I can’t believe I’m giving you a 22 month loc update! How has the time flown by so quickly? I still remember going for my first ever two-strand twist when my loctitian was still in Camden Town. It feels like just yesterday that I was giving you my four-month loc update. Two years in and I still leave my hair in the talented hands of Naosheas, just now it’s an even easier journey into Kings Cross to get my retwists. I’ve wanted to loc my hair for over a decade. Even now, seeing how life-changing having locs has been for me mentally as well as practically, I kick myself for not doing it sooner.
Loc maintenance
I’m very hands off with my hair now. I tend to spritz my locs with a mixture of water and essential oils in the mornings after I shower just to lock in some moisture. I’ve read that dry locs break easier and thin out. I have one pesky loc that looks like it’s always on the verge of breaking off. The rest of them are thriving!
At night I wear a satin scarf. I am forever being told off about the amount of fluff in my hair when I go for a retwist. Because of this, I tend to wear a head scarf during the day too. My fabric sofas and the rugs seem to attract fluff! I love them, but my gosh my hair doesn’t!
Washing my locs
I’m washing my hair less regularly now. The spraying daily and maybe the maturity of the locs seems to see them needing less shampooing. I think I wash them on average, once per week. If we swim or I do some sweaty exercise, I’ll wash my locs straight afterwards. My shampoo of choice is Shea Moisture African Black Soap. It’s so lush and cleanses my hair without leaving it feeling dry. I used to have to order it from Amazon, but now I can get it in my local Boots, which is amazing. I live 30+ miles out of London, my area is far from being multicultural and we still have a good range of products suitable for black hair. It’s about time, to be fair, but it’s still exciting to see.
Length check on my locs
I’d say my locs are a maybe three inches longer than when I started. This is because you get major shrinkage when you first start. Your hair gets thicker and puffy. They seem to go out before they suddenly ‘drop’ and start growing downwards again! I’ve been told by friends with locs that this year is when I’ll start seeing a crazy amount of loc growth. I am totally here for it! At the moment, it fits into a ponytail beautifully. My locs aren’t quite long enough to pull into a bun once it’s in the ponytail, but I think they’ll be ready for that in the next 6 months.
