India said,”I am not my hair.”

Thinking about that statement makes me think she was thinking from a feminine place where women show pride and a more resilient character. Well I am a man. There is no pride to hide other than ego, and if you know anything about ego – an ego doesn’t hide. So here we are dreaded with a twist, I have a style now. Maybe for a day or two or maybe longer. But my hair on the top and sides are pulled back in a braided style. My dreads are probably no longer than 4 inches, so my choice in styles are limited. I digress, I find that I am very much my hair. And my style is very much apart of the overall picture of who I am as a man. I cannot detach from my hair or compartmentalize what you see. Because when you look at me it is the whole picture whether I like it or not. So India’s lyrics doesn’t resonate wholly with me. With a braided style I feel more ethnic, more black. I can explain. When I was bald there was an escapism correlated with my blackness because my hair was none existent. With locks, there

is an element that is apart of my hair and its kinky nature that is inescapable. It’s the Siamese twins factor, we are inseparable with out taking huge risk. In this case to say I am not my hair would suggest I am not fully aware or responsible for all things apart of me…huge risk! So I when my stylist pulled my hair back in a stereotypical style and asked me if I liked it. I said,” Yeah.” [The slowness in my response was like my palate absorbing all the flavoring in an old wine. It took a minute to recalibrate my eyes around the image in the mirror and to respond to her.] There was a blackness I had never seen before in me. It stemmed from my hair. I was my hair. I was beautiful at that moment. I am beautiful in this moment. I realized that the beauty of the moment was that I really saw me.

Natrodisiac

 

Side View Action

Being that I am a man who has never had long hair, seeing my locks from the peripheral view of my vision is pretty cool. I noticed it one day when I mistakenly thought my lock was a fly or an insect flying in my face. When I realized it was a lock of hair I did a shake test, then I did the dog-on-a-toy-shake then the its-a-party-throw-them-bows shake! Glad to see some growth and my commitment to this journey.

Natrodisiac

 

I Like ’em Not So Fresh…

Well when I think about how I want my locks to look everyday I realized that I am not a huge fan of the fresh-straight-out of-the-locticians-chair-look. I am a cool breezy guy by nature which makes me the opposite of those people who have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder  (OCD). I like my locks free, uncultivated for a period of time.

Today is my retightening day. I am going to be fresh. Natutaldisiac is going to do them for me. She’s pretty good. Pics coming soon.

Natrodisiac

 

Sweat Cycle…

From scorching hot Memphis days to workouts outside the gym I have sweated through my locks profusely. Though I have no major problem with sweating I have had some silent concerns about odor or the potential of. One of the stigmas that lock wearers have is that they have dirty locks. Though this is clearly not true by and large you still have to have to make sure that you are not in the minority. So I am taking an extra step and being intently concerned about the state of my locks.  I am considering using lemon juice to help in the cleansing process. I am told that it is a natural cleanser. I am also told that it dries your hair out which will create another problem if it’s used it too much. If I go this route it won’t be all the time. Especially sense I am just taking precautionary steps to prevent odors.

On another note: Workouts have been good, enjoyable even. I am seeing results though I will say, “I have a long way to go.”

Natrodisiac

 

Friday the 13th

Wife just said she wants to washed her 3 1/2 week locks out. I showed her a blog by curlplease and the ball was set in motion. If you knew the roller coaster that she has put me on you’d understand and if you don’t you will have to just take my word for it. It has been a ride! Maybe it is because it is Friday the 13th and the superstitious goons are lurking! Hoping this is just a fad. [Finger crossed, eyes crossed and tongue-tied].

Natrodisiac

 

A Healthy Scalp is a Happy Scalp

Since I have been locked I have been doing well with my old spray, go and shake ’em system. In fact, that has been wonderful for me. It is very convenient. However that can be a mis-leader in this sense. The temps outside are hotter so I sweat more, I have been rinsing my dreads so my scalp dries more and the spray & go method nurtures the dreads but not my scalp. I notice this deficiency when I started to itch in one or two spots all the time. So much so that I broke the skin! Then all the red flags started blaring and sending me messages that I was missing a vital part of having healthy locks and that was to take care of the scalp that they sprout from.

Now I am using Sulfur 8 conditioner periodically twice a week. The treatment has done wonders for my scalp. It tingles. That makes me feel that something is there working on my head while I take on these brutal summer months. But more importantly it is adding the protection I need to prevent the itching. Now I am more proactive to the sweating and drying cycles now which means my scalp is healing because I am listening to my body. All is well again on this journey.

Natrodisiac

 

So? Just how long are you going to let your dreads grow?

Because I am in the early stages of growing my locks I get this question pretty often. How long are you going to let your hair grow? I would guess at this point in my journey about shoulder length. I am not infatuated with anything much longer than that. I think that’s my look. It’s manageable and easy to clean. Also I think from a professional standpoint rocking some neatly manicured locks would be stylish and pretty fly.

Note: The only thing that could lead me astray from my pre-planned destination would be a spiritual calling/ intervention. Then all bets are off. I will be a freeforming lock flowing mofo!

Natrodisiac