Why I wish I never dyed my Sisterlocks

Hi Bloggers

If you have been following my blog you would know that I have been experiencing problems with my sisterlocks: they have been unraveling, dry and breaking. I have blogged about different things I have tried regarding this. I have come to realise it was due the colouring of my locs. I shared my experience on my YouTube channel which you can see below.

6 Years Locked Down

I have been on lock down for 6 years (and 5 days). WOOHOOO!!!! 

I was not able to post a blog entry on the actual day of my locversary so it is a few days late. I can't believe that I have been sisterlocked for 6 years; the time has really flown by. 

I am still experiencing problems with the ends of my locs and I really do not know what to do about them. I am still finding that some of the ends are unravelling and it seems to be getting worse. I thought that they would eventually re-lock but that has not been happening; in fact they seem to be unravelling more. I am still finding some of my ends are weak and I am continuing to loose some of them (or I pull them off). I have lost about 2-3 inches of my ends. This in combination with the unravelling is not good at all. I have racked my brains I cannot find a reason for why the ends are coming undone. It is like my hair is rejecting the locs. The only thing I can think of is because I have coloured by hair. I did use a product that contained ammonia when I dyed it and I did put onto of each other to lift the colour, the two occasions that I did dye it. That is the only thing I can think of. I have no other explanation for why mature locs would suddenly start unravelling. It is really frustrating!

When you look at this picture compring year 6 (top) with year 5 (bottom) there does not seem to be much difference. Each year I am convinced that my hair as not grown and each year I am surprised at the comparison shots. This year there does not seem to be much difference. Although looking at it again I can see there is some. I usually wear a shoulderless top to take my annual pics but I was unable to this time or you would have been seeing more than you needed to. And it was harder to take the side shots as the hair naturally parted over my shoulders. I am not so much bothered about the length as I am about having healthy hair. Sometimes I think about cutting off the dyed ends to see if that would make a difference to my hair **SIGH**

I am still experiencing dryness with my locs (I wonder if that is contributing to the unravelling). I have tried everything I can think of combat it: shea butter (horrible), deep conditioning, vegetable glycerin, coconut oil, spritzing with water and oil blends, co-washing (I can see if working if I washed my hair every or every other day but I do not so i need a proper cleanse), caster oil, jojoba oil, aloe vera juice, homemade conditioners, pre-pooing and nothing has worked. I am really stumped with this! I wonder if the shampoo is too drying? I don't remember it being this dry when I first had my locs, so I wonder if it is stress, nutrition? I have done what I can on that front so I am stumped!

I recently did a presentation on sisterlocks at a natural hair event. At that event I won a goodie bag from Love Harlem, YEAH!!! So I am currently trying the avocado butter conditioning hairdress on my locs. I tend to use castor oil or jojoba oil on my roots and use this on the length of my hair. So far it is good and I will do a full review in the future. Trying to make my own products was getting too expensive

I also got some Rhassoul clay. I have not tired it as yet but I plan to for my next wash. It is supposed to leave your hair soft and manageable and not drying like shampoo. I have never tried bentonite clay. Some people swear by it, others say that it is really drying for their hair. However Rhassoul clay is meant to be very gentle so I am excited to dry it. 

I hope that you have been following my YouTube channel: chocolatebombuk. You can also find me Instagram: @KhandeeKhane. Below are some pics of styles I have done recently. 

I call this style a twisted bun

5.5 Years Locked Down

My sisterlocks are 5.5 years old now. I did a video log this time, check it out.

The Search Continues

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone. I wish you all the best for 2013 and continued growth. 

My search continues for a hair routine for my locs. As I stated in my previous posts my aim is to grow healthy locs. I have finally decided that I do not like shea butter on my locs. I have heard that some people say that you shouldn’t use it on locs and others have said that it is possible to use it. I used raw pure shea butter and I always blended it with other ingredients (e.g. coconut oil, castor oil, evoo - extra virgin olive oil); however, I never liked the feel of it on my locs. I thought it could have been the shea butter that I used so I tried a different one, I even tried different blends; all I can say is that from my experimentation I will not be using shea butter on my locs at all. It is lovely on my skin though.

If you will recall from my previous posts I had noticed that some of ends were unravelling. This should not be happening as my locs are matured and I was confused as to what was causing it. I do not know if it was the colouring. I have only dyed my locs twice but I do not know if that has contributed to it. I do wonder if it is split ends and I have considered trimming my locs. I have not yet decided if I would do this myself or go to the hairdressers. I do know that if I do cut my locs I will get some unravelling until it re-seals. My consultant had previously stated that maybe I was over conditioning my locs. I do not what I think about this as my hair feels dry and not over-soft. I do wonder if my hair needs my protein and not moisture. I attempted to do the strand test (sorry I cannot find the link at the moment but I will post when I find it) but I think that it is hard to do properly with locs. So I think I will ease back on the deep conditioning and may be do it once every 2 months or so (not certain as yet). I may do some pre-pooing to counteract the potential dryness of the shampoo. I did go through a phase of co-washing but it does not work with the frequency that I wash my hair; I need a proper cleanse with I don’t get with co-washing. So all in all I am confused about my locs unravelling. I will try less conditioning and see how my locs are and I may trim them.

At the moment I am trying to be really simple with my routine. I went to a hair show and in the goody bag I got some JBCO (Jamaican Black Castor Oil) woohoo. 

It was only a small sample but I am currently using that on my roots after I wash. A friend of a friend makes and sells her own products and she invited us to a new product launch. At this party I got a free sample of honey comb and myrrh, which I currently use on the length of my locs after I wash. 

When these samples are finished I will probably use castor oil on my roots and evoo/coconut oil on the length. I currently spritz my locs with distilled water and JML cactus oil. 

I got the oil during my first year of locking but I never really used it, but i thought waste not want not. When that is finished I will probably use evoo. I did not particularly like the aloe vera juice mix that I mentioned in my last post. I have decided to try using baby shampoo to wash my hair as they tend to be gentler being designed for babies. At the moment I am using Johnson’s baby shampoo; I may switch to a more natural on.  I haven’t totally given up on making my own products so I may make shampoo in the future; but currently for me buying products is the best.

Actually after I had written this post I cam across this article about telling the difference between hair that feels dry and hair that is dry. After reading this I think my hair feels dry rather than actually being dry. I do moisturise it and it does feel soft and supple. It could just be my hair texture. My consultant or her niece (who currently re-tightens my hair) has never told me my hair is dry, so maybe it feels dry rather than actually being dry. I will monitor it and see.  

Happily locked up

Khandee :)

Season Greetings!

An update is coming soon. I have been busy over the last few weeks but I hope to find some time to up date you all. Thank you for your support

Season Greetings

Khandee

I Have a YouTube Channel

I have a YouTube channel where I have been posting tutorials, advice and i will be posting vlogs and reviews. Below are some of my latest videos. I hope that you will subscribe to my channel

In this video I share how I do Victory Rolls



In this video I share how i protect baby locs



I had a few people ask me how i did flat twists, and in this tutorial I show how I do them

Hair Tutorials

Two hair tutorials: The first is how i do a french twist and the second is how i did my messy side bun

5 Years Locked Up!!!

Today is my 5 year sisterlocversary!!

I have been locked up 5 years! As i said in my last post i have been completing my doctorate at the same time, and my locs have be kinda neglected; however i am trying to remedy this. As started previously some of my ends had been coming off. I have lost on average about 2 ins of some locs :( I must admit that some of them i pulled off as i didnt like the way they looked, they were weak. The picture below is a comparison of my locs from 4 years to 5 years. 

My hiar goal for this year is to focus on growing healthy locs. I still usually get my hair re-tightened but this last one i did it myself. It was the first time in about 3 years. It was a long process, but it enabled me to check out my locs. I actually found a 2HD that i didn't know i had. As i was doing them i was thinking that some of them were rather thin for my liking, so i was considering combining them. I do not know if I was just being overly negative, but i will see how it goes. I am searching for a new loc tool. I usually use the SL clip tool and i had always liked it; however i was finding that the clip kept getting caught and i dont want my strands to snap thereby weakening my roots and locs. I do have the nappylocs tool but i have never really been that keen on it. My friend told me about the loc-key, which i have ordered. I will keep you posted on how i find that one. 

 As i said previously i am looking for a new routine for my locs and i wanted to go 100% natural with my products making my own. My last wash, last week, i did a deep cleanse with bicarb of soda and ACV mix. I wasn't too sure how it was so i still did a shampoo on top of that. I then deep conditioned that i had made. I realised that the DC i used in my last post was more of a protein conditioner and i want a mositurising conditioner, so i did some more research about the best ingredients. I used a recipe that i had found online which consisted of: 1 avacodo, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil and honey. All ot these ingredients are meant to be good for softening the hair. I blended all together, slathered on my locs, covered and left for 30 mins.

As can be seen  from the picture the mixture was not the creamy texture that i had expected. The experience turned into a nightmare!! I was left with, what i can only describe as avacado fibre strands in my locs. The pic below does not do justice to what i had in my hair, i could not believe it! I have circled some of them in red so you get an idea of what i was looking for.

I spent about 3 hours going through my locs and picking out the fibres. They were so small it was a nightmare, and i couldn't really see the back, so i wasnt sure if i got it all out. In fact i still found a few the next day. I do not know what the cause was. I had bought the avacado that morning and i picked the ripest one. Maybe it wasnt ripe enough, however i am not willing to try again.

I have also been trying to find a mosituring spray to keep my locs soft. I think this week i went a lil mad and tried too many different things. I now realise that i cannot just spritz with water i need to seal it so that the water doesn't evaporate and leave the hair dry. First i made a blend with distilled water, lavender eo, vegetable glycerin and JML cactus oil. I spritzed my hair and then sealed with my shea butter mix i mentioned previously. I am not sure about this blend and i think i just do not like shea butter on my locs. Another time i tried sealing with coconut oil. My hair still didn't feel as soft as i wanted. I kept researching and i head people say that aloe vera juice is meant to be really good. So i made a blend with aloe vera juice, distilled water, coconut oil, avacado oil, vegetable glycerian, lavender and tea tree eo. This is what i am using at the mo. I do not like the smell that much and after a week i feel that i want to wash my hair, which i never usually do (that could be because of the various experiementing i have done over the past week). I recognise that my hair will only get the softness that i want through deep conditioning so i am planning to focus on that. I am thinking over whether to make my own products. I really want to but i do not have the money to keep experimenting with different ingredients, although i know that it can also take time to find the right product. I am going to have to monitor it and really focus on my DC. 

I am not very good at styling my locs over the past few months i have tried out a few styles, which I have made into a lil video. I also did a loc bun for the first time on Saturday

Hope you are enjoying being locked up

Peace

Pampering Locs and Discovering A New Routine

So it has been a long while since i have posted on my blog aside from my recent videos. I have been concentrating on my doctorate that has taken a lot out of me. It has been a lot harder and taken longer to complete than i expected. I am on the home straight now to submit and then it is just my viva. It is interesting as i started my locs the same time as my doctorate (locs installed Aug 07 and started doctorate Sept 07) although i did take a year out from my doctorate so it has been 4 years. I can't believe i am almost 5 years locked!!! 

If you see my earlier posts i was suffering from ends that appeared to be unravelling which was strange as my  locs are mature. My consultant said it was due to over conditioning so it was softening my hair so she advised just to shampoo my hair. I tried it for a bit but it didnt make any difference except make the rest of my hair dry which i didn't like. On reflection i feel that i have neglected my locs somewhat, which may have been due to me focusing on my doctorate. I noticed that my locs feel dry even though i oil them. I make my own blend of oils which i put on esp after i wash my hair. However following my research the more oil i added my have resulted in drier hair as the oil would seal the hair shafts so that water cannot penetrate. I did try to use shea butter as people rave about it. I ordered 1kg of shea butter off the internet last year - it was meant to be unrefined but i am not sure. See the pic below

I had to really rub it in my hands to melt it but i didn't like the way it felt on my locs so i used most of it as a body cream. I did start trying to put some of it on the loose ends which felt dry, but i must admit i was not very consistent. Then this year for the first time I went to the Afro Hair and Beauty show and i purchased Taliah Waajid Protective Mist Bodifer, which i have been using as a leave-in conditioner. Two or three times a week i would spritz my locs with it. I love the smell of it

So I thought that it was time that i pampered my locs, gave them some loving and focused on trying to combat the dryness and just overall improve the health of them. So yesterday i decided to pamper them and i am currently researching a new hair routine. This the pampering that i did for my locs:

Firstly i did a pre-poo with pure coconut oil following this method i found on BGLH. I don't usually do a pre-poo and i am trying to think if i have ever done one. I have done hot oil treatments but if i recall correctly that was after shampooing not before. 

. 

I actually left it in for about 1.5 hours as i was doing something. I also put on my new microfibre turban towel over the plastic cap to create more heat. I am so happy i found this towel in a 99p store. At first i thought it might be too small but no my locs fit in it

I washed it out with my IC pure aloe shampoo. This is a product i have had for a number of year as i keep changing the products i use, which was diluted. I thought my hair felt softer after this but i am not sure if it was my imagination or just the water in my locs. 

I then made a deep conditioner:

• 2 eggs whisked to which i added
• about half a 500g tub of natural yogurt and
• some extra virgin olive oil.

I slathered it over my locs ensuring that they were well covered and covered it with a plastic cap. Picture of my mixture below

I found the mixture quite watery and it ran down my face esp if i bent over. I would have preferred to use mayo but i don't have any in my house (it is on my shopping list). Additionally the yogurt i bought was actually fat free as i had purchased it to eat it, this is may have contributed to it being watery. I would recommend using full fat yogurt as it's the fat that you want. I left it on for approx 30 mins and then i rinsed it out, ensuring that i had washed all the product out. What i did find was that i had egg in my locs, i think the water may have poached it, maybe water was hotter than i thought. This was annoying and i had to pick it out of my locs. I think it would be easier to rinse out with loose hair than locs. Looking at this video from Naptural85 it would appear that finding egg could be common. If i use egg again in a conditioner i think i would just use the egg yolk as that is where the fat and protein is. 

As my hair was already hydrated from the water i sealed it with a new moisturiser that i made. I didn't measure the ingredients but it consists of pure coconut oil, unrefined shea butter (my friend kindly gave me some better one) both of these were at room temp so were soft and could blend easily. I also added extra virgin olive oil jojoba oil and small amount of vegetable glycerine then blended it all up with a hand blender. It is quite runny as i didnt want it too thick in case it created build-up. The recipe is based on this recipe from Naptural85. I will monitor how i find it and if needs be modify the recipe

I then put my hair in pipe-cleaners. I very rarely wear my hair straight and usually curl it and i am loving the curls i get from PC. I am going to experiment with style for church tomorrow which i will post if i do. I left the pipe-cleaners in over night. This morning i thought my hair felt dry so i spritz it with some of the TW mist whilst still in the PC. I have now taken the pipe-cleaners out and the locs do feel soft. It it something that i will have to monitor and see what works best for my hair. 

I am trying to get a new hair routine so i have been doing a lot of research over the last day or so. You would think that after all that studying for my doctorate i would want a break lololol. I am thinking of becoming a low or no poo-er. I have read that people co-wash but it was something that i didn't get previously. Following my research i think that i will try it (see this link for further info). I know people have raved about it for a while but i am only now just catching on and i will see how i find it. I am aiming to once a month include a clarifying wash as well. I am going to start of using TRESemme Naturals nourishing moisture conditioner as i already have this at home (in fact i have quite a lot of conditioners as i find my shampoos run out quicker). It is silicone free and i have research every single ingredient in there. For the most part i think that the ingredients should be fine and some beneficial ones.  I will also add some homemade deep conditioners, which was previously missing from my routine, naughty, naughty. Eventually i would like to go 100% natural making my own stuff instead of relying on products. I was thinking of making shampoo with castile soap but i am still deciding on that. I will keep experimenting and adjusting the routine until i find something i am and my hair is happy with, i will continue to post updates. I am also thinking of investing in a hair steamer but i cannot afford it at the mo (so many bills from the doctorate coupled with being unemployed) but i will think about it more

On a final note over the last two months or so i have been also trying to improve my diet as this will impact on your hair. I am trying to increase my water intake as that is the best to stay hydrated including your hair. For personal reasons which i shall not go into i know that i do not drink as much water as i could. I have been making green smoothies which i find delish. I usually use:

• 1 banana (adds sweetness)
• 250-300ml of fresh fruit juice (e.g apple and not from concentrate) or soya milk (i do not use cow milk, never tried almond but will one day). My friend uses nettle tea but i have not tried that as yet. I once made it with pure coconut water which was rather nice as well
• Then i just shove in a load of raw spinach and raw curly kale (i don't measure i just usually fill up the rest of my sports cup)
• I sometimes add strawberries (frozen gives it a nice chilled quality) but i find it turns the mixture brown, no impact on the taste
• I also somtimes add hemp protein as the protein should balance out the the sugar rush from the fruit. I dont add it too often to be honest as the taste is an acquired one. You could try other protein powders such as as whey
• I then blend it all up and it is simply delicious. 

I have also experimented with other fruit such as kiwi, necterine and other green veg such as broccoli, green beans, broad beans and sprouts. You can try any fruit and greens that work for you. The above recipe is my staple. I have also been eating sunflower seeds, great to snack on or add to food trying adding to scramble eggs or to spinach. Sunflower seeds are rich in vitamin E (see this link for further benefits). Since i have increased my greens and sunflower seeds i have noticed stronger nails. I am assuming that this is because leafy greens are a source of biotin which is great for healthy hair and nails. 

My Adventure with Pipe Cleaner Curls The Sequel

afro live 2012

My Adventure With Pipe Cleaner Curls

Whoops: Things I forgot

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


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

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

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

Braid Out 2011

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

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


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

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

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

Four Years

WOOHOOO MY LOCS ARE FOUR YEARS OLD!!!!

Happy Locaversary to Me

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

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

Below close up of locs taken from the side

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

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

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

Lockhawk 2011. Click here for lochawk 2009

Just a quick update

Stay locked and happy

Peace

Third Locaversary

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

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

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

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

What happened to my colour??


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

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

Goal Achieved

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

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

Well this was just a quick post.

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

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

31 Months - Catch-up

Hey Everyone,

Happy Easter!!

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

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


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

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


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


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