Adefolake Ayotunde-Salami
I was not going to write an article about this but when I had a rethink about my journey and remembered all the mistakes, I knew I needed to help someone about to come on board.
My hair is very full which makes it very difficult to maintain, when I braid it lasts about two weeks before it starts looking rough and unkempt. When I fix weave, the sides start to look loose and look like the weave is sitting on a throne because of the undergrowth underneath. I tried to keep it natural but failed woefully because I am a bit of a tomboy and do not have time to maintain it as such. My last option was wigs but after witnessing a lady’s wig fall off while she was on a bike, I promised myself not to join the wig gang. Moreover, I am not a fan of looking fly one minute and the next minute having only cornrows the next. I would rather go about with just the cornrows and not bother to put the wig back on. Most importantly, my hair produces dandruff if I do not oil my scalp regularly which leads to unbearable itching.
After all this analyses, I decided I needed a lasting solution to my hair. Whilst I was still thinking on what to do, Covid19 pandemic struck and we were all stuck at home during the total lockdown. Days turned to weeks and weeks to months by then my relaxed hair had turned back to natural at the roots and I decided it was time to do Hair locks. I went on YouTube, did my research and started looking for a loctician. Soon after, I went for my first appointment and the cost was not cheap but I was ready for the transition. The loctician told me to come back every two weeks for three months to relock so the locks can become permanent and afterwards I would only need to come in once in a month or so. Because of the partial lockdown still on, I resolved to home service which was not cheap but I wanted this, so I carried on.
Fast forward to my brother’s wedding, I needed a loctician in Lagos to relock and pack my hair neatly and fortunately I found one (ohenhe_la_locs). Then the frustration began, when I went in for my first consultation he blatantly laughed at my hair which was offensive at first but soon after I understood my hair was worth laughing at. The locks were uneven, not finely cut, different products such as coffee, wax and other things I cannot remember had been used to maintain it. Very quickly this new loctician explained to me I had to detox my hair and managed it for my brothers’ wedding but I would have to come back and unlock and redo the entire hair. I jumped to argue that I heard it was not possible to undo locks and I will have to cut my hair, he laughed and said that was not true.
The hair was actually quite decent for my brother’s wedding and I loved it, my wedding was fast approaching and I needed him to work his magic again to make it manageable for my traditional wedding. As always, Mr Segun did his job well and my hair was beautiful on that day. Days after the wedding, I went back in to undo the entire hair and spent my whole day doing it. It was not easy but we finally finished and he started locking the hair from scratch. As night approached, we were done and my hair was brand new. I could not believe my eyes, one minute I was back in afro, the next I had a better locks on my head.
I would not even lie, the transition was expensive especially because of the first loctician that made me buy all sorts and use on the hair. I could not even wash it because all the concoctions used to stain my towels and I used to be so put off. This new loctician made me understand I did not need all those products and I could wash my hair every day. In fact, I do not use shower cap to bath, I just jump in and allow water get to my hair like a guy would. I love every second of it. I wish I met my current loctician sooner and I could say my experience was seamless but it was not. All I apply to my hair is oil to keep it lustre.
I am not saying everyone must come to my current loctician but anything worth doing is worth doing well. If I knew better, I would have come to Lagos to do it from the start with him than allow someone do try and error with my hair. This is not a paid advertisement or something of that sort, I just appreciate when people are good at what they do and like to help people from making mistakes I have made. It has been over a month of my new refurbished locks and I am grateful I could make adjustments early enough. So for you thinking of joining the locks gang, please do; just make sure you get the right hair stylist/loctician for your hair.
