Two Year Locversary

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