Beyond Locs

Moving day

nobody@vox.com(Xay) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:19:12 -0500

Export tool or not, I am leaving Vox. The new blog can be found at beyondlocs.wordpress.com . Once I get more posts moved over, I will update the layout.

UPDATE: The new blog is up and running. Beyond Locs

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Good Hair etc

nobody@vox.com(Xay) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:15:24 -0400

I promised myself that I wasn't going to post about this topic. But after all of the other conversations that has gone on as well as Chris Rock's media appearances, I feel compelled to say something.

I'm not that interested in seeing Good Hair anymore. At first, I thought that it may be an interesting conversation starter but the more I hear about it, it sounds a showcase for Chris Rock to talk about how superficial and high maintenance black women are using hair as an example.

I've watched the conversations turn into straight vs nappy and I think that dichotomy is stupid. Your politics, self-image, and potential self-hatred are not solely dictated by the hair on your head. But I think that with any lifestyle choice, you owe it to yourself to be honest about why you made those choices.

I used to hate my natural hair. I thought it was unruly and impossible to deal with. I believed that it had to be beaten into submission with relaxers, pressing irons and curling irons. I resented that my hair didn't grow long and felt resigned to wear my hair short, thin, and flat or braided.

I didn't stop resenting my natural hair until I learned how to care for it. I didn't learn how care for my hair until I stopped expecting it to behave like straight hair.

And that is the core of the problem. We have to reprogram ourselves and society out of this idea that straight hair is the baseline and the norm. Yes, hairstyles are choices but your hair texture is not. And it is wrong to judge all hair textures as presentable against a single, arbitrary baseline.

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my and my african american hair

nobody@vox.com(Xay) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 22:06:27 -0400

African American hair has been all over the news lately. I don't know if it's because of Michelle Obama or Tyra, but people just can't stop talking about African American hair. Now, this is a blog devoted to care and keeping of MY African American hair, not the politics of hair, the science and structure of hair, or the sociocultural implications of being natural but since there is a national dialogue going on (and suddenly people feel the need to talk to me about my hair), I thought I might contribute to the conversation.

I have locs. Also known as dreadlocks, dreadlocs, locks, dreads, etc. I call them locs because that is easier to type. I have no desire to remove them by coming them out so I can straighten my undoubtedly long hair. First of all, most of the length wouldn't survive the comb out process, secondly, I have no interest in wearing my hair straight.

My hair is not a reflection of my politics, religion, or degree of militancy. I felt pretty much the same way when I had straight hair, braids, and loose natural hair. My hair is a reflection of the fact that I was tired of jumping through hoops trying to maintain straight hair. I decided to stop fighting my natural texture and instead embrace it.

I don't care what you do with your hair. I actually don't care when anyone does with their hair. I'm not here to judge and I expect the same courtesy. Your hair is on your head, not mine.

Please do not touch my hair without asking. I don't know where your hands have been.

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Ponytail!

nobody@vox.com(Xay) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 19:51:53 -0400

A little one, but still...

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2 years!

nobody@vox.com(Xay) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 21:30:58 -0400

Hard to believe, right!

July 2007

babylocs072507-1.jpg

Sept 2007

Sept07

December 2007

February 2008

feb 08 texture

December 2008

IMG000018

January 2009

IMG00010

July 2009

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a brief aside

nobody@vox.com(Xay) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:41:48 -0400

I need to work on the anniversary post with length comparisions, etc but first....

I have been through many a microfiber towel. Some produced so much lint that the time spent removing the lint wasn't worth the time I saved drying my hair. Some had no lint but were no better at drying my hair than a regular towel. Turbans were too small, uncomfortable, and lacking in absorbency. For a while, I switched to dark colored t-shirts - almost no lint, what little lint wasn't visible, and all the absorbency of a regular towel without the weight and enough fabric to cover all of my hair.

I should have just sucked it up and bought an Aquis towel in the first place. I saw them at TJ Maxx for $8 a piece a few weeks ago and thought, why not I've tried everything else?

This towel has been a revelation. I can wash my hair midweek and never have to sleep on wet hair. I can wash my hair in the morning before work (yeah, like I get up that early these days) and not have to worry about dripping water on my clothes.

Ok, maybe I just get too excited about this type of thing, but I was just tired of scheduling shampoos on weekend afternoons or mornings. My hair takes a long time to air dry, and the blow dryer leaves the outside crispy and the inside of my locs just as wet. At risk of sounding like a cheesy infomercial, this towel has changed my routine and simplified my life.

Now I may actually have time to put that post together. Stay tuned!

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summer time

nobody@vox.com(Xay) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:55:08 -0400

It has been blazing hot here so I have been looking for scarves and stepping up my hair protection. I am really looking forward to when my hair reaches a length where I can pull it up into a ponytail because having hair on my neck in this heat makes me want to reach for the scissors and take off a few inches.

In the meantime, I have started washing my hair more often - air drying isn't a problem when its over 100 degrees outside. I've also gone back to conditioning regularly since I am spending more time at the beach and in the pool.

I'm trying to take some good pictures for my 2 year anniversary post in a couple of weeks. Yay length comparisions and nostalgia!

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long time no see - brain dump

nobody@vox.com(Xay) — Sun, 24 May 2009 22:17:05 -0400

I didn't realize that it had been so long since my last post.

Well, I stuck to the baking soda and clarifying shampoo routine and got rid of most of the buildup. The constant battle with lint continues. Pictures are to come - I am going to do a growth comparison since I am coming up on my 2nd anniversary with my locs.

I'm still pretty minimal with my use of products, although I owe my locs a leisurely deep conditioning treatment. And a color touch up whenever I get around to it. The Ion color has faded quite a bit, probably due to the buildup removal treatments so I bought a hair rinse to freshen up my color.

I owe my hair another latching too - I've been stretching out the time between latchings more and more which makes it a bit more time consuming when I get around to it.

I'm at the point where I am starting to explore hair styling options. My hair is just long enough to get in my eyes, but not long enough to pull back so headbands and scarves are pretty common. I am going to try curling my hair now that it is a bit longer.

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the fight against buildup

nobody@vox.com(Xay) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 23:47:00 -0400

I have been pretty lax with my hairwashing and maintenance practices lately due to a busy schedule. So I broke all of my rules and was rewarded with a ton of buildup and lint on the back of my head.

Fortunately, the loc forum on nappturality.com offered a lot of help and advice on getting rid of buildup. I assaulted it with a baking soda rinse, two thorough washes with my trusty nature's gate clarifying shampoo, and finished with a nice vinegar rinse. I washed my hair in the kitchen sink so I could rinse the back of my head better with the spray nozzle and I made sure to take my time rinsing my hair between steps.

I didn't get all of the build up, but I got a lot of it and I should be able to get the rest when I wash again this weekend.

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Adventures with hair dye

nobody@vox.com(Xay) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 02:50:05 -0500

Over the last month or so, I have noticed a change in my hair color. At first I thought that maybe my locs were getting duller due to buildup. But with regular baking soda washes and vinegar rinses, I ended up with squeaky clean, build up free locs that were starting to turn brown.

Now I have seen lovely brown locs. My mom's have slowly lightened over time and look great. But I am kind of attached to having black hair. So this seemed like as good of a time as any to try my first home dye job.

I have used henna at home before and ended up with great feeling hair and no discernable change in color. As much as I like the way henna makes my hair feel (and I do have some henna to dye hair black already) the lengthy messy process with a disappointing end result wasn't what I wanted this time. So I went to Sally's to investigate hair dye.

I only looked at semi-permanent and temporary dyes - I'm just trying enhance my natural color and I'm going darker so no need for the havey artillery. I ended up getting Ion Color Brilliance semi-permanent dye. It seemed easy to use and came in it's own applicator bottle. I picked up a brush to distribute the dye and I was all set.

Although the process was less messy than henna (especially the rinsing part) the application stage was still a little tough. Fortunately, I managed not to stain anything. 2d minutes with a shower cap and a rinse later and I had lovel get black locs.

I don't think that I rinsed my hair enough so I ended up washing it the next day. My hair does feel a little drier now but not excessively so. And I had the added bonus of the dye covering the lint. I'm planning to use temporary hair dye rinses to maintain the color from her out since my major concern is about my ends rather than the roots.

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