Holistic Locs: The Pursuit of Beauty

Holistic Locs: The Pursuit of Beauty

This past September, I started my loc journey for the second time. The first started back in my senior year of college. I went to a “round the way” salon and started them off with perfectly coiffed coils drenched in black gel, and was told to come back in 6 weeks and don’t wash/wet my hair within that time.

I never went back. Instead I let my Jamaican friend interlock them like once a month and I would palm roll them every two weeks with locing gel. This routine kept them “neat” and “presentable” despite the covert backlash I received from friends and family for starting them in the first place. I kept them in for about 8 months. Upon graduation, my mother convinced me to comb them out because “they didn’t look good and I might not be able to get a job.” I listened and spent two days combing them out.

I was happy that my hair was much longer, thicker and stronger than before. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to maintain it because I didn’t adopt a hair care regimen. I am a VERY low maintenance girl. No makeup, no styles; I keep it plain simple and natural. When it came to my hair, I was so lazy I barely did the minimum. Always kept it in a bun, it was always dry and I had a lot of breakage. It just wasn’t a good look. I always said I would hire a personal hair stylist if I ever had the bread, because I do not like doing my hair! I just don’t have the patience, creativity or energy to do it. I just leave it alone. Despite that, I’ve always desired long (down to my butt) hair. But that can only happen with healthy hair.

Locs seemed to be my best option. But this time around, I knew I didn’t want to employ the methods of my first journey. I wanted to take a holistic, natural, what is referred to as “free form” approach. Not constantly primped to be neat and perfect. Just straight up, doing its thang, ultimate freedom. In doing research on how to get started. I found Yannie the Locologist. A breath of fresh air in the loc community, she brings a holistic, Rastafarian approach to loc care that vastly differs to American methods. Originally from Trinidad, she brings a cultural awareness that is more concerned with the health of hair than how it looks. She suggests minimal products and styling. Just leaving it alone is key. I was attracted to this mindset and wanted her to start my new journey off in the right direction. Her mother actually ended up giving me two strand twists and I’ve had them in for over 3 months. They are starting to loc and bud and go through all the “phases” that we Americans like to assign to loc growth.

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But I’m not focusing on categorizing every step. I’ve been following my regimen as prescribed by Yannie. I wet my hair as much as I want to, but only shampoo about once a month. But for moisture, I just spray a mixture of rose water and vitamin e oil every day. And I’ll put an oil mixture on my scalp a few times a week if and when it feels dry. But otherwise I’m leaving it alone. Since I started with shoulder length hair, they’ve actually shrank in length, but Yannie informed me of this before and I’m not stressing. I am actively reminding myself not to nit pick over what I feel like should be happening but rather just let it happen and enjoy the ride. I honestly did debate combing them out about a month into it. I was upset about the shrinkage and I also wasn’t getting the outside attention I used to about my hair. Instead I actually received negative criticism and comments from friends and family and even co workers about them. But I reminded myself to be patient and to stay committed to my goal for myself and to not let outside opinion (positive or negative) and societal pressures sway how I choose to express myself. So I’m committing myself to them for at least five years. To give them time to really solidify and grow. I’m using this journey as an opportunity to not only experience growth and freedom through my hair, but also in my life. I am learning to love and cherish the way I look regardless of what others think. I’m learning to embrace and embody my natural beauty every day. I like to think of my locs as a garden of 17 unique locs on my head that need tending to. I’ve already had experience growing my own indoor garden for the last two years that has become some what of a jungle! There are about 10 plants in my bedroom, ranging from aloe to succulents, an orchid, a yucca tree and more! But they are doing so well! I can tell their happy because they grow, bend and twist in the most intricate, bizarre ways. But just because they don’t grow straight up towards the sky, doesn’t negate their health. Every day I see a new sprout, a longer stem, a hidden bud. Their beauty comes from their wild, free state. I wish to achieve this same health with my locs. Following the flow of where they want to go. I’ll keep you updated ; )

Facebook: Locs by Yannie

Instagram: @yanniethelocologist       @_locology_

Youtube: Yannie the Locologist

Are you on a holistic loc pursuit? Tag us @PursuitofNappi on IG and Twitter. Or comment below…

Asha Jackson

Asha aims to share love, understanding, and insight through her writing. On her own spiritual journey, writing allows her to share with the world her own individual experience in the hopes to find interconnectedness with her readers. To read more, check out her blog at http://ashestoasha.tumblr.com