Tuesday, May 10, 2011

It's MY Turn




Yay for me!! I have finally begun my lock journey. I locked up on Mother's Day weekend by way of 2 strand twist. I actually tried to lock my hair back in March, but it was so terrible that I didn't even bother posting nor did I take any pictures. It was that bad! She attempted to lock my hair with a comb coils but it wasn't for me. I love the way comb coils look. I think they're a wonderful way to lock hair, but if your hair is shoulder length or longer, it doesn't work well. It partially unraveled and I tried to salvage it, but it just didn't look right. It did actually start to lock but it was lumpy, gnarled and weird looking. My hair looked like it had rheumatoid arthritis! It was embarrassing. We'll see how long this new set will take to lock. I would've liked them a bit smaller, but I'm not mad. I would like to be able to style my hair but I know I need to leave it alone. Not being able to wash it for a couple weeks will be my biggest challenge. I LOVE to wash my hair or at least run it under the shower head when I take a shower. It feels so invigorating. I bought the locktician's hair spray and it contains witch hazel, among other things, and it feels nice to spray my scalp with it. Anyhow, I am excited to see where this lock journey takes me. I will keep you all updated with my progress.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

New Photos




Here's my eldest crazy girl. Doesn't she look good with locks? I think they suit her personality perfectly. They're fun and free, just like her! See that little one in the bottom pic? That's my 2 year old and I'm gonna lock her up this year too. I was waiting for her to get old enough to stay still and I learned that all I have to do is pretend I'm doing someone else's hair and, voila, here she comes running! Lol. I'll let you know when her big day is. Until then, take care of your hair!

Twisting Away...

When I checked on my blog (after many months, I admit), I was surprised to see that it looked significantly different than it had the last time I looked at it. Apparently my blog design code expired or something. I apologize for the ugliness for those of you who ventured across my blog. I will be more diligent in my blog upkeep in the future. I will try, anyhow.

My hair is still unlocked, my daughter's hair is still locking. I am very happy that I decided to combine her locks and palm roll them. It seems to be locking faster. Even the ones that I combined are locking together nicely. I wish I had started them off this way, but we live and we learn. I'm starting to finally see some length. I know her hair is growing, but because they were matting and growing together (growing wider, rather than longer) the growth was hard to see. She and I are waiting for it to start growing like weeds! It seems like a nice idea now of super long hair, but I'm sure it's more challenging. But we'll deal with that when it comes.

Well, I just wanted to update on her hair and to say hello to everyone. Contact me with questions or comments. Take care of your hair!

Saturday, May 22, 2010

A New Change!

Hello again. I was looking for some inspiration for my daughter's locks. I told you that I am pregnant again and in nursing school. As you can see from the photos, my daughter has very thick and very small microlocks. With being pregnant and added time killers like studying, cooking, cleaning, helping with homework, going to school, prenatal visits...I was left with very little time or energy to re-tighten her hair. I used to latch hook them. I would do half with the intention to continue no later than a few days. Well a few days turned into a couple of months, so when I was doing the second half, the first half I had done needed to be re-done! It was a mess!! I felt so bad for starting something and not being able to maintain it. I went on youtube and was impressed with a member with the moniker "roksdalocs". She has long and well maintained locks. They are small but definitely larger than my daughter's. I had made her locks so small because they seemed more feminine and would allow for versatility in styling. Seeing "roksdalocs" youtube video on how she washes, condition and re-twists (via palm rolling) her hair made me change my thinking. Right then and there I decided that I would combine my daughter's locks to thicken the base and maintain them using the palm roll method. Well, honey, let me tell you...I am in HEAVEN! This is what I did...

1. I wet her hair thoroughly with water with a spray bottle.
2. I sprayed her hair with apple cider vinegar (ACV)
3. I put a shower cap on her and let her sit for 20 minutes then rinsed thoroughly with water
4. Applied a mixture of 1 part Suave Clarifying shampoo and 1 part water, shampooed/rinsed twice
5. Applied a mixture of 1 part TresSemme moisturizing condition and 3 parts water, left on for a minute, then thoroughly rinsed
6. Applied extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) via spray bottle and scrunched it through hair to ensure even distribution, left it on for a few minutes
7. Rinsed, rinsed, rinsed!
8. Blotted hair with a towel
9. Applied "Better Locks" twisting gel to her new growth and combined locks by twisting/palm rolling them, clipped them to prevent unraveling
10. Let hair air-dry and removed clips

What I noticed...

I used the ACV because it completely releases any product buildup or any other unwanted gunk from the lock. It seemed to soften her hair nicely but didn't make it feel like it would unravel (her hair isn't 100% locked yet).

I was concerned about putting any oil in her hair. I had read that oil isn't necessary for locks, but after seeing "roksdalocs" hair routine and her results, I decided to try it...and I'm glad I did. I was worried about buildup, but I rinsed her hair completely after applying the evoo. Even if it did leave any residue, the acv rinse will take care of it before I shampoo her hair again.

I like the twisting gel because it holds very well and it does not flake at all! I does not contain any mineral oil or beeswax. I heard so much about Jamaica Mango and Lime, but their products contain both beeswax and mineral oil. The "Better Locks" gel had a nice smell to it but not overwhelmingly fragrant. The consistency is just a tad bit thicker than styling gel .

I am thrilled that I decided to combine her locks. They're still small and feminine and they won't take forever and two lifetimes to maintain. I have decided to shampoo her hair every 3-4 weeks and re-twist her hair after shampooing (if it needs it). I will not over twist for fear of weakening the hair and breaking it off. I combined her hair by palm rolling a few strands at the new growth and then twisting to length (like 2 strand twists). I used the locking gel on the length to help it hold together. For the most part, they held beyond the new growth. I would estimate about 85% of the length is still twisted tightly enough. The remaining is still twisted, but just a bit looser. In time they will fuse and lock together. I thought it would look different than the rest of her locks, but it is all blended nicely together.

It didn't take me long to re-tighten using this method and I'm actually looking forward to doing it again next month. Next month will be her one year anniversary! Yay! I will post pics soon of the results.

Please feel free to contact me with questions!

Monday, April 26, 2010

Long awaited photos
















Hello everyone. Here are some photos of my daughter's progress. She is about 10 months into her locking experience. These photos are from last year and this year. From 2 months onward. From her crown to her nape, she is budding and some are almost fully locked. From the crown to her front and side hair line, you can still see the braid pattern. I'm noticing that as her hair locks, it looks shorter and thicker. The hair that is still braided is considerably longer and skinnier than the locked hair. I'm patiently waiting to see the progress in length. Her hair is growing like weeds because I can see it by how often she needs retightening. I haven't been able to tighten her hair in a while because I'm in nursing school. I have barely any time. Then the end of last year we found out we were expecting another addition to our family. So, I had a few months of morning sickness to deal with. I'm still happy with the decision to lock. I think they are quite becoming on her. I'm currently in the process of retightening her hair and will post more photos of the finished result. Please ask me any questions or comment to let a sister know how you're doing, what you like, suggestions or even just for simple support. That's all for now. Take care!










Thursday, January 14, 2010

Happy Nappy New Year!

Happy Nappy new year to all my nappy sisters out there! Here's to another year of natural hair freedom. I still have not been able to commit to locking my own hair yet. Finances do not allow me to at this time. But, my eldest daughter does have micro sized braid locks started by me. She is about 6 months into her locking journey. Wow. One half of a year already! As far as I can tell, she seems to love it. I was kinda worried that she would like it and then kinda change her mind. She is only 9 and easily influenced by her peers and what she sees. She's the only black girl in her classroom, so she sees a lot of straight hair on a daily basis. So far, so good. Perhaps she was really listening when I sang the praises of locked hair. They really look natural on her.

Her hair isn't fully locked yet. Her hair is in it's teenage stage. I am surprised by the amount of shrinkage. The front half of her hair isn't locking as quickly as the back half. This section still looks like braids. It seems the area closest to the "kitchen" locked the fastest. Her hair has also thickened a little, but only the ones that have started locking. They are about the size of the parting square base. From what I understand, they will thin in circumference once they mature. I am so grateful and thankful for learning about locks. I like that she can shower and not worry about her hair getting wet, or worrying about high humidity, or dealing with damage from a relaxer.

I just can't wait until I can get mine done. I don't know when that will be exactly. Why do I have to wait? Because I won't be able to maintain my re-tights and her re-tights myself and I can't commit myself to having someone else do it because I don't have steady money. I'm still in nursing school and my husband is the only one bringing in an income. With 4 kids, our money is stretched as far as it can go right now! Plus we just moved from an apartment to a house, so our rent has increased. I figure that with a nurse's salary, I can afford to get my hair done whenever I want (which is more inspiration for me to study hard!). Well, speaking of which, I have to go study. I just wanted to update really quickly. I will try to post more photos of my daughter's hair for anyone who wants to see. I will answer any questions you may have. As long as they're not offensive. Take care and God bless!

Monday, October 12, 2009

My...how time flies...

I know I haven't written since August. For those who care, I apologize. I started nursing school in August and have been even busier than I thought. I love the fact that it's fast pace, but by the same token, it takes all of my free time studying and whatnot. Anyhow...I still haven't committed myself to the locking process. I am still natural though. Ain't never gon' be no change in that! I have been taking pictures of my daughter's braidlock voyage all the while. Her hair has changed each month. This month, which is her 3rd month on lock-down, she is experiencing shrinkage and buds. Some of her hair looks somewhat locked. The hair in the back is starting to lock, but the hair in the front still very much looks like braids. I am going to try to post some photos so you can see what I mean. I am still loving the freedom from not having to force her hair into submission just so that it can look pretty. I love that she can just wake up, wet her hair and go. I don't love the re-tightening sessions. It's not difficult but it is time consuming. She has micro sized locks and it takes me days to do her hair. I don't have time to dedicate to her hair so I get in when I fit in. For those of you who are looking to this blog as an inspiration for your own lock journey, I will put together a list of shampoos and other products we use and processes we employ. I welcome any questions and positive comments. Until next time, I wish you well.