11/11/2025
I haven't done a good job of documenting my loc journey but it's been an amazing experience. Learning to care for and style my locs myself has definitely made my life easier.
I have a sensitive scalp which made me prone to headaches and sleepless nights after trips to the hairdresser. I went to a school that forced girls to cut their hair in junior secondary school and then let us grow it out in senior secondary but imposed that we wear the same hairstyle every week. Just as my scalp was starting to recover, I'd have to take the plaits out and sit for another traumatic experience. Eventually, I cut my hair... for years.
Things got better when I started braiding my hair myself but by that time, I was going to work, staying out late, trying to build a social life. Learning a critical skill such as braiding my own hair at that stage in my life was frustrating and that process took 2 to 3 days to finish.
One day, I came across a Pinterest board of a woman who put her hair in locs... and that story changed everything for me. It took me a few hours but putting my hair in locs myself meant no more tension on my scalp, hair maintenance took less time and I saved a lot on hair care products and salon visits.
I don't know why we have discarded haircare or vilified men and women who love their hair. Self love, self-care, we must encourage this in our children. Do not encourage the colonial mindset that African hair was never meant to be cared for/pretty.
