Third Locaversary

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

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

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

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

What happened to my colour??


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

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

Goal Achieved

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

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

Well this was just a quick post.

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

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

31 Months - Catch-up

Hey Everyone,

Happy Easter!!

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

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


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

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


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


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

To Dye or Not to Dye

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

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

Hair dye puts women in burns unit

25 Months - Bit of this a bit of that

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

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

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

I LOVE MY LOCS!!!!!!