Sunday, September 2, 2012

The Take Down

Here's a quick video on the start of the take down of my locks.

10 comments:

JUST Euphoria said...

Hey! hope your take down is going well! video wont play from your blog

JUST Euphoria said...
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JUST Euphoria said...

just watched your video, so now you see what I mean I had a gallon size ziploc bag full of hair & my locks were pretty long as well but when I'm done I am back to the length I started with!& you have to think about not only is that hair from shedding but hair that may have been broken off from popping our locks & I know my SLC has cut strands of hair that were joined to another lock. So the question is: are sisterlocks or locks in general damaging to the hair? I LOVED my locks but at the end I am glad I did the take down, better for my wallet,& my hair!

CaribSun said...

You must be part saint. You are indeed a very patient person to go through this tedious process. I am fascinated. Thanks for sharing.

CaribSun said...

Hey Audrey,here's a thought. Wet hair is much more fragile than dry hair, so have you tried picking out your locks when they are dry? I am guessing that you might have less hair loss this way.

z said...
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z said...

OMG!!! That big ball of unlocked hair is huge!! I had to rewind that part and watch it again. Have you groomed your locs over the years? Any weak spots? If so that might have contributed to the shortened length of your loose hair. When you're done, be sure to deep condition your hair and moisturize. The hair is more pliable when it's wet, and i've found that it made the untangling process a little easier when I took down my three previous sets of locs. I'm following your journey. :-)

z said...

One more thing, I hope you don't mind but I shared your video link on Nappturality. I know there are some nappies who are taking down their locs as well and could watch your video for encouragement and inspiration. You're doing a great thing with helping others by documenting this process, so thank you.

Audrey's Pleasure said...

Hi Dewdrop. What involves grooming the locks? the first 5 years they were maintained by a sisterlocktician. after that me and then a friend i taught to retighten my hair and paid her. i used to condition my locks but realised slippage so i stopped. then i tried oiling it, that attracted to much lint and dust, so i stopped. then i've been shampooing with Head & Shoulders because it handled the itchies well. Boy was i drying out my hair like that. even with an oil, moisturizing shampoo followed by conditioning, it still left my hair very dry. i've stopped shampooing my hair since August and simply washing it with conditioner. My hair loved it.!! it was sooooo soft, smelt great and i could finger detangle my hair. that lasted as long as it was wet. once it dried, it felt dry so over the next course of this journey i will be conditioning and moisturizing my hair until it surrenders its tangles and dryness. it is porous. it feels like straw the unlocked hair. i think it needs a daily bath of hot oil. anyhoo, moving right along, weak spots were always in the front. it wouldn't take to locking no matter what i did. eventually i stopped locking the front. my hair is very, very fragile in a wet state. i am very gentle in unlocking it. not pulling or raking through, the hair just releases so in know that's all shedded hair. i have to conclude that using a tool to retighten my hair is no different than combing the hair which pulls it out. it's just doing it in tiny sections at a time but it's still combing. i want to grow my hair opened or not locked and treat it right this time. it will be a while before i put shampoos back in my hair. condition, moisturize, is the way to go. i don't mind you sharing, i've learned plenty from the other youtubers and they continue to inspire me. napturality is also one of them. Dewdrop i just want my hair to be free, unlocked. i wish i could wave a magic wand and have it finished. unfortunately, i'm looking at a year long journey of unlocking. i can only manage 2 locks a day and that's pushing it. at best, when i feel like it. where can i buy some patience? thanks always for your input. i really appreciate it.

z said...

Hi AP. Thank you for sharing the details of your journey. Grooming is when the locktician takes a pair of scissors and snips any fuzz along the shaft of the loc, especially near the root. It's done once a year, and it can weaken your locs. I used to groom my locs and found that when I attempted to take down this set in the past, I lost so much hair. Perfectly health hair strands had been snipped from the root during the grooming process and I lost the entire strand. I had inconsistent lengths and decided to just grow out a new set of locs. I talk all about it on my blog.

The good thing is that you know what works best for your hair based on trial on error. The take down process from tip to root is not easy, but as long as you have a schedule to follow (2 locs/day etc.) and exercise patience, then you'll be fine. Remember to give your hands/neck/back a break (take it from someone who has done this 3 times). If your goal is to go this route and not cut them, then I support you of course.

I'm excited for you. When you wear your loose hair again, I can't wait to see the cute styles that you'll come up with. Keep documenting this process because I don't know of anyone who actually took down their SLs without cutting them (except for myself, but that many years ago when I was newly napptural).

Be blessed! :-)
~Dewdrop