Loc Extensions – Is It Cheating?

Loc extensions is a touchy subject for those with locs. Just look at any loc page on Facebook or Instagram and you’ll see the heated debates for yourself. Personally, I didn’t know this was a thing until I joined the loc community. What keeps me from passing judgment is the fact that men and women get loc extensions for various reasons. Just like there are natural hair nazis and purists, there are loc nazis and purists. Let’s get into it.

what are loc extensions?

Permanent Loc Extensions

Loc extensions is the use of human hair that is of the same grade and density of your own that is used to start your locs or add length to your current locs. This is not the same as faux locs which is a temporary protective style. Loc extensions should only be installed by a trained professional who knows what they are doing.

Why do people get Loc Extensions?

As stated earlier, the reasons vary. There are those who don’t like short hair and don’t have the patience to wait for their locs to grow. Others get them because they had issues with their hair, be it breakage or something else and they add loc extensions. And then there are those who simply want a different look and want to add length. Some prefer starting their loc journey with loc extensions and then slowly cut off the loc extensions as their locs grow.

why some view loc extensions as cheating

This is the sensitive part. Those who started their locs from scratch, especially if they started with very short hair, feel like you’re skipping the journey if you use loc extensions. They feel it’s cheating. How can you call it a journey if you don’t go through all the stages of your hair locking, which includes the baby phase, the ugly stage, and everything in between? There’s a sense of pride and accomplishment for those in the loc community who weathered the storms, persevered through all the ups and down of having locs until their locs finally reach the mature stage.

I think back to being a loose natural and how the natural purists look down on you if you have synthetic or human hair added to your own for braids or other protective styles. And don’t you dare wear a wig! Natural hair purists feel that your natural hair is good enough and you should protective style your own hair. This is how those who went through the entire loc journey feel about those who get loc extensions. They feel you’re skipping steps in the journey just to have length that many labored years to achieve.

Another fact many fail to acknowledge is some people have such an attachment to hair that not having long hair is crippling to them. They simply can’t take it. So they do what makes them feel better, and that includes adding extensions. I personally know a lot of people like this. I believe in some ways, our identity is intricately tied to our hair, especially as black people. No other race has been so maligned because of how their hair grows out of their scalps as much as black people have.

To Each his own

In my humble opinion, I say to each his own. What you do with your hair or locs does not bother me one way or another. I can see both sides of the argument. Who am I to argue about a person’s reasons for doing something that suits them? As mentioned earlier, there are those who cut the loc extensions off as their own locs grow and attain length. There are those who keep their loc extensions because they want the length. As long as they have healthy hair and maintain their locs as they should, I have no issue with loc extentions.

Loc extensions is a service that has a need, and I’m seeing these services advertised more and more on Facebook and Instagram. I appreciate those who are honest about having loc extensions. Many who admit to having them get bashed on social media, and this should not be. We don’t know their story, nor are we walking in their shoes. It is not our place to judge anyone for doing something that make them feel better about themselves.

Everybody’s journey is different – that’s why it’s called a journey. Be it your natural hair journey or loc journey, we sometimes take different paths than others. There is no rule book that says you must do things this way or else you’re not natural or your locs aren’t real. What about those who have cut off their long locs but a a few years down the line decide they want their locs back and have them reattached? Is that cheating? Or what about those who have lost their hair due to chemo treatments, but after they are done with the treatments and their hair has grown back, they decide to reattach their locs? Is that considered cheating? Where do we draw the line? We draw the line by minding our own business and stop judging others journey.

“Natural Hair Isn’t For Everybody”

Recently I was in a group conversation on Facebook where the topic was receiving negative comments about your natural hair. For an example, the young lady who started the post said that her workmate told her “You natural hair is cute.” But as she walked away she muttered under her breath to her other workmates “Natural hair ain’t for everybody.” The young lady took this as a backhanded compliment and posed the question in her post “What does that even mean that natural hair isn’t for everybody? That doesn’t even make sense to me.”

unsolicited opinions

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve experienced this from other women whether if they were strangers, family members, workmates, nurses or doctors at the doctors office. And the majority of the comments were in this same negative manner. There were a few on the Facebook post who tried to defend the comments by stating that maybe the woman was just speaking for herself because she knows with her lifestyle she wouldn’t have the time to take care of her natural hair and we shouldn’t be judging her for stating her opinion. This is where I completely disagree.

The majority of the time these comments were made to me, they were unsolicited. These people stopped me to compliment me or stopped me to inquire about my natural hair. They offered their opinion but at the same time projected their negativity about natural hair onto me. That is not okay. First, I didn’t ask for your opinion, nor did I ask for the negative way that you expressed it. But this is what people tend to do when they don’t fully understand something. They project their insecurities and fears on you as if you’re doing something wrong.

Ask questions to spark positive conversation

There is a way to have positive conversation when you don’t understand something. How you say it can illicit positive or negative feelings. For one, ask questions if you don’t know. I’ve had many positive interactions with strangers who have stopped me in the grocery store to ask about my hair. Many were thinking about going natural and didn’t know where to start or were simply afraid. I use that opportunity to explain what I did and how I did it and also encourage them to not be afraid. But when you approach someone and give them a compliment about their hair, but end it with unnecessary negativity, then no, it’s not appreciated. Why can’t we as women be kinder to each other? It really bugs me. Going natural is not an easy thing to do. It takes courage, patience, and a whole lot of self love and tough skin. The last thing any of us need is thoughtless words and discouragement.

why the negativity?

Let’s get to the bottom of the negativity.

It has been my experience that those who have negative feelings toward natural hair feel this way because:

1. They believe the lie that natural hair, nappy or kinky hair, is bad and ugly hair. They feel that only hair straightened with a straightening comb or chemical relaxer is pretty.
2. They fear the opinion of others, mainly the ones who taught them that natural hair is bad, which is family members and friends.
3. They think natural hair is hard to care for and is a hassle.
4. They feel relaxed hair, no matter how damaged or how long it is, is better and easier to deal with.
5. They don’t have the time to deal with their natural hair.
6. They don’t want to deal with their natural hair.
7. They want to go natural and admire those who go natural, but are too afraid to do so. (Refer back to #2)

I could go on and on about the reasons why people have negative feelings toward natural hair. And when I say ‘people’ I mean BLACK people. Let’s be completely honest here – a lot of the negative feelings date back to slavery times when slaves were made to feel that their natural hair was nappy, kinky, and unkempt all because it was different than straight blonde or brunette hair found on white people.

Our hair was forcibly cut and shaved. Black women were forced to cover their hair. As if that weren’t enough, distinctions were made between “good hair” and “nappy hair” based on hair texture. Looser curls were deemed good hair, especially when you were of mixed heritage due to slave masters raping female slaves. This distinction has unfortunately been passed on from one generation to the next. Light skinned and mixed heritage with loose curly hair equals good hair. Dark skin with tightly coiled hair equals nappy or bad hair.

break the cycle

We have to break the cycle of negative stereotypes when it comes to natural hair among black people. I find it funny that so many claim that their natural hair is too rough or too difficult to deal with when they haven’t even seen their natural hair since they were three or four years old because that’s hold old they were when they started getting relaxers! They simply believe what their mothers and grandmothers have told them about their hair. I started getting relaxers when I was 15 years old. I didn’t know my hair type before I got it. I didn’t know if I had high or low porosity hair or hair density. I didn’t find out any of these things until I went natural six years ago and had to learn these things about my hair. You can’t knock something if you haven’t tried it.

I say all of this to say my natural hair journey is my own. Natural hair may not be your jam at this particular moment, or perhaps ever. But it’s also not okay to project your negative feelings on others either. If you feel a certain way about natural hair, find a more positive way to have an open discussion about your feelings. If you don’t feel comfortable doing that, then maybe you shouldn’t say anything at all.

And for the record, natural hair is for everybody. It’s what God created you with. It’s how it grows out of your scalp. How you choose to wear it is up to you.

Am I in the Twilight Zone?

For real. I’m so tired of coming across these weird crazies on these here interwebs! All I want to do is encourage and help my fellow 4c naturalista’s in their natural hair journey and receive the same in return. I thought joining some natural hair groups on Facebook would be a great way to bond, get great tips, and just talk hair. Share our experiences with the good, the bad, and the ugly of having natural hair. And then the crazies come out and want to tell you what you should and should not say, how to say it, how you should and shouldn’t feel, and tell you that your opinion is wrong or doesn’t matter because they are the hair guru and you’re either their disciple or you get kicked out and blocked from the group.

You can’t have healthy conversations or even disagree without being chastised like a child. But here’s the problem: I’m a grown woman. I have my own opinions, and they can be strong opinions at times. I reject anything that smells like censorship of my opinions or ideas, especially when I’m presenting them in a respectful manner. With that being said, I’m seriously thinking about starting my own 4c hair group (not really) to show people how groups should be: Fun, respectful, insightful, encouraging. I don’t even care if it’s just a handful of people who join it. As long as those few and I are supportive and encouraging to one another, that’s all that matters. I know it seems like I’m a glutton for punishment, but I refuse to believe that there isn’t a group out there that is a pleasure to be a part of that discusses everything 4c hair and the moderator isn’t some lunatic that wants to control it’s members! Sheesh…

Love in the 4C Hair Natural Community

~ Loving Your Hair With Natural Care ~

This is my first post of 2017! Hey now!

I stumbled upon a Facebook group called Type 4 Natural Hair. In this group, there is nothing but love and support for those of us with this hair type. Women from all over the world post pictures, seek advice, encouragement, and share tips. It’s such a supportive group and I couldn’t be happier that I found it and am now a member of its community.

Everyone in this group is in different stages of their natural hair journey, and it’s beautiful to read all the different experiences or some of the same frustrations that I once had when I first started. Women and men of all ages are in this group seeking advice and encouragement for themselves or their kids or grandkids. There’s no negativity allowed, no hair shaming or hair type shaming, and that is huge to me. This Facebook group is exactly what any kinky haired, tightly coiled, natural haired person with questions, concerns, or insights to share should want to be a part of. Check out Type 4 Natural Hair and request to become a member. You’ll love it.