Locking my #3cHair (the 1st time)

Most of my life until I went to college, I had pretty long, wavy hair.

Only recently, did I learn that my hair was classified as #3chair.

When I moved into my un-airconditioned dorm freshman year at #SpelmanCollege, I surprisingly made it the entire year with my long hair (despite the scorching heat)!

Sophomore year, there I was again moving into yet ANOTHER un-airconditioned dorm and that's when the scissors came out. That year, I'd worn essentially every look from a short bob, to a pixy cut and even started shaving my head until I was entirely BALD! Yes, you read that correctly....BALD.

I rocked this buzz cut for about 2.5 years.

As I was growing my hair back out, I enjoyed a fun, curly bush with my natural curls and eventually in 2014, 5 years after graduation, I decided to lock my hair. For some, there's a spiritual calling to lock their natural mane, but for me, I honestly felt like..."hey, this is a look I've never tried, so why the hell not?"

Given the texture of my hair, my stylist had to begin with the interlocking method and within a few short hours of walking into his salon for what I THOUGHT was merely a consultation, I walked out with itty bitty interlocked starter locs (73 to be exact).

Very first day with my #starterlocs!

Nearly 5 years later, I watched them bud and mature (it took nearly a FULL year because of my texture) and eventually grow to my shoulder, then past my shoulders, then down my back and eventually nearly to the ends of my boobs (tmi?, sorry!). It was truly an amazing journey to leave my hair completely alone and watch it do what it does without combing, pulling, flat ironing, etc.

At around the 4 year mark, I decided to add a bit of color and after a few visits, decided to dye my whole head. The results were fabulous and I loved the outcome.

Pro tip: I recommend waiting to dye your locs until they've fully matured. This will allow for the dye to take better and bond to every strand better. Also, dye tends to dry out your locs a bit so you don't want to affect the maturation process by compromising your hairs natural oil production.

In another post, I'll share some tips for maintaining your locs and product recommendations along with inspirational IG pages that I followed along the way! I'll also share why I ultimately decided to comb them out (eeeek!). Stay tuned!

sending energy & positive vibes,

Bree