ROCKINLOCZ

A FEW CHANGES

2010-08-22T17:32:00.000-07:00

As you adapt to the many stages your locs go through you are bound to make a few changes in your maintenance routine. I've been on my loc journey for two years and I've made a LOT of changes here and there. Take some time to read my entire blog and trust, you'll agree. LOL ;-)

I took my loc extensions out in February 2010 and now I can finally say that I have a maintenance routine that I follow religiously...well, I try.
I am on a two week wash rotation...once a week if needed. My regimen for washing is very simple. I mix 1 tablespoon of baking soda with 2 cups of water. After wetting my hair thoroughly I poor the mixture over my locs then gently massage my scalp with my knuckles. Why my knuckles? Because my roots tend to loosen easily with manipulation which requires me tighten often so the less manipulation the better for me. I then rinse and repeat which means I use another tablespoon of baking soda and two cups of water to complete the washing process.

Now, let's just say I went a little too long between washes and I have product and/or oil build up. That's when I use this funny looking stuff called black soap. I thoroughly wet my hair and rub the soap on my hair until I get a good lather then massage my hair and scalp. Black soap lathers easily and is a good cleanser for hair and body and I have used it on both. The apple cider vinegar is used to combat my itchy scalp. I mix 1 tablespoon of vinegar with 2 cups of water and poor the entire contents over my scalp. I massage my scalp a little then rinse thoroughly with cold water. If I rinse well, surprisingly there is not a strong vinegar smell. My husband hates the smell of vinegar and has the sense of smell of a hound dog. LOL He really does!!! If he can't smell it then I've rinsed well. I've used scented oils to cover the smell of vinegar but I find that if I rinse well it's not necessary. However, it does give your locs a nice aroma and I like that.

Following my wash and vinegar rinse I condition my locs with either a leave in conditioner or a deep conditioner. If I've deep conditioned, I thoroughly rinse the conditioner out of my locs then use the vinegar and water.

To moisturize my locs I mix water, leave in conditioner and olive oil in a spray bottle. I shake it to mix well then spray my locs with it every day or every other day depending on the dryness of my locs.

Now on to styling. Lately I've been wearing my locs in curly styles so I've been using loc loops. My locs curl better if I spritz them a little before rolling them. I've been thinking about trying pipe cleaners. I'm a little uncertain how my hair will look after using them so if you have used them please share your tips and tell me if you liked them or not. If my hair looks crazy I WILL NOT POST PICTURES! LOL ;0)...Maybe I will.

Every 4 weeks I tighten my new growth with a latch-hook. THIS I DO RELIGIOUSLY! I like the manicured look and can't stand when my new growth is visible. Plus, it's just too much work if I go beyond 4 weeks. I section and secure my locs with the covered bands. This allows me to complete the tightening session in a timely manner. It usually takes me about 2 hours to complete...IF I don't go beyond 4 weeks. I remember when it took me much longer and I HATED it. Now I don't seem to mind at all it's just part of my routine.

Since I've been natural I have found that the products I use in my hair are also useful for facial cleansing. I use baking soda to cleanse my face in the morning and olive oil to cleanse at night. When using baking soda put a small amount in the palm of your hand then add a few drops of water to make a paste. Wet your face then apply the paste and gently rub. It not only is a cleanser but an exfoliate as well. Rinse with cold water and then MOISTURIZE. Baking soda can also be used as a toothpaste. It doesn't taste great but is tolerable and leaves you with healthy teeth and gums. In the pm I use olive oil to cleanse my face of oil and makeup. I simply pour a small amount in my palm and rub onto my face being careful to cover all areas of my face including eyes. It removes all types of makeup including water proof mascara. I then wet my washcloth with HOT water, wring out and cover my face allowing the cloth to cool. Then I rub the cloth in a circular motion and remove all makeup and debris. Be sure to pay close attention to eye lashes to rid them of mascara. Then of course MOISTURIZE. This cleansing process is effective on all skin types. If you have beauty tips don't keep them to yourself, SHARE;-) Well, until next time, stay loc'd and beautiful y'all.

It's time to celebrate!!

2010-08-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

It's party time! I've been loc'd for two years and WOW, what a journey it's been for me!!! I must admit I've enjoyed every moment and I wouldn't change a thing. I've learned a lot in these two years and my main objective is to lighten the journey of those that are locing for the first time or thinking of locing. If I have helped someone then I have done my job. Sure, there have been times I've wondered what the hec I was doing, lol, but I continued with the journey and I've made it to year two. So, hold on ya'll cause the payoff is awesome. You will absolutely love your locs!!!

If you are new to this blog I invite you to read it in it's entirety. I hope it will be enlightening and will inspire you to continue on in your journey. To all those that have blogs I say thank you for sharing because you are the ones that have inspired me. And to all those who have left encouraging comments I say thank you and keep em' coming because I still need you. I don't think I could have made it this far along without you all. I contribute my success to you. SMOOCHES;-) Now stay loc'd and beautiful y'all!

An Alternative

2010-07-17T10:37:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone=) I know I have been MIA for a while but now I'm back and want to tell you what I've been doing. It's been said that a picture says a thousand words. What does this picture tell you???? WRONG! I did not comb out my locs...IT'S A WIG, YA'LL! If you've read my blog you would guess I like variety. I became a little bored with my locs and decided to shop around for something different. This is what I came up with. I thought it was very cute and that I could pull it off as my own. It went over very well...a little toooo well. I got a lot of compliments and everyone thought I combed out my locs. Although I think this is cute I do however, still love my locs and can honestly say that I will never get rid of my locs no matter how bored I get. I seem to always think of some kind of alternative.

I will be loc'd two years in August so I will do an update next month with pictures of course. Stay tuned and until then...stay loc'd and beautiful=)

TO COLOR OR NOT TO COLOR...THAT IS THE QUESTION

2010-03-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

So I've been thinking...should I take the plunge and color my locs? I must be honest and admit that I am afraid. I don't know if the condition and age of my locs can handle the process of coloring. I NEED THE HELP OF MY SISTER LOC'ERS. Please tell me what condition my locs should be in and what stage/age my locs should be before I take the color plunge. What are some of your experiences and advice you'd give to a sister loc'er who desires to color her locs. Please keep in mind that I am a DIY'er and I LOVE doing it myself...plus I don't want to pay the BIG bucks!

Most of my fear is that my locs will be extremely dry and I won't know what to use or how to moisturize them. I'm also afraid that they may bunch on the ends or loosen and unravel and I won't know how to mend them...if that makes sense.

The color on my locs at the present time is color that was applied when my hair was loose and natural and that's been 2 1/2 years ago. I would like to color my entire head of locs the same color throughout. I haven't decided on a color but I'm thinking I want to go with reds or light browns. Decisions, decisions!

I am anxious to hear from you all so, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE respond. Until then, stay loc'd and beautiful ya'll;-)

The Braid Out

2010-02-28T17:27:00.000-08:00

Hairstyle #3

Okay, after hairstyle #3, A Bunch of Braids, I wore a braid out. This is the results of that style. I wear scarves to accentuate this look. To maintain this look I braid my locs, roll them using my loc loops,(you can read about them in my Oct. 2008 post) then cover with my scarf before I retire for the night. If you don't have loc loops, you can use regular large sponge rollers, which I have used and found that it works just as well.

A Bunch of Braids

2010-02-28T16:39:00.000-08:00

Hairstyle #2

I call this hairstyle "a bunch of braids" because that's exactly what it is. I just randomly braided my locs without any type of uniformity to them. I then sort of crisscrossed and tucked them over and under each other. I secured them with hair pins then added the little beads for the finishing touch. I found the beads at a beauty supply store for a very inexpensive price. They come in gold, silver and pearl tones. To maintain this style I spritzed it with my water/oil spritzer. In the evenings before bed, I cover my hair with a scarf. This style can also be worn as a braid out when you desire a change of style which I will show you in hairstyle #3.

LOC BUN

2010-02-27T03:11:00.000-08:00

Hairstyle #1

This is a hairstyle I wore with extensions. I enjoyed wearing this style because it can be worn to work or on special occasions. I'd often dress it up with hair ornaments. I wondered if I could wear this style now that I no longer have extensions, and yay, to my surprise I can!

Loc Bun with extensions

LOC BUN without extensions

I used a ponytail holder, a hair net and some hair pins to secure the hair net.For that special touch, I added a hair ornament. Hair ornaments can be purchased at Wal Mart, Target, Clairs and if you are a DIY (do it yourselfer) like me, you can make your own ornaments. I have bought cheap, fake flowers and used them as hair ornaments. Check out fauryn78 on YouTube for her version of the "basic" loc bun. The style is quite simple and can be done in 5 minutes or less. This is a great style for those "bad hair days".

THAT WAS THEN...THIS IS NOW

2010-02-13T14:03:00.000-08:00

Wow, how time flies! My one year loc anniversary has come and gone. It was August 11Th, 2009. I haven't blogged because there was nothing much to blog about. I've had my loc extensions in since January of 2009 and have never regretted my decision to install them. I've worn them crinkled and curly and loved the versatility of styling them.

The curly no band ponytail was one of my favorite styles and I wore it quite often. I liked it because I could dress it up by adding a hair ornament or a hump in the front and a ponytail in the back. No matter how I wore it,it was a convenient style.

I also liked wearing the free falling style. Wearing scarves or hair ornaments complimented this style too.

BUT THAT WAS THEN...THIS IS NOW

On February 9Th, 2010 I finished taking my extensions out. I added extensions to my braidlocs in hopes that my soft, curly, loose ends would lock. Not all of my ends have locked completely but quite a few of them are. I've noticed that the locs in the front, back and sides are the ones that seem to have locked completely. Most of the locs in the middle section of my hair have about an inch or so to go before they are completely locked. I'm satisfied with the results. The braiding and banding before each wash was time consuming. The extensions alleviated that problem for me.
Now that I no longer wear extensions I plan to explore new loc styles on YouTube and maybe come up with a few of my own. I will be sure to post pictures.

Well, that's it for now. Stay loc'd and beautiful ya'll;-)

TRIAL AND ERROR

2009-04-01T11:13:00.000-07:00

Trial and error is something I've grown accustomed to since I started my loc journey. The great thing about trial and error is that I'm finding what works well for ME and MY locz. Some may think I'm doing too much but in retrospect, I am just trying to find out what works for me. Hopefully, others will read my blog and it will make their loc journey easier than mine. Oh, don't get me wrong, I am not by any means complaining. I am enjoying my loc journey and each endeavor is as exciting as the next. Soooo, all that being said, I'd like to share what I have found out about loc extensions. If you have read my blog you know that I have added loc extensions to my locz. I am hoping this will allow time for my soft, curly, loose ends to loc. As I was surfing through YouTube videos I came across blkbuttaflies tutorial, How to install sisterlock extensions: The abridged version. After watching her tutorial over and over again I came to the conclusion that the technique she describes can be done on braidlocz and is better than the way I installed my extensions. When I added my extensions I started at the base of my locz and braided all the way down. In her tutorial she attaches the extension in the middle of the loc by braiding with a small amount of hair and twisting down to the end.
In doing so, this allows the loc to pass through the new growth without strain during tightening sessions because the loc is thinner. I have added my extensions the way she has described and I like the way my locz have turned out. They resemble locz more so than braids. And as always I added the crinkle affect. I have received many compliments on my dreads:-) I know, I know, they're not really MY DREADS but I like the compliments and you know you would too. Shsh, don't tell nobody. LOL!
If you are contemplating adding extensions to your locz, please check out blkbuttaflies tutorial before you do. You'll be glad you did. This technique is quite simple. If you have questions I'll do my best to answer them. Comments are welcome. Stay loc'd and beautiful ya'll:-)

MY LOC UPDATE

2009-02-27T07:14:00.000-08:00

Now that I am finally out of my lazy slump here is an update on MY locz. When I added synthetic hair to my locz it was in hopes that my soft, curly, loose ends would lock. I've taken down a few braids to check out their progress and I've found that my locz look pretty much the same. However, I did notice a ball on the end of one loc. I know it's only been about two months since I've added the synthetic hair but I was still hoping to find a change in their appearance. These pictures were taken after I installed my braidlocz in August of 2008. Notice how loose and curly my ends were then?

And they still are now. I guess I'm expecting too much too soon, huh?
Well, until they lock I will enjoy the freedom of not having to band and braid when I wash and condition my hair. I still have to retighten the new growth as MY locz get longer and to do so, I use a latch-hook. The process is the same. Instead of tightening once a month I've chosen to tighten once every two months. I'm do for a retightening now and to be honest...I'm not looking forward to it. But at least I can say my locz are still growing soooo, I SHALL NOT COMPLAIN. Until next time, stay loc'd and beautiful:-)

MY ROCKIN HAIRSTYLES

2009-02-27T02:05:00.000-08:00

Okay so, remember my January loc fiasco? LOL:-) All the long hours, hard work, and the sleep deprivation? If not read my last two posts, MY SHORT LIVED NU LOCZ JOURNEY AND THE RE-DO. Well, since then I've been the epitome of LAZY when it comes to my hair. I must confess that I've not been doing much at all. I have moisturized and I think I've washed twice but that's about it. I've not tightened it...no,I take that back I did tighten a section but not all of it and I definitely didn't style it. After looking over my blog one day I decided that I needed to get off my lazy butt and do something with my hair. So, these are the hairstyles I've come up with so far. This first style I found on YouTube and I credit fauryn78 for her version of the "Basic" loc bun. This style is simple and can be done in less than five minutes. Check out fauryn78, the alternative to the "Basic" loc bun on YouTube for the how to's. The rest of my hairstyles I've come up with on my own. As I come up with or find more loc styles I will take pictures and post. As for now, stay loc'd and beautiful ya'll! :-) Psst! Comments are welcome. Let me know what you think.

THE RE-DO

2009-01-07T08:27:00.000-08:00

Okay, now that the nu locz/yarn braids didn't work for me I needed to come up with a master plan. SOOO, here's what I did.

Only because I couldn't find kinky human hair I braided kinky synthetic fiber over my braidlocz. I started braiding on 12/30/08 at 9:30am and ended on 12/31/08 at 5:30am. Yep, I pulled an all nighter. How did I do that you ask?? Well, I sat in my comfy chair in front of the television with all the lights on and I drank a 5 Hour Energy Shot. It helped me stay awake and get majority of my locz braided...but unfortunately not ALL of them. I STILL WASN'T DONE :-(. I slept for about 4 hours and was back at it again. That same day I began braiding at 10:30am and ended at 6:00 that evening. I STILL WASN'T DONE. I celebrated New Year's day with my family. To diguise my unfinished hair I wore a head wrap to cover my hair. And yes ladies, a sista brought in the New Year lookin gorgeous! At 4:ooam the next morning I was up and at it again and didn't completely finish until 4:00pm on 1/2/09. To get the crinkle look I took 3 braids each and braided them together and then dipped them in boiling hot water. I let them cool a bit and unbraided them.

Now here's my master plan. For the next 3 to 6 months I will continue to wash my hair with baking soda and apple cider vinegar every weekend. I will moisturize with diluted S CURL ACTIVATOR and water twice a day because I think this extention fiber is a little drying to My hair. As my locz grow I plan on tightening with my latch hook at least once a month if that's possible. My hair grows kind of fast. I will however, have to rebraid the front and around the edges instead of latch hooking. My only concern is my locz intertwining with the extention fibers. So, I will have to check my braids every so often to make sure this does not happen. If I find that it does I will have to rebraid over my braidlocz again. Nonetheless, this is for a good cause. I'm hoping my ends will loc sooner than later.

My lovely loc'ers, I'm really not sure how this is going to turn out but here's hoping all will be well. I will keep you updated on my braidlocz progress. Please give me your honest opinion and I'm open to any suggestions you may have to share. In the meantime, stay loc'd and lovely :-)

MY SHORT LIVED NU LOCZ JOURNEY

2009-01-05T02:48:00.000-08:00

During my last post I was contemplating braiding nu locz a.k.a yarn braids over MY 4 MONTH OLD BRAIDLOCZ. My reason for doing this is to help my soft, curly, loose ends loc. Well, here's my short lived nu loc journey.

It all started on 12/26/08, the day after Christmas. I was sooo excited to get started that I could hardly contain myself. This was going to be my means for COMPLETELY locing my hair. I began setting up my area for this humongous project and yes, it was a humongous project. Braiding 396 nu locz was going to take quite some time. I set up my area with my comfy chair and pillows, several DVDs to watch, a tall glass of ice water and all the tools to accomplish the job (brown and black yarn, scissors, a lighter, ponytail holders and clips). I sectioned my locz into 9 sections and began braiding the yarn over my locz at 1pm that afternoon and ended that night at 8:30pm. I didn't quite finish the first section. The next morning, 12/27/08 I began braiding at 9:45am ending at 9:45pm with very few breaks. I'm not sure how much I accomplished but I was no where near done. I figured I'd better get started early the next morning so I was up and braiding by 6am and stopped around 10pm. By this time I am exhausted and my fingers are sore and a bit swollen but I'm making progress ya'll! WOW, only 3 more sections to go!! I am really trying to get done before New Years Eve cause you know a girls gotta look cute! While looking in the mirror admiring my progress I'm not necessarily liking what I see. My nu locz are TOO thick, UGH!!!!!!! I only used a strand of black yarn and a strand of brown which I folded evenly. Did I notice it before??? Well yeah, but I thought at some point I would fall in love with my new look. NOT SO!!! So, what did I do?? With the help of my niece, we took them all down. Now, at least my husbands not looking at me like, UMMMM, SERIOUSLY BABE! LOL :-) No pics this time ya'll. They were hideous looking on me. So there it is, my short lived nu loc journey. Lol!!

MY DILEMMA

2008-12-16T18:32:00.000-08:00

Okay, this is what's been on my mind lately. I know it's ONLY been 4 months since I installed my bradelocz but I have some real frustrations. Don't get me wrong...I still like the idea of bradelocz. The issues I am having are my locz unraveling every time they come in contact with water whether it be washing my hair or just spritzing with a water/oil spritzer. They also loosen every time I style them be it twist outs/braid outs or curly styles which means I am constantly having to tighten them. I'm sure you've guessed by reading my blog that I love variety. I'm not one to just let my bradelocz hang because it doesn't look right on me. I like styling them. So, here's my dilemma . Are there any other options out there for me and my locz? I refuse to take my bradelocz down because that is not an option for me. I still love having locz. But what do I do if my locz are too soft and loose to completely loc?

I've been researching nu locz a.k.a yarn locz/braids and am considering installing them without taking down my bradelocz. Has anyone done this before or is there anyone out there that has started their locz with yarn? Please help. I'm feeling a little desperate right now.

MY SISTER'S AWESOME TWIST LOCS

2008-11-04T19:20:00.000-08:00

My sister sent me pictures of her twistlocs and I was in awe at how beautiful they are. I just had to post them.
She installed them on October 25th and 26th. Before her installation she had her hair colored by her beautician. She has been on a natural journey for 3 1/2 to 4 years.
To install her twistss she applied lock and twist gel/olive oil mixer to her box parted, damp hair. She was careful not to apply too much of the mixer because it would be too hard to grip. She started each twistloc braiding at the base 5 or 6 times and then two strand twisted to the end of each parted section. If her hair became dry she spritzed with the mixer. She too, has a natural curl on the ends of her locs.
She wears a satin bonnet on her hair at night. In the mornings if her locs are dry or flat she just spritz them with a leave-in conditioner/olive oil mix. As of now she is not sure how she is going to maintain them. She has decided to wait 4 weeks before she lets a SL consultant do her first tightening and wash.
I am excited to journey along with her as we loc together. She will be posting a blog soon so look for my up and coming twistloc'd sister.

SECOND TIME AROUND

2008-10-29T04:44:00.000-07:00

WHEW!!!! That was a lot of work. I had to be very careful during this re-tightening session because there was great potential for drastic disaster. Meaning a lot could have gone wrong had I done a rush job. Thankfully this re-tightening session is over and turned out well.
It took 4 evenings after work to re-tighten 396 bradelocz. I worked on them 3 to 4 hours each night and now I'm finally finished. It was well worth the effort and I will never regret installing my bradelocz. However, I do regret waiting so long to re-tighten. Sometimes life won't stop to allow you to re-tighten when you need to but do make it a point to tighten as soon as possible.
There were several things I encountered during this re-tightening session do to the length of time between sessions. I had locz that joined themselves together (married locz), holes at the base of some locz from the first re-tightening session and locz that had completely unraveled around the front of my hair line probably do to manipulation and the fact that they are not loc'd yet. I even had a couple shorter locz in the middle of my hair that unraveled. These locz were the result of that darn lye I spoke about earlier in my blog (permed days). I took my time and braided locz that needed braiding, repaired holes at the base of those locz that needed repairing and carefully tightened the rest. I was careful not to catch more than one loc with the latch-hook and made sure not to make holes at the base of my locz. The job was a little tedious but worth it. Once I finished I was able to wash my hair. I used my usual Tea Tree shampoo and leave in conditioner. Though,I've been wondering if I should change my products to natural product. I don't know what constitutes natural when it comes to shampoo and conditioners. I've read about the oils and I really like using extra virgin olive oil and water mix as a moisturizer but what constitutes natural when it comes shampoo and conditioner? Another thing I've thinking about is using a nappy tool versus using a latch-hook. Is it easier to use than the latch-hook and where would I purchase it? So, if there is any lovely locers out there with this information please let me know.

WHAT A MESS!!

2008-10-19T04:26:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh, what a mess!! I've been too busy and waited waaay tooo lonngg to re-tighten my bradelocz. Now I have a head full of new growth. If you notice in the first picture you can't see my scalp. It is going to take a while for me to clean up this mess. So, to disguise all the new growth until I can get to it I have covered up the front of my hair with a head band. It looks nice to everyone else but I know the real deal and I won't feel better until I get it done.

I use a latch hook to tighten my bradelocz. I purchased it at a local beauty supply store and I'm sure it can be purchased at other stores like Wal Mart, K Mart and Hobby Lobby if you have one in your area .

When I installed my bradelocz I didn't know how to tighten them but I remember seeing a You Tube video titled Tightening Locs 1 and 2 by clogirl89. She gave a great demonstration on how to tighten bradelocz. I watched it over and over again, put two and two together and kind of figured it out. Once I had enough new growth I practiced on a few and it was definitely trail and error. A few times I caught two locs together and had to redo them. The more I practiced tightening my locs the better I got at it. I think it looks more complicated than it really is. Now it's time for round two and I've got a real mess on my hands. I am going to have to be very, very careful this time around making sure I section them off using clips and ponytail holders to keep from pulling one loc into the other and that is so easy to do. Latch hooking is pulling the loc through the new growth in opposite directions each time and creating a sort of weaving pattern to hold the loc in place as it locks. That's the only way I know how to describe it. For now on I will faithfully tighten my locs every 4 weeks.

I'VE BEEN TAGGED!

2008-10-12T05:17:00.000-07:00

Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person that tagged you.....
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Share 6 non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself that have not been shared already
4. Tag 6 random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

I've been tagged by: Brownsuga: http://mylocsjourney.blogspot.com

Okay, here it goes...

1. I am a popcorn-aholic and not just any popcorn. It has to be Pop Secret, jumbo, butter popcorn. I can replace it with any meal a day.

2. I eat 2 to 3 apples with peanut butter just about every morning. Not just any apples, it has to be big granny smith apples and not just any peanut butter, it has to be Jif creamy peanut butter. Mmm, I like, I like! Oh, and lets just say I don't have a problem with constipation. Oops, too much information? Sorry. LOL!!!

3. I look through magazines backwards before I actually read it. Don't know why, just do.

4. when I shop for clothing and find something I like, be it purses, shoes, shirts, whatever, I buy it in most of all the colors. Crazy, huh?

5. I wash my face with extra virgin olive oil. Sound strange? It's not really. It works.

6. My oldest sister's nickname for me when I was younger was Tweety Bird. To this day, I don't know why.

WASH AND DRY

2008-10-10T09:18:00.000-07:00

Wash and drying is not as tedious as I thought it would be. I usually wash my babies once a week. Although, there were a couple of times I went two weeks without washing...waaay toooo long for me. I use PARNEVU T-Tree Shampoo and Leave-In Conditioner. I have no complaints, it does it's job. Before I can wash my babies I make sure to braid them and secure them with coated ponytail holders. I think this process is called bundling or bunching. This helps secure your locz from slippage/unraveling. I chose colored ponytail holders because they are very visible to the eye and don't have the possibility of being overlooked.
For a couple of weeks I went through this really dry spell and had a itchy, dry scalp that just wouldn't go away. I read in someones blog that they had this problem too so they used a hot oil treatment. I decided to do the same. I used AFRICAN ROYALE HOT SIX OIL. I used it a couple of weeks in a row and I haven't had a problem since. Now I don't know if it's because I sat under the dryer or what?? But the directions say to place in a container of HOT water, apply to hair/scalp, wrap hair with warm, moist towel for 3 to 5 minutes. I placed in hot water, applied to hair/scalp and sat under a dryer for about 30 minutes, give or take a minute. A warm, moist towel for 3 to 5 minutes just didn't sound like it would combat my problem. Well, all I can say is that it worked for me and I haven't had to use it since. This is how my locz looked after my hot oil treatment. Sorry, lighting is bad on last pic.

I'M STILL LEARNING

2008-10-10T06:41:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm still learning how to care for my baby locz and what I've learned so far is to handle with care. And thanks to all you beautiful loc'd bloggers for exposing your good and bad experiences. Without you I don't believe I would have decided to make this journey. Big UPs to you all, SERIOUSLY.

I will be loc'd for two months on 10/13/08 and so far I guess my babies and I are doing okay. I don't particularly care for the fuzzies...and I have a lot of fuzzies. So, to disguise them I style them in braidouts or curls and try to stay away from too many products. From what I've read on many of your blogs is not to become a product junkie. But, also use what works for you. So, I've found out that the less I use the better my babies behave.
So, as you see here I use aloe vera gel, h2o, and a mixture of h2o and extra virgin olive oil. If I'm wearing my locz in a curly braidout, I apply aloe vera gel as a setting lotion (not too much), braid a section of locz, spritz it with h2o and roll it on a loc loop. I let it dry over night and if it's still a little damp in the morning I carefully do a once over with the blow dryer, then unbraid and fluff with my fingers and I'm ready to go. The style comes out nice and full.
Okay, okay, I look a little crazy but that's besides the point. LOL! THIS IS THE POINT...a nice full style. To add a little flava I pull it back and wear a chic head band or scarf. I spritz with a little h2o/olive oil mix if I think my babies are somewhat dry. Aloe vera usually does the trick for me. To maintain this style for a week I braid, spritz with water, then roll on a loc loop before I go to bed. I probably don't have to every night...I just do.

THE BEST THING I'VE EVER DONE

2008-10-07T19:56:00.000-07:00

When I installed my bradelocz I braided close to 400 micro braids in my hair...396 micro braids to be exact. I was so excited when I finished because I knew that my hair was not going to be such an expensive, time consuming issue for me any more. What I've gained from my bradelocz is versatility and freedom. Freedom to wash and go, freedom to maintain my locz on my own, freedom to style and be as versatile as I'd like with my locz and the freedom to be all natural. Not that I couldn't be versatile before I installed my locz but now I can be versatile with MY HAIR. No more burning scalp from chemicals, no more fried hair from curling irons/flat irons, no more weaves, glue, thread, and thank God, NO MORE ALL DAY SATURDAY HAIR APPOINTMENTS. Installing my bradelocz was the best thing I've ever done for my hair. I just wish I would have done it sooner.

2008-10-06T05:07:00.001-07:00

THAT LYE, THAT LYE, THAT DARN LYE!

2008-10-04T05:58:00.000-07:00

That lye, that lye, oh how I hate that lye!! I was a strong believer in the lye. But UNINTENTIONALLY I began to transition from the lye to my natural texture by neglecting to perm between styles. I wore braids, micro braids, kinky twist, curly weaves, and ponytails. I soon grew tired of the cost, the long hours of sitting, and the damage these styles were doing to my thinning hair. Then one day I called my sister in Detroit and asked her how she was wearing her hair and she told me she was transitioning to her natural hair. I had thought about going natural but didn't know how to go about doing it. My sister did it by cutting perm off every time she went to see her beautician. I, on the other hand, was impatient and did the big chop. I guess I chopped about 4 inches off my then permed 9 inches and it was sooo liberating to me. I had enough natural hair to work with but I didn't know how to maintain my unruly natural hair other than to style it in a half fro. Once I discovered natural hair care sites like motowngirl.com, nappturosity.com, naturalblackhaircare.com and watched a plethora of YouTube natural hair care videos my natural unruly hair became a different story for me. I fell in love with my combination type 2c, 3a hair texture and found that I could style my hair in several different styles. So, I have been natural since the spring of 2007.

During my quest of natural hair care sites I came upon something called sisterlocs on the nappturosity website. I researched them and liked everything about them but the cost. Sisterlocz were not an option for me. But to my surprise bradelocz were. I was pleasantly surprised when I came across Saabira's blog, All about the hair. Her blog inspired me to install my own micro bradelocz. On 8/11/08 I began braiding micro braids in my hair and finished 2 days later and so began my bradelocing journey.