Taking the first step to starting your locs, can be a daunting one. This is a journey that only you can make the final decision. Yes, you can get encouragement from others in the locs community, but it is up to you to do your research, and weigh the pros and the cons.
Learning More About Dreadlocks
Some people do their homework before starting their locs, so they can learn all they need to know before taking the big leap. This is strongly recommended. It doesn’t matter how long you take to do your research, as long as you are confident that this is something that you want.
Changing Hairstyles With Locs
If you are someone who likes to change hairstyle often, getting locs may be an issue for you, at least in the first year or so. During this period, since your hair is still not fully locked, you wouldn’t want to manipulate it too much.
Unruly Locs Stages
Your dreads will take on a whole new life of their own, almost becoming unruly. When your hair is locked and gain some length, then you can change hairstyles more often.
You may want them to look a certain way, but during this immature stage before they are locked, you may notice a lot of frizz, weird looking ends, not looking full enough, etc.
My starters going on up to the locked stage, was all over the place. Some days my hair looked neat, other days my hair was frizzy, or even the locs looked too fat.
Choosing the Size of Your Locs
When you are starting your locs, size also comes into play. Many people who eventually cut or comb out their locs, did so because they were not happy with how they looked after they’re locked.
Trial and Error for Starters
One important thing to consider when getting starter locs, is their size. I just did trial and error when I started mine, and around my one year anniversary, I was not really happy with the size.
I started them small, but around this time they became really large. It was really hard to style them the way I wanted.
Older Locs May Get Thinner
The good news is that currently, my 4 years locs are the perfect size for me. They are way more thinner, but healthy looking. I just have to keep taking good care of my scalp by using my black castor oil to keep them strong and healthy.
Bigger Locs Grow Smaller
On the flip side, when starting your locs, if you’re not looking for small locs, you should not part them too small. However, starting them bigger than you want them to be, can still work out in your favor, because as they grow, they tend to get thinner.
