I love having natural hair! Since 2001, I’ve loved my locing experiences as being much more than a physical beauty past of who I am… It has taught me many lessons. Here are some of them!

My early morning meditation sessions

It’s always beautiful to see women enjoy their natural beauty. It seems natural hair has also become a strong growing movement in the last few years, where women are embracing and loving their kinks and curls to the fullest! The rise in natural hair care information (through YouTube, blogs, websites etc.) has also made it easier than ever before to explore how versatile our hair really is.

How we take care of our hair is a deeply personal choice. The only thing that limits us is our imagination when it comes to being creative and expressing our Self. We are all beautiful!

After having 2 sets of locs since 2001, I can honestly say that in my own personal natural hair journey, the locking process has been one of the most challenging (yet enjoyable) experiences. I want to share some important life lessons that it brought up for me.

Patience

Growing locs takes time. From day 1 (baby locs) until the day they finally reach the mature stage, the locking process seems to take on a life of its own. I found that this also brings up a lot of challenges (and lessons) to take in.

Going through all the stages is a long-term decision of love. Patience is one of the biggest lessons many lockers seem to come across because of this. With patience, we explore a whole variety of triggers that seem to come up from the connection to fully trusting the process.

 Reflection Questions:

How can I practice gratitude for where I am in my life journey right now?

Do I trust my choices fully?

Your journey is a beautiful unique experience

 There is a term that you might have come across when researching loc care options – This term is “Loc envy”. This can mean many things – And if many lockers are honest, maybe this could also have applied to our own feelings at some stage during the locking journey!

It is so easy to compare our journey to other people’s (through social media etc) – We have more access than ever before to tapping into what other people are doing and experiencing. Maybe it’s time to change the “envy” to “inspiration” and use any challenging feelings towards others as an opportunity to explore our own unique beauty.

Reflection Questions:

What is uniquely beautiful about me?

What/who makes me feel inspired in my life right now?

Embracing your inner beauty

 One of the times that many lockers seem to find the most challenging is through the teenage stage of locking. During this time, the locs are still not fully mature and are experiencing many changes that can last many months. This is one of the main transitional points where locs gradually start to bud, take shape and frizz – They also basically tend to do their own thing each day!

Just like with any transitional stage in life, experimenting is one of the best ways to enjoy this stage. For example: Trying new head wraps, new loc styles etc. It’s a time to just fully accept what is happening in the here-and-now and make the most of it. It’s also a great time to be reminded that real beauty lies within, no matter how our external world looks.

Reflection Questions:

What is my definition of beauty?

What do I love about my Self?

Keep everything simple

Many new lockers experience a change in their hair care routine from having loose hair. Often, the first thing that newbie lockers seem to notice is that their products shrink in numbers. After all, you really don’t need much to maintain locs – As long as they are kept clean, moisturized and the roots maintained (this can be optional), locs pretty much take care of themselves.

Another observation is the daily time spent on loc care – The choice is open to literally wash and go – or to wake up and not even think about doing anything to your locs. Many lockers will say that this frees up a lot of time in their daily lives.

This is one of the many advantages of having locs.

Keeping things simple can also extend to all parts of our life – A reminder that our energy (through time and loving effort/actions) is a powerful choice each and every day. How and what we choose to keep simple is a personal thing, but it really does free up space to connect to what we love the most in life.

Reflection Questions:

Am I making time to nurture my Self?

How can I make more time for the things I love each day?

Travel light!

As I explored simple living in every part of my life throughout my locking journey, I started to realize how easy it was to extend this to my travel life. When I travel, I try to keep things simple too.

 As loc care is minimal (while still offering many styling options), I love the freedom my locs give me when I am travelling. I don’t have to think and carry many things in my bag. I only take what I really need, with a simple capsule wardrobe and very few things for my locs.

 One thing I also love about travel is that it gives me a chance to go through all the physical things I own and have a big clear out. That way, I not only travel light – but I return to enjoy a clear space.

Reflection Questions:

What do I need to release to move forward in my life?

How clear are my intentions for my journey ahead?

Try this meditation: