Child Locs

So my 11yos really wanted to grow his hair out, but he has brillo pad hair that just looked awful when long!  What is a Mom to do?  I really wanted him to cut it, and yet I wanted to honor what he wanted to do with his own hair.  He decided to try locs.

We searched for the perfect salon to start them, but it costs money we don't have.  I am a hairstylist by trade, and even though it's been seventeen years since I've practiced I kinda believed I could do this!  I read around online, watched what felt like 1,000 YouTube vids (I liked this one and other by this poster best:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLXFXHUs_iA), and decided to start twists that follow the hair's natural curl pattern with very light product (Jamaican Mango & Lime Locking Gel).  I did not want wax that attracted dust and yuck!  Here is what his hair looked like afterward:

The problem is that even wet, he doesn't necessarily have a curl pattern.  It's a wiry straight kinda texture, and in two weeks time we were struggling to get his hair to start locking and had to work to make it look decent every day.  ~I don't know where to share that he wears a do-rag to sleep in and during sports.~

Then I met a beautiful woman in K-Mart who had lovely locs, loved the same products, and was happy to share advice:  USE THE WAX!  So I did get the Locking Creme Wax and tried again.  It was very greasy and heavy, I was worried about it, but it has been the perfect product for us!  The twists are skinnier, his hair looks much longer, and in less than two weeks time it is definitely locking!

So there's our story on starting locs, and I hope someone might find it helpful.  I'll try to come back and add another pic on this post after our next two-week washing.