Zipper Braid / Length Check

How it was... How it is...

Hey y'all!!

I had some free time today, and I was like "I need to catch up on my blog."

So here I am.

I just counted and realized I'll hit 21 months on Monday. I mean literally counted. lol I don't really ever think about how long I've had them anymore, so when I did the math, I was shocked and had to count it out to make sure. lol

I know I have a couple of new lockers following, so I wanted to do a post that shows how some of the things I worried about when I started locking are going now.

 

• The loc that couldn't -  When I started, I had a loc at the nape of my neck that kept coming undone during my first month.  It was braided at the top and bottom and loose in the middle.  I took it down and rebraided it, then secured the end with a black rubberband. I worried about this poor loc for at least 3 weeks straight. 

1 month, 2 months, 21 months

It's fine now.  All that stress for nothing because it looks just like my other locs.

• Combined locs - In September of 2012, I combined 4 locs into 2. I worried that they would be huge, or that they wouldn't lock together, or that they would be totally noticeable in my hair.

They slimmed down and started locking together. Can't see them unless I look for them.

• How much thicker will they get? - This was a concern even before I started my locs. I wanted relatively slim locs (which is funny to me now, because most of my current fav locs on other people are thick). 

Month 2, Month 21. 

 LOL The first pic is back when I first got these beads. I used to have to pull 3 braids through, now some locs are too thick for them. :) So basically, they got thicker, but not more than I expected.  I ended up with the size I wanted.

• The front won't lock - I worried about this for a long time.  My front locs didn't really get going until months 5-11.  And even then, it was going so slow that I worried they'd all be braids forever and I'd hate them. 

Month 5, Month 21

 I've still got one braid that refuses to loc... and I love it. It gives my hair character. People ask me all the time how I got that one to do that and I'm like *kanye shrug* lol Again, I notice it if I look for it, but day to day, I don't even think about it anymore.

Now you see it, now you don't lol

 First pic I held the loc out so the camera could catch it, second pic I let them fall naturally.


My hair isn't growing - It has to shrink to lock. That's a fact. The sooner you deal with it, the easier it will be. It will take you a while to see progress in length if you started with longer hair, because shrinkage is a mofo.  Don't think that because you can't see the growth in the mirror, it's not actually happening.

Top Row: Day 1, Month 10 Bottom Row: Month 17, Month 21

I hate to quote Drake but... Started from the bottom now I'm here!

If I could give one bit of advice to new lockers, it would be:

Patience is the key. Mother Nature will work it all out, so don't worry. 

*flips locs* Deuces!!

15 Month Update...

Yeah so... I was going to update sooner, but the way my attention span is set up... *Kevin Hart voice*


LOL My bad y'all.  Last time I was here I was gearing up for my one year anniversary and now it's 3 months past that.  I've been busy!  It sounds trite, but it's so true. lol  I've got a bunch of stuff going on in my life (good things) and blogging about my hair tends to fall to the side as those things take over.  I'd promise to do better, but we'd all know I was lying. :)

So anyway... let me tell you about my hair.

It's going great.  The front left side has is about 80% locked so I'm almost completely there.  I still have 3 stubborn braids that refuse to give in, but I like them.  They give my hair personality.

I have stopped interlocking and started retwisting.  I used to really want neat roots and since I have to wash my scalp so often, that made twisting out of the question for me when I first started.  Now I couldn't really care less about my roots.  I'm a retwister...when I have something special going on.  For the most part, I just separate when I wash and go on about my day lol  I haven't interlocked since that last post I mentioned it in September.

Don't act like y'all don't see that length!!  Ow!! Get it!!

Style-wise, I usually just wear it down.  Sometimes I do a twistout or an actual style, but for the most part, I just chill and let them hang.  I have also become one of those people who wears a ponytail holder like a bracelet so I can pull them back out of my face if I want to.

Right now I actually have a bantu knot out going.  Bantu knots have always been tricky for me.  They never came out the way that I wanted.  This Sunday, I was watching Walking Dead (that's my show!! lol) and I decided to try again and I love the way they came out.  Plus it only took like 15 minutes to put the knots in.

I have been getting compliments on this left and right.  Like my boss literally came out of his office to come tell me how nice my hair looked.  So that's a win. :)

My routine is still pretty simple... I wash when I feel like it or when my scalp starts acting up.  I've been using a cheap V05 shampoo followed by Aussie Moist shampoo. I have been doing a hot oil treatment every 2 weeks with Hot Six Oil.  Basically I just heat it up, smother my head, put a plastic bag on it, and sit under my dryer for a half hour. That's actually the only time I use my hair dryer.  I let my retwists air dry unless I'm in a rush and I try not to do it when I'm rushing.

Those locs that I combined in September are doing well and I've actually combined a couple more since then (I sewed the newer ones together, then pulled the thread out when they started meshing). I think I'm done with combining.  I've got them all pretty much where I want them now.

So that's what's going on with me.  Hopefully, I'll do better with updating but if not and you just want to keep up with me, you can catch me on Twitter or Instagram. Both of my pages are locked for privacy but if you send me a request, I'll accept. :)

Until the next time folks... Keep it nappy!!

*flips locs* Deuces!!

Random Styles

Guess who's biiizzzaaack!! *insert dope instrumental here* lol

Hey y'all,


I'm about 2 weeks away from one year, but we're not here to talk about that today.  Today I'm just going to show you random styles I've had!


We'll start off with the rollers I told you about last time.  I used strips of paper and curled my hair.

Eh...

I didn't hate it... but I didn't love it.  There are some things I see I'll do different next time, but I'll definitely do it again.


The disappointment from that caused me to do this which I loved!

Thick cornrows

 

 

I love how this came out!

Y'ALL SEE THOSE LOCS!!! Yeah, I know I said it on the caption, but it feels so damn epic I had to say it again!! LMAO  I looked at that picture and I was like "Whoa, I've got locs!" :)

Y'ALL SEE THOSE LOCS!!

My girl NaturaLocs asked for a pic of my jacket I talked about in my last post, so I'll leave you with some of those.  If you haven't been to her blog, you need to go check it out.  She just had a post on baby locs and working out that is ON POINT!

The next time we talk, my locs will be one year old.  I'm excited!!  I can't say that I'm going to update on my exact anniversary, but I'll definitely take pics so you can see where I was and what it looks like on that day.

I love this jacket.

*flips locs* Deuces!!

11 Month Anniversary!!

I'm back in (barely) under a month lol

Not much has really been going on with my hair and I haven't been styling it that much until this week, so I haven't had much to talk about.  But since my anniversary was 9/29, I decided to stop in and show you what it's like right now.

Hi!!

So this week, I decided to get off my arse and do something cute with my hair.  I got some new products last week and after using them I decided to make my hair look as good as it felt lol.  This was the way I wore it for a couple of days.  It's a zipper braid and it looks so much thicker now than it did the last time I did one.

March 2012 (4 months) and October 2012 (11 months)

I don't really see my progress when I look in the mirror, but I can't deny it in a picture.  Yay!!


As I mentioned earlier, I tried some new products this week.  I tried the  Flower Power teapoo bar and herbal rinse from Earthbalisms.  The rinse is like a tea of flowers!  It smells like a meadow and it made my hair so soft!  I brewed it then put it in a spray bottle in the refrigerator.  I sprayed it in my hair daily for a week, then I poured the rest over my hair.  The teapoo bar made my locs tighten up and feel so soft... and again it smells like a meadow!  Not to mention, they are reasonably priced at about $5.50 each.  I'm already planning what to buy next.

Random, but today it was kind of chilly so I grabbed my fav leather jacket.  I pulled it on and flipped my locs over the collar (which felt powerful) then looked in the mirror.  I looked BADASS!! ♥♥♥


That's all for now.  I'll have another post this week as I've got rollers in my hair right now.  Whatever this turns into, I'll take pictures and post. And then of course, my 1 year anniversary is only a few weeks away!!

Talk to you soon.  Keep it nappy y'all!!

*Flips locs.*  Deuces!!

Making Lemonade

Hello all!!

I know I'm a horrible blogger for being gone for so long, but summer is my favorite season and I try to spend as much of it outside with my family as possible. But I'm here now, so let's get to what's really important... the hair!!

I hit 10 months yesterday!  I was happy and nonchalant at the same time. The overall excitement has worn off for me, which I actually think is a good thing.  It means that my locs aren't new to me anymore.  They are another part of myself that I just expect to be there like my fingernails or eyelashes. :)  To be honest, I hit 3 years natural on 8/18 and didn't even remember until a couple of days later.  For someone who spent the first 2 years consumed by my hair and various products, the fact that I forgot was a moment of pride for me.

Here's a couple of pics of what my hair is looking like at 10 months.

Back view - still got a couple of braids in there. :)

Ponytail... I don't usually wear this out of the house, but I still sleep like this most nights.

Random basketweave.  I do this a lot when I want my hair out of my face.











So I know you're like what the heck does lemonade have to do with her hair?

Well tomorrow I'm going to a wedding.  My plan was to spend 2 days this week tightening my hair.  It's been about 9 weeks since the last time I've tightened. (What can I say... it's summertime and I'm lazy! lol)  So I got through about 1/4 of my hair and then my yarn needle broke!  So rather than keep buying things that will break, I ordered a nappylocs tool.  Great...except it won't be here until sometime next week. So in the meantime, I decided to try a retwist.  I don't normally do that because I wash my hair about every 3 days so it would be a waste of time, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

It actually came out pretty good!! 

So that's what's up with my hair.  I promise that it won't be 2 months before I update again!!

Texture shot!!

Until the next time, keep it nappy y'all!

*flips locs*  Deuces!!

7 Months...almost :)

Hi everyone,

I haven't been updating like I should have been.  No, this is not one of those instances where you follow a blog and then the person just disappears for 2 years!!  I'm actually getting ready to move in 2 weeks so things have been a little crazy.  I've been working overtime to get everything caught up before I'm off and I've been packing (which I hate!)


My 7 Month anniversary is in a few days and I had some time to update now so I decided to use it!  This is going to be just a short photo post to show you where I'm at now.  I promise to give you the update you deserve once I'm all moved and settled.

Half pony on a hot day!!

The back!!  Still have a couple braids that refuse to give in LOL
                                          











 

As you can see, some of the front has finally started to lock!! *snoopy dance*  














I latched my hair yesterday.  It had been 6 weeks since the last time I latched.  My new growth ranged from:

                





This...          

....to this!  Yeah... I know crazy right!













That's all I got for now.  I'll be back once I get moved.  In the mean time, keep it nappy y'all!!

*Flips locks* Deuces!!

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.

One, Two, Three and to the Fo'

I'm 4 months in y'all!!

I'm not even going to do a long intro, let's get to the real!

1. My hair is locking and budding like crazy!! Last month I showed you pics of the nape of my neck that had started to bud and shrink up and lock.  Now the entire back of my hair is like that.  I have several buds along all of the braids in the back,  some are stiff from root  to tip.  Those locks that kept coming undone... are locking!  Even the one I had to put the rubberband on.  Took it off and it's locking baby!!
2. If this is the ugly stage, I can't tell!!  I love my hair! It always looks good, even if it's not exactly how I planned.  The versatility is AMAZING!! I wear it straight down, I do braidouts, I rock a high bun... the sky has been the limit with my styles.  I've done more styles in the last 4 months of locks than I ever did in the entire 2 years I was natural before them.  I'm enjoying it so much!
3. The craziness has died down.  In October, I was on 10 with excitement.  I would still say I'm at an 8, but I am no longer just hype about anything locks, or even the steps for my own.  I have calmed down on pictures.  I took 212 pics of my hair in October (IKR!!)...February I took 68.  I've started to develop my routine.  More on that in another post.
4. I've done my 3rd retightening and I like how it looks,  6 weeks seemed like a good cycle for me so I'll be sticking with that.  Even the fat crazy locks have still been able to fit through the eye of my needle, so that went smoothly.  Pretty sure I have the technique down now.
5. Creeping still annoys the hell out of me.  It's like once I have any amount of new growth, they start hugging.  But still, I'd rather pop locks, than detangle loose hair!!
6. Frizz... It's still frizzy, but either it's not as bad as it used to be or it has stopped bothering me.  I can't really tell which it is and I don't care enough to investigate. lol Frizzy or not, I like it.
7. They still look like braids in the front.  The front looks like the back did 2 months ago.  And that's fine because it doesn't look at lumpy and crazy around my face yet. 

Now I'm going to give you the pics.  I'll be back soon with some style posts, I've been taking pictures!!

Day 1, Month 1, Month 4     #POW

Texture Shot!!

Budded and Locking!

No more rubberbands!!  I call this one "the lock that could!" It thinks it can, it thinks it can!!

Until next time, keep it nappy y'all!

*flips locks* Deuces!!