My experience - Faux Locs

Ah yes, there's always that time where we find it necessary to braid our hair - just because we want a fresh look or we're too lazy to deal with our actual hair. But in my case, I've only braided my hair twice, and for the second time, I've have my eyes on faux locs for quite a while.
And there was honestly nothing stopping me from doing it, so I did it!

My first obstacle of course was finding someone in Antigua who could do faux locs (and make it look good too). The first lady recommended to me charged me with $250...excluding the money for the actual braids. Me say awdjyt, wah this woman really a say to me. My mom had the same reaction and found this other woman who only charged $180, which was reasonable. I only needed to buy 3 packs of marley braids, and 2 packs of regular braids.

Look at these new ass, stiff ass locs EUUGGHHHH

So the time came and I was pretty skeptical at first - I didn't wanna put them in and they didn't fit me or wouldn't look good. The process only took 4 hours (she was also doing someone else's hair at the same time) and when I looked in the mirror, I was pretty pleased with what I saw! I looked like a real goodaz, me cyah lie. At that time, my hair was awfully S T I F F. When I say stiff, I mean stiff. Stiff as in - not moving at all. Stiff like some of these girls you see at these fetes but anyway.
I didn't know what to expect, so I thought it was supposed to be that way. I took a few pictures of course, and everyone said they were cute. I was really feeling myself..until I got home. Until I got home and my scalp started to feel tight. Until I got home and couldn't sleep at all. It was painful.
I tried putting my hair up in a bun and it wouldn't even move. It wouldn't even bend. I had sticks for hair.





I did a quick search on how to fix stiff faux locs, and ignoring all the lengthy videos, I found an easy method. All I had to do was dip my hair in some hot water, and BOOM. My hair was actually moving. I did this method on two separate days in the same week and my problem was fixed. I could put it up in a bun. I could wrap it around, bend it, flip it, allat. I could finally SLEEP.

Time passed and the braids started to look more natural. Natural to the point where people were complimenting me because they thought it was real. Even if they knew it wasn't real, literally everyone told me to get real locs because they looked so good. I am literally being held at gun point to never take these locs out.
So whenever someone says 'the staler it is the better it looks', just know they're speaking facts. I looked like a full on rasta, deadass. It might have even made me more attractive, because more guys than usual are on my ass smh.

Would I locs frfr? I can't say yes and I can't say no. I love my natural hair, A LOT. I love my puffs, my curls, my twists, allat. I love running my hands through my hair, combing and brushing it. Can I give all of that up and be committed to one hairstyle? It isnt easy to locs either, and it might not even look as good as the faux locs (Ik I'd still rock it e
ither way). Don't know if I'll ever be able to deal with that hair commitment.

Are they heavy? Yes, at times. Having your hair down is cute and all that, but whenever you put it up in a ponytail or a bun, that'll have your head leaning to the side and shit. Mad heavy. To the point it almost put a strain on my neck.

Started looking more natural.

Tip: Always moisturize your scalp and keep it clean! This applies all braids in general, and not just faux locs (duh). I tend to stick to oiling my scalp instead of using grease.
Why? Because oil is soaked up into the roots and runs down each strand of hair inside the braid, while grease really just stays on the scalp and can cause build up after a while. Not only that, but oil is also way more natural and healthy.

GROWTH: Another good thing is that since it's a protective hairstyle, your hair suddenly grows much faster (at least mine does). Or maybe it just feels that way because we can actually see the growth this time. Since putting in these locs, my hair has grown an inch, and still continues to grow.

Yes it may come with challenges but in the end, I rate my faux locs 10/10. Would definitely do again, maybe longer this time.