R.I.P. Baby locs by Quanviciouss

I feel kinda bad because in a natural hair sense, I had an abortion. I killed my baby locs before they matured. When I first got my hair twisted, it was done at a salon called Locs N’ Chops in Brooklyn, NY. I had no knowledge on locs, their history, how to maintain them, how NOT to take of them…nothing…but I went as if I knew I was completely ready.

My hair was done by a woman named Emenze (actually pronounced Eme-se) -_- if I even did that right. Emenze if you’re reading this, please forgive spelling, pronunciation and things of that nature lol. The shop was very appealing to the eye, I mean it had beautiful bright walls with masks. I remember that the two masks were of a man and woman. The male mask was directly in front if my chair, so for the 2 or so hours I’d have little conversations in my head with him. “So how are you sir?” & he’d respond “hanging in there brother” :). I met Damian, with an accent so strong it’s alcoholic because whenever he spoke, I indulged. I also met a gorgeous woman whose name I don’t wanna butcher. Her skin was very clear and her smile…oh her smile. Let’s just say that people like her should never frown. She also had the kind of personality that was full of life…vibrant in it’s colors and at the shop they talked about how Rihanna is a freak and how she must be a Virgo. The woman then turned at me with widened eyes and asked “Are YOU a Virgo?”….idk why but I was so shy, either because I had a crush on her or because it would take at least another visit to feel completely okay with being myself around them.

Emenze is actually a behind the desk employee at a shop in Manhattan but she wants to start doing hair. I was her hair model. Apart of her training required her to do different heads each time for practicing purposes. For some reason, I just knew who Emenze was the minute that I came into the shop and the other woman that I told you about mentioned that I have great body language. She asked “how’d you know that she was the one doing your hair?” and I said “because she smiled first :)”…

Now to the reasons why I decided to wash my baby locks out. Emenze and I clicked; she made me feel very comfortable. She spoke about how she wants to be the one to help a public figure, like an entertainer maintain a healthy image socially and visually, which I found interesting because I want to be a public figure - more so in the entertainment industry. If I were a singer, she’d be my stylist and my confidant. I thought…Perfect!

After I saw my new self in the mirror for the first time, I felt an instant bond between my hair and I. I honestly thought that I looked so handsome and wanted to cry but that’s a bit too much for your first visit. At that point, I knew that locs were right for me.

Just for the record, 3 weeks later when I wanted to set up another appointment, the shop didn’t let Emenze do my hair again because she’s a trainee and doing the same head of hair wouldn’t be considered practice. I think it’s dumb. I’m afraid because I don’t want random people digging all up in my hair each visit. Basically they’re telling me that it’s not guaranteed that I’ll be able to keep the same loctician and that the way the shop functions is whoever is available for you would do your hair for that visit. I thought that the whole part of a loc journey is to keep a person as a loctician so that the two of you can develop a mutual relationship over the years. I don’t care if she’s a trainee, I lost my loc-ginity to her…::awkward laugh::: seriously though. We discussed this like 3 weeks ago and at that point I couldn’t really tell if my hair was on the right track or not.

Then I lost my mind…

So out of frustration, I went to the store, got my own products, and retwisted my own hair.
I got Jamaican Mango & Lime Creme Wax, Organic Root Stimulator Dry Shampoo and metal clips (I researched all 3 as well as how to retwist). I felt liberated & invincible because it looked official. It turned into an addiction. I’d retwist my hair every night after that and learned that doing so could result to your locks falling out. I couldn’t resist the urge & continued.

The hardest part about doing my own hair were the parts of my head that I couldn’t see, which is why going to salon is okay for the first few months. I’ve learned that my hair is very curly & if not retwisted carefully you might mistake two roots for one and mess the whole thing up. I remember washing myself, dipping my head in water & thinking “oh water, how I’ve missed you” & before I knew it, my locs unraveled. I retwisted them again & thought “I’m going to be bald by next month if I keep this up”. The thought of having my own products in my house to do my hair excited me & resulted to my downfall. I’ve learned so much from my mistakes and just want to start my journey over the right way, you know? God willing, I’ll meet people that I can call my loc kin.

I had this fantasy playing in my head where I’d never have to go to a salon again & 10 years from now. That fantasy died. Maybe after my hair fully locs, I’ll be able to do it myself but
right now, I need to go back to the shop as if it’s my first time (fo’real, fo’real)

However R.I.P. to my baby locs
June 10, 2011-June 19th, 2011.