Dear Hair - Honeymoon stage, I Don't Think So

We've made it through the 12 month mark and I'm excited to be moving forward with you 
I've been loc'd for a year now and excited to continue this process

Although some weeks have been trying, I am still committed to making this work 
I understand that the teenager stage has been difficult at times to get through, and it is still taking place. Rather than view this time before maturity as a suffering period, I'm going to keep trying to be patient and each day we will get closer to what we've been waiting for since the beginning

Since getting together over 5 years ago, we've endured many ups and downs with me wanting something else and wondering if you were right for me - where would this go? 
At first, I was doubtful about my transition to natural hair. I didn't know if it would suit me, and was constantly annoyed with it's growth not catering to my liking and hopes. I often wondered if I should go back to the chemical lifestyle

I feel the more time we spend together, and learn about our unity throughout our conflicts, we're getting to understand each other in a way like never before. It feels as though we're journeying down a path that brings out the best in both of us, and I can really see the rest of my life being with you 
You're teaching me to be more patient, and be aware that there is more to life than hair. Be open to life. You're going to grow at your own pace, and I have to accept that, or this union is going to be harder to be apart of than necessary. With this decision to loc my hair, at this moment I feel I want to be a dreadhead for the rest of my life.

I only hope you feel the same and can see a future with me as well - I promise I'll treat you right 
I will continue to take care of my hair based on what I've learned and know to be best. With that, I hope it will continue to stay healthy, grow, and happily loc.

Love, 
Aliyo

Aliyo 1 : McDonalds 0

Source: http://www.empowernetwork.com/easyliving/files/2013/01/Believe-In-Yourself-2.jpg

Dear McDonalds,

Today I was working on an assignment, and it was taking much longer than it should've been. You know when you're in a time crunch and spending way too much time on something that doesn't deserve that proportion of your functionality? And you know that you should be speeding up the efficiency, but that actually just slows you down? Yeah, that happened to me today, and I was getting frustrated with myself and just wanted to enter your haven and get a McChicken with an Oreo McFlurry (with a side of those fries which will never rot and instead slow down the passage through my intestines).

But guess what - I won this time. Yeah honey, beat that, I controlled myself, ha!

Instead I...

• listened to some empowering songs such as my favourite song since my childhood - Des'ree: You Gotta Be, and my favourite song to jam to as I imagine how long my locs will be in 5 years - Willow Smith: Whip My Hair
• danced in front of my mirror like I was a musical sensation performing a sold out tour...it's Aliyo b***h
• taught a Zumba routine I used to teach as I visualized the memories of my participants who enjoyed themselves so much
• My body felt awesome as I moved to the music, and felt the rhythms and every beat of these amazing fusions of creativity. It felt so good to stop looking at that computer screen for awhile and get my molecules of living jiving!

And after all of that activity, I decided to whip up up a snack - cucumbers,  grape tomatoes, green peppers, and dip. It was so refreshing, not just because of the water, vitamins and minerals they supplied me with, but also because I know the roughage will regulate my bowel movements, rather than give me diarrhea or painful constipation!

As I ate my Christmas-coloured snack, I wondered why I even wanted to jump into your arms and shove you in my mouth. Turns out, you and I have a long history, so it's hard for me to resist you when you creep up on me.  In my childhood (back when your toys were actually good), "treat night" meant you, and I would get excited for your delicious treat 1-2x a week. Then, when I moved to the city where I lived for 13 years and grew up in, you always  had a location within walking distance. Your first one was literally across from my complex, but then got burned down. However, shortly after a  revamped one popped up in the exact same plaza.

And when I was working multiple jobs and cared more about saving my money than my health (lack of sleep included), you were faithfully nearby, sometimes in the building I worked in, so that I'd never have to worry about starving (well, at least psychologically, because you didn't provide me with nutrition, that's for sure..thanks for that by the way). And now, you're less than a 10 minute walk from where I'm studying to become a Naturopathic Doctor. And you have to be all up in my space, situating yourself right outside of my gym, tempting me as I walk to the subway, knowing that I'm not too excited to eat that homemade meal in my fridge that I've already eaten 3 days in a row.

But guess what: today, I chose myself, I chose to preserve my health. And I'm very well aware you beat me over a hundred times in the past (and may catch a few in the future), but all it takes is one day to begin a change. Get that ball rolling down the mountain. And believe me, once my ball gains momentum, you will miss receiving all of the hard-earned money you lured from me, and you will be devastated when I finally get rid of your toxicity laying deep in my fat deposits which refuse to leave (grrr). And worst of all, you'll be heart-broken from the mental hold you'll cease to have upon me.

Dear [ ] - Honeymoon Stage?

We've made it through the 9 month mark and I'm excited to be moving forward with you 

Although some weeks have been trying, I am still committed to making this work 

Since getting together almost 5 years ago, we've endured many ups and downs with me wanting something else and wondering if you were right for me - where would this go? 

I feel the more time we spend together, and learn about our unity throughout our conflicts, we're getting to understand each other in a way like never before. It feels as though we're journeying down a path that brings out the best in both of us, and I can really see the rest of my life being with you 

I only hope you feel the same and can see a future with me as well - I promise I'll treat you right 

Love, 
Aliyo

Loc'd Up: 2



First off, happy birthday to my brother, he's  19 today!! Seems I have put my hair updates towards the wayside. On May 9th, 2012, I went to a loctitian to get my starter locs installed. My appointment basically consisted of the loctitian shampooing and conditioning my hair, then parting my hair into small sections, which were formed into comb-coils. The locitian even took some time to explain to me that I have to be positive during the experience, as locs do not form overnight - they are a process, and it can take between 6 months to 1 year for my kinky curl pattern to completely loc up.

Source: http://locdlife.wordpress.com
/2011/05/22/moisturize-moisturize-moisturize/

The reasons I chose to loc my hair were explained in this post, and those reasons are still the sources of my motivation. I must admit though that I've been getting impatient with the process because my hair is still transforming, and it's getting quite unruly. I'm not able to style it...the middle looks like a hot mess, and the people in my work environment might not understand what's going on.

I enjoyed the experience of being in the salon and having my scalp massaged and not having to do anything. However, I have chosen to self-maintain my hair. I was lucky because my friend from work (who has awesome locs) drove me to her salon - which would have been a 2 1/2 hour bus ride for me. But, since I'm saving for school, I can't be spending 5 hours a day (plus time in the salon) to get my hair done, nor am I going to take advantage of my friend's kindness. To add, follow up appointments (to get my hair washed and retwisted) are $70 minimum - in that case, I'll do it myself.

Once I made the decision that I'm going to self-maintain, Google and YouTube were fantastic to me because I have been able to find great resources! The first purchase I made was the book The Knotty Truth: Creating Beautiful Locks on a Dime, as numerous dreadlock blogs were giving positive reviews on it, and it's used as a manual for loctitians in training. I love this book because M. Michele George, an acclaimed natural hair consultant, provides me with knowledge as her book explains the biological and physiological state of hair, how to take care of it, ways to install locks and maintain them, and the approximate length of time an what to expect as the lock installation progresses towards mature locs.

There are also 3 people I am devoted to following on YouTube: BronzeGoddess01 (BG), PrettiBoiShai (PBS), and Chescalocs/Chescaleigh. I came across BG because she made a two-part comprehensive loc video where she explains everything she does to take care of her locs. I was drawn to her because she started her locs herself via two-strand twists around 6 years ago, and they are awesome! She is so cute and gorgeous, and her hair suits her perfectly! As for PBS, I was looking for a video to simply explain how to retwist starter locs. Her video was short and sweet, and I found her to be captivating as she cut her locs due to life experiences, and started her second loc journey this year (so I get to see it play out in action!). As for Chescalocs, I discovered her channel not originally because of her hair, but because of her hilarious Shit White Girls Say ...to Black Girls video on her main channel, Chescaleigh. I was instantly hooked!

Source: http://www.perfectlocks.com/blog/tips-for-starting-locs/

Right now I believe in my heart that I plan to be a dreadhead for life in the sense that I want to grow my hair as long as I can and never cut it (or at least to my bum, then cut it to my waist). However, locs are known for holding energy, which includes negative energy (PBS actually talks about it more as she explains why she cut hers off). Looking back, even though it will only have been 12 weeks this Wednesday that I have been allowing my hair to loc, there are some things I would've done differently. I wish I had done my research before rather than after my installatation, because I would've known what size I'd like my parts to have been, and I would've been completely independent by starting them myself. I likely would have chosen to start them as two strand twists (even though comb coils apparently loc faster), because I used two strand twists as a protective style for the past 2 years - I just didn't know that letting them mat together would lead to locs. I also would've made the parts a bit larger because I don't want my root beds to feel strained as my hair grows (yet, I have thin hair, so the loctitan may've done that to make my hair look fuller). To compensate, I've been combining/marrying a lot of my sections together.

I look forward to how things turn out at 6 months, and my 1 year mark. I'm also looking forward to the huge growth spurt I can expect after the 3 year mark, as most of the energy that would've gone towards converting my hair into mature locs will be contributed my growth. Pregnancy is also something to look forward to, as the hormone frenzy and prenatal vitamins will likely have a positive impact as well!

*Please note: dreads/dreadlocks/locs are referring to the same thing, however, I don't like to refer to my hair as "dreads" so often because of the wrong connotation of them being "dreadful."