gorgeous, by the way the new home is in Olivehurst, Ca which is pretty close to Plumas Lake so we will be close I'll keep you posted though we go Saturday to sign the purchase agreement.
I agree with Goodnapps. My natural hair had a LOT of ends before my installation. When my consultant examined my hair, she recommended trimming and shaping, as well as a steam treatment. My hair looked so good when she was finished. I'm so glad for her advice. If I had gone to some others when I was doing my research, they probably would have just installed the SLs, leaving me to deal with hair issues later on. Try the SL reconstructor. I know that what you're going through right now is only for a time.
However, I love your attitude now. That's the spirit, girl :) Being blue is okay sometimes, only as long as it doesn't become a permanent fixture. You'll be fine.
I was religious about trimming my hair every 6 - 12 weeks before I got SLs, so I didn't really have a lot of split ends or damage when I started mine, but even so, I had places where there was breakage that I had not noticed when I was wearing my hair straightened. I actually cut them down to the healthy new growth within the first week of my installation. (I think I only had to do this on 4 or 5 locks, but they're ALL at the front.)
Most of my locks are about the same length, but I have those few that are EXTREMELY short. Like 8 inches shorter than the next one. A lot of people seem to stress about their locks not being the same size and length overall, but to me it doesn't matter.
I see them every time I look in the mirror, but I don't think other people do. I'm pretty sure they blend in. I think it just adds character and individuality to my locks. If they ever start to "look crazy" as they get longer, then I might do something about them, but I don't expect they will. I really like that my locks don't look terribly cultivated and uniform, but they're still mostly neat.
Your SLs are beautiful exactly as they are. I don't think anyone would notice the short pieces unless you pointed them out.
N'Drea and Black Russian: You both have made some good points and I appreciate your feedback and support. I'm so glad that I am on this journey with such thoughtful and caring sistah's.
Sister, you are getting great advice here! I would just add that I too have many uneven locks due to the condition of my hair before intstallation. I also regret not trimming more in order to be rid of those straggly sections. Over the course of my first year, most of the locks that were housing damaged hair thinned out in the middle and broke off (sometimes my loctician would just pull them off during a retightening. I am talking about pieces hanging by 2-3 strands of hair!). This meant that during my first year my hair was doing alot of auto-correction. My roots are much stronger now and you can see clearly the difference between those thick roots (about 4 inches) attached to about 5 inches of a really thin lock. Be patient with it and extra gentle with your sensitive sections. You can even target those areas with conditioner (diluted and in a small spray bottle). No matter what, you look hot and I am still jealous of the 250 more locks you have compared to my rag! Much love!
I created a post especially for you. Check it out when you get a chance.
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