It Could All Be So Simple...

But I was making it rather hard. Let's start from the beginning.

I've seen the videos and read the NP threads about latching or interlocking, but it just wasn't making sense to me. Why go through all of this effort when you could twist those bad boys and keep it moving? So, I twisted the front of my hair sometime around week 4. It looked pretty fresh to death if I do say so myself. That is, until I rinsed my hair. Yea. Not so cute that look. I needed to try an alternate method. The problem? I had no clue how to go about interlocking.

All that talk about 4 point versus 3 point rotations, y pattern warnings, and compass-like directions was a bunch of mumbo jumbo to me. Then, to complicate matters, there are fiftyleven tools that can be used. Some folks use the Nappylocs tool. Others use a crochet hook - and a subpopulation of these folks complain about their hair geting caught on the hook. And then you have the rebels. The DIYers. The folks that said Later for all this purchasing of crap. I'll just make it my damn self! These are the folks that took paperclips, wire, masking tape, or a sewing needle and McGuyvered their own hair tools. Ha! These are my type of peoples.

It's been 7 weeks and my new growth is outta control.
So, off I went to NP and YouTube for a refresher course on interlocking. *Enter msfullroller's vid* I'd seen her video before I was locked and had that squinty-eye-lean-head-to-the-side look going on as I watched it. Your girl wasn't understanding anything that was going on. But last night... EUREKA and Thank God! I got it. I made two tools from a small and a large paper clip and went to work on a small section of my freshly washed hair. I looked in the mirror in disbelief at how simple and effective this method really is.

Paper clips work just fine for me

Can you see the difference? The right side has been re-tightened

Twisting, for me, is a quick fix. I'm thinking interlocking is where it's at. It might take a while to do, but that's what I get for having so much darn hair and then having a bunch of small braidlocs on top of that. I'll keep you posted on how the retightening session goes. Something tells me I'll be at it for a few hours.