I made it to 6 months!!

4/29/2012 marked my 6 month anniversary... and instead of telling you how I'm feeling... I'm going to show you!  :)  I finally made my first YT video!!  I'll do a post soon with an update but for now, enjoy.

3 Month Review - Time is FLYING!!

Hey y'all!!

I can't believe it's been three months already.  It seems like just a couple of days ago, I got out of bed at the crack of dawn and headed to braid shop.


We are rolling right along.  I don't have any complaints, my hair is growing, it's healthy and low maintenance.  I seem to be locking from the back up.  The back of my hair is much further along than the front, but it's all good as long as it all gets there eventually.

Routine:

1. Shampoo whenever I feel like it needs it.
2. Rinse at least every other day.
3. Grease my scalp with JBCO hair food when I think it needs it.
4. Condition once a month (usually on anniversary)

My ends at 2 months and at 3 months

The nape of my neck has shrunken and bunched into some weird shapes.  I'm assuming that's all going to work itself out on its own, so I'm trying to not be concerned by it.

I love this little lock. It is chugging right along and you can't tell it was ever a braid.  Grow baby grow!!

This was how I wore my hair yesterday. Can I just say I am all in on the size of my locks?  No more wondering if I need to make them smaller.  That fullness right there is everything I ever wanted!










That's all for now, talk to you all soon.

Until the next time... keep it nappy y'all

*flips locks* Deuces!!

One Month Review! Lessons Learned

Hello all,

I have passed the one month mark.  Technically, I'm at one month and a few days now, but I've been busy and unable to update.

Here's what I have learned so far:

1. Shrinkage will come.   Only a few braids shrunk up after my first couple of rinses and washes so I was skeptical about when the rest of my hair was going to catch on.  One day I looked up and realized that my hair was about the length of my wash and goes. :)  So patience is definitely a virtue.
2. Rules are optional.  I spent my first 2 weeks following all of the rules I had studied prior to getting the braids installed.  I didn't use any conditioner, I didn't style my hair... I basically left it alone.  Around week 3 I came to the conclusion that this is MY journey, so I'm going to do it MY way.  I conditioned my hair on my one month anniversary and nothing bad happened. I wore it up in a bun a couple of days ago... it's all still there. This is not to say that the advice you learn while researching isn't important, but you have to figure out what's going to work for you and what you're comfortable with.
3. Frizz is king. My hair was frizzing like crazy after my first wash, so I've had some time to get used to it and I'm passed the point of it bothering me. My braidouts cover it pretty well, so *shrug* It's just not that big of a deal to me yet. On the other hand...
4. New growth is!  I thought I would be one of those fabulous women who semi-freeform and don't worry about their roots.  I mean the scalpy look was driving me crazy so the opposite should be my fav right? WRONG!  LOL For some reason I prefer them to look manicured.  Again... *shrug* this may change but for now I'll be on a 5 Week retightening schedule. I have already finished my 1st retightening, I'll be doing a post on that and its results later this week.
5. There will be days that you just aren't feeling it! Before I came to tentative terms with my frizz, there were a couple of days that I just wasn't at all happy with how my hair was looking.  So... I went on youtube, learned how to do a hair wrap, and kept it moving.  I think that if you're really in locking for the long term, you're going to have "bad hair" days.  My best advice is keep it moving! :)
6. Find someone who is also beginning to lock!  I was lucky enough to come in contact with several women on Nappturality who started around the same time I did.  We have been able to form a group there to commiserate on our experiences.  We all started with different ways (twists, coils, braids, extensions) and I'm excited to see the different ways our hair develops.  These women are going through it with me, so if I have a day that I'm feeling like I look a hot mess, they understand and encourage. I never would have walked out of my front door with the hair wrap on without their support! If you would like to join our group, please feel free. Virtual Lock Buddies

Going forward, I will only be doing hair reviews once a month, but I'll still be updating frequently with hairstyles I've tried or products I'm using.  I'll also be launching a Youtube Channel to accompany this blog, so that's something to keep an eye out for.

I'll leave you with pics of my progress so far:

Back - See what I mean about shrinkage? lol

It's getting thicker!!

That's all for now, until next time... Keep it nappy!!

*Flips hair* Deuces!!