Spicing It Up

Dear lock blog,

I always said i wanted to do something to spice up my locks and i found it. Cowrie shells! I bought some today.. but i always wondered how to put them in.. they say you can sew them in but i don't wanna do that. Simply because it would be hard to take out and i like to change looks every 1- 2days. so as you can see in the pictures, i put them in. it wasn't as hard as i thought it would be. i just used a hair pin to squeeze the lock in.

im also gonna use different color hair pins to make them look cuter. in this picture i had light blue pins that match my shorts. ima also buy some wire to make some more jewelry for my locks. i wish i knew a place where they sell jewelry for locks... when i make them, ima write another post... ima definitely dye it sometime soon.. simply because i want to monitor the growth of my hair when i started my locks over my hair was much shorter than this and they were dyed at the roots. maybe i will dye my hair two weeks from now...

see you soon. :)

First wash hmmm

Dear lock blog,

Written December 27, 2010

Okay this is my first wash in this set of locks.. And I have to say it was a lot different then my last set. In fact.. It was very similar to the wash in my very first set. I didnt use the black soap shampoo. I used the Dr woods peppermint castile shampoo. Its from the same company as the black soap shampoo. Same bottle and what not just different because its peppermint.

Well anyway, I waited like six weeks to wash my hair after I installed them. Im glad I did too. Because when I washed my hair, they didnt unravel completely like the last set of locks I had. Of course they untwisted at the roots but that was it. The rest of the lock remained intact. That was great! And they already started matting!!! I guess thats why they stayed intact.

This new shampoo I used to wash my hair was amazing. I loved how my hair smelled like peppermint when I was done. And I washed my hair gently only scrubbing my scalp. Next time ima scrub them a little harder because I saw just a little buildup on it. But thats okay.

It was so easy for me to twist them this time around because they didnt unravel at all. Now I have them pinned up.. And when they set, ima apply some spritz on them.

Im gonna wash them every two weeks now.. And twist them every week with water and jml firm wax.

I will write around my next wash :)
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Falling off the wagon

Written on dec 20
Dear lock blog,

It took me six weeks to come up with the courage to write another blog. Its mostly because I'm ashamed of myself for what I've done. In the previous blogs, I was so happy to have my new locks. And I was doing fine for a while. But then I met this guy that I was really feeling. I felt that if I took down my locks and got a perm that I would look more attractive to him.

I had a weak moment and I went out and got the things I needed to take down my locks. BUT I didn't get the perm. Thank god!!!

Well I took down my locks again! And boy was it a task! I didn't realize how locked up my hair was until I tried combing them out. And when I was done, I was upset.. I looked at my hair and saw how kinky it was. I couldn't get a comb thru it to save my life and my hair was hurting like hell!!!

I still wanted to get the perm but then I realized I was short on cash! It cost 60$ to get a perm and cut at the salon. I pretty much gave up! I'm glad my impatience and the fact that I'm cheap kept me from making a stupid decision.. Once my hair is permed there's no turning back.. If I wanted my locks back I would have to cut my permed hair and start fresh! I'm glad it didn't get to that point.

And to think I did all of this to impress some guy!! I thought he would like me if I looked better physically but that wasn't the case.. In the end I put my locks back in.. I did it because i missed the fact that I didn't have to put a comb thru my hair.. I missed my little locks.

And when I showed my hair to the guy for the first time... He didn't trip!! In fact he thought I looked cute.. I'm jus upset that I felt that insecure in order to impress a guy that was feeling me from the start!

The take down was on november 22.. And I put them back in the 23rd.. Todays the december 20th... And its been a month of bliss..
I think I'm experiencing the lock stages at an excelleration now than ever cuz my locks are defintiely frizzing up quickly... I haven't washed my hair in a month.. I have been twisting it with JMLs firm wax and water.. Ill wash my hair in two more weeks..

This time around I wanted my locks to be thicker.. Sick of thin locks now.. Idk why I just am... I have to get around to counting them soon.. they thick but not too thick.. Jus like my first set.. I think they will be locked by the summer of course.. By june the earliest...

Until then ima keep washing and twisting.. And wearing hats and scarves.. I need to find some gems for my locks to give them more spice...

And as for me and the guy I've was crazY about... Well he and I are exclusive now.. His name is Jeff! We're in crazy in love.. Its nice to find sum1 that's into me because of who I am rather than how I look...

Although our future together seems uncertain I know what is... I kno that my locks are here to stay...

Talk to you in a few days!!! :)
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Another Wash...

Dear blog,

Today I decided to wash and twist my hair. I think its been two weeks since my last wash. My hair has been locking up perfectly. They haven't been unraveling like they did in the beginning. Good!

As I was twisting each lock they are locking up on their own schedule...

Lately all I've been doing is wearing scarves and head wraps so I won't play in it...

Ill probably wash it and another two weeks...
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Making Progress

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Dear lock blog,

The last time i washed my hair was October 9th. Yesterday i washed my hair because it was getting too frizzy. Ever since my last wash, my hair has been wrapped up in scarves and hats and stuff. i realized that the reason why my hair was getting so frizzy so quick is because of the products ive been using.

Every night before i go to sleep, i wrap my hair in a satin scarf to keep it from frizzing but it still does. Lately ive been using Organic Root Stimulator Lock and Twist gel. And in the beginning it was working well. my hair was twisted nicely and it didnt take long for it to dry. but thats just the problem. it left my hair dry and because my hair was dry, it would frizz up easily no matter how much oil i put in it. And this time around im trying not to put too much products in my hair but i still want it to retain its moisture. The only product that i know that can acomplish this is Jamacian Mango and Lime Locking Firm Wax. When i was done using it my locks were twisted tight and they retained some of its moisture.

Now this product i used in my first set of locks and it worked pretty well. i just didnt like that it was too greasy. But ive learned that you dont need too much to get the job done and for the twists to hold up. so yesterday i bought the big container of firm wax for $6.99 (great price!).

when i went home i washed my hair with black soap shampoo. I had to scrub my scalp because locking gel left so much buildup. In fact i had to wash it 4 times just to remove the gunk on my scalp.

When i was done, i towel dried my hair and oiled my scalp. then i twist and pinned my hair with the firm wax and left it to dry in my hair overnight. I noticed that when i was twisting my hair that i got alot more buds in each lock than the last time i washed it. when i washed it, most of them held together. i still have the rubber bands in some of the locks from the last time i washed it. ima keep them in for another few weeks. if buds start to from in them like the others then ima take the rubber bands out. Im having patience with my hair and its paying off big time.

And october 26 was the 3month anniversary of my brand new locks. so by march my locks should be mature. now my locks have a corse feel to them at the ends. thats a good sign because in the beginning my locks had a smooth feeling to them. now i know that they are tangling up within themselves nicely.

But from now on im just use JML firm wax to twist my hair. every other product i have ima keep. Except the gel because thats leaving too much buildup in my hair. Now im beginning to think that i should have stuck to the products that i used to use in my first set rather than switch. But another lesson learned i guess.

And plus my hair has been growing so much in the past three months. its amazing. When i started this set, i dyed my hair bronze so that way when it grows i will be able to see how much. and it looks cool!!!! i will probably dye my roots again so that i can track its growth. but we will just have to wait and see.

But i need some jewels and trinkets to spice up my locks. you know make it look cute. i need to find a website that i can go to to buy some.

But as far as my locks go... So Far So Good :)

Cocooning...

Dear lock blog,

Lately my hair has been frizzing up a lot and I just simply don't have the time to do it. After two days after my wash last week, my hair frizzed up again!! I just didn't wanna slap the gel on it so easily. Eventually I ended up putting hats and wraps on my head just to look decent.

I guess u can say I'm cocooning. They call this stage cocooning because your hair tends to get messed up and tangled so much that u result to putting on wraps and hats. I guess I'm gonna be cocooning for a while because I don't wanna put gel in my hair every time it getsd frizzy.

Yesterday I found this scarf in my house. It was my mothers. It was a black cotton fabric and long enough to wrap my hair with. And when I did wrap it, it came out perfect. Now I have to go to the fabric store and get a satin one like it with the same length and width. Its perfect. Ima get it in different colors. Today I have it on with some long butterfly earrings.
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Another wash.

Dear lock blog,

The last time I wrote was last month.. When I washed my hair.

Lately I haven't had the time to wash it cuz I've been so busy with work and school. But today I had the time so I washed it. Lately my hair has been kinda frizzy and unruly.. Basically all over the place to the point where I would have to wear a hat or scarf. Today I went to work with a hat on cuz I was having a bad hair day. And I pretty much broke down and washed/ twist it.

This wash was much more sucessful than the last wash.. My locks are really coming into themselves lately. Before I washed them, I went through them to see which ones needed rubber bands on them.

I place rubber bands on them so that when I wash them they don't unravel. Only a select few needed rubber bands on them. And those were the ones that I had to separate last month. They didn't bud yet. No more than ten locks needed rubber bands.

All my other locks are really coming out nice!!! They are budding now and its even harder to put a comb through them. Great!!!!! I guess its safe to say that they are in the teenage stage aka "budding stage".

Anyways... When I washed them they tangled up within themselves. But that was okay. I did two wash cycles (scrubbing gently). they didn't unravel. I covered my head with a towel and kept it on for an hour. When I went to twist them I noticed that only two unraveled. But it was easy to twist them. Infact, those two locks in particular, I backcombed to tangle them up, then I twisted them.

The twisting process was a breeze. I notice that it only takes me 40mins to twist my entire head. But when I got my first set of locks it would take me an hour and a half to twist. Maybe its because I'm more experienced now.

I just finished twisting them. Right now I have clips in my hair to set over night. I added some Dr Miracles grow oil for my scalf. God knows I really needed it cuz I haven't oiled my scalp in weeks. And right now, this oil is really stimulating my scalp.

I used a permanant color on my hair back in july wen I started this set of locks. My hair has grown a lot since then. My ends are bronze and my roots are black... I think ima color my hair again for my birthday. Adding a permanent color to my hair is a great way for me to track the growth of my hair cuz when my hair grows my natural color grows with it..

I can't wait till it grows out even more... Then I will be able to get curls and braids.. But for now ima just let it grow and do its own thing. I've learned my lesson. Just let them do their own thing and my locks will look beautiful. I don't wanna over manipulate it lols.

Now that they are beginning to bud up, I'm thinking about washing them every two weeks. Washing tends to tangle up my hair more. And plus I don't want to be wearing hats for the next few weeks! Lols. I need to keep them nice and neat. :)

I'll have pictures posted up soon!! :)
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Oh my god!

Dear loc blog,

Wash day- sept 12th

I was suppose to write an entry yesterday but I was caught up in getting ready for school that I forgot. But anyways here's what happened..

I washed my hair last night with black soap shampoo. I washed it gentily because I didn't want them to unravel. When I was done I had so much build up on my scalp it was ridiculous. It looked like the gel that I twisted my hair with, went back to its gel form and and showed up on my locks and scalp. Ewww it was so nasty! But luckily I'm a pro at this so I knew what to do. I washed my again this time rubbing my scalp and squeezing out the excess gunk. When I was done, a lot of them unraveled but not where it was hard for me to twist. I was still able to twist them with gel and spritz because although they unraveled at the roots, each lock was tangled at the ends. So all I had to do was pick one and twist it.

Anyway, it took me an hour to twist my hair. That's good!!!! So I twisted it, pinned it, and let it set overnight. I slept in a satin cap and had the fan on which helps to dry my hair while I'm sleeping. That's an unusual way to dry hair but it works. Plus this method guarentees that my entire head will dry cuz I move around a lot in my sleep. When I woke up my hair was nice and tight. And it was dry.

But here is a nice update about my hair. When I was done washing my hair, it was easy for me to twist my hair because the ends were still intact. they were all meshed up within themselves. This means that my hair is beginning to lock up nicely. Even now after I twisted them the ends are more puffy then the roots. The roots are thin because the twists are still tight but the ends look and feel like cotton balls. YAAAAAYYYY!!!!!!

Now I have to figure out when my next wash will be. Hmmm (thinking). Maybe next month around the thirteenth or maybe another two weeks. I will have to see.

Goodnight
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1 month wash...

Dear loc blog,

tomorrow will be my 1month lock wash. thank god. it wasnt hard for me to go a month without washing my hair. in fact it was a breeze. maybe because i didnt have alot of maintainence in between. tomorrow when i get home from work, ima wash my hair good. my scalp needs a little tlc. plus i could have washed my hair today but i wanted it to be fresh for monday when i start back school.

ima wash it, add some olive oil to my scalp, then twist it with lock and twist gel. then spray some spritz on it. ima let you know how it went.

goodnight! :)

Frizzies continued...

Dear loc blog,

I looked up how to maintain your locs and getting rid of frizzies. Nothing I haven't read before. Just incorporate the loose hairs into my locks when I twist them. And as an added bonus use spritz.

(Rolling my eyes) maybe I'm stressing out too much. Frizzies are apart of the process and I just have to deal with it and make my hair neat.

Satin scarf, lock gel, and spritz will be my friends for now..

Talk to u later...
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Frizzies!!!

Dear loc blog,

correct me if I'm wrong but this is suppose to be nearing my first month of locking.. So why am I experiencing soo much frizziness?

I put a satin scarf on my head every night and its like they frizz up regardless. Every morning I find myself adding some more lock gel to my hair. Ugh! Its annoying. Just wondering how I can get rid of the frizzies!! I know I can't get rid of them for good.. Because its only gonna get worse. Its just I need to find a way to manage them.

Maybe the weather has something to do with it. It has been a little humid lately. Maybe the moisture in the air is what's frizing up my hair.

Ima do some research and write another entry later.. Be right back

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Advice from a Veteran.

Dear loc blog.

Two days ago i went to the bronx with my boyfriend to see his friend Arthur. Mr Arthur has a wife that has been locking for ten years. the last time i saw her was on new years. it was at that time that i had my first set of locks. they were mature but uneven in length (which is why i cut them). anyway she saw me with my new short bronze baby locks and was surprised that i started over. i told her why and she understood.

I told her that i was gonna go to the salon and have them straighten my parts. she said that there was no need to go because i dont need straight parts! She told me that she started her own locks and never went to the salon for anything. she said that she herself doesnt have straight parts. Her locks looked beautiful! they were golden blond long locks that ran down her back. normally she keep them pined up on her head. she maintains them by using jam and spritz. she washes them every month.

personally i dont like to use jam in my hair because it makes my scalp itch because of the thickness. but ima take her advice and just twist my hair myself. after all, i am a two year veteran lols. now im not so concerned about going to the salon. ima just twist it myself.

anywho, its been a week since i last twisted my hair with spritz. my locks are holding out fine. they frizzing up alot quicker these days but you know what, i dont care. these days i dont worry about how my hair looks. i just wake up, rub my hand through it and thats it. some of them are starting to take form. some of them are already budding a little bit. sometimes in the morning before i go to work,i add some lock gel to it. but tonight ima twist it with some lock gel and have it pinned up over night. i dont know when ima wash my hair. probably in late september early october. that should be enough time for my locs to have set in. but for now, just normal twisting.

talk to you later!

Thank god for spritz!!!!!

Dear blog,

4 words. (Clears throat) Thank God For Spritz!!! I didn't wash my hair in like almost two weeks. I haven't been using a lot of moisturizer for my scalp because It hasn't been itching too much.. Every now and then I would use olive oil on them for some moisture and some sheen. But not a lot on my scalp.
I didn't twist my hair with my loc and twist butter/ gel. I needed something quick and convient. So I've been using spritz to twist and pin my hair. One word AMAZING! Because I would twist them... Leave them in for 20 minutes and when I taker out the pins, the twists will me nice and tight. Last week I twisted it and I yesterday I twisted it and the twists last long.
I've been putting on a satin scarf every night and it helps my twists to last longer.
Now every morning I get up and run my hands through my hair to give it live and go about my day. No worries about my hair.
Anyway next week ima see if I can go to the salon. I've been really procrastinating when it comes to that. Its cuz I have to find the time but when I have some time ima go.. Until then, goodnight
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Second Wash and separation

Dear lock diary,

Unfortunately AGAIN i didnt have the money to go to the salon to get my hair done.. so now i have to do it myself. but thats okay. I used the dry shampoo on my hair. HATED IT!!! when i was done using it, my hair didnt feel refreshed at all. and the smell annoyed me. and plus it was hard to rub out with a damp towel. Time Wasted!!! so i ended up washing my hair. here is how it went.

I didnt want my hair to unravel so put a satin cap over it and washed it with black soap shampoo. but i got annoyed with that too. mainly because the soap wasnt getting In the end, i decided to just wash it the old fashioned way. i didn't scrub my scalp too hard because i didnt want the motion to unravel my locks. but of course, some of them unraveled. i already knew that was gonna happen. some of them maintained. thats okay. in fact, alot of them maintained their shape. i want my locks to be a little more thinner so ima separate some of them. hopefully they will come out cute. i always loved thinner locks. and thats exact what i want in my hair.

so it seems like one of my products i wont be using ever again. And that product is the Organic Root Stimulator Herbal Cleanse Dry Shampoo.

Two week update: First Wash

Dear lock diary

its been two weeks since my last blog and alot has happened. But here it is in a nutshell. I was suppose to go to the salon this week but i didnt. Mainly because i didnt have any money. so i ended u doing my hair myself. I wanted to go to the salon and have the loctician make my baby locks smaller. Ive always wanted smaller locks. to me they look more appealing. But that didnt happen. i ended up washing my hair myself and reinstalling my coils but alot smaller. they look so cute!!! i wish i had i pictures!!!

but ive decided that next week ima go to the salon and have the loctician touch them up for me because some of my parts aren't right. this is because i cant see the back of my hair lols. but this is the size i want my locks. it may be small and require alot more time for maintenence but ima leave that to the loctician instead of doing it myself. at least until they mature. this time i want my locks to come out beautiful. so for like the next few months ima spend a few bucks to get my hair done at the salon. Ima do some daily maintenence on my hair as well. like light twisting and adding oil but that is as far as it goes.

anywho... ima be back in another two weeks for a lock update... ttyl

New Beginning... Again!!!

I cant believe im doing this journey again!!... Going natural is the best experience for me. I dont have to worry about my hair falling out and adding harsh chemicals to my my scalp. Ive been going natural for like two years now. And all through the two years ive been locking unhappily.

the reason why i say unhappily is because Ive been through two lock journeys! this is my third. In my first lock journey, i was locking for a year before i cut them. at that time my locks were thicker and uneven due to a bad cutting accident at the salon. Lets just say that the stylist got scissor happy with my locks. I cut them down and started braidlocks but i eventually got impatient and got lock extensions. The lock extensions were kept in for a few months and that was horrible. They didnt come out the way i wanted them to but i dealt with it until recently. Technically this past saturday.

This weekend i tried to die my hair bronze and that was a nightmare!!! My natural hair was bronze but the extensions werent. If i had kept them in it would have been obvious to the world that i had lock extensions not to mention they looked raggedy.

so i cut them off and combed my hair out. Most of the ends of my hair werent bronze so i dyed them that color. when i was done doing that, i put some locking gel to my hair and coiled them. I intend on letting them lock up.

this time is different because this time around my hair will grow into my locks as opposed to my locks growing into my hair. plus i think my hair will lock up alot faster because my hair is at its naturalist... course, kinky and nappy... plus it has more flavor because its colored!

im excited about this lock journey because its like starting over fresh!!! with short hair! im not used to short hair with is new to me. im so used to long hair. but its okay. it brings out my face and inner beauty.

plus im so sick of people looking at me and seeing a pretty face and long hair! now people will be impressed with my intellect as opposed to my physical features.

how am i dealing with the change? pretty well. in fact i love it. its something new and different. what really brings out my hair is when i wear earrings. particularly long earrings.

this morning i had to spice them up by twisting them with locking gel to give it a fresh look and also adding hair insense to my locks to make it smell fresh. this hair style requires little maintenance thank god. I wont have to wash my hair for another 5- 6 weeks. but i have to keep my scalp clean so ima use a dry shampoo for my hair and just retwist them when ever i can with gel and pins. this time around ima go to the salon every two weeks to have them touch it up. i don't wanna wash my hair and then the coils unravel. maybe next week ima go and have the stylist touch it up for me.
but for now... ima put on my satin scarf and go to sleep...
GOODNIGHT