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!

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!

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!