Whoops: Things I forgot

As promised in my previous post here is the pic of the ends of my locs that came off. The two long ones are 1.5 inches. I didnt realise they were that long :O The middle one is an inch and i didnt measure the smallest one.


As i explained in the previous post i do not know what cause the ends to become weak and come off. Initially i thought it could be poor retightening at the start, but i now realise it could not have been. My hair was never that short when it was installed, so i am at a loss. I hope it is not the start of some underlying problem and just a one off. Maybe i did not mositure is properly and it got dry and brittle. Anyway i will try to remedy it by doing some deep conditioning. Can anyone recommend a good product. Also i will make sure i will mositure the ends properly in case that is a cause. Still trying to find a product to replace the shea butter. I prefer to make my own so i am a little stumped.

I also forgot to mention that i have some baby locs. I have one at the front at the right. It has been there for a while but kept washing out. I have now sown the end and it appears to be holding. I find this technique helpful in helping the loc to form and i have done it on other ones. I did have a baby one on the left side as well but when i got retighten last it was joined to a loc. I have an unruly hairline and no matter what it always comes out and is bushy esp when i wash it. So even wen my hair has just been re-tightened it can look like it needs doing. I just accept it as my hair. Anyway there is enough to form a tiny loc, but sometimes when it is re-tighened a new loc is formed and other times she joins it with the other locs. Oh i dont know if i have mentioned before that Liz no longer re-tightens my locs. She has trained her neice to do re-tighening and she does my locs. I do not see this any different to her training me to do my own locs so i am kool with it. She has been doing it for a while now i reckon well over a year. I also have 2 new baby locs that were put in near the back on the right side. Those two are very new and i think it was formed from hair sprouting. That or i lost 2 locs but i have not noticed that so i don't think so. I also have one behind my ear on the left side. The thing with that one is that it is right where the ends of my glasses sit so it can pull. I do find it hard having random baby locs as my locs are matured i am used to doing my own thing with them and not worrying. I sometimes forget i have baby locs and they need to be treated with care.

Anyhoo i do not think i have forgotten anything else
Blessings
xx

Braid Out 2011

I haven't done a braid out on my hair since the early stages of locing (click here for post). When i initially did it i was not all that keen on it and prefered the results i got from rollers (perm and soft spikes). So that is want i tend to use. However the other day i thought hmmmm let me try a braid out. I did the brand n band, wash method. I.e. i braided and banded my hair before i washed it. I liked it as on the one hand my hair was nicely in sections and i could get to the scalp easily. However i was paranoid about getting product stuck in my locs. In fact when i took one braid out i didnt like the way it looked so i rinsed it and put the braid back in. Luckily it was near my ear so it was hidden under the rest of my hair. Below is a picture of me with the braids. I washed my hair the Friday afternoon and i let it air dry. I actually had to go round to a friends house and initially i was thinking oooh i need to wear a hat. But we were experiencing a heat wave and there was no way i was going to wear a hat. So in the end i just went out like that. I think that it looked fine.

I took my hair out the next morning. OMDz it took just as long to take out as put in. The advantage of rollers is that when taking them out you can just slide the roller out. But with braids you have to unloose each one. I didn't realise how long it would take but i will know for next time. Below is a picture of the results. And i actually love it. I was surprised at how much i like this style and it may become part of my staple hair style. My hair was actually due a retight which i had done the Sunday. And the style lasted through that. Infact it has lasted all week to the time of writing and i don't see any reason why it would not last til my next wash.


In my last post you may recall that i said i had started using natural shea butter. Well i have stopped using it on my hair. After i started using it i noticed that my hair felt very itchy. Intially i didn't think anything of it. But it was getting ridiculous as soon as i washed it i felt like it needed to be washed again. In fact at one point the itchiness was driving me crazy and i was waking up scratching. It got to the point that i thought i had cuaght nits from somewhere. But a check revealed that i hadn't. So on this occassion i just washed my hair again and i just used my hair oil blend. And there was no itchiness, none whatsoever. So i can only assume it was the shea butter. I have no idea why it itched me but i have stopped using it on my hair. Luckily it is versitile and i use it to cream my skin :o) I'm now looking for something else to use as i don't think the hair oil is enough. Too much makes my hair greasy, not enough it feels dry. I need something else so any ideas would be greatly appreciated. I need to remember that my locs have been dyed and i need to look after it.

What has happened which has been a shock to me is that the ends of some of my locs have come off. I noticed that some of the ends looked weak and i put knots in some of them. However doesnt seemed to have helped. I noticed that some of them locs were hanging on and i am one of these people that i will just pull it off, so i did for a few locs. I do not know what caused it: poor re-tightening at the beginning stages, damage from colouring, i just don't know. Although i had noticed the weakness before i coloured. Anyway it is something that i will monitor. I do have some of the ends that came off. I will take a pic and then post so you can see. I'm not overly worried about it, just disappointed.

Anyway that is all for now and i still LOVE MY LOCS!!
Peace
xx

Four Years

WOOHOOO MY LOCS ARE FOUR YEARS OLD!!!!

Happy Locaversary to Me

Ok technically 2 days ago (21^st) was my loc birthday but I have reached 4 years. Wow the last year has flown by. Sorry haven’t updated my blog but I have been mad busy with my doctorate and trying to get going on my thesis. On the home straight so hopefully will be finished soon

Below is a comparison from year one (top) to year four (bottom). I love comparison shots. I’d forgotten the frizziness that I experienced in the early stages. I was actually convinced that my hair hadn’t really grown this year. I knew it must have done as I had roots from my re-dye but I really didn’t think was a great deal. People told me it had grown but I didn’t see it. When I compared year 3 and 4 I was like WOW my hair has grown! In fact even now I can’t stop looking at it. I don’t know what prompted me not to wear my usual necklace. It was a little tradition with myself each anniversary but this time I haven’t.

Below close up of locs taken from the side

Not much has changed with my hair routine. Still go to my consultant for re-tight every six weeks. Oh yeah last re-tight she gave me a groom. She said i have unruly hair which i have to agree with as i had hair sprouting everywhere. My hair defo looked neater but to me it looks thinner. No change in my shampoos but I wash weekly. In fact recently my hair has felt itchy and I want to wash it more often like every few days. I do not know the cause of the itchiness but it is really annoying. Maybe I need to use more oil on my scalp. I do drink enough water so I don’t think that is the cause. I don’t seem to get the funky white goo any more. I have recently bought natural organic shea butter and I am using it on my locs with my oil blend. I melt it first so I don’t get build up. Anyone who uses or seen shea butter will understand. My sister is considering sisterlocs which is amazing. I never thought she would leave the creamy crack. But she seems to be transitioning to natural and seems to be loving it. So time will tell. A few others have made noises but nothing so far. It’s not that I am on a mission to get everyone into sisterlocs as it’s a personal choice, do what is best for you. I just want others to experience the joy, freedom and love I feel with my locs.

So I dyed my hair again in Jan the same raging red as last time. I had bought 4 boxes so had 2 left over. Once again the colour has washed out so I am left with a brown. I don’t mind the brown actually. Not sure I will dye it again or not? Below are pics of when it was dyed.

I am trying to do a lil more styling with my locs are few pics below.

Lockhawk 2011. Click here for lochawk 2009

Just a quick update

Stay locked and happy

Peace

Third Locaversary

Yesterday (21st) was my third locaversary. My locs are 3 years old WOOHOO!!!

Below is a pic comparing the day they were installed (top) with 36 months (bottom).

Erm things have been mad busy for me in recent months trying to complete my doctorate (jus about to enter my final year), so i haven't given much thought to my locs. I still go to Liz for re-tightening, it's much easier for me timewise. I get re-tightened every 6 weeks. I only use my own blend of oils after i wash my hair and somtimes if it feels dry. I spritz every now and then with my own spritz blend. I think i added recipes in an earlier post. I wash my hair when I feel like it, usually every 2-3 weeks but I thinking of doing every week. I tend to curl my hair when i wash it so i like to make the most of the curls. I currently use Tresemme colour shampoo and conditioner. I still find a funky white goo on my scalp when i wash which is very stubborn. I don't know what causes it but i wonder if it's the oils that i use? It usually takes bicarb of soda to get rid of. I love bicarb to clarify my hair.

Erm that's all i can think of at the mo i just let my locs do its thang. Still madly in love with them. Love being a walking advertisement, love the compliments, and love when people recognise they're sisterlocs.

What happened to my colour??


It was red as you can see but now it looks more brown. I was told that red is a hard colour and tends to wash out. Not sure if i will dye it again. Would love a deeper red but it's good for now. Plus I'm not one for dying my hair too often.

A pic of a style i did. Curled with perm rods and then pinned a flower in the side. I like this look

Goal Achieved

Whoop Whoop I've managed to get my hair in a pony tail!! The other day i thought I would just give it a go and i was surprised that it went into a pony. I used my hair tie to gather the hair. I now understand what my consultant was saying about my hair being thick ie i have a lot of hair. I was just so happy :oD

As you can see my locs need retightening and i will get them done on Sunday.

Well this was just a quick post.

Oh yes i remember now what i wanted to say previously. I had noticed that my hair was getting longer. If i dont wear my glasses it's all in my eyes. It constantly gets in my mouth esp when i am eating. I tend to tie it up when i am home. One time i noticed it moving in the wind and i was just soo happy. I was just like wow that is my hair, all my hair. I saw some people i hadnt seen since my locs were smaller and the were surprised with the growth. It's coming along nicely. My roots need doing but not sure when i will do a colour just yet.

Well that's all folks.
One final word I LOVE MY LOCS!!!!

31 Months - Catch-up

Hey Everyone,

Happy Easter!!

I know it has been a long while since I’ve updated my blog but I’ve been mad busy. I’m taking a breather from my research and I thought I would take the time to do a quick update.

I’d been considering dying my locs for a while now and Nov 09 I finally decided to do it. I used Crème of Nature ragin red.


I was aware of it containing ammonia and I weighed it up for myself. A few things that influenced my decision were: most permanent hair dyes contain ammonia. I had tried an organic one and had a bad reaction. I’d read up on ammonia in hair dye and I considered that as long as I kept my hair moisturised I should be ok. I must admit I was a little nervous as I hadn’t done a DIY dye for years and the last one was one when I had a TWA. It went ok but the ammonia was overpowering. I was concerned about leaving any product in my hair and I rinsed for an hour. Trus that was not funny as I had a cold at the time and felt so faint. The instructions said to rinse until clear but it never seemed to get clear even after an hour so I left it feeling certain that it must be all out. Later speaking to a friend and my consultant I was told that there would always be a little colour coming out. I took this as read as initially I wasn’t using shampoo specifically for coloured hair and the shampoo was clear. However, last Tuesday when I washed my hair as I decided to do a clarifying wash as I had not done one since I’d dyed my hair. When I clarify I use bicarb of soda as to me this is the best thing. However I think I smelt a hint of ammonia, which really shocked me. It’s been over 4 months since I dyed my hair and I’ve washed it since then. The shampoo was not tinged red and I thought if any product had remained in the hair it would have eaten through but I haven’t lost any locs. I have not noticed any adverse affect on my locs. Hmmmmm. My consultant said that maybe there was faint product left in. What do you think??

Below is a close up of the colour. It wasn’t as red as I hoped it would be more reddish brown, but I recognise that it will take a few goes to lift the colour.


Well my locs are now 31 months old woohoo!!! The pic below is a comparison of my locs from top: day installed, @12 months, @18 months, @24 months @31 months.


Erm that is it for now my mind has gone blank if I recall what I wanted to say I will edit it

To Dye or Not to Dye

I really really want to dye my hair. However I am a little worried as I have not put chemicals on my hair for nearly 10 years.

Anyway, while i still think about it I thought I would share this story that highlights the importance of doing the skin sensitivity test before you dye you hair and make sure you follow the instructions

Hair dye puts women in burns unit