Abena's Pages

"Natural Beauties Who Follow My Blog"

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Natural Hair: "Why did you get Locks or Go Natural"

Ladies, I know I have been a way for a while but think I am back and in full effect :) Ok, now, the questions:

1. Why did you decide to get locks or go natural?

2. How long have you had locks or been natural?

3. What are some tips you have for women who are considering locks and/or going natural?

11 comments:

robinc said...

1. I decided to lock because I lost my best friend and hair stylist and there was no replacement (after two attempts...I lost my patience with trying to train the new stylist how to do my hair).

2. I got my first set of locks in March of 2006. Sixteen months later decided that they were bigger than what I wanted and got my second set in April of 2008 and very satisfied 9 months later.

3. Tips for those that are thinking about going natural and/or getting locks - be patient! I was getting a perm since I was 6 years old and trying to go natural every now and again whilst in high school, but found it easier to perm. At the tender age of 42 (lol!) I decided to go natural and concluded that caring for my natural hair was more than I could handle and decided to lock. It was the best decision that I made for my hair and me and wished that I had the knowledge and guts to lock long before I did. I can't reiterate enough that patients is the key to locking or going natural.

new2locs said...

I decided to go natural when one day I had just left the hair salon with a fresh perm & style, when I got in the car & looked in the rearview mirror I could see my scalp in the top of my head! Mind you I thought I was looking cute when I left. That's when I decided that was it no more perms. So I started getting my hair braided & 9 months later I did the BC.

I stayed a loose natural for three years before I decided to lock. I've now been loc'd for 16 months. And I have to agree with RobinC it takes patience in either journey. It took me a while to find which products worked for my hair. Take your time, don't rush this journey because you have to find what works for you because no two heads of hair are the same. I love my loc's & I wish I would have done it much sooner.

Transitioning To Natural said...

1. Why did you decide to get locks or go natural?
I decided to go natural when I realized my hair was in it's best shape before I had a relaxer.

2. How long have you had locks or been natural?

I'm transitioning, but I have not had a relaxer in almost 16 months.

3. What are some tips you have for women who are considering locks and/or going natural?

Be patient, do research, and don't jump on product bandwagons. Find out what works for yor hair and stick to it!

Dani

Unknown said...

1. I went natural because I hadn't been able to truly identify with my "real" self since... Middle School? Constantly living in white suburbia made it difficult to freely embrace certain parts of my life. I was mad because all those white people I was around never had to work so hard like I did to change things about themselves or their appearance in order to fit in. Freshman year of college, after losing a chunk of hair anyway due to a concussion (looong story), and tired of being a slave to my hair, I stopped getting perms and finally did the "big chop" the summer of 2000.

2. I'm happy to say that I just got my locs in mid-December. I don't like fussing over my hair, and as my natural naps got longer, it became increasingly time consuming and challenging to find attractive and interesting ways to do my hair myself. I'm so happy I discovered sisterlocks.

3. Advice? Learn to love yourself first! You have to really learn to love and accept you, all the things you were born with, including your nappy hair (and it will NOT look like any other natural heads around you... be prepared for that). You have to know that you are beautiful the way you were made, and be accepting of all of you, inside and out. Whether you lock or just stay loose and natural, this is an important step.
Also, I would encourage people who are serious about going natural without locs to cut off their permed hair as soon as they can, maybe after a few inches of new growth. It eases the temptation to give up and perm it again, and the two-textured stage can get a little rough after a bit.

NappTown said...

1. I went natural because my hair was shedding because of the perm. I cut the perm out of my hair and loved it! My TWA was sooo cute.

2. After being natural for a year I was looking for something else besides pur. I heard about sister locks and did the research and the rest is history!

NappTown said...

Correction: besides perm

nappy headed black girl said...

1 I have no idea. It was a spur of the moment thing...I just woke up one morning and knew...a week later I was on my way

2 A dread for 2 yrs 3 months, before that natural for 3 yrs

3 Just one major point...LEAVE YOUR HAIR ALONE! Stop messing with it/styling it/twisting it/dyeing it/saturating it with a million products...

Your hair knows exactly what its doing...just go along for the ride and stay outta the way lol

Anonymous said...

I decided to loc my hair to get away from the slavish routine involved with relaxing my hair. After years of this, I wanted to be free to finally wear my natural texture. I was tired of losing my hair to the harshness of the chemical proces. And most of all, tired of limiting my activity to cater to having a "nice" hairstyle. I finally realized that I am beautiful, Naturally, in every way. Luvlilocs

Abena Abena said...

Ladies, thanks for all of your input.

letwisdomspeak said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
letwisdomspeak said...

I had a friend whose daughter wore her hair natural. I was thick, healthy, beautiful, and long. That was not the norm in California. One day I got tired of going to the beauty supply store, trying to figure out what I was going to do with my hair next (product, perm, hair, utensils; besides seeing Asian people prosper off of my calamity didn't help either. I wore individual braids until my hair grew out a couple of inches, then decided one day to just chop all of the permed hair off. Little did I know, my newly grown hair was still effected by the chemical, but I did it. I wore more braids until I was comfortable enough to twist it and wear it out freely. To my suprise, I really liked it, no I loved it. I felt that liberality you feel when you embrace your own nappyness and don't care what others think. My family liked it too. My dad suggested that I loc my hair and I thought he was crazy;I was still too experimental for that. I also encouraged my mother to go natural and started twisting her hair. I was still too versatile to do Sisterlocks; although I flirted with the idea. Was ready to make the appointment and everything, but I reneged. I'll wait til I get about fourty to make a permanent decision, I thought. Well, I will be 39 in October, and the choice to Sisterlock has hit me early. I'm going for it. Wished I would have done it sooner, but oh well. I enjoyed the journey, and will enjoy this new Pilgrimage I am about to take. Right now I am sitting at home looking like Sealy from the Color Purple. I realize it doesn't have to be this way. I have researched a lot of the Sisterlock sites with a little envy. Why didn't I start sooner. Oh Well Again, not regrets. I'll start from where I am. And I found a locitian who specialize in Sisterlocs from the original site in San Antonio..imagine that. God is Good.