Because my hair’s texture decided to make a drastic change these
past five years or so, dealing with it has been exhausting. I gave up relaxers
years ago. Then I decided to get one after not having had one for a while, and
it broke off my hair even worse. I had stopped getting braids – and, boy, did
this decision almost cause my heart to stop – because I love me
some braids. I tried weaves a few times but got sick of them, so I started
wearing wigs off and on for a few years, sometimes wearing my hair in a natural
style. The natural look didn’t work for me – the afro-like style, I mean. And,
as my brother said, “The natural look just ain’t working for you, Sis.” Well,
you have to know my brother. He doesn’t sugarcoat anything. I guess he got it
honestly from me. Sugarcoating ain’t my thing, either.
Anyway, back to the journey of my hair. You know, I now see why
some of my friends and family members in their forties and fifties had all of
their hair cut off in order to rock small afros. If I thought that I looked
cute with a small afro, I would be rockin’ one too. But I realized a long
time ago that the shape of my face and a small afro just won’t work.
Late last year, after tiring of dealing with my hair, I knew
something had to change. Over the last several years, my daughter, niece, and a
few other folks had suggested that I get dreadlocks. I thought about it at the
time, but felt that I might get tired of them and, if so, would have to cut
them off. I also had heard how time-consuming having locs were in the beginning,
and this turned me off. Before I go any further, I use the words “dreadlocks”
and “locs” to mean the same thing. I’ve read articles and blog posts about folks
saying that the style should only be referred to as “locs” because of the
negative connotation of the word “dreadlocks.” It’s always something!
As I was saying, late last year I came to a crossroads about my
hair. After many headaches and anxiety because of it, I made the decision that
I would start wearing locs starting in 2015. And, I kept to it. After all, this
year I’ll be fifty and wanted to do something different. It’s been four months,
and I can honestly say that the folks who told me it would require patience ain’t
never lied! Because it’s sure ’nuff been a process, but one that I welcome.
Since the texture of my hair has changed over the years, there
have been some parts of it that have been difficult when it comes to wearing locs.
What I mean is that a section of my hair keeps coming unraveled but I haven’t given
up. I just keep getting them redone. Today, I had a small section redone, and
both my stylist and I agreed that things are coming along and that soon this
small section will stay twisted and start to lock like the rest of my hair.
Yeah! Right!
If you were to ask me ten years ago if I ever would be rocking
locs, my immediate response would have been “Um, I don’t think so.” But, as
life would have it – and thanks to being a woman and going through hormonal
changes that affected my hair and other things – I’m now a proud
member of the locs community. I look forward to them growing and getting
longer. In just these past four months, they have already grown.
Reader, if you are part of the locs community, leave a sistah a comment and any tips you have about keeping them up. As always, I welcome comments from anybody about this post.
© Carla J. Curtis, May
2015
