Hair Update - 1 year post big chop and 5 month old locs

Just wanted to check in with an update on the hair.  It has been a year since I did the big chop and my hair is really thriving.  More-so since I started loc'ing, in my opinion.  I think if I was still a free natural I wouldn't experience the same results, only because my hair tends to curl into itself quite a bit.  My new loctician even said the same thing at my last visit (I will get to that a bit later).  On to the pics!

 this was when I first started back in late April/early May-I started with two strand twists on top and comb coils in the back

 

 at this point in the game about a month later they are beginning to look more like locs to me for some reason but see how spacey, ugh

 

as I stated here, my front and sides have always been my problem area.

 But the back thrives no matter what, except for one tiny little patch close to the nape of my neck that refuses to do right...

eventually the sides started to catch up, this is June/July

 yay finally!

 loc maintenance is needed but at this point my hair is growing rapidly and it takes too long for me to do it so...

 I let it do what it do baby - this is in August.  I am on a business trip and BUSY.  No time to worry about what my hair is doing for real.

finally home after CA business trip and itching for some color, wanted it that exact color...

 instead I got this - do you see color?  cause I don't.  Oh and don't mind my face I was trying a drag inspired look - eh not so much...oh and after the color my hair dried out and I didnt retwist my whole head, it was too much.  I did the front and back and kept it moving, until...

 I finally found a loctician that i LOVE!  You would think there would be an abundance of natural salons in 'Chocolate City' and I guess there is a decent amount, but I needed a certain something that I wasn't finding.  Now I have found him and my hair is very happy, and so are my arms since I don't have to do my own maintenance. We discovered that I actually have a lot of locs, not as small as sisterlocs but damn near close so as they continue to grow I will have to be careful with them.

My hair is definitely growing and I am in love with them.  Salih said that he didn't realize how long they were the first time he did my hair because my hair curls into itself a lot, which I already knew.  This last time I went for loc maintenance (about a week ago) I was so surprised by the length and I see my own hair every day.  Salih went through and carefully performed maintenance on each and every loc so I probably wont have to visit him for another month or so.  Though it did rain quite a bit yesterday and I chose to go without an umbrella, only because I could but I kinda like when they puff up.  :)