One girl and her hair

Whoops: Things I forgot

2011-10-06T19:08:00.003+01:00

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

2011-10-05T22:45:00.007+01:00

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

2011-08-23T20:00:00.004+01:00

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

2010-08-22T11:35:00.006+01:00

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

2010-05-14T20:46:00.003+01:00

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

2010-04-05T18:02:00.004+01:00

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

2009-11-05T22:08:00.005Z

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

25 Months - Bit of this a bit of that

2009-10-05T16:55:00.009+01:00

Hello blogging family

Hope all of you are happily nappy :o)

If you recall in my last post I was going to decide what to do about my re-tightening. The last one I did again took me aaages. Well partly because I some how hurt my neck and back in the middle of me retightening, which stopped me from continuing. I do not know what happened I just woke up like it. It was very painful and I had limited movement. Took a week to recover. I also have hair sprouting everywhere (see pic below) and I am finding it hard to get into a loc neatly. So for those reasons I have had enough and I’ve decided to let Liz do my re-tightening (well at least for the forseeable future).

The other week I had a nightmare hair washing experience. I decided to use my Avalon Organics range, even though I had not used them since my last bad experience. I used the Lemon clarifying shampoo. Even though I rinsed and rinse I was still finding white build up (what I do when I was my hair is scratch my scalp and make sure there is no gunk/build-up/product under my nails). So used some bicarb of soda. I then conditioned with Lavender nourishing conditioner. Because of my last experience I made sure I diluted the conditioner. I did my scratch test and kept revealing product, kept rinsing and then I used bicarb of soda. Finally I thought I had rinsed all the product out, the water was clear in my hand (another test I do is to squeeze the locs into my hair and check to see the water is clear). When I looked in the mirror this is what I saw

I could not believe it!! No matter how I rinsed, used some bicarb of soda I could not get it out. In the end I had to use IC Fantasia Pure Tea Clarifying Shampoo mixed with bicarb of soda and that got rid of it. It took be nearly two hours to wash my hair, I was sooo not impressed and I had to go to work with wet hair. I do not know how other people find the range but for me it has been a nightmare and I will not be using it again.

On 26 Sept we had a SL meet-up. I decided to try an experiment with a new hairstyle. I curled my hair with perm rods overnight. I then put my hair in a loc-hawk/mo-hawk (welll my take on one). I can’t braid or I would have tried some cornrows or flat twists up the side. Anyway I think it turned out really good and I got loads of compliments. I inspired a lady at church who put her locs in an up-do Sabbath gone. And I also inspired my friend whose locs I had previously re-tightened and she bought some perm rods. She curled them and pinned them up really nicely. I like inspiring people and showing them that locs are versatile and you can do loads with them. I can’t wait to get more length and try more styles

The pic below is my consultant and some of her clients

Two Year Locversary

2009-08-26T22:00:00.009+01:00

WOW I’VE BEEN LOCKED FOR 2 YEARS!!!!

Happy Locversary to me, happy locversary to me, happy locversary happy locversary, happy locversary to meeeeeeeeeeeee!!
Ok, ok my locversary was actually 5 days ago on 21st but i was busy and i didn’t get chance to do an entry. But anyhoo i’ve been locked down for 2 years (and 5 days :oD) and I still LOVE MY LOCS

This pic is a comparison of my locs, from top: day my locs were installed, locs at a year, locs at 18 months, locs at 2 years. I didn’t think that my locs had grown between 18 and 24 months but i can see that they have. My hair was not the same length when i started my locs so they kinda have a layered look, where the strands are at different lengths. It’s getting there and i can’t wait til those top locs are down to my shoulders.

If you remember that at 21 months i said that my locs had build-up that made them look ashy and dirty. I was going to dye them black to try and dye out the build-up. After looking around i decided to go for Naturtint as it is meant to be gentle with active vegetable proteins, with no ammonia. I had to get it from a health food shop and it’s quite expensive compared to other brands, costing £8.99 per box. However I decided to go for colour instead and i love red. I purchased 3 boxes of Iridescent Chestnut as it looked like it would show up on dark hair (the pic is of the model on box).

When i got home I decided to do the skin sensitivity test – i’ve never done it in the past but i haven’t dyed my hair for years and i am not allergic to anything that i know off. But I’ve also seen too many stories where ppl have had an severe allergic reaction and i did not want that to happen to me. This was on the Tuesday and the test was meant to be done 48 hours before you dye your hair. I was planning on dying it on the Friday so i thought i had more than enough time to check sensitivity. Well everything was fine, I did not have any swelling, difficulty in breathing, or rashes. However on the Friday when i noticed that the skin felt a little rougher. On the Sat it was really rough and friends said it looked burnt. By the Sunday the skin was very rough and sore and the pharmacist said i had been burnt. She recommended buying some E45 cream to put on it to keep it moist and it will drop off. Drop off??! Obviously i cannot see behind my ear so i wondered what she was talking about. I tried to take some pics, sorry they are not very clear.

By the Monday it was sore and itchy for which i was recommended to take an anti-histamine tablet for. By the Tuesday the skin began to peel and by the Wednesday it was all peeled off. I was very surprised about what happened. I was happy I had done the sensitivity test and i would recommend that everyone DO A SKIN TEST BEFORE YOU DYE YOUR HAIR. I do wonder what would have happened if i had dyed my hair on the Thursday as this was 48 hours later and i did not notice anything then. So currently dying my hair is on hold until i decide what to do. I’m not keen on dying my hair blonde first to lighten my hair to get the colour to take (that’s another thing the strand test did not take). Someone said that D&L has hair lightener in it so that could work and my consultant said i cud sit under a dryer but you have to be very very careful with doing that. I did email one hairdresser that specialises in locs and natural hair but i did not get a response. I would love to use henna but i know my hair would have to be lightened first. So i am still thinking of what to do.

My last re-tight i went to my consultant as the one i did before that just seem to take forever. I don’t know why it took so long but i just got so frustrated with it all. I’m still deciding what to do. I like doing my hair myself to save the money, but on the downside it does take up a lot of my time. I am not fast enough to do it in one day. With my consultant there is the cost of the re-tight and travel as she is quite a distance from me. But 3 hours and she’s done. I am going back to uni in Sept to finish my doctorate so i need to decide what to do. I can see her and save on time (which i can use for my studies), or i can do it myself and save on money (which i need as the course is expensive and i do not get any help with it). I’m goin to do my next re-tight and will see Liz after that. I guess at that one i will decide as i would be back at uni by then.

I’m still using the SLS shampoos that i had in my cupboard but they are running out. I haven’t decided what to do yet but i think I may purchase some from the Avalon Organics range as I can get that from my local health shop. Plus i already have the lavender conditioner so i may buy the shampoo to go with it.

I was meant to be making my own hair products and noting my results but i kinda didn’t do that. I made two spritz. One with rose water and de-ionised water and the other with de-ionised water and lavender, peppermint and rosemary eo, which smells refreshing. I used them whenever i felt like it but i’ve stopped using the rosewater one. There is no particular reason for this, other than i prefer the smell of the other one. I also wondered if rosewater goes off (although it does not smell off). My hair oil that i use to oil my hair and scalp was 4 floz olive oil, 2.75 floz coconut oil, 1.25 floz Jojoba oil with 14 drops cedarwood eo, 20 drops ylang ylang eo and 12 drops bay eo. I quite like the smell of this. I have recently made another batch with slight tweeks and will continue to use this. I still haven’t done a hot oil treatment but if my hair is feeling dry i may lather some on and sit under the hair-dryer or wrap my hair in cling film and headscarf over night.

The other day i re-tightened my friends locs. She has traditional locs started with twists but she wanted me to inter-lock the roots for her. It took ages as she had not re-twisted them for weeks. I did at least 4 rotations (4-point) on each one some as much as 8. I told her off lol. Ok i recommended that she keep on top of it so not to loose her locs. I know with traditional locs you can semi free-form but they were not forming so needed twisting. Some of them were hanging on my few strands and she actually lost one in the re-tight. She is also nearly bold on the top. I was wondering what she could do to help improve her hair condition here. She said she may get some rosemary as it’s good for stimulating the scalp and preventing hair loss. Any other ideas??? She is considering chopping her locs off. I kinda agree to give her chance to improve her hair and then could try again. We will monitor it and then decide.

Well that is all i can think of for now
Enjoy your locdown
Khandi

Locs in motion

22 Months

2009-06-21T17:32:00.003+01:00

My locs are 22 months old today and all i want to say is

I LOVE MY LOCS!!!!!!

21 Months

2009-05-27T21:27:00.011+01:00

Comparison of my locs day of installation left, one year middle and 21 months right

Nice neat partings :o)

The build up on my locs. See how dirty it makes my locs look :o( So not impressed

20 Months & Curly

2009-04-23T23:00:00.015+01:00

Hello blogging family

Tuesday gone my locs were 20 months old. Time is flying by and soon it will be my two year locaversary. I was in the middle of re-tightening the front on the Tuesday as for some reason that was really messy and in a need of a re-tight. But the back is not quite there yet and I don’t want to force rotations so I’ve left that for a lil while. I really didn’t want to do this but it’s the only way.

After I finished re-tightening the front yday I decided to curl my hair. At the mo I really like my hair when it’s curled. I wasn’t planning on washing my hair just yet but I ended up doing it (B&B the front). I find the best way to clarify my hair is to use bicarb of soda. I’ve tried clarifying shampoos but bicarb of soda seems to get it the cleanest and clarified. After I washed it I put my hair in perm rods and sat under the dryer for an hour. I actually left the rods in over night. I’ve never done this before as I thought they would be too hard and uncomfortable but for some reason I decided to try it last night. And I must say it was not bad at all. In fact it was more comfortable than sleeping in soft spikes. This morning I took them out and then ran my fingers to it to separate. I actually got a few compliments at work.

I actually now remember what I wanted to put in my other post. When I was in St. Lucia I went to the cinema and a lady stopped me and asked me if I had sisterlocs. I was surprised as this has never happened to me before. Also I was practically half way round the world. Unfortunately we were late for the film (Medea goes to jail, proper funny would recommend it) so I didn’t get chance to speak to her.

I was wondering what people do when they go to the beach. It’s not something I do often but when I was on hol I was wondering what others did. I actually only went to the beach 3 times whilst on hol and the 3^rd time I didn’t wet my hair. After the first time I washed my hair with shampoo. The 2^nd time, 2 days later, I decided to just rinsed my hair with water. I don’t know if I should have done a shampoo or of the rinse was sufficient. So I was wondering what others do when they go to the beach?? Although when I washed my hair when I got home I did see sand in the bath. It scared me to think that sand had been sitting in my hair. Although I didn’t rinse it after I was under the waterfall as it didn’t click to me that although it was not sea water it could still have grit in it. But there does not seem to be any damage to my locs. They did feel a bit battered out there and if I had been at home they would never had gotton to that state. But they seem fine now.

I was also looking for a deep conditioner and I found one totally natural SLS free – think happy organic surge citrus mint intensive hair treatment. Can’t r’ber the exact price but it was over £6. I saw it in the shop seemed good so I decided to give it a try. Unfortunately it didn’t click to me at the time that it was a thick cream and therefore probably not suitable for my locs. So I watered it down but I think I was a lil scared of getting product stuck in my locs that I may have watered it down too much. It was runny enough to go through a spray bottle. Therefore I am not sure how effective it is as a deep conditioner as I don’t know if watering it down would have affected it.

I’m now looking for a new shampoo. My A’kin shampoo is nearly finish but it’s soo expensive I’m loathed to buy it again. I’m half wondering if I should just use the old shampoos I have even though they have SLS. Money is tight and I don’t want to waste the products (some are practically full). But since I have gone natural with my hair products I’m loathed to go back. Decisions decisions.

I haven’t attempted to sew back on the lock that I accidently chopped off. I was thinking about it when I was re-tightening but I manage to use the tool and didn’t see the point. After all it’s only hair and it will grow back. As you can tell I’ve over my grief and accepted my loss lol.

I have a feeling that I have forgot to include something but if it comes to me I will add it another time.

But for now stay nappy and happy

Love

Khandi

A bit of this a bit of that

2009-04-08T19:29:00.011+01:00

Hello my blogging family, hope that all is groovy with you all.

Well I was thinking the other day of updating my blog and now i can't r'ber what i said i would include :o/ LOL Never mind

I was re-tightening my locs the other day, it was getting late but i wanted to finish a section, plus i was watchin desperate housewives and i noticed a few hair strands had joined together. So i reached for the scissors to cut the strands as i couldn't undo them. Can you guess what happened?? That's right i cut my lock!!! You read that right I accidently cut my lock. I couldn't believe it.

What have a learnt from this, don't rush your re-tightening, stop when you are tired and concentrate on what you are doin. I still have the part i cut of and i was thinking of trying to sow it back on so it's not so short as i don't think I could retighten it the length it is. I haven't done it yet as i'm not sure i can see the angle properly. Apart from that there has not been much change in my locs since the last post.

I put perm rods in my hair last Thur but the curls didn't last long, more of a wave now. I did a new updo on Sunday where I pinned up both sides almost like a loc-hawk (but that was not what i was going for). I was inspired by a hair style i saw but i don't have a pic to show you. It didn't turn out how i wanted but i still think it looked nice. I will try it again when the curls are fresher.

Now O/T I recently spent 3 weeks in the Caribbean and i thought i would share some pics. I spent most of my time in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I spent 3 days in St. Lucia and I was in transit in Grenada and had a wistlestop tour. Hope you enjoy

18 months

2009-02-22T22:05:00.008Z

Yesterday was 18 month locaversary, time has really flown. I was in the middle of re-tightening my locs so I decided to wait until I’d finished to post pics. I’ve literally just finished and my arms and shoulders are killing me, but I thought I would start writing the post whilst I watch Come Dine With Me. I’m loving my locs and more people are finally recognising that I have locs :oD

My Current Hair Routine
In Dec I decided that I needed to “formalise” my hair routine as I thought it was a bit hit and miss. I thought I would conduct an experiment for a few months that I will blog about at a later date.

Firstly I decided to stop using shampoo with SLS or parabans (I still have nearly full bottles at home, haven’t decided what to do with them yet). Looking at other blogs some of the natural products that people mentioned I could not get in the UK. After doing some googling I came across the A’Kin product range. I purchased the Rice Aminos & Wheat Protein Shampoo and the Avocado & Calendula Re-Moisturising Conditioner (they are expensive £6.49 for 225ml bottle). So far I’ve liked them, my hair feels soft and they smell lovely. I’m not sure if I will continue using them as they’re a bit too expensive. I’m also toying with the idea of making my own shampoo and conditioner but I haven’t fully made my mind up.

I made my own clarifying shampoo which I used monthly. The first one I used a recipe I found on the internet. The directions said to use as normal shampoo so I wet my hair first but I think the mixture was too wet for that. I haven’t used it again yet so I don’t know what it will be like using it on dry hair. I’ve also used baking soda added to my normal shampoo. I let them sit for up to 15 minutes before rinsing and then doing a normal shampoo. I did purchase the Avalon Lemon Clarifying Shampoo and may continue with that. Go figure after I searched the internet looking for SLS free shampoo my local Tesco Extra gets a health shop concession which stocked the Avalon range. Not sure how I feel about the range, see my previous post. Well the shampoo was fine not sure about the conditioner. May try diluting it and see if that will solve the problem.

I’ve made my own hair spritz with de-ionised water. The first one contains rose water and the other essential oils. I spritz my hair when I feel like it or if I am curling my hair dry i.e. I haven’t washed my hair first. I also made my own hair oil, which I use to oil my scalp after I shampoo also if I feel my hair is dry I may put some on my hair and sit under my dryer for about 15 mins so it penetrates. I haven’t used it as a hot oil treatment as yet but I will at some point.

Styling
I don’t tend to style my hair much apart from curling with soft spikes or perm rods (I ended up purchasing some of my own as the others were at my parents). I bought a satin cap which I find allows my curls to last longer than using a scarf. I can’t wait til I get some length so I can experiment with some more updos and get a loc puff :o) At the mo I jus get up, maybe spritz, finger comb and go.

Re-tightening
I re-tighten my locs approx every 4 weeks, still takes me a while to do it, not sure how many hours. This last one took, umm approx 20 hours but I’d left it for 7 weeks. So in most places I was doing 2/3 rotations some more. I could get my finger through some of them, not good. I also lost a loc, not sure how but as I was re-tightening it I noticed then it felt really really thin like it was holding on my few strands. In the process of re-tightening it came off. Oh well it will grow back. I have 4 baby locs along the hairline which I make sure I protect when I wash (I forgot a few times and they washed out but I r’ber now). I don’t B&B apart from these ones. A few of my locs I find a lil too thin, (which is strange as I didn’t get micro or small SL), so I’ve put some knots in them hoping that it will thicken round them otherwise I may have to wrap some hair round them.

Erm that’s all I can think about for my locs at the mo. Now for some comparison pics :oD. Wow that took longer than I thought but here they are. The pic is from day installed, 4 weeks, 6 months, year and 18 months (sorry I didn’t manage to a good pic of the back). My locs are growing :oD

Scary Experience

2009-02-13T21:43:00.003Z

Today i washed my hair. Once a month I do a clarifying wash. I recently purchased Avalon Organics Lemon Clarifying shampoo, which i used. I also purchased Avalon Organics Lavender Nourshing Conditioner, which I used a healthy dose of. I was doing some stuff and I actually left the conditioner on for about an hour. I washed it out as normal, i make sure i rinse well. I was sectionning my hair to put in perm rods when i noticed some white stuff. I thought oh i've missed a bit not like me so i went back to rinse again. But when i was scratching my scalp loads of white stuff was coming off and no matter what I did it didn't seem to rinse out. In the end i did another clarifying wash using my normal shampoo and baking soda and that seemed to get rid of it.

It's strange as this has never happened to me before, so i got a bit scared. I'm not sure exactly what it was but i'm guessing it was the conditioner.

I've never used the Avalon range before
I used quite a bit of conditioner i made sure my hair was covered.
I don't usually mix my products with water. I used dilute the shampoo but never the conditioner and i've never had any problems before. I do not know if the Avalon Conditioner was too thick

Has this happened to anyone else before?? Does anyone else the Avalon range and how have you found it?? Do you think i left the conditioner on too long as it's the longest i've done it??

The good thing is that the clarifying wash got rid of it, just meant that my locs didn't get a conditioner.

Pig-tails :oD

2009-01-26T17:27:00.006Z

I know to some of you out there it may not seem like a big deal but to me it is. I got my locs into pig-tails, woohoo!

Yesterday I was about to do some cleaning and i wanted to keep my hair back. The idea just came to me to try pig-tails & it worked. I was shocked as I didn't think my hair was long enough to go into a bobble. Actually I hadn't seen my friend for about a month and even they said my hair had grown. I don't see it, but maybe it is. Also a lady at church complimented my locs. She said she tried to start them herself and went to the hair-dressers for them to re-tighten them for her, apparently the lady said it was wrong, took them out and said to come to her to get them done proper. I'm a little dubious thinking she said that to get money or am i being cynical? She got a stocking weave in the end, but I gave her a lil info.

Oh yeah my locs are now 17 months old :) I'll post comparison shots next month

Loving My locs

2009-01-16T16:34:00.008Z

Sorry the volume is poor so pls turn up your speakers. Also audio is out of sync with wht is showing

This pic was taken during Christmas season & i thought it showed my locs nicely. My friend's daughter going through my handbag (blacked out to protect her)

21 Again

2008-12-08T20:49:00.003Z

Last Monday (01) was my birthday

I was surprised by my friend with a meal and then we went to see Chicago up the west End. I didn’t know where I was going but told to dress up. I curled my hair with soft spikes and then I put 3 flat twists in one side. Intially I was going to put both sides of my hair up but I thought it looked nice like this.

This pic was taken by my sis Sat gone and i thought it showed my locs nicely so i decided to add it. I think it's a good texture shot. You can see the frizziness of my ends

Not much has changed with my hair since my last post. I'm now locked 15 months. The other day i was chatting with a colleague at work who aslo started dreds but with the tradtional method. She loves my locs for the fullness and frizziness. I love the look of hers because they seem sealed and hang nicely. It's funny how we're never satisfied. Anyway i'm learning to love my frizzy, I know it's just the texture of my hair. But a few days after a re-tight it looks messy again. I love seeing the parts and when it's just been done and my colleague hates it, such is life. I still have some that slip at the roots, I think they are rebelling LOL. I saw Liz for a re-tight and she said my hair looks good, the DIY is good and there is no probs. I had started B&B again but she said there is no need as it's to stop hair slipping at the end not the roots. Still getting dry scalp so tryin to find something for that. That's all really nothing much as changed.

Sat gone (06) I went to a roller disco to celebrate my bday. I thought it would be something different. I can't skate but it was a good laugh.

Bantu Knot Out

2008-11-05T19:06:00.004Z

Last Sat i created a bantu knot out and i thought i would share it with my blogging family.

I washed my hair the Friday morning. I used IC pure tea shampoo for the first wash followed by IC Aloe shampoo for the second. The Aloe shampoo is something i have started using recently & i do like it. I the conditioned with the JML protein conditioner. My hair felt soft, however i have noticed that my scalp is drier than it used to be. I don't know if it's the shampoo or something else. I use oil on my scalp, usually JML cactus oil or olive oil. I spray my hair with water mixed with cactus oil (not every day) & sometimes rub some of the JML island oil on my locs. It should be moisturised, so i don't know. I do need more water in my diet, maybe that is it (but that is a whole other story, read my other blog if you want some info). After i washed my hair i had to pop out to docs, i had food poisoning and had to leave a stool sample (that is the weirdest thing i've ever done). It's cleared up now so i'm happy about that, lasted a week. Anyway i digress, when i got back from the docs i sprayed my hair with setting lotion and set about puttin the bantu knots in.

I took the bantu knots out on Saturday morning and i was like WOW look at the curls. I LOVED it. I simply wore a headband. The next day i noticed that the curls had dropped a lot. I was disappointed because i'd used the setting lotion i thought the curls would have lasted longer. I don't know if not having my hair net contributed to it. I got my friend to put some cane rows in the front for me. One thing i can't do is plait not matter how much i try. I did do flat twists but i wanted to try cane rows in the hope it will last longer and look neater. Unfortunately i think she did them too tight as my scalp was sore so I had to take them out Tues.

Not much news on my locs, they jus doing their thang. I'm 14 months locked now, time is flying by. I re-tighten every 3-4 weeks. I was wondering if locs can slip at the roots as a few of mine seem loose after i wash it & i know it's not re-growth.

Instead of putting loose pics i've added a slideshow.

Perm Rods

2008-09-23T20:34:00.008+01:00

I was at my parents on a short break and i decided to experiment with perm rods. We had perm rods from when we used to curly perm our hair back in the day. I had seen vids and pics of people who had used perm rods in their hair so i thought why not give it ago. I washed and conditioned my hair. Because i was at my parents i did not have my usual stuff with me, but my sister had some Aloe Shampoo & conditioner. After checking the ingrediants i thought it would be ok to use. I do not know where she got it from i should ask her. I found them ok but i think i will stick with my JML for now. I did not have my island oil with me so i used some extra virgin olive oil to mositurise my locs.

Then i set about putting the perm rods in. I used smaller size ones for the back and near the front. I did find that the perm rods did not seem that secure compare to for example soft spikes. I am not sure if it's because my perm rods are old so the elastic is loose. After they were in i sat under the hairdryer (I really need to buy one). I was under it for approx hour and half on and off. It probably didnt need that long but i wanted to make sure it was good and proper dry, plus i was watching tv.

I took the perm rods out that night as i knew there was noway i could sleep with them in. I didn't seperate the curls though and left them the little ringlets. I didnt have a hair net so i was worried how the curls would hold up. I find when I curl my hair puttin a hairnet on before my scarf at night makes the curls last longer.

The next day i seperated the curls and they had lasted. I quite like the curls. I didn't get the ringlets like i had see with other ppl but then again those were tradition locs so much thicker and were also maturer. I don't see much difference to the soft spikes so i decided to leave the perm rods at my parents so i can curl when i am there and use spoft spikes at home.

The pics below were taken 2day 4 days after i curled them. Bcos i didnt have my hairnet with me the curls began to drop but still looks good in my opinion. It's just wild and free

On a different note i ordered the nappyloc tool & i received it yday when i got back to my place. Next week when i do my re-tightening i will do a comparison and see how it goes, so watch this space
=====UPDATE======

Well the morning after i made this post i was on the internet gettin quotes for my car insurance and i ended up on youtube looking at loc videos & i was inspired to try styling my locs. I was a bit skeptical as my locs are short and these styles were done on long locs. It's almost a lochawk but not quite, i guess i don't hve a name for it jus an updo. All i did was twist up the sides diagonally and secured with pins. Intially i just did the left side but then i decided to do the right side as well. My hair could do with a retight so my partings are not that neat but to be honest i wasnt all that bothered about gettin it too neat i like the messy look. And the curls add body & gives it that lil extra sommit. Below are pics clicking on them and the ones above should show them bigger. I like the style so i think i would try it again.

In Love Again

2008-09-06T22:54:00.006+01:00

Wow what a difference 4 days and a re-tightening can make. I know in my last post I said I wasn’t feeling my hair and after reading other blogs I know that sometimes it can happen. But at the mo I LOVE my hair. I hope the bad days will be few and far between, if at all.

I started re-tightening my hair on Mon and I finished y’day. I don’t know how many hours it took me to complete, I think on my next one I will count the hours but I know it was plenty. On Weds I did approx 9 hours. I’ve heard other ppl say they can do it in a day and Creyole can do it in 2.5 hours! When I read that I was like WOW. It takes my consultant 2 hours to do my hair and I thought she was fast. But 2.5 to self re-tighten, blew me away. I hope I get quicker and can do it maximum a day. Cos at the mo I need to set aside a week to do it and its just too much time. But as my old piano teacher used to say “practice makes perfect”. I was surprised that it needed doing already as it was only 3 weeks since it was last done and my consultant does it every 6 weeks so that is what I had stuck to. I don’t know if it was growth or slippage or a combination of both. I have read other blogs and I know that some do it every 4 weeks so I may try that, as 3 weeks its just too soon, my arms need chance to recover lol. The pics below were taken just after i finished re-tightening my locs.

Part of the way through re-tightening the front

When I was re-tightening there was a few problem areas. One lock on the hairline in the front was damaged but was holding on. My point of view is that there is not point in keeping it there so I pulled of the damaged end and started the loc again with what was left. For some reason I just couldn’t get the hair in the SL pattern so in the end I gave up and just plaited it. One of my locs I noticed has loose hair in the middle of the loc, don’t know how that happened.

I’ve also combined two sets of locs and you can see in the pics. In the first one it was at the back, as you can see one was really skinny and it kept coming out of the pattern so I joined it with a fatter loc next to it.

The other ones I think they were two locs I had joined when I first learnt to re-tighten and had to cut strands as I couldn’t separate them. They were two skinny locs but if you look at the end it was very fat. I didn’t like the way they were soo skinny so I joined them together. You should be able to make out the join at the root. When the joint bit of loc gets longer I will cut the two ends off and leave one loc. I do not know if it has messed up my partings but its done now and I prefer it this way.

I was reading Creyole’s blog (I hope she doesn’t mind me mentioning her. Hopefully not at it’s nothing she hasn’t already posted), and she was talking about the bunching she had experienced. I was like that it so my hair, and it made me feel better. I know it will get better with time & my locs will start to behave. It’s all about the journey and patience. I know ppl do braid outs and curl their hair to try and control the frizziness/bunching, so will try more of that. I do have soft spikes but I’ve noticed on the last few times I’ve used them my hair hasn’t set fully and sometimes still damp even though I’ve left it in over night. The first time I did it, it was fine so I don’t know why its not working this time when I’ve done nothing different. I think I will invest in a hood dryer. I was also looking at getting some heated rollers, still thinking about that. First time I tried a braid out I wasn’t that keen on it. I used to do Bantu knots but for some reason the knots won’t stay in now, so I just give up and put the soft spikes in. I want something quick which is why I was thinking of heated rollers. Actually this morning I was up early for church and I was thinking about it. I still have my curling iron from when I creamy cracked (9 yrs ago), so I kinda tried to style it using that. It took me way back, I r’ber them days. Didn’t have the curls but it added body. I’ve actually got my hair in soft spikes at the mo so I hope they dry over night.

Hope you enjoy the pics.

Til next time, be blessed and know that God loves you

Bad Hair Day

2008-09-01T17:39:00.003+01:00

Hmmmm dunno what the reason is but i'm not feeling my locs today. They look frizzy, partly because i just washed it last night, partly because of the curly qs, (which i've always hated). Also i have the hair that always seem to be be frizzy. Even when they it was corn row and just been done there would be frizziness. I've just had my hair re-tightened 3 weeks ago but it looks and feels like it needs doing again. My hair feels dry although i used the JML protein conditioner and Island oil and i know it's not dry, i don't want it greasy. Plus i look at pics of other people's locs at 12 months and their had of locs look so good and mine doesn't. I know that each head would be different bcos each person is different, each journey is different and i've just got loc envy. Just not feeling it at all today. I guess there would be days like this occassionlly, hope it would pass soon

1 Locaversay - Happy Nappy Day

2008-08-21T12:07:00.005+01:00

Wow I can’t believe that I have reached one year locked already. Happy 1 Locaversary to me.

I don’t really know what to say. I know some people have seen it as a real journey and have learnt so much about themselves. I almost want to say something deep and profound but I won’t. As I said in my last post I started my doctoral training basically at the same time I started my loc journey. Over the last 6 months or so my training took president over my hair, so I kinda just left it to do its thang. One thing I would say is that I have passed the first year of my training which is equal to a MSc. But to be chartered I need to complete my doctorate. I am talking a year out for one reason or the other, which I won’t go into right now. I just thank God that I made it through the first stage and I know he will see me through the rest.

I saw my consultant last week and I was scared that she was proper going to tell me off but she didn’t. All she said was there was a lot of re-growth, which I kinda knew already. Took 3 hours to do instead of usual 2. Mind you that did include someone else’s hair she was cutting and setting. She urged me not to leave so much growth as it can make the locs look funny. I think I only lost 2 locs below the re-growth. They were hanging on & I didn’t see the point in leaving them like that so I pulled them off. It will grow back. Hopefully with the year out I will have more time to invest in re-tightening so I can keep on top of it. Or I wont be silly and just make an appointment.

I’m trying to find something to moisturise my hair with. I don’t spray it with water every day as I don’t like the way my locs look and feel with it. I purchased JML Island oil the other day, love the smell and it seems to be moisturising my locs ok. I also bought the JML protein conditioner. Again love the smell and my hair felt nice and soft after it. It’s the first time I’m using both so I will see how it goes. I was meant to purchase some aloe but I clean 4got. If I don’t like these then I may try that. I guess I just have to try til I find something that I like.

The other day I made a hair tie, which I have gotton some compliments for. I will look to make some more at some point.

I never thought that my hair had grown. I knew it must have cos I had roots and re-tightening but I just thought it was the same length. . I saw a colleague last week who I hadn’t seen for a month & she said my hair had grown but I didn’t believe her. Until that is today when I did a collage of my hair and I was like wow my hair has grown. Still blows me away. The collage from the top is day of installation, 4 weeks, 6 months and a year. The pics of the year may look frizzy as I washed my hair two days ok and I had just finished a work out when the pics were taken and I sweat.

That’s about it really. Below are jus various pics. Oh year Liz gave me a side part because I forgot to remind her I have a centre one but I kinda like it so I may keep it.

Longest While - 11 Months Locked

2008-07-22T11:53:00.003+01:00

Wow time has really flown. I can't believe its been 3 months since i did my last entry and i can't believe i've been locked ELEVEN MONTHS! WOW! Next month will be my first locaversary woohoo!

Well i have been mad busy as i am doing my doctoral training so it has taken up so much of my time. I am finished for the mo, phew! I haven't really focused on my hair as i've been too busy, i've kinda left it to do its thang. However i know realise that maybe i did the hair class at the wrong time. Oh though i am glad i did it i am behind on my tightening so my hair is all over the place. Some are tightened and others need to be tightened, its not uniform. I would start a section get bogged down with assignments, few weeks would past before i do another. Not the way to do it at all. But its my fault as i should have just contacted Liz to see if she could have fitted me in. I dread to think what i have done to it. Well i have an appt in Aug so i will get the news then.

Ok i've noticed a few funny things about my locs probably due to poor maintainence. The pic below was taken in June and you can see that its skinny in the middle. Dont know why. If i r'ber correctly i pulled the bottom half off as i couldnt see the point in having it hangin on. I have a few locs that are skinny at the root and fat at the ends. But i think that is due to me marrying locs and when i tried to seperate them i had to cut a few strands.

The pic below is of two different size locs i had, skinny and fatter next to each other. Don't know how that happened

I've also noticed that my ends tend to break. My hair never broke this much before i was locked. Someone suggested that maybe my hair is dry so i need to get some oils to moisturise it. I was using fresh rosemary that i had boiled, strained but i dont see any difference. I do have some sweet alomond oil and some EO but i have used them before and they dont seem to work. Maybe i need to go and buy some ready mixed ones. I still spray my hair with water almost every day. The pic below are clumps of knotted ends that i pulled off one time after i had washed my hair. I tend to notice them more after i have washed my hair. I have always hated the curly qs i guess its something i have to put up with til my hair seals or i have some length and can cut it off. I did wonder if they were buds but i dont know really what they look like. Plus i thought buds started in the middle not at the ends

So on the whole not much to report my hair is just doing its thing. My friend took a pic the other day and i was like, wow my hair is locking and it looks good. When i get a copy of the pic i will post it so you can see. But i will defo post my yr pics

****UPDATE*****

These pics were taken at the end of June but you get some idea of the way my hair looks. Sorry had to black out the baby but you can still see the locs.

This is the pic i was talking about when i looked at it and thought, hang on my locs look pretty good. The pic was taken last Sat. Dont ask me what i was doing as i don't know, my friend is just trigger happy and is always snapping pics

Updates- 8 months and more

2008-04-21T21:14:00.005+01:00

Wow I cant believe it has been so long since I have made a proper entry. I guess it is due to a combination of things inc. So it will take me a while to update you on what has been going on. I will probably have to keep updating my entry as for some reason I cannot save draft posts.

Well my locs are now 8 months old 2day. Time has really flown by. In fact I didn’t even register that I had reached 7 months. One day I was just like, hang on it was the 21^st the other day, that means I have reached 7 months locked. I had been meaning to update regarding the hair class, my first DIY, which I guess I will do now.

I was really nervous and excited about doing the hair class. I was excited as doing my hair myself would give me total freedom. I was nervous as I would be doing my hair myself and it has not been something that I have ever been good at. I was also scared that I would mess it up. But Liz wouldn’t have recommended me doing it unless she thought I would be able to. There was 5 of us all together doing the class. One girl had micros, I don’t know how she would manage to do it. My locs ain’t small and I found it hard enough. Out of the tools I don’t like the hook tool. I find the clip tool much easier to use, although I find that it pulls on my loc where it is attached. It may be bcos the ends are still loose, I don’t know. Another problem I find is that bcos the end is quite wide it can be hard to get it through the loc when it is close to the scalp. A few time I have gotton it stuck and I’ve had to really wiggle it to get it free. I don’t know if I will get another tool. I know people have used latch hooks and they are cheap and as far as I know easy to use. But I have heard that it can catch in the loc, so I am not sure yet. I was also thinking of getting a nappyloc tool. However this video was posted in one of the groups that I belong to, and this lady made her own tool similar to the nappyloc tool and it is cheaper and it seems to do the job. So I dunno if I will give it that a go as well.

One thing i dont like about doin my own hair is that it takes so long. I love just going to Liz sitting for 2 hrs and Booyah its done. And it hurts my arms holding it up there. But that is to be expected. There are sacrifices that have to be made. You loose in one area you gain in another. So although it takes a while i have the freedom of doin it when i want. So if i notice a loc is slippin i can put it back in myself. I was scared that i had messed up my partings esp at the front. I thought i'd paid alot of money to get SL bcos of the partings and i didnt want to mess them up. I went to Liz to get it checked out after my first DIY and she said it was fine and that i did a good job :D. I do find the back easier to do than the front. I dont know what other's experience is. I am expecting to loose a few locs. A few times i joined two locs by a few strands, so i had to cut the strand to seperate the locs. As it was only a few strands i am hoping it wont be too bad. However i did create a two-headed dragon and for the life of me i coudnt seperate them. So in the end i had to cut them , so i am left with two skinny locs at the roots and fatter at the ends. So i expect they will break at some point. To be honest i am not really that bothered. I r'ber when i lost a loc early in the journy (see previous posting) and i was totally gutted. Yes, i dont want my hair to be falling out and i want to maintain them proper, but i realise that it's jus hair, not the end of the world and it will grow back. So i dont sweat it.

Ok i will continue this entry another time. It's a pain not being able to save draft posts. But hey that's life and maybe it will be easier to read coming back rather than reading one long post. Dunno.

The pics below are taken from the SL meet-up that we had yesterday – to be continued

Oh dear i can't r'ber what i was going to say, never mind. The meet-up was good though and it was good to see other fellow sisterlockers.

Me and my lovely consultant Liz

Me and Julie, who is another consultant. Loving the Colour

Me and Lady Den

Whoops i have forgotton their names. But they are fellow clients of Liz

Florence and I. We did the hair class together

Liz's daughter

I bought some soft spikes at the meet-up and below are pics of my first try. Must say i am loving them. Although i do not find them comfy to sleep in. But then again i have never slept in the normal hard rollers so i don't know how they compare. Others say soft spikes are much better.

6 Months Locked WOOHOO

2008-02-21T20:39:00.003Z

Wow i have been locked 6 months 2day, woohoo. The time has flown by. I havent really got that much to say right now, or it could be because i am tired. Happy that my hair is locking and I am excited about taking the class in 2 weeks time. Not much has changed with my hair since my last post or my hair routine. I spritz my hair with water with some drops of rosemary EO and sweet almond oil. I haven't conditioned my hair yet, maybe i will try it. Although my hair is locking i am still scared that there will be some slippage, so i dont want to try that yet. I will double check with Liz when i go to the class. Hmmm ok i have nothing else to say. Oh yeah on a different note my glasses broke 2day as i was cleaning them the frame just snapped. I was not impressed at all. Lucky i have contacts but i dont wear them often. Ordered 2 new pairs, it was buy one get one free, but they wont be here til next week. My hair is in need of a wash at the mo but i am waiting til 2mo after my workout. I also want to do some bantu knots for Sabbath, i'll see about posting some of those pics as well. Nothing much else to say but if i think of anything i will add it later. Although i am not convinced that people actually read the writing.

These two pics were taken last Saturday. I decided to try a little styling. I havent done this style since i had relaxed hair. I got quite a few compliments.

Comparison of my locs on day of installation to 6 months. How you think my locks are doin??

****UPDATE****

As promised here are pics of the bantu knot out that i did for church 2day (23:02:08). I got quite a few compliments for the style and i am pleased with the way it turned out. Ppl said i looked different, i am not sure want they are talking about. Maybe its cos i am not wearing my glasses. Maybe its cos my locs are curly although i have worn this style before. Maybe its bcos i decided to wear make-up. Maybe its a combination. One person said i looked about 16, which i dont see at all. How old do u think i am?

I've been tagged,

2008-02-11T15:31:00.000Z

Ok well i have been tagged twice in one evening. I do not fully know what i am meant to do but i will give it ago. As i understand it i am meant to copy and paste the instructions from the blog of whoever tagged me. I am not 100% certain of how to link the ppl who tagged me but i will try. I was tagged by Kisha and also Tamara

1) Link to the person(s) that tagged you.
2) Post the rules on your blog.
3) Share 6 non important quirks/things/habits about yourself.
4) Tag 6 random, people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. (Her link is posted on the right side of this page)
5) Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a post on their blog.

Ok here are the 6 things about myself

I hate talking about myself as i never know what to say. I prefer to answer specific questions so that you get the info you want. I hate it when ppl say to me, so tell me about yourself, to which i usually reply what to do want to know. But on the other hand i hate answering a load of questions that i think i am completing a survey
I am a shy person and i can quite easily go somewhere new and not speak to anyone but that is sommit i am working on. I've been told i am mad when you get to know me
i can get really bad road rage and its the only time i swear which i hate as i dont want to swear. Middle lane drivers bug me, move over you aint over taking anything and stop forcing everyone else into the 3rd lane to over-take you properly. I have been know to under-take, which i know is naughty. Also ppl who move infront of you and then dont go anywhere, move over. Tail-gaters, yes your car may be faster than mine but if the middle lane drivers moved over i wouldnt need to be in this lane, back off. However, i am not to bad in traffic jams as we aint moving, its when i can be moving and some idiot is crawling along in front of me. Anyway, deep breath and onto the next one LOL
I also hate stupid fwd emails. Things that are thought provoking i do not mind but silly things bug me. I doubt very much that Bill Gates is gona give you a dollar for every person you fwd the email to, i dont care if the world will implode in the next 5 mins if i do not fwd this to everyone on my list, hotmail is not closing down and i do not need to fwd to everyone to show i still use it, fwd petitions are a waste of time as it just becomes fragmented as ppl fwd it it needs to be centralised. and the list goes on
I love chocolate-chip cookie dough Ben and Jerrys Ice Cream, mmmmm yummy
I am a Seventh-day Adventist Christian

Ok now i have to find 6 random ppl to tag. I am sure that most ppl have already been tagged so i am on the hunt: Kathryn, Sunsail, this is so hard as everyone seems to have been tagged already Fee, loveablelocs, Elizabeth, and Cashana

Funky Grey Goo

2008-02-05T21:49:00.001Z

Today i was due for a re-tight and it needed it. I was washing my hair in preparation and i noticed that i had some funky grey goo on my scalp which surprised me as i have not used any products in my hair. I was a lil worried as i didnt know what it was. I was using my JML tingle shampoo but bcos of this goo i used the IC pure tea shampoo to clarify it and then i did an ACV rinse and it appears to have gone. What is weird is that it did not look like dirt so i dunno wot is was. I did mention it to Liz and she said maybe my hair needs a good wash. Pics below but not very clear

Anyway, Liz said my hair is locking so i was happy as i didnt think it was yet. As my ends dont look like they are sealing and i still have curly qs i didnt think the process had started yet. But Liz thinks my ends will be unsealed for a while yet. And i r'ber Michelle from the meet-up ends were still unsealed after 3 yrs. But what made my smile even bigger is that she is doing a re-tightening class in March and she said that i can take it, WOOHOO!! I am a lil nervous about maintaining my hair myself but i know it will be total freedom. Liz said that my hair is comely along nicely, which is gd as i was doubting it. She also said i can more or less do what i want to do with my hair now, i can style it, condition it but i think i will hold off still for a bit. Although i may start using oils to moisturise it. So at the mo i have a silly big grin on myself and i am excited. I am 16 days shy of my 6 months locaversary. I was thinkin of puttin pics on now but i will wait til then

Dreadlocks or Dreadfully Locked

2008-01-25T12:13:00.000Z

This is an article that was posted in one of the forums i am a member of and it really struck me, so i decided to re-post it here. I would love to hear people's opinions about it.

Dreadlocks or Dreadfully Locked? by Monica Arac de NyekoEveryone will tell you, hair is what makes a person, hair is sexy, hair tones attire, hair defines character, hair accessorises appearance, hair is imperative—it’ s all about hair, hair, hair. Women will sit in plaiting saloons until their butts ache and their legs freeze for the single pleasure of hair strands the size of spaghetti. The heat of the dryer is endured just for a single, momentary sparkling hair day. With all this fuss about hair and grooming, my friend Beatrice almost developed hypertension when I told her I was doing dreadlocks. My sister, if she could, would have whipped me and ordered me to go and sing in the church choir because I was so bored with life to the extent of considering such a dreadful sin as dreadlocks. Instead I received an occasional pat on the back and some sincere and well-meant reminders that I was still in Uganda, Africa, and not the United States or Caribbean, and that I should not forget that I was a schoolteacher. No school would stand a deadlocked teacher in class! I nevertheless took the step and knotted my hair to dreadlocks. People have said they who wear dreadlocks do so “to cause rejection,” to feel different from others, to feel more secure about themselves, to show off, or to demonstrate they belong to a peer group. Another thing related to dreadlocks is marijuana use. Some also associate dreadlocks with nonconformity. And for others, only dirty people who never wash wear dreadlocks. Yet another twist to this is that most people in Uganda and other African societies find dreadlocks more acceptable for men than the women. I remember a passing comment a friend made when I made my intentions known: “But you are woman, not a man. Don’t forget that some things are better left for men!” Perhaps this is because most of these communities have a heavy patriarchal idealised perception. It has always been okay for the male sex to do most things—good or bad—and get away with them because the male is a symbol of authority and respect. Whatever he does is justifiable to the community. So if a woman’s husband chooses to wear dreadlocks, she would find it difficult to tell him to do otherwise because she is only the wife. If the son wore dreadlocks, the parents would find this more tolerable than if it was the daughter who chose to wear it.

Misunderstood HairstyleNever has a hairstyle been so dreaded and misunderstood, and generated so many rumours and beliefs. Before I myself began wearing my locks, I thought it was a male thing. I am not sure why as I ponder over the perception now, but perhaps it was because the majority of dreadlocks wearers I had come across were male or maybe because everyone around me said so. I had the pleasure of joining Dreadlocks, an electronic discussion forum where people of colour, specifically Black people, discuss every aspect of Dreadlocks. One of the discussants who prefers to call herself Te said of men and women wearing dreadlocks: “It is my observation that women with locks are more accepted than men with locks.” Perhaps to her it was because women traditionally have longer hair, or because men are viewed as threatening when they promote their cultural attributes (African roots) while women are perceived as only wearing a hairstyle. Chango, another discussant, posed the question “Accepted by whom?” Does this mean that to him, acceptance by whomever of whatever was not necessary? He says that he often does and says things that are not part of a group because he enjoys thinking for himself. When he was in his 20s, it was important to secure the approval and acceptance of other black people, so he put a Scary Curl in his hair and even considered getting gold caps on his teeth. But now that he is older, he doesn’t care what his mother, his women or his boss think, he enjoys the dreadlocks.

For most dreadlocks wearers, male or female, the question has not been “Should I wear dreadlocks because it’s acceptable for my gender?” Either way, it’s not a question of when dreadlocks will gain acceptance as just another hairstyle because most people are too hostile anyway to even consider dreadlocks decent. Says an instructional guide from the School of Allied Health Professions:Men’s hair must be neatly trimmed and not fall below the collar. Ponytails, spikes, and dreadlocks are not acceptable. Women’s hair, if long, may be required to be tied back. Spikes and dreadlocks are not acceptable.Dreadlocks are rejected despite the gender of the wearer. A female visitor to St. Louis said of people’s reactions toward her dreadlocks, “A number of people in St. Louis took one look at me and ran for their cute little lives, pulling out chequebooks on which to write big donations to right-wing causes as they ran. Because dreadlocks indicate confusion of thought and character—good children have shiny, combed hair. Bad children, poor children, have bushy, urchin hair.”

It’s clear that the hair issue is not something anyone can run away from. Long or short hair, for instance, has been used as an identity of femaleness and maleness at different points in history and in different cultures. For dreadlocks, that is not the case. This is because for anyone who wears dreadlocks, it’s for a reason they best know—a reason and definitely close to their heart, identifiable on a personal level, not at a generalized level. Identity and NonconformityThe most common connotation of dreadlocks, which dates back to the 1920s, is religious and derived from the Rastafarians. The most familiar feature of Rastafarian culture is the growing and wearing of dreadlocks—uncombed and uncut hair allowed to knot and mat into distinctive locks. Rastafarians regarded the locks as both a sign of their African identity and a religious vow of their separation from the wider society they regarded as Babylon. At a different point in history, dreadlocks were also common during the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya in the 1950s and 1960s when the top leaders often wore dreadlocks. They are said to have used dreadlocks as a sign of African identity and a religious vow of separation from modern, corrupt and unfair society. Some other dreadlocks wearers justify the style as a biblical revelation. “All the days of the vow of the separation there shall no razor come upon his head until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.” (Numbers 6:5) “His head is as the fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven.” (Songs of Solomon 6:11) “Solomon said, if he will show himself a worthy man, there shall not a hair of him fall to the earth.” (1 Kings 1:52)Everyone who wears dreadlocks has a historical, cultural, political, ideological or just fashionable reason and significance behind doing so. But it is important to state that although not in all cases, many wearers of dreadlocks have an intense awareness of, and sensitivity to, their roots and culture. They are a positive statement about African values and are a powerful symbol of ethnic pride. Many of the people with “dreads” have a strong awareness of their ethnicity. However, the art of a perfectly executed dreadlock creation is a testimony to the individualism and creativity of the men and women who wear and contribute to the beauty of this style.I for one am a Christian. I believe in God and Jesus Christ. I believe in love, faith, humility, and perseverance and in all the things the bible requires of me. I believe in the rights for humanity. I work and I do my work to the best of my ability and talent. Dreadlocks bear witness to the fact that I know, practice, and understand who I am. It is an avenue through which I choose to express my individualism. I know dreadlocks carry a lot of negative associations; however, I will not cut them until I get tired of them. My knotted hair draws attention to my value for life; my acceptance to be creative and complex, to live and to love; and my agreement with nature to pursue happiness.

It should be remembered, however, that not everyone can wear dreadlocks, and dreadlocks cannot be for everyone. It is a unique hairstyle. It sets the person apart from everyone else in a certain way; the only problem is that people view it all in negativity. Sophie a friend a few days ago told me, “ Everyone who wears dreadlocks probably has no sense in their heads.” And I asked what she meant, if she meant therefore that I had no sense in my head because I chose to dread my hair, and she said, “It’s only after you speak that the sense comes out.” She probably said that because when you wear dreadlocks in a way society believes you have crossed a boundary. But dreadlocks, no matter the attitude toward them, are decent and striking. Dreadlocks are time saving and give a great feeling, as long as you take good care of them and keep them clean, of course. Wearing dreads is like a brotherhood or sisterhood kind of thing that not too many people would understand and open theirminds to. It is with this in mind that one who wears dreadlocks doesn’t pass another dread head on the street without some nod or smile of acknowledgement.Slowly but surely, dreadlocks are coming to be accepted in almost all spheres of life—sports, arts, the professions. People who associate them with illegal substances or criminality miss the whole point. Jeffrey Bradley, in his book Don’t Worry Be Nappy, says that to him, dreadlocks symbolise success, freedom, self-expression, and naturalness. For him, dreadlocks have become a declaration of determination to succeed in life on his own terms. And Neely Fuller Jr. in his essay Do not “worship” hair says Don’t spend great time and/or effort: combing it, twisting it, patting it, brushing it, pulling it, greasing it, oiling it, shaping it, or looking at it. Don’t spend so much time/effort, wondering about whether your hair is “right” or “wrong” or “good” or “bad.” Don’t worry about the hair: on your head, on your chin, on your face, over your eyelids, etc. Show more concern about the lack of constructive knowledge inside your head. He said it best for me.

Monica Arac de Nyeko was born and raised in Uganda. She is a teacher of literature at St Mary’s College Kisubi (SMACK), and a fellow on Crossing Boarders, a British Council-funded Creative Writer’s Course. Her forthcoming fiction is by Fountain Publishers and Greenwillow books.

5 months lcoked

2008-01-21T20:54:00.001Z

I can't believe that i have been locked 5 months today! There isnt actually that much to report on the hair front. To me it still looks the same as it did last month. I did go longer before washing it last Friday (18:01:08), waiting 5 weeks. It was really itchy after the re-tight and i wanted to wash it then, but it pasted. It wasnt itchy so i didnt bother to wash it, but then it got really itchy last week and thought yep time for a wash. I took my time B&B so not to cause slippage and i think all is well. I have my next re-tight in two weeks so i will see then. I could do with a re-tight now but 2 wks should pass quickly.

One thing i am looking forward to is being able to put my hair in water and not be concerned. the other week i had a bath, dont get it twisted i bathe every day but usually a shower. I really really wanted to put my head under the bath water but i had not B&B so i could not. Once my locks are matured that is one of the first things i will do

Below are pics of my locs

3rd Re-tight

2007-12-17T20:17:00.001Z

Last Thursday (13:12:07) i had my 3rd retighening. My locs havent started to form yet :( i was hoping that it might of but it has not. My hair is soft so i guess it will take me a while. There was some slippage at the back. Liz said she was doing 2 rotations when it should be one. We think the problem could be down to washing as that usally causes slippage. Although i do B&B, i realise that i do the front part small and neatly and when i get to the back i kinda do it any ol how. So next time i wash i will start B&B from the back so i can make sure that is done proper. Also i do not think the styling didnt help, although there was no slippage at the front. So i will ease up on that. Liz didnt tell me off but did say i shouldnt do it, which i already knew. Nothing new to report really, not much has changed.

Below as promised, is some of the pics from the meet-up we had in Oct.

Below me and my friend , looking at the goodie bag we got

Below me looking at some jewellery. The lady made her own using real gem stones

Michelle the Co-organiser of the meet-up. There are some products from the pampering club she does

Below are just various pics

Pipe Cleaner Curls

2007-12-02T12:42:00.002Z

Well i promised if i did do curls using pipe cleaners that i would post the pics, so here they are. I put my hair in the PC on Thur evening, spritzin each section with water. I would have done it after i had washed my hair but i had washed it 4 days earlier and i didnt want to curl it then. It took much longer to put in than i thought it would. I was watchin tv whilst i did it and i think it took approx 2.5 hrs! yep that is not a typo 2.5 hrs. The PC that i had were too long so i had to cut them into 3, even then they were a bit too long for some sections. I think i used approx 59 PC altogether. I left the PC in over Friday. I took the day of work but i had to go into town so i had to cover my head as the PC were multi-coloured. I had a lacy scarf i used to use but of course you could see the PC through it. I bought a new satin scarf but some unknown reason i decided to buy a bright red one, so it would have been seen through. So in the end i put on the satin scarf, then put on a black cotton one and cos i dont really like it i had to put the lacy one on top of that. Talk about heavy. Luckily i was only out for a few hours and when i got back in it was a relief to get it off. I took the PC out Sat morning, the results can been seen below

I was in two minds about whether to leave my hair like that as i really loved the curls, but when i saw the back i thought, messy and decided to seperate the locs. But now i wish that i had just seperated the back and left the front ones in. The pics below were taken after i tried to tame the curls a lil. Its a pity that you don't full effect of how curly it was in the pics. I got loads of compliments at church so that was kool. Even though i loved the way my hair looked i think it would look better once the locs are formed.

Well i have tried 3 styles now and i am gona try and hold off styling until my locs have settled as i know it hinders the locking process. But i may do bantu knots at Christmas :)

Oh on a different note. I washed my hair last sun. The T/Gel seemed to have worked ok so far. I did one wash with that concentrating on my scalp. I didnt like the SL starter shampoo so i threw the rest away and i used the JML tingle shampoo that i brought. That felt fantastic, i think bcos it containted menthol so felt like my whole scalp head was being cleansed it was lovely. And i have a cold at the mo so it cleared my head inside as well. So far my head hasnt been itchy so i will see how it goes, esp after my next retightening. I hope i have found sommit that works. The only thing i didnt like about the JML was that it was soo thick that even though i had mixed it 1:1 with water it was still hard to spray it out of the bottle.

I shall keep you posted. Thanx for stopping by

Bantu knots

2007-11-23T17:12:00.002Z

Well i was inspired by Sunsil's pic so i thought i would try Bantu knots in my hair. Yes i know i am being naughty as i shudnt really be styling my hair til its settled but i am being a rebel. Anyway since tryin the styles i am loving my hair more. I wont do it too often i am jus trying for now. I wasnt plannin of doin the bantu knots, but yday i was jus sat watchin tv and i thought why not try it so i did. I jus spritzed each one with water, so i dont know how long it will hold. I am not using products on my hair. When i do i will tryin it with sommit to hold it. Also if i had planned it i would have done it in the morning so i could leave the knots in longer. But it still seemed to work ok. The only thing is that bcos i wasnt sure which direction to twist the hair, some of the curls go up instead of down, but i dont think it looks too bad. Infact my supervisor said my hair looked lovely.

The pics below were taken after i tried to tame the curls and do some styling. I also went to the shops and brought some handbands. I love this one but i now realise that its too tight so it hurts and was givin me headaches :(

I have also managed to get some pipe cleaners, so when i try that i will post some pics

Fed-up and braid out

2007-11-20T11:22:00.001Z

Last week Thursday i woke up and i felt really fed-up with my hair in fact i thought that i hated it and i wanted to shave it off. I was bored with it, and i was sick of the constant itching. No matter what i tried, ACV, tea tree EO, witchhazel it didnt seem to make any difference. Also some of my locs seemed lumpy. There was one loc i had noticed at the back that seemed to have a knot in it. I couldnt for the life of me seem able to get a pic of it so i could have a look at it. I know that Liz said my hair was fine and is doing what its meant to, but i was feeling fed-up. Anyway i did a post on LIU and i got some supportive responses. One of them suggested using original listerine. Never tried that but it may be something to consider. There was another suggest of using Scalpicin. I have never heard of it and i hope i can purchase it in the UK. I will check when i'm next at the hair shops (none where i live :( I did purchase some T/Gel therapeutic shampoo so next time i wash my hair i will give it a go and see if that will help.

I was looking to purchase some soft-spike curlers although Liz said not to style my hair just yet as it's soft. Also too much styling can hinder the locking process before the locs have settled. Then i saw a blog (sorry i cant r'ber her name) where she used pipe cleaners to curl her hair, and they looked gr8. So i am gona try and get some of them and give it ago. However it is harder to find pipe cleaners than i thought it would be. I havent given up yet few more shops i want to check. I think i may do curls for my bday and if i do i will post some pics.

On Sunday i was doing some house work and for some reason i started to plait my hair. I did one or two and thought oh why not try a braid out. I only half heartedly did it. The plaits were different sizes. Also by the time i finished what i was doing and sat down to work on the back i was too tired so i didnt really pay much attention to it. In fact some i two-stranded instead of plaiting. I just sprayed each section with water before plaiting and left over night. I took it out the next morning and i was like WOW my hair looks mad. I loved it, although i looked like i had a big boff on my head. It was mad, wild and free and i loved it. Although some bits seem to stick up at the back, but that was my fault for not paying attention to what i was doing. The pics below were taken as soon as i had taken the plaits out.

2nd Re-Tight Updates

2007-11-07T22:09:00.002Z

Well i don’t know where to start with this update, as there have been things that I wanted to post but I have been too lazy to post, as I knew I would be doing a post after my 2^nd re-tightening.

Ok I will start with my worry. I thought that some of my locs were looking lumpy and bumpy. Some of them to me seemed to have 3 parts. A lump where the re-growth ended and the loc started, a lump where the loc ended at the installation and a lump where the curly qs started. I tried to take pics to show what I am talking about but they haven’t come out very clear, but you can see them below to get an idea. Also it seemed to me that my hair was shrinking and comin out of the pattern at the side of the locs, its hard to describe exactly what I mean and of course u can’t tell in the pics. Anyway at my 2^nd re-tightening (06:11:07 or for the Americans 11:06:07 (you do your day and month the other way round to us Brits), Liz said that everything was fine, my hair was doing exactly what it is meant to be doin. I also had one loc that had a hole in it, and that worried me as well. Anyway I know that I am prone to worry and I knew Liz would say that everything is fine. I have noticed however that some of the locs seem to curl up near the root and seem to form a knot, but it I pull it the knot comes out. And no I do not think these are buds as they wouldn’t come out. Too me it seems that my hair is coming out. I think that my hair is just mad. Don't get me wrong i know things are fine i am jus sharing some of my worries which were laid to rest when i saw my consultant.

Below are pics I took before and after the re-tightening. The ones on the left of the sets were taken after i had washed my hair before the re-tightening. The ones on the right were taken after the re-tight

My second wash was fine. I had read on LIU that someone does not braid their hair but two-strands it and then band. I do not know how mature their locs are but I thought I would give it ago. There did not seem to be any probs with me doin this and it is soooo much quicker than braiding. Although I do find the whole process tedious but I understand that it’s necessary. I brought Fantasia IC 100% tea shampoo (whose smell I love) as I wanted a clarifying shampoo. I was not certain if I could use it for two washes as it did not say on the bottle and most say rinse and repeat. So I used it for the first wash and then I used my SL starter shampoo that I had. I don’t know if its right, but I think the journey is about trial and error and finding out what works for you and your hair so that is what I am doing.

The London Sisterlocks and Natural Hair Meet-up was on Sunday 28:10:07. The meet-up was informal more of information gathering of how ppl would like the meet-ups to go. It was nice to see Michelle (the organiser) and hear her story. It was also nice to see other ppl there with SL. One of the down sides was the restaurant, which we had no control over. On their website the restaurant claims that they are open for business from 3pm, which is the time we booked for. But when we got there the shutters were down. Michelle had arrived about 15 mins earlier and was only able to get in bcos someone was there on other business. Apparently it was a mess and she had to clean up. The owner didn’t come until after 5 and I had to wait til after 6:30 to get my food. I can tell you I was not impressed. Esp as you know you are going out to a restaurant you don’t eat as you are expecting to eat and you don’t want two meals. That aside on the whole it was nice. I did take my cam, but ended up not takin pics bcos there was a photographer there. Michelle promised that she will send me the pics so when she does I will update my blog.

The pics below are a comparison of the day my locs were installed (on left) with my 2nd re-tight (right). I know its a little early for compariosn but i wanted to do it

I lost a loc already :(

2007-10-21T16:48:00.001+01:00

One of my locs has dropped off I was soo sad when it broke off. As my locs are not mature i didnt think that it could break off but it seems like it can.

After i washed my hair on Friday i noticed one of my locs had slipped and had what appeared to be a knot on the end (see pic below). I didnt think much of it and i just thought that Liz would jus retighten the loc at my next appt

But yday when i was at church the end just fell off. And i know that ppl would think that i must have been pulling it but honestly I wasnt. Upon closer inspection it looks like what i thought was the knot was dirt matted in the hair. Why its there i dunno as i have washed it. Maybe its cos i cant do i really good scrub. I don't really know. The pic below is the part that came off.

Below is a pic of what is left after the end dropped off. I spoke to Liz and she said that it happens, locs can drop off and not to stress it. I just wasnt expectin it this early in the game

This last pic is jus the top of my locs. I tried to get a good texture shot but it didnt quite work out. My locs seem bumpy. Hope it is all jus the natural process of my loc journey. I am 2 months locs so i dunno if the bumpiness is the beginning of the locs forming ie buds. I dont know what they look like. I try not to stress it too much

My First Wash

2007-10-18T12:43:00.002+01:00

This pic was taken 4 days ago at my friends graduation celebration. I like it so i thought i would add it on here.

Well i decided to wash my hair. I wasnt going to wash it until before my next retightening but it was dirty and i wanted to wash it. I have been using a few drops of witch-hazel in my spray bottle which I use every day to spritz my locs. I could have put some on a cotton pad and cleansed my scalp that way but i wanted to wash it. I was really nervous about doing it correctly as this is my first time. I also wanted to do an ACV rinse but i didnt know the concentrate or whether to do it before or after the shampoo. I tried to find some info on the net but wasnt really sucessful. In the end i decided to use the ACV that i had from week two. i'm not sure if it had gone off as it smelt a bit funky, prob as i had left it on the window-sil even though my blinds are usually drawn.

I braided and banded my hair. I think maybe i will try some smaller braids next time and i will use different bands. I think i may have done the braids too tight, not too sure. Anyway this is my first time and its a learning curve. The pics below are the result of my B&B

I was a lil worried about those lil ones at the bottom as i cudnt get them in a braid

I mixed the SL starter shampoo from the starter kit in a spray bottle 1:1 with water and washed my locs. I sprayed it inbetween each braid and on the scalp. I gently rubbed each braid to get the scalp clean and also around each braid. I am not sure if i diluted the shampoo too much as it didnt seem to lather. After i had shampooed twice i sprayed my hair with ACV and covered with my cap while i finished washing. I do not know how long you should leave the ACV on for etc but this is what i did. After i washed myself i rinsed it out. I made sure i really rinsed it as i was scared that i would leave product in my hair. I used a towel to get the excess water out and then i took out each B&B and seperate my locs. I hope all is ok. The pics below are taken straight after.

Ok i know this pic is bad as i am in shadow but i still like it and its my blog LOL

One thing that is worrying me a lil is that as i write this i have put my hand is my hair as its damp so it makes it itch. But my fingers feel sticky like i have put grease in my hair when i know that i havent. I know that i rinsed it out properly. I hope that its jus my mind playin tricks on me as my hair is still damp.

I Feel Pretty Oh So Pretty!

2007-10-05T20:13:00.001+01:00

LMAO! As you can see i am a lil mad but i still feel pretty in this pic :oD And yes i can move one eye ie go cross eye with one eye while keepin the other str8. Been able to do it since i was young. Some ppl find it freaky. I think its kool jus wish i could do it with the other eye as well

Well I have just got back from my first re-tightening. Liz says that my locs are coming along beautifully and that they have filled out. The re-tightening only took 2 hours, she is soo quick. She also gave my hair a quick wash. It soo nice to be FRESH AND CLEAN! My hair feels sooo soft and light, I jus love it. Because of the wash my ends are curlier which i find cute. I am a lil nervous about doing my own first wash but i am sure that i will be fine. Not really much to say jus over 6 weeks locked.

The collage below is pics of b4 and after the retightening. The ones of me in the pink top are taken the day b4. The ones in the blue top are taken as soon as i got in from the re-tightening so my hair is still damp in the pics. I didnt realise that i pose the same in my pics so I managed to get matching pink and blue ones. If it is showing up small if you click on the pic it should come up bigger.

Jus more pics of me messing with my cam as i was sooo happy as you can tell with that BIG cheesy grin

That's all folks.
come back for updates

Click here to check out
The Natural Afro Hair & Sisterlocks(TM) London Meetup Group!

Oh yeah i do not know wot is up with the site and why the side menu is showing at the bottom?? I have adjusted the page elements but for some reason it shows at the bottom. I always seem to get "error on page" dunno if anyone else experiences this.

One of my last relaxers

2007-09-20T11:58:00.001+01:00

I found a pic of one of my last relaxers ( i cant r'ber if it was the last or 2nd to last). Anyway i thought i would share it. I was 20 in this pic. I think once my locs are formed i may treat myself to another foto shoot.

My Babies at 4 Weeks

2007-09-18T12:38:00.001+01:00

WOOHOO!! MY locs are now 4 weeks old.
The itchy has more or lessed eased now. After i tried spraying it with the ACV mix (see my previous post) I found my head to be MAD itchy! I thought oh no i've made a mistake i should have let Liz wash it. I didnt think that i could take it for another 4 weeks. I think that it was mad itchy because my hair was damp from the spray and i realise that can make it itchy. I have used to mix twice since then but i only used a light spray. Sometimes i use a cotton bud and rub the neat ACV onto my scalp. I am not 100% convinced that it is doing anything. Usually i spray my hair with plain water every morning and try some finger combing. Although over the last 2 days i did not spray it at all. I may try spraying it every other day.

I really really REALLY want to wash my hair. Its dirty and smells of vinger, i'm sure ppl think i work in a chippy. I think the main itchiness i get now is because my hair is dirty. I have Organic Root Stimulator Herbal Cleanse Dry Shampoo and i have tried to use some on my scalp but i dont think it makes any difference. I know people on LIU (LockItUp yahoo group link below) have mentioned using seabreeze. When i go to the market on Sunday i will see if i can locate it. Its a pity where i live i wont get products like that. Unless i am mistaken and it can be found in any supermarket I will double check when i go to tesco later.

Well i think my locs are coming along nicely. I think that the gaps are filling in. Well i am not sure if its filling in or if my hair is jus messy. I am sure those of you who are veterans will be able to tell me. Sometimes i think my hair is messy and is a tangle but that is jus silly. My friend who i havent seen since they were put in says they look nice. She said they look more like locs before they looked more like twists. I keep thinking that i have buds on my some of my ends but i think its too early for that.

Front view

Left side

Right Side
A few strands at the side by my ears seem to be straighter and longer than the rest so i usually tuck them behind my ears

Top view

Back View
If you look at the bottom u can see where some have come out :( I usually twist it round my fingers so it doesnt look so obvious. I expected some to come out at the back but i am still sad

Jus more pics of me and my locs.
I had a scarey dream about week and a half ago. I dreamt that a patch of my hair had come undone and i had a big patch of afro. It was so convincing that when i awoke i had to go to the mirror and check as i was soo convinced my hair had come out. Then i had urges to comb my hair. I really really REALLY wanted to comb my hair. WHY?! i never liked combing it before. I think it was hitting me that i wont have to comb my hair ever again. Also my friend Mich, who was starting locs using interlocking (which is a similar method to SL) was getting frustrated with her progress. She mentioned that she was going to take hers out and that she wanted to comb her hair. I think it must have stuck with me and gave me that dream. But i am more than happy with mine. Of course I wish they were mature locs already. When i look at other ppls blogs and pics i try not to get jealous. I just remind myself that my hair will get there and they had to go through each stage. They were once where i am right now. Its a journey and enjoy each stage

Here are some of the products i take

Wheatgrass cocktail. I drink it straight after brekkie. It doesnt need mixing and can be drunk straight. I started taking it a week b4 my babies were installed. But the bottle only lasts a week. I am not sure how much longer i would be taking it as i am starting a new course and i need to tighten my belt as money is gona be TIGHT! I will see how things go.

The vitamins i take. I also started this at the same time, although i wanted to take them for ages. I got this big bottle at H&B sale and it cost jus over a fiver when it is usually closer to 20. A deal i could not let go, although i wish i had bought more than one bottle, when i went back they had sold out :( The only prob with them is that i am meant to take 3 a day. I wanted a one a day tablet but i couldnt pass on the deal. I usually 4get to take the 2nd one. The first and last one is usually ok as i leave the tablets on my dining table, so when i have brekkie or dinner i am reminded to take it. But the 2nd one i am usually at work and keep 4getting. I will see if it makes any difference i am not sure yet. My nails are longer. But i have grown long nails and then they snap off. They seem to be lasting longer this time round and stronger.

Well that is my progress to date

Messin on the internet

2007-09-10T20:11:00.000+01:00

Been reading blogs and i came across this on one page so i thought i would add it to mine

Your Power Element is Fire

Your power color: red
Your energy: hot
Your season: spring
Like a fire, you are full of power and light.A born leader, you easily draw people toward you.You are full of courage and usually up for anything dangerous.You have a huge ego and love to be the center of attention.

And now i am jus doin other lil quizzes

Your Mind is PG-13 Rated

Your mind is definitely a little dirty. You're naughty, but not trashy.You don't shy away from a dirty joke, and you're clearly not a prude.

Your Birth Month is December

You love life and exude an outgoing, cheerful vibe.Blessed with a great sense of humor, you can laugh at adversity.
Your soul reflects: Celebration, success, and wealth
Your gemstone: Blue Topaz
Your flower: Narcissus
Your colors: Indigo, green, and blue-green

You Are a Normal Girl

You are 60% Good and 40% BadSure you've pulled some bad girl stunts in your past.But these days, you're (mostly) a good girl.

You Are Very Happy Being Single

You're not anti-relationship. You just don't need one to be content.You find plenty of happiness from your life as it is.And if you find someone you love, then that's just icing on an already decadent cake!

Ok ok that is more than enough lol

Two Week Review

2007-09-05T17:53:00.001+01:00

Jus come back from my check-up with my consultant. She said everything looks fine and coming along nicely. My locs are looking like they should do. There was one or two that had come out at the bottom at the back but that was to be expected. They were quickly put back in.

Did discuss the itchiness. She offered to wash it for me but i decided to stick with the orginial advise and wait until after it is retighten in 4 weeks time. I jus hope i can last that long. She explained that my hair is going cold turkey like a junkie. My hair is used to being greased and since starting SL i have not greased it so its complaining. It should settle down, soon i hope. It was really itchy 3 days ago right on top in one spot and i dab some ACV on it. It did sting but the itching stopped. After we discussed it i am going to try spraying it. I mixed one part of ACV to 3 parts water. As this is my first time and there is no definate answer that I could find on how to mix the ACV i will see how it goes and probably do more experiments.

Pics: Top left pic of me at work b4 i sprayed with ACV. The other pics were taken jus after i had sprayed with ACV

Locs a week on

2007-08-28T12:19:00.001+01:00

Collage of my locs a week on. From the top left: front view, left side, right side, top, back and another front view (this was actually taken on my mobile and i think it looks better than the others that were taken on my digital cam)

The week has been mainly ok. Wake in the morning, spritz with water, try a lil finger combing and i am done.

The main problem i have had is that my scalp has been very itchy. Since i washed my hair the night before getting the SL installed i have not put any products on it. I think because the locs were tight and close to my scalp it caused it to itch. I have had this problem previously with cornrows, which i usually scratch out within 3 days. I did not realise i would have the same prob with the locs because they were singles. I have tried very hard not to scratch it but its hard and often i dont realise my hands are in my locs. I try tapping it, diggin my nails in without scratching it, putting ice on it. Some advice i have received is to use ACV (apple cider vinegar) as this is meant to help with dandruff. I have not tried it as i am not washing my hair as yet. Other suggestions are Lavender EO (essential oil) as this soothes the scalp and Tee Tree EO as this helps with the itching. Again I have not tried them as yet as i was told not to put anything on my hair to prevent slippage. My hair is quite soft and i do not want to cause and slippage. I am in contact with my consultant and the itching has calmed down somewhat mainly itchy in the morning and evening. I will continue to monitor it and hopefully it will calm down as the locs loosen. I am seeing Liz next week for a two week check-up to make sure everything is going ok

Loving my locs and my friends all like it. Since i am the first one to have SL among them they are keen to chart my progress as well

Locing Tips: What Ever Locwear Should Know

2007-08-24T10:30:00.000+01:00

No matter how you started your locs, texture, length, or stage of your journey- remember that these tips should apply to all loc wearers...

~Locing is about patience, so it is a long term commitment that might last 2 years or more for the locing to be complete. Be 100% sure that this is the step you want to take.

~Your hair (no matter what texture) will frizz during the process. Know that this is a normal process -all locers will have to go through this experience so relax and don't stress!

~For people with looser curl textures or naturally straight hair, accept that frizz might always be part of the locing process.

~Love those bumps! It adds character to your locs.

~It seems no 2 people with afro hair has the same texture, naturally your locs will look different.

~There might be times when you are feeling impatient, stressed, bored and negative about your choice in locing -don't worry, this is very normal -especially during the teenage phases when locs have their own mind. Take a deep breath and remember that this time will pass. Enjoy the journey, don't waste time on stressing over it!

~Be prepared to learn a few lessons on the way and throw out your old perceptions of beauty.

~Keep a loc journal to remind your Self how far you have come!

~Collect headwear and experiment.

~Your locs are unique and beautiful. No one else's locs will be the same as yours so don't compare your locs, just love and accept what you have.

~Use products that are light so there won't be any product build-up in future.

~If at any stage you are uncomfortable with what your loctician is doing to your locs, don't be afraid to be very clear and let them know or change loctician. Go with your instincts! They are your locs and you know whats best for them, so don't let others tell you otherwise. Your loctician should work with you, not against you.

~NEVER use any products that contain mineral oil and petroleum as their ingredients.

~Locing should not be an uncomfortable or unhygienic experience. Wash your locs regularly and always keep them clean.

~Water is your best friend throughout the locing stages.

~Healthy body, healthy locs.

~Use minimal of products to avoid build-up.

~If you're concerned about how the locs will look early on and/or that your loved ones will reject you if you decide to loc, then you shouldn't be considering them.

~Be willing to accept any and all stages of locdom, including the negative reactions you may receive from family, friends, and strangers.

~You are not alone - get support from good friends or other means (forums are great for this!).

~There is a wide spectrum of locing techniques and methods, from the super cultivated locs to the super organic loc methods. Each is beautiful in their own right and no method of locing should be seen as 'more acceptable' or 'more beautiful' than the other.

My Babies are in , My Journey Begins

2007-08-22T11:01:00.002+01:00

I had my sisterlocks installed (Aug 21) WOOHOO!!

pic of my completed locs front view

My consultant Liz was nice and i had no probs. She is also really fast and we were completed with 12 hours. I am trying really hard not to keep touching them as i dont want them to slip. However its really hard not to put my fingers in it. I just love the way the ends are nice and curly although i have not done anything to them. Curly Qs i think its called

pic of completed locs left side view

It is also weird for me to get my head round that i am not to do anything with my hair jus spritz with water and go. I havent got rid of my old hair products yet but that is definately my task for 2day so i dont get tempted. I'm a lil disappointed that i cannot style my hair yet as i wanted to try rollers or a braid out. But Liz said not to manipulate it yet to decrease the chances of slippage. But freestyle is coool for now. I am just so happy to have them installed and to begin my journey. Will continue to chart my progress

pic of completed locs right side view

pic of completed locs back view. I was scared that i would have a lot of scalp showing so i am glad that i dont. Its tight esp at the bottom and so it feels itchy. I'm tying my hardest not to scratch it as i dont want to pull it out

gettin the locs installed. Dont know wots up with my eyes, dont watch that

Me blowing my hiar for the last time. Don't get me wrong this is not before i had my SL installed. After i took the gel twists out i still had a week before getting my SL installed. The day before i got my SL i did a hot oil treatment. I mixed olive oil with almond oil but i dont think i heated the oil enough. It was the first time i did it and did not want to burn myself and i covered my hair in cling film for 15 mins. Then I shampooed out. I was really tempted to condition it but i was told not. Also weird was not to put any products on it. It was ok when it was wet but i was worried about the next day when it had dried. But there was no probs.

The gel twists i had before i got sisterlocks installed. And no they are not dreads as many ppl think although i could have left them and formed dreads

Haven: What to look for in a consultant and installation...

2007-08-15T18:30:00.000+01:00

I advise anyone thinking of getting SL to look at this link

Haven: What to look for in a consultant and installation...

But more than anything makes sure you visit the official sisterlocks website at www.sisterlocks.com

9 days and counting

2007-08-12T11:01:00.000+01:00

Pic of my kinky twists

This is my first ever blog so here goes

I have had natural hair since 1999. Growing up i always hated natural hair as i never knew what to do with it and could never "manage" it. During my teen years i got a curly perm/jheri curl until i was about 14/15. Then i had a relaxer/str8 perm. I never managed that much better either. Crunch time came when i asked a "friend" to redo my hair as i was told she worked in salons and could do it for me. HORROR, she put the cream through the whole of my hair instead of jus the roots! So no surprise my hair started to break. After about cm or 2 of regrowth i decided to get rid of it and shave it off sporting a lil Fro.

Over the last few years since then i have had braids, gel/wax twists, cornrows, kinky twists, which were my fav and i did that for 3 yrs. Even tried a weave once but i found it too itchy. I had thought about locs for ages. Then end of last year i decided this is it i wam gona get locks in 2007. Took out my last kinky twists and jus do gel twists for now. A lady at work has sisterlocks and told me a lil about it. I spent some time lookin on the net tryin to get some info on dreadlocks and sisterlocks. I decided on sisterlocks but i can be slow at doing things so i didnt actually contact the consultant until June and they will be put in Aug 21/22

I had my sample locs put in on Aug 10. I showed my friends at church who have locs and they said it me it looks like interlocking, which is hell of a lot cheaper than sisterlocks. So i got confused, am i being ripped off, am i doing the right thing. Are they they same or different??? I spent last night on the net, couldnt sleep, was up early again this morning trying to ascertain whether there was a difference btwn the two. Still havent managed to get to a conclusive answer. But i came across LHBE and after looking at some blogs and seeing the pics i think yeah i will definately stick with sisterlocks. And i have realised that it is the same technique, and it is what i want

I am excited again about getting them put in. It still fairly new in the UK. So its countdown to my sisterlocks journey