Why did I start locs....and then comb them out 9 months later?

Real talk. My hair has grown to be very important to me. At the time that I was contemplating locs, my hair was already past my shoulders (when reasonably straightened), thick, and mostly healthy. However, detangling my tresses was a beast. I've always loved box braids and my mini twists and knew without a doubt I would love to have them for as long as I can; so to me that meant locs.

I was hesitant to go to a salon because finding a reputable salon in CT experienced with natural hair via google searching is quite near impossible. I also couldn't get a clear answer as to how much it would cost me. I saw estimates on forums ranging from $80 to $300+. Not knowing any salons to call and ask, and knowing the longer and thicker your hair is the more money you spend, I had my sister and good friend help me install them. 

I loved them. I'm not gonna lie, they were awesome. I didn't mind the process of retwisting although there were a few times that I really didn't want to. I went to a salon twice within my nine months of having locs--once was through word of mouth in a sketchy cash only establishment, and the 2nd time was a prize I won at a natural hair event. 

6 months in they were definitely maturing. i never had a problem with how they looked, and they were finally really locking. With all the positives why would I go through the painstakingly long process of combing them out?

Right around 7 months, my scalp would not stop itching. My scalp felt slightly irritated ever since month 3 or 4, but it was nothing I couldn't tolerate. I washed my hair every other week, just like I did with loose hair, and did a few rinses in between wash days since I work in a slightly dustier than average place (clay does that). I would make sure to never go to bed with damp hair, have been using simple products I knew I wasn't allergic to, and only retwisted once every 3 to 4 weeks. I've tried a few different remedies to try and alleviate it but nothing worked. My scalp just felt terrible. and was only getting worse.

After hours of searching I finally found contact information for two salons that I thought might help me redo them. One offered extensions (cutting off my current locs and then installing fake ones) and the other said that it is possible to take them out but it's a very long process so they don't offer the service. They were nice enough to offer a free consultation and let me know all the tools and teach me how to do it. I am forever grateful to them even though I was never able to follow through and meet them due to my hectic schedule. I then found a super helpful youtube video and started the process July 4th. As of today I still have about ten locs left.

I'll explain how I did it in another post, but yeah. That's my loc story. Sad to see them go but I'm happy to have my fro (almost) back. It's actually a little bit longer than when I started so I'm hoping after a trim it wont be too much shorter. I might be insane for not just cutting them off and being done with it but I really didn't want short hair for my wedding. Such a simple reason for the madness, I know. 

TTFN!