One Month Review! Lessons Learned

Hello all,

I have passed the one month mark.  Technically, I'm at one month and a few days now, but I've been busy and unable to update.

Here's what I have learned so far:

1. Shrinkage will come.   Only a few braids shrunk up after my first couple of rinses and washes so I was skeptical about when the rest of my hair was going to catch on.  One day I looked up and realized that my hair was about the length of my wash and goes. :)  So patience is definitely a virtue.
2. Rules are optional.  I spent my first 2 weeks following all of the rules I had studied prior to getting the braids installed.  I didn't use any conditioner, I didn't style my hair... I basically left it alone.  Around week 3 I came to the conclusion that this is MY journey, so I'm going to do it MY way.  I conditioned my hair on my one month anniversary and nothing bad happened. I wore it up in a bun a couple of days ago... it's all still there. This is not to say that the advice you learn while researching isn't important, but you have to figure out what's going to work for you and what you're comfortable with.
3. Frizz is king. My hair was frizzing like crazy after my first wash, so I've had some time to get used to it and I'm passed the point of it bothering me. My braidouts cover it pretty well, so *shrug* It's just not that big of a deal to me yet. On the other hand...
4. New growth is!  I thought I would be one of those fabulous women who semi-freeform and don't worry about their roots.  I mean the scalpy look was driving me crazy so the opposite should be my fav right? WRONG!  LOL For some reason I prefer them to look manicured.  Again... *shrug* this may change but for now I'll be on a 5 Week retightening schedule. I have already finished my 1st retightening, I'll be doing a post on that and its results later this week.
5. There will be days that you just aren't feeling it! Before I came to tentative terms with my frizz, there were a couple of days that I just wasn't at all happy with how my hair was looking.  So... I went on youtube, learned how to do a hair wrap, and kept it moving.  I think that if you're really in locking for the long term, you're going to have "bad hair" days.  My best advice is keep it moving! :)
6. Find someone who is also beginning to lock!  I was lucky enough to come in contact with several women on Nappturality who started around the same time I did.  We have been able to form a group there to commiserate on our experiences.  We all started with different ways (twists, coils, braids, extensions) and I'm excited to see the different ways our hair develops.  These women are going through it with me, so if I have a day that I'm feeling like I look a hot mess, they understand and encourage. I never would have walked out of my front door with the hair wrap on without their support! If you would like to join our group, please feel free. Virtual Lock Buddies

Going forward, I will only be doing hair reviews once a month, but I'll still be updating frequently with hairstyles I've tried or products I'm using.  I'll also be launching a Youtube Channel to accompany this blog, so that's something to keep an eye out for.

I'll leave you with pics of my progress so far:

Back - See what I mean about shrinkage? lol

It's getting thicker!!

That's all for now, until next time... Keep it nappy!!

*Flips hair* Deuces!!