6 MONTHS!! (Halfway there!)

Saturday marked my official 6 MONTH LOCIVERSARY!!

I'm only halfway to my first major loc-related milestone!

I didn't do much to celebrate, I had a friend-date in Valentine's Day (definition: friend-date (n.) - a date with a friend of which there is no romantic interest) since N and I couldn't see each other. The spot that we went to was a little punk rockish and though it does normally fit my usual style (i'm usually a cross between punk, goth, and emo), I decided to do something different.
Before loccing, I always wanted to rock a Mohawk/Fauxhawk but I never quite knew how to accomplish it. The sectioning method never looked right to me and pins just wouldn't work right so I just never wore one. I don't know what reminded me of the style Saturday, but i tried again...the first time since I've locced my hair.
I was never a big fan pins. They can come loose, they sometimes break hair, and they're not always easy to maneuver so that they're not see. I'm also not too peachy on potentially impailing my loc with a hair pin...it feels like I'd be stabbing myself in the finger. So I went straight for the sectioning method and this is what I came up with:

The back looks just as I wanted it to, but I couldn't quite come up with something just right for the front. I don't want it to look just as the rest...that looks odd to me. I tried doing a basket weave on the front, but that didn't look quite right so what I ended up doing was leaving a few locs out in the front to act as sort of a bang. It wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but at least it didn't look weird any more and it helped frame my face a bit better. As time goes on I'll try to perfect it as best as I can. Until then, i love my lochawk!

To the newer locced newbies

I found out recently that my friend, Camille has decided to begin her own loc journey. Her journey started yesterday. It's kinda crazy how locced hair has become a culture all its own...it felt like an addition to the family.
I'm still a newbie to the locced life myself, but I feel that at 3.5 months I've had a bit of experience and can share with the newer newbies what I've learned and/or experienced.
So Cam, this is for you!

1. First and foremost; do your research. If you don't have any locced friends you can ask questions, turn to the internet. There are many bloggers and vloggers that talk a lot about their locs and their experiences. But obviously if you're reading this, you've already figured that out. I briefly talked about that in my Backstory entry.
   
2. When starting your locs you really don't want them to be much thinner than a pencil. While thinner locs look nice, they are tiresome to take care of and are prone to breakage when they are mature. If you have locs that are thin and you're noticing that they're starting to get thinner, try combining them. Some people will twist them together, others will sew them together. There's a lot of information online about combining locs, see what they have to say and decide on what's best for you.
   
3. Avoid butters and waxes. While theoretically they seem like they would loc your hair faster, they actually just make your hair sticky and cause buildup and mildew in the long run because they never fully wash out of your hair. Gel, however, breaks down much easier in water and can be washed out...meaning no buildup.
4. Try your best to stick to natural products. Your hair is natural, it only makes sense to use natural products, don't ya think? I've read about others using Aloe Vera gel to retwist their locs. I would love to start using Aloe Vera gel to retwist mine, but I think I'm gonna finish off the gel I'm using now before I start. I just hate wasting things and it's not like my hair is hating the gel I'm using now anyway. (I talked about the gel I use in my Brief Product Review post)
   
5. If you plan to get your hair professionally done, keep watch on what they are putting in your hair and how they are handling it. Stay away from products that contain petrolatum and mineral oil and, as I said before, avoid butters and waxes. Also, know that locs are generally twisted in a clockwise motion. Don't think that just because the person is working in a salon that they must know what they're doing, often times they just know what they're taught and not neccesarily what's healthy for your hair. When chosing a loctician, it's a good idea to choose one that has locs themself; at least they'll have personal experience. When I was thinking about having a salon start my locs, the loctician there was a permed woman...sorry, but I just couldn't trust that. If she were at least natural, I could've felt better about her. Personally though, I think it's best to DIY; I believe it creates more of a bond between you and your locs.
6. Many people think that you can't wash your hair at all in the baby locs stage; this is just a myth. If anything, the water helps your hair loc faster since the water encourages your hair to curl. The only thing you should be careful of is using too much water pressure; you don't want the pressure to unravel your locs. What I did was use a container to pour water over my head when washing. (Check out my 2 weeks/Just to Clarify post)
   
7. There is an awkward stage when your locs are new. Don't get discouraged...just stick with them. It isn't called the teenage locs stage for no reason...think of it as your locs going through puberty; they'll get through it.
8. Though you may not want to display your locs during it's awkward stage, you don't want to keep them covered up all the time...let them get some air every once in a while.
9. Keep them moisturized. I've found that a spritz of water and essential oils keep both my hair and scalp happy and healthy. I normally spritz before bed and in the morning and whenever I get a chance in the middle of the day.
10. Last, but definitely not least, listen to your locs. You'll find that they have their own personality. When they aren't happy, they won't hesitate to tell you.

So that's all I could come up with, but I would be more than happy to share my own experiences and answer any questions anyone else may have. Don't hesitate to ask.

10 weeks/Hubby knows

Today marks 10 weeks since I've been locced and I finally told my boyfriend (whom I will refer to as N) that I locced my hair.

N and I have been together (we have a long-distance relationship) since I was 15; my Sophomore year in High School. Next month will actually mark 6 years since we've been together. From the time we met he'd always liked my long hair. This summer when I decided to cut it, I didn't tell him anything about what I was planning to do because it was something I really wanted to do and I knew he would talk me out of it.

The way I broke it to him was just letting him see it. He was flying in for the week and I had to pick him up from the airport so I wore a hoodie and wore my hood up. He didn't notice it for a while, we'd driven out of Laguardia and into Brooklyn before he started to give in to his habit of stroking my hair. So he pulled off my hood, paused, and said "WTF?!" Needless to say he was a little devastated and mad initially. Eventually he got over it, said "I think you're beautiful no matter what" (or something to that effect), and he just accepted it. I think he secretly still resented me for it though.

I knew he didn't like short hair, so I knew how he would likely reacted to the cut, but I had no idea how he felt about locs. I was wary about telling him that I wanted to loc it. I didn't want him to be devastated again and locs are more permanent than a cut so it would be something he would have to face for a longer period of time. So I didn't tell him. I didn't have a plan of action; I just didn't tell him. Until this week...

I decided that 10 weeks is long enough. I BBMed him to tell him. This was basically how the convo went:

Me: what if I cut my hair shorter
N: WHAT?! EWW!! NO!! TELL ME YOU DIDN'T!!
Me: no...I didn't cut it again. But now that you have that picture in your mind of what you really don't want, what if I did something else?
N: like what?
Me: (sent picture below) N: wow! I love it!

So I guess I was worried for nothing. I finally told him and he loves it. That made my week!

Starter Locs

I started my locs today!
I had a friend start them for me this evening since I leave tomorrow morning to go back to school in NC. I really don't have much to say about it now, but I wanted to share the beginning of my new journey with you.


The first pic is the last picture I took of my hair out. Right before I left to get my starters.
I took the second pic right after I got back home...clips still in my hair and all. This is how I'm sitting right now as I write this post.


And so the journey begins...

Henna

So I did the henna treatment nearly a week ago. I intended to show you a before, during, and after pictures, but with the poor lighting I have, you couldn't tell the difference in color in my pictures (v_v). I will share with you, however, what I mixed into my henna and the video I took of my mom applying the henna to my hair for me (she volunteered).

WARNING: Henna WILL stain your hands; WEAR GLOVES!! WARNING: Henna WILL stain your hands; WEAR GLOVES!!

What I used:

• Plastic bowl
• Henna Powder
• Plastic spoon
• Bottled lemon juice
• Saran Wrap
• Conditioner

What I did:

1. Empty henna into the plastic bowl. (It is recomended that you use a plastic or ceramic bowl to mix your henna in because the henna may react with a metal bowl and a wooden bowl would stain because it is a porous material).
2. Add lemon juice to the henna until I had the consistency of mashed potatoes.
3. Cover the bowl with saran wrap and leavit to sit for several hours at room temperature so that the dye can release. (I left mine for approximately 10 hours)
4. When you are ready to apply, add more lemon juice to make it the consistency of pudding, then add conditioner so that the lemon juice won't dry out the hair too much.
5. I can't stress this enough...USE GLOVES WHEN APPLYING!
6. Separate hair into easier to manage sections and apply henna to each section. Make sure all hair is covered and saturated.
7. When all of your hair is covered, clean up you hair line with a wet paper towel and cover hair with a shower cap/plastic bag/saran wrap (whichever you feel like) and leave on for 3 to 5 hours.
8. There is nothing special about rinsing out the henna. Rinse as you would a conditioner and be sure to use gloves. Rinse until you see the water run clear.
9. Congratulations! You're done!

Forever 21

This post is really just to inform you that today is my birthday and I am now 21 years old. Yay!

So on the topic of hair, as of today I have 5 days until I finally loc my hair. I have braids in now, so after work on Thursday I' am going to take them out. I am then going to wash and deep condition my hair and I will do my very first henna treatment. If it doesn't get too messy, I will take pics and/or record video of the process. However, if it is a little too messy, I'll just do a before and after (and possible some days after since the henna continues to oxidize for a little while after it's rinsed out).

I'm bringing in my 21st year with new hair. I can't wait!