Beyond Locs

I added some old pictures of my loose natural hair. They can be found here:

My loose natural hair

I also put all of my loced hair photos into a collection here:

My loc journey

Not much to report otherwise. I misplaced my camera so I haven't taken any new loc pictures. There isn't much change other than a tiny bit of growth and a need for latching sometime in the next 3 weeks. It is blazing hot, but the humidity (and Greg Juice) have helped keep my hair soft and moist. I really want to go ahead and try out my new bottle of Juice and Berries, but I have an older bottle of Greg Juice to use up. I may just give the Greg Juice to my mom so I can get started with the Juice and Berries.

Products currently in use (bolded if essential, italics if I am trying it out)

Clarifying shampoo - Nature's Gate Rainwater Clarifying Shampoo
Shampoo - Oyin Grand Poo Bar, Trader Joe's Citrus Shampoo
Conditioner - Oyin's Honey Hemp Conditioner
Styling (latching/palm rolling) - none
Daily Moisturizer - Water, Oyin's Greg Juice, Oyin Juice and Berries
Supplements - Women's One a Day
Post rinsing or shampoo - Nasabb Kelechi Hair Oil

Every two weeks:
Wash with clarifying shampoo and condition. Add oil and air dry.

2-3 times per week:
Shampoo, add oil and air dry

1-2 times per week (depending on the state of my hair):
Rinse hair in shower, add oil or Greg Juice as needed.

Daily:

Spritz with water and Greg Juice as needed.

I still have some fuzziness, but other than that my locs are pretty set. I've started brushing more frequently to keep the lint menace in check and my hair looks really good. I had stopped wearing a scarf at night and relying on the satin pillowcases, but my ends are starting to suffer so I am back to the scarf.

I finally ran out of my Avalon Organics shampoo so I had to find a new clarifying shampoo. I'm trying out Nature's Gate Rainwater clarifying shampoo and it is working pretty well so far. It is not a shampoo for frequent use since it gets my hair squeaky clean but it is great for clearing up build up. I'll stick with the Poo Bar and the Trader Joe's Citrus shampoo for more frequent use and after swimming.

I would like to see some growth - I can tell that my hair has grown when it is wet but once it is dry, the shrinkage kicks in.

While organizing my photos, I came across a folder of pictures of my loose hair. Twists, braids, shrunken puffs, stretched puffs and my fro. For the first time, I really missed my afro and the feel of my loose hair. It's not enough for me to take down my locs, but I miss my fuzzy halo and my tiny spiraling coils. 

I probably still mess with them more than I should, but my locs have settled in nicely and I have adjusted to life with them. They are even mature enough to brush, which is good because I made the mistake of letting a lint filled hotel towel touch them last week and I almost cried out of distress and panic. But no worries (for now) because I think that a gentle brushing on my still wet hair got all of it out.

I'm not seeing any significant growth, but according to older and wiser people, I shouldn't see much for the next year or so. I am content although I do get some funny looks since apparently locs are for older women and/or men of any age. Makes no difference to me. I am working up to trying an ACV rinse - maybe before the next time that I henna.

March 19 08

I have an enemy. Lint.

I have had lint problems as long as I have been natural. Even though I keep my hair under a scarf before I lay down on anything, I still manage to pick up lint like crazy. My biggest struggle is keeping the back of my head clear but mirrors just don't seem to cooperate. I am looking forward to the day that my locs are mature enough to be brushed.

feb 08 texture

feb 08

Tonight, I decided to use Lush's Caca Noir on my hair. I'm not going to look at how to color turned out until the morning since we're talking about the difference between my standard black hair and the nicer black from the indigo and henna. I added some olive oil and lemon juice for good measure (didn't read about adding salt until after the fact).

It was slightly less of a pain in the ass than when I used the Caca Brun on loose hair. It didn't take nearly as long to rinse out - my scalp isn't itching so I am confident that I got all of almost all of the henna out. Although I shampooed 4 times, conditioned with my beloved Oyin Honey Hemp and added some oil afterwards, my hair still feels different (in a good way!) from my usual wash routine. I also brushed my hair and I think that helped.

I still have two block of Caca Brun and 4 blocks of Caca Noir left - a little goes a long way. I will probably try the Noir again even if I don't see a significant color difference. I left too many big chunks when I smashed my henna blocks and I don't think that the mixture was hot enough when I applied it. I also only left it in for 3 hours because I was tired and didn't feel like staying up even later just to make sure that my hair is dry enough to sleep on.

The last six months have sped by. My hair looks like locs for the most part and hardly unravels anymore. My new challenge is integrating the loose hairs that pop up here and there with no place to go. My latchhook takes care of most of it but every now and then I find a completely new patch of hair that has to be dealt with.

I'm still dealing with shrinkage - the only time that I notice new length is when my hair is wet.

December 2007

My hair related New Year's resolutions are:

- Cure my hand-in-locs disease
- Go to at least 6 weeks between latchings

I can't believe it's been almost 4 months since I put my baby locs in! I am a little surprised that I have managed to keep them in this long, but I haven't really missed my loose hair that much.

Sept07