My Freeform Lock Journey

Freeform Loc Love Update

Okay so I thought I would catch you all up on what my hair is looking like and how I'm feeling about it these days. There have been a few times when these girls have almost bit the dust. I was having issues with keeping my hands out of my hair so I would just shampoo when I felt the need to "fix them" or otherwise manipulate them. The turning point was when my husband told me how in love he is with my hair and that he thinks this is the best style I've ever had. Well, that sealed the deal. So my next problem was/is that I have 2 that aren't defined locks, but rather little bunches of hair. I have to be honest. I molest the mess our of those little bunches of hair, but feeling them lock is quite interesting. 

At the end of the day I am having to learn to trust my hair which is what I have been telling people for years. The other day one of my "clients" came over to get her hair styled. I put quotes around client because she is a freeformer. OMG!!! Her hair was straight LIONESS!!! I was SO JEALOUS and SO MOTIVATED!!! Her  hair is gorgeous. We braided it and she sat under the dryer for about 15 minutes which is her time limit, and then we just pinned it up into a style. She called me today to tell me that the style even ALMOST won her aunt over which is a BIG deal. lol The funny thing is that I am learning a lot from what here hair is doing. For example the front ones want to join and because she was popping them they were getting weak. I told her to that she could pop some but let the weak ones marry for strength. Y'all I am so excited. We'll being going out of town this weekend and it feels nice not to have to worry about making sure that my hair is done any particular way. It is what it is...literally. Hope you enjoy the update pics. There will probably be more when we go out of town. I'll try to remember to post them in a timely fashion. 

I know you can't really see my hair, but I looked cute. ;)

  

This is what I do when I wanna be super cute OR when I am going to be around folks what I don't care to explain the process to. No, I am not one of those people that likes to have those discussions about what I'm doing with my hair.

I was beaming from watching my lovely children in a performance of the Wizard of Oz.

I will be removing those beads because I am using them to cheat and train some locks to grow together. :(

Freeforming Update...

Okay, so it's official. I LOVE MY HAIR!!! I still feel self conscious because freeform isn't the norm, but I think I look cute. I do separate them gently as suggested by Cupidvalentino1 on youtube. I don't rip, I just run my fingers through when I shampoo or wet my hair.

I can't take credit for the love affair with my hair because really it was my husband's input that made me feel gorgeous. One day he looked at me and said, "I like your Bob Marley hair." Talk about a compliment!!! I do wear my tams when I am around people that are going to ask a lot of questions or be judgmental if I'm not in the mood to deal with it. I find that most judgmental people are like lower primates, once you cover something up they think it just ceases to exist. I know that wasn't the nicest thing, but it's true. There is a preacher that gets her hair done and she is constantly on me about having too many holes in my ears, the hole in my nose, my tattoos (which happen to be about 12+ years old), and now my hair. I just explain that since we don't sleep together her opinion doesn't much matter. Again, not the nicest way to say it but sometimes people are unable to hear kind gentle words and only respond to artistic sarcasm (I'm a pro at that).

Here's a picture since I know that makes the blog better and because I love y'all so much!!!

At a local park off the trail of course. Anyhoo, that point is so you can see my hair. Ignore the fact that I am smiling so hard that I look psychotic. lol

BONUS PICTURE OF MY SON!!!

So, my son has always fought to freeform because he is SO tenderheaded. We agreed to twist it every 2-3 months and shampoo it weekly. Well, needless to say, he's won the battle. He is a freeformer and VERY happy about it. If he feel comfortable with the way his hair is then why should I force him to conform?

Freeform Support Group

Um...yea, so about that freeform. I have created a support group for myself, via youtube, of other freeformers. To be honest, I think my hair looks gorgeous. I did twist it for a wedding, but shampooed when I got home.

I'll give you this pic of the Queen Mother for free. Although, this pic is not that clear, I wanted to brag on Mama's hair. This was the first time I ever braided it, and I LOVE IT ON HER!!!

Fly, ain't she? Yes, she is.

Holdin' On!

I am still sticking with freeform and enjoying. I have to tighten and crinkle my hair for a wedding this weekend though. I will probably keep it for a week due to the work involved, but then back to doing absolutely nothing to my hair. .

Issues and Creativity

Okay first let me point out what happened to my skin when I put down the OCM. I stopped it for a minute, because I thought "My face looks so good". Then, I had a breakout. It makes sense, because my face had plenty of oil and then...nothing. So it panicked and made a bunch of extra oil. Add to that I am a picker and so that would explain to two marks on my face. My picking problem subsided because there was nothing to pick. Make sense? Okay. Let's move on to greener pastures.

I made a mixture of horsetail, nettle, chamomile, and sage tea and used it as a rinse. Immediately followed by jojoba, grapeseed, rosemary, and lavender oils. When I tell you that my hair is soft and the cornflakes are gone...honey the NAPS ARE BACK! It looked so good and felt so good that I didn't twist it. I am so happy!

Freeform Pro and Cons

So far I have noticed some pros and cons to freeforming that I feel inclined to share with you all.
Pros

1. I don't have to do a thing but shampoo and go (maybe a little dryer time, but not much).
2. I love the look.
3. I love the feel mentally.
4. I am learning to not to be moved by the opinions of others about "the way locks should look".

Cons

1. Because I suffer with HIHD I still want to twist every now and again.
2. I notice shedding sometimes and I am not used to seeing that. It makes sense though because my roots will behave more like Afro hair as they are not in a *protective hairstyle.
3. People always have something to say.

*A protective hairstyle is one that keeps your hair safe from the cold in winter (or other harsh environmental issues to include heating systems or extreme dryness). If you have an Afro for example, I would suggest that you keep your hair in 2 strands, braids, or plaits through the winter months. These style help to maintain moisture and keep you from combing your hair. Obviously I am not combing my hair, but the moisture is being zapped. To add insult to injury my steamer broke. That made me just a little angry to say the least.

All that to say that I am wondering about twisting in the winter months and leaving it be in the other 9 months. I just can't seem to control the dryness and that is my main issue. Let me know what you think.

People's Opinions of MY hair

Recently I decided to stop twisting or maintaining my hair. I can hear some of you gasping with disbelief. Yes, it's true. My soul's desire is the be a freeformer. I have shared some of this with clients to "warn" them of my decision so that they don't start to ask me if I am okay. Why did I decide to do this you ask? Well, it started in kind of a strange way. I used to latch my hair. I fell in love with Bob Marley and loved the freedom that was expressed through untamed locks. I liked it because I seemed to be an expression of letting God do His work. I decided that I would start palmrolling to allow myself the freedom to have the maintained look if I wanted it or to have a freeform look if I wanted that. When I wore them palmrolled, I still felt really restricted. I decided to just leave it alone. That didn't last long, because I felt very comfortable at home, but self conscious in public because of what "they" were saying. I hated the feeling of leading two different lives. I want to say this. My locks are part of a spiritual awakening for me. It's not a hairstyle. I don't fully understand the fullness of the purpose, but I love the not knowing and allowing my hair to just do it's thing. So anyway, this journey is uncomfortable for me in one way because I don't know what my hair is going to do. In another way, I know that I have to grasp this lesson in it's completeness. I see myself with locks that are full, wild, and free. Just like me. It just seems more appropriate for my personality to be freeform.
Since locks have become mainstream and legally untouchable in the work place, school, etc. everyone has an opinion of what they "should" look like. Well, I started doing this before they were an "in style" way of expressing yourself. When I moved back to Charlotte no one was really wearing them, except some people who seemed to appear from nowhere at the various Afrocentric festivals.

I don't think that the people that are telling me that my hair needs to be neat don't have a deeply abiding love for locks. I have never seen locks that I couldn't see the beauty in. As long as they are clean, I'm good. They can be fat, skinny, short, long, or mohawked and they are beautiful. I didn't start locking for style, so I don't have to follow the rules of "fashion or acceptability". This is a lifestyle for me. I love my rebellious kinky hair. It doesn't like to lay down and be obedient just because somebody deemed it should be so. If you think that being neat is the only way for locks to look, then perhaps you should ask yourself a couple of questions. Are you just mimicking the Eurocentric ideal of beauty, while retaining your Afrocentric street credit? Did you simply lock, so that you could have long hair like the women on television? Nothing is wrong with your nice neat locks, but nothing is wrong with my untameable locks either. If I can't be tamed, then why should my hair be beat into submission? I guess I really am my hair. Oh by the way these pictures were taken pre-freeform.