1. Coils — Coils resemble tightly coiled springs that look like baby spirals and can be as small as a watch spring or fluid and loose as fusilli. Hair can be as short or as long as one likes. The key factor here is that your hair is able to form and hold a coil, but the hair within the coil has not yet begun to intertwine or mesh.
2. Sprouts and Buds — Known as Sprouting or Budding ins that miraculous moment when the magic has begun. First, you shampoo your hair and notice that all of a sudden, the coils don't all wash out like they used to. You may notice that some of your coils have little knots of hair in them, about the size of a small pea. This knot is more or less the nucleus of each lock; the hairs in your coils have begun to intertwine and interlace. Individual coils may seem puffy and lose their tightly coiled shape; this is part of the process and shouldn't be disturbed. What is important here is to keep the original scalp partings, to allow the spinning process to become established for each individual lock. Don't redivide your budding locks, twist them to death, or get to patting them down, trying to make your hair look "nice," because you'll just end up with a badly packed, busted-out do.
3. Teen or Locking Stage — This is when the buds and sprouts truly begin to look like locks and few, if any, locks shampoo out or come out during sleep. The peas you saw and felt in the budding stage have expanded, and the hair has spun into a network of intertwining strands that extend throughout the length of individual locks. The locks may be soft and pliable or feel loosely meshed, according to your hair's texture. This is the growing stage of lock development, and it extends into the lock's mature stage. Shampooing doesn't loosen these locks. They have dropped, which means they have developed enough to hang down versus defying gravity. This is when you start to relax and feel more confident about locking.
4. Mature Stage — Each individual lock is firmly meshed or tightly interwoven. Some loosely coiled hair textures may retain a small curl or coil at the end of the locks, but most will probably be closed at the ends. You will begin to see consistent growth because each lock has intertwined and contracted into a cylindrical shape. Think of each individual lock as a hair strand in itself. The new growth is contained in the loose hair at the base or root of each individual lock, and regular grooming encourages it to spin into an intertwined coil that will be integrated with the lock.
5. Beyond Maturity — Think of this stage as akin to the shedding stage of hair growth. After many years, depending on the care you have lavished on your locks, some locks may begin to thin and break off at the ends. For the most part, this deterioration can be minimized and controlled by monitoring the ends of your locks for signs of age and getting regular trims. The 5 stages of locs/dreads.
So, I wanted to share about my journey through the stages. My journey was non traditional because I started out 4 years ago with loc extensions. I can only talk about my journey and the stages because I just never was thoughtful enough to document my journey. I wish I had of because it is all kinda neat! Well here it goes.
1. Coils — I never had coils. I resented the whole coils look and I thought I would be ugly with hair so short. I always wanted loc's but I dreaded starting them with coils because I think my face is just too fat. Hell, my body too. So, I cheated and I went to the shop "Nappy or Not" in Oakland, CA and paid $400 to get loc extensions. I actually did it impulsively. My dad had just died and I had a lot of pain on the inside. I felt like I was changed on the inside and I wanted my outside to reflect a new person. Kinda like a rebirth. I reinvented myself. From LONG curly weave to Loc rocker in one day. My family thought I had lost my mind (they still do). Maybe I did and IT IS GREAT!
2. Sprouts and Buds — So, my new growth grew quickly after getting loc extensions but the "Sprouting or Budding" took a long time to begin. I was twisting and twisting and twisting before I ever saw a bud. I thought my hair was too something (didn't know what)to loc. It took SO LONG. I went from shop to shop trying to find someone or something (product)that would hold my new growth in the twist and start to stay. It was REALLY a "miraculous moment when the magic began". The first sign that my hair COULD loc and my locs did not shampoo out or come out during my sleep like it used to, I was so happy! All the work and money I put into these dam locs!!! Definitely non traditional! At first I was feeling like I had made a poor decision and I had been defeating the (WHOLE)purpose and reason I had gotten the loc's in the first place, (to not have to pay for or waste anytime in a hair shop).
3. Teen or Locking Stage — I remember that this is the stage when I started to love my loc's. This is when they stopped being a pain in my neck! The really did stop looking stiff and defying gravity. This is when they relaxed causing me to relax and I began to feel more confident about locking. Now, I have the product that is perfect for ME. (You know the one that holds MY hair!) It too is non-traditional (not made for or typically used on loc'd hair) but I love it. It's called "Water Wax"(picture soon). It smells SO GOOD (like fruit) and it holds my new growth twisted well. My natural hair locs within a reasonable amount of time and there is no flakes or itching. Just GREAT (for me)! No promises it will be perfect for you...lol
4. Mature Stage — Today my locks are all tightly interwoven. I could not comb these things out. They are REALLY in there! They have a cylindrical shape and each individual lock is a hair strand in itself. My "new growth is contained in the loose hair at the base or root of each individual lock" and I can now enjoy regularly grooming my looks to keep me lookin good!
5. Beyond Maturity — I only think I've achieved this stage because some of my loc's have thinned (but never broke off at the ends). I married a couple before and it has since grown out. After it grew thick and long again I separated the marriage by cutting one of them off. For the most part, I don't get much deterioration despite my constant coloring. My hair has always been thick like a lion’s mane and nothing but PERM could ever break it! I still regularly trim off because I have a small amount of extension remaining in the ends of some.
Tell me about your journey.
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