The New Hair

As you probably know by now, I don't post on this blog very often.  In fact, sometimes I forget about this blog completely.  I'm hoping to change that but in my defense, it's been very busy these past few months *cough, cough* years.  But I did want to show you a few pics of my free-strand, natural hair.  It took me 2 weeks to take my locs down.  Two WEEKS!!!

And this is what it looked like right after!

I was confused as to what I should do with it from that moment, all the way up until - heck, I'm still confused!  LOL

So the next day, I got to work with washing and conditioning.  My hair (after shedding about 2 lbs of it in the shower - which was SUPER scary and disheartening, by the way) bounced back to it's natural halo shape, otherwise known as the almighty Afro.

As far as length goes, I didn't lose a lot of length.  It felt that way considering that locs give a false sense of length.  All right, let me drop some knowledge on y'all real quick.  Most folks shed about 100 hairs a day.  But when you are wearing your hair in locs, that hair does not shed.  It just forms as a part of your loc.  So my hair looked longer than it actually was.  So all of the hair that I shed when I took out my locs was 5 years worth of hair that would have been lost anyway.  Feel me? So that's, 100 x 365 x 5.  That's over 182,500 shed hairs.  O.o

So…yeah.

 So this is me, nowadays.  I've been wearing my hair in a two strand twist out.  And in order to protect my hair, I sometimes keep it in the twists with a scarf over it.  That's the thing about taking down my locs.  I cannot wear my hair out quite as much as I used to.  Also, it takes a lot more work and time to care for and wash my hair.  It's funny, when I had locs people would ask me, "Is it hard to wash?" I would tell them, "No…I wash it just like white women wash their hair.  I get under the water, scrunch a bunch of shampoo through it.  Rinse and repeat.  Then I do the same with the conditioner (unless of course, I decide to deep condition)."  Folks always seem to think that dreads are a lot of work.  The only problem was that it took a long time to dry.  But other than that . . . the hair was SUPER easy to maintain.  Even retwisting took a little over an hour at the longest and I did that once every couple weeks (if that).  But with my hair now - whoo child!  I gotta separate it into 12 different sections.  Finger detangle it and oil it up.  Loosely band each section up.  Wash it with the shampoo.  Rinse.  Put the conditioner on.  ALWAYS deep condition it.  Add oil, whatever else.  Rinse with cool water.  Take the bands off and detangle again while adding a butter or moisturizer.  Then oil it to seal in the moisture.  Then twist each section.  And let me tell you something.  Detangling is painstaking and takes a LOOOOONG time.  And I do this ritual every single week.  It takes me no less than 3 hours.  But this is what I asked for.  And when I look at my hair in the mirror, touch the softness or pull a twist as long as my shoulder and then feel it spring right back to my head - I know it's all worth it.  Also, I want to grow my hair out and know the exact length.

Funny thing is, I've been natural for about 9 years now.  To be honest, I can count on one hand how many times I've ever gotten a perm.  Once when I was 7 or 8 years old.  Maybe twice in high school and then twice in college.  Either way, I've never - NEVER - really educated myself on how to take care of my natural free-strand hair so that it is healthy and maintains length.  After having locs, I started to do the research and figured I had the maturity, patience and know-how to make it work.  So that's what I'm doing.  Making it work!

And I will be sure to report my progress!  :-)

Chunky Knotty Lock Tips

Hi all...

I figured my hair is long enough and I needed to do something different. So I popped a few curlers on the head and here we are...

The curl didn't stay too well at all...(as you can see) since I had to take the curlers out really early in the morning. But I rocked it anyway.

The next day I curled it again and it was waaay tighter...and looked a little funny, so I pinned it up and was very flattered with the outcome.

So I washed my hair two days ago. And after washing with the shampoo and oiling it up, I am always very pleased with how soft and conditioned my hair feels, but several days later, it's back to dry and stiff (no matter how much I oil). And I oil a lot kids. So this time after washing and retwisting and drying, I oiled it down one last time and wrapped it in my favorite satin scarf. When I woke up the next morning and removed the scarf my hair felt really nice and conditioned. So I've decided that I am going to keep a scarf on my head for the rest of my life...joking. :-) But I will try to cover my head a little more than usual, to lock in the moisture. I don't do that enough.

Anywho...I have been getting these locs that bunch up at the ends. It's horrible. My loc will be a nice size all the way around, but the tip will be fat and round. Almost like the tip has rolled up and locked into itself. It's frustrating. I have found myself combing out the loc and retwisting, which leaves the tip looking completely different. I'm trying to figure out whether I should leave it like this or continue to take a comb and get to combing the knots off until I have a head full of half way done locs. I've even considered cutting the tip off altogether. My family says it's not noticeable, and they're right, but it still bothers me. Maybe I should just let it grow and hope it straightens out.

Has anyone experienced this? If so, what did you do?

I don't have the face for that!

One of the statements that I hear the most from Black women when they see my hair is, "Your hair is sooo nice" followed by, "I wish I could do that!" And my reply is always, "you can." To which they say, "I can't pull that off" or "I don't have the face for that." Now there is a pattern with this comment because these women are almost always one of these things...

#1- very attractive


#2- very intelligent


#3- very permed up




These are strong, confident Black women that hold management positions at their jobs. Women that make important decisions for their companies every day. These women make fashionable wardrobe choices with a self awareness that allows them to mix and match colors and styles to accentuate the right curves and hide the wrong ones. These women are (as the over-used Tyra Banks expression goes) fierce! And they're telling lil' ole eccentric, neurotic, nerdy, goofy, peon me that they're not bold enough to wear their own hair the way it grows out of their scalp.


Now I talked to the beau about it this morning and we got into a heavy discussion. We talked about dealing with peer pressure as children and the negative images of natural hair and how this causes us to hold negative images of ourselves as adults and so on and so forth.

But I guess the conundrum for me is why women in their thirties and forties who "got it going on" think that they would suddenly look like a gorilla if they decided to wear their hair natural. Now I have seen some rough looking ladies in my day, and let me tell you...a perm, a weave, or a dye job is not going to change how many teeth you have. A bump n' curl is not going to eliminate a weak eye or a slumping forehead. In other words, you don't have to have a certain face to wear a perm so why do people think that you have to have a certain face to wear natural hair?

It makes me think that they are seeing natural hair as a bold fashion move, like a gorgeous runway model striding down the catwalk in a trendy yet slightly bizarre outfit. It's a little extreme, but only someone like her could pull that off. First off, it's not extreme. And second, I'm far from a runway model (and I'm rockin this look, damnit! ;-)

Now I take it as a compliment when people say that I have "the face" to pull off natural hair, but it also saddens me a little bit. It helps me to understand that the person who made the comment doesn't think that they have the right face for their own God given hair.

And when I think about it, I've NEVER in my life seen a woman that wore her hair natural who "didn't have the face" for it. It always seems to suit that person. I've seen some women who are not suited well by relaxers, however. Women with awkward bangs or brittle, slicked down ponytails that don't compliment their beautiful features. And sometimes, I think to myself, "That woman would look really nice with a twist out or braided french roll." The idea would be preposterous to these women, I'm sure.

"I don't have the face for that," they'd probably say.

Happy 4 Month Anniversary

Hey everybody...I just realized that it's my four month anniversary. Not that it means anything, but I figured I'd do a quick blurb on my hair today. I've taken out the extensions and did a no-poo shampoo yesterday. I used herbal cleanse...I forget the brand name, but I'll post it up here as soon as I remember or see it. I didn't feel like going through the whole hair washing regimen and I figured that this would be a good time to try the no-poo.

My Take On No-Poo

A No-Poo or "dry shampoo" if you want to get technical, is kind of like using an anti-bacterial hand sanitizer on your hair. You squeeze the contents onto your scalp, wait one minute, and then rub it in with a towel. It is a clear gel that smells like alchohol mixed with a sorry excuse for a fragrance (well, mine does.) The boyfriend likes the smell...but what the -bleep- does he know? There's really nothing more to it than this, though. If you want to clean each twist/loc/braid individually, you put the gel onto the towel and rub it down the the hair you are cleansing, from root to tips.

I did this yesterday in sections as well as retwisted each loc with mango lime locking gel. The hair is looking tight (despite the fuzzies...we'll talk about that later), but I think I will have to end up doing a rinse because the problem with this kind of leave-in shampoo is the residue it leaves behind. Just like with anti-bacterial hand sanitizer, you are not rinsing this stuff out and although it dries quickly, it leaves the dead remains of whatever bacteria it has killed...that's right...on your scalp. Soooo, it's more convenient. It definitely gets the hair clean. But if you are meticulous (see: anal) like me, you are probably going to want to rinse and possibly even retwist. If not, you're still good to go. That's it for today.

I'll post up pictures of my frizzy, yet newly retwisted locs when I get a chance.

Latch hooking, beeswax and a little profanity

Yeah, so I tried latch hooking.

First of all, let me explain and describe what a latch hook is in the first place. A latch hook is a hand-held tool consisting of a thin shaft with a hook on one end and a pivoting latch, used for drawing loops of yarn through canvas or similar material to make rugs and the like.
What makes this device perfect for tightening locks, is the pivoting latch. You put the hook through your twist or braid lock at the root. Next, you hook the end of your twist (or wrap it around...whatever, as long as it catches). Pull it back through the twist. If you continue this...it tightens eventually. I guess it just depends on how loose your twist was in the first place. It sounds complicated, but I looked at the process once on youtube and two months later, picked up a latch hook and did it. Considering that my memory is like an etch-a-sketch...I would not have remembered and been able to execute this procedure 2 months later -mind you- if it was difficult.

My opinion on latch hooking. Great process, great way to tighten your locks for an extended period of time. Great! Great! Great! Will I use this method? No. Why not? It works too well. Such a permanent method wouldn't allow me the option of "taking down" my locs in the future if I decided that I wanted to take that course of action. I'd have to shave my head. Now I know that most people get locs with the intention of never taking them out but I try not to do anything that I can't undo. And to me, shaving my head should be an option, not a requirement (unless I have some kind of horrible disease or an outbreak of lice or something.)



Here's a picture of the latch hooked locs.
Granted, I did pull them up, they are still pretty tight on their own. I took this picture about 3 weeks after latch hooking some of my locs. The fact that you still see my scalp goes to show you that they have some serious staying power.

Now the issue of beeswax. I'll get straight to the point, I've been tempted to use the stuff. I know, I know...I shouldn't. It builds up, it's heavy, it leaves residue...but darnit! I'm getting desperate. Gel is fine, but once...just ONCE, I'd like to know what it feels like to redo my twists and have them actually look fresh the next day. Sigh! Call me crazy, but can I see my scalp every once in a while?! Huh? Pretty please?! @!$#%*? (She takes a deep breath and looks off into the sky wistfully).

Okay, I'm done.

Hanging in there

Hello all! I know I haven't posted in a while...I've been caught up in some mess. "But I'm heah"

Anywho...I must admit to you, I have not been keeping up with my lil' regimens like I should. Thank God for my homemade satin pillow, though. 'Cause due to my schedule lately, a sistah's been hitting the sheets without a head wrap. I created a little oil spray for myself in order to moisturize my hair in the mornings. It's a mixture of jojoba oil and olive oil with water. Have I used it? Sometimes. It's hard to evenly distribute it throughout my hair, though, because the 8 oz. bottle I use is more like a squirt bottle than a spray bottle.

Yeah, yeah, I know...excuses are the tools of the incompetent.

My hair has been kind of dry lately, so yesterday, on a whim I poured some castor oil into the palm of my hands and ran it through my hair (which is something I generally do with olive oil, but I wasn't really paying attention.) It was thicker than I expected and I had to dilute it with some water, which I quickly splashed through my little twists. After this, I sprayed my homemade cleansing concoction through my hair and voila! My hair was the happiest person in the world. (And yes, my hair is a person, because she has her own personality). I let my newly springy, moisturized twists air dry and carried on with my day. Today, my hair is so soft and fragrant. I woke up this morning and it had practically styled itself. Good stuff!

This coming week, I plan on washing my hair. I would say on average, I've been washing it once a week, if that. Maybe more like once every week and a half. I always do the deep conditioning before or after the wash. The twists still unravel big time when I step under the shower (which is unimaginably annoying) but I grit my teeth and grab my locking gel. It's a price I'll pay for this journey.

Random Observation
A couple weeks ago at work, I asked a coworker how many locks he had. Of course he had no clue, so I got to work counting them for him. 106. Now I already knew that I had 140. After going on a website that said every lock should be thicker than a pencil, I felt kind of bad. But that's the thing about the internet, kids. You have to remember not to believe everything you hear. About a hundred pictures later (while looking on a bulletin entitled, "what's your loc count?"on nappturality.com) I saw that there were women with lock counts of 120, 160 and sometimes even 200. Actually, most of the women had higher lock counts than me. After that, I got back to my senses and remembered all of the work I've put in thus far to even consider throwing it all away because of something silly.

So there it is folks! I'll post up some pictures after I retwist my newly washed hair.

Peace unto you all! :-)

Updates

Update...Update...Update...Update...Update...Update...Update...Update...Update...

Right after writing my last blog, I did some more research and found that tea tree oil is a natural astringent. It cleans the hair, which is great, but it can also dry it out if used too much. So, I will not be using my little conditioning spray everyday (because in fact, it is more of a cleansing spray)...but maybe once a week.

Also, using a no-poo shampoo means using a dry shampoo, rather than a wet, lathering one. I was mistaken earlier and thought that it was using a conditioner as your shampoo (which is something that I generally do). Bear with me, I'm still new to this stuff.
Sidenote: I learned from a hair stylist that using shampoo on (he said "naturally curly" but I'm sure he meant Black) hair is not necessary. There are enough cleansing properties in a store-bought conditioner to suffice (especially if you don't want to dry out your hair.) Just check the label, there is plenty of alcohol in conditioners.

Also, I'd like to apologize about my little freakout concerning sodium lauryl and laureth sulfate. Let me explain...these chemicals are used as the irritant factor in laboratory experiments. But what I didn't know was that they are used on shaved albino rats. <---lol, that just sounds weird (and wrong), doesn't it. Now being that these chemicals are the naturally extracted alcohol from coconuts, if you rub alcohol on anything over and over again (especially a shaved area), it's going to irritate. It has been argued that these chemicals are dangerous, which could very possibly be the case, but the counter argument is that the amount used is not dangerous. Also, the chemicals that it is used with create a kind of balance that has allowed people to use soaps, lotions, shampoos with these ingredients for years with no detriment to their health. Wanna hear the whole story...here's a good reference for ya! http://www.treasuredlocks.com/noname7.html I cannot tell you which side I agree with more, they both have valid points, but I came to my own conclusion after I wrote my "freak out" article a couple weeks ago anyway.

Conclusion: It hasn't killed me yet...

Alright, what else?

My boyfriend saw the longing in my eyes the last time I visited the Whole Foods Store so he picked up the rest of the natural ingredients, I'd been eyeing (but knew my butt couldn't afford). Yay! Thanks stud-muffin...I owe you! Those ingredients were Vitamin E oil, more Jojoba oil and some sweet almond oil. If you checked out http://www.motowngirl.com/ you know what I'm trying to do. If you haven't...click the link and find out, you weirdo! (Go to homemade hair recipes)

Okay, as for my daily hair regimen. I've been busy, so it's quick. I wake up, rub some olive oil and jojoba oil through my twists. Shake and go. Sometimes I pin up the twists, others I just let them hang. I find that they don't stick up as much. I think it's because of the added moisture from these oils I have been using. I definitely feel like my hair is more healthy, less dry. My boyfriend says that he sees some growth already. I don't know about all that, but it makes me feel good to hear.

Last but not least. I bought some satin material a couple months ago. I finally got around to sewing myself a pillow case. What can I say...I had a lot of time on my hands that week. But you have to admit, not too bad for an amateur.

That's it for now. Tomorrow, I warsh (like my grandmom would say) my hair.

(Sigh!)

Okay, so I'm a little dismayed today...my entry will be short. As I posted previously, I decided to do some more internet research. Not only did I find some great tips and advice about natural black kinky hair such as mine, but I also found that I have been living under a frickin' rock. There are a million and one websites, tips, videos, women in America (of all places) that proudly wear their hair natural like lil' ole' me. Go figure!

You would think that I'd be happy but right now I am on sensory overload. Example: While looking for natural hair tips I learned that you shouldn't use shampoos with sodium lauryl and/or laureth sulfate (sls or sles) and then I learned that finding a shampoo without sls or sles is nearly impossible...unless, of course, you buy it online. Eh...not a big fan of purchasing online. Okay, what else...always moisturize. Sounds easy. Use tea tree oil and jojoba oil, but you have to use it in its natural state, not the watered down version that they sell in stores. But wait! The easy solution...buy online. Hmm...see a pattern? Now I know that there are places that probaly sell these things in an actual store, but this will require more research and after my CIA investigation two days ago I'm tiiiired(said in an extremely irritating whiney voice).

Black women should stay away from...
propylene glycol, PEG, mineral oil and petrolatum, isopropyl alcohol, chlorine, DEA/TEA/MEA (please don't ask me to pronounce what these words stand for), fragrance (which means anything that makes your hair smell sweet and pretty), and Imidazolidnyl urea and dmdm hydantoin. A bunch of these chemicals are ingredients in most EVERY beauty product there is, including makeup and toothpaste. All of these ingredients are astringents that strip Black hair of its...I don't know...goodness. Some of these ingredients are actually dangerous and bad for your health. I know the last one is a kind of formaldehyde releasing agent.

So I'm surfing these websites and seeing happy, smiling, afro wearing young, Black women such as myself thanking the heavens for being given such great information and here I am thinking to myself, "Damn! Now I have to look for all of these ingredients every time I buy some hair grease!" I have enough things to worry about. And what irked me even more was that the Organic Root Stimulator company that I just bought my shampoo from, the "Black owned" manufacturer had a shampoo that contained both SLS and SLES. Grrrrr!!! Do you know what that stuff is?! Huh? Do you? It's the stuff they use in testing labs as the standard ingredient to irritate skin. The more research I do, the more I realize that I can't use ANYTHING being sold in regular stores or beauty supply stores (even Black owned). There's not enough information out about Black hair and skin so we've been applying one standard for all to the detriment of our hair and skin.

The lighter side

There were some things I could do. Like washing my hair with baking soda and warm water (which is a gentle astringent that does not strip the hair). Baking soda=grocery store=right down the street=as good as done! Olive oil, same equation. Apple cider vinegar rinse...I can handle that. So at this point, it's safe to say that I am going to be doing things the right way. When you know better, you do better...right Oprah! I just have to find my Sally's Beauty Supply receipt.

So that's where I'm at right now. So much for a short entry. I'm going to go cleanse myself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka.

Peace!!

The Search for Black Owned

Yesterday I decided to take a road trip, which turned into an all out CIA investigation. I was looking for something as simple as hair locking gel. Okay, I know I know I know what you are thinking. You can buy hair locking gel anywhere. But being the radical that I am...I wanted to buy from a Black owned business located in New York or North Jersey. A bit of a trip from Philadelphia...but why not? I like road trips, and both of my sweeties (boyfriend and dog) are willing road companions.

I had my sights set on going to the Carol's Daughter store, being that I frequent the website constantly and not only are they black owned but they also manufacture their goods as well. While talking about it at work that same day, a coworker suggested that I try some of the black owned businesses that are closer to the Philadelphia area. I couldn't give him an argument to the contrary, except to say that I was not familiar with any. Since he couldn't give me a name or exact directions, he suggested I find a local Sally's Beauty Supply and buy the locking gel from a black owned manufacturer instead. That wasn't as appealing to me. No fun, no adventure, no...mystery. I'd never been to a black owned hair supply business, and I wanted to see what it would be like so I grabbed my laptop and googled away. I imagined stores filled with products I'd never seen before. Being serviced by employees that could actually answer my questions, who maybe even had hair like mine and used these products on themselves. Imagine that!

Disclaimer
I am not usually as racially conscious about my buying habits, but this is different for me. The best thing I can compare it to is being an Italian person that is forced to buy authentic Italian food from the Olive Garden and the Olive Garden only. Imagine how frustrating it would be to describe what penne pasta is to the person that is making your food.

The plans to make a road trip to North Jersey were postponed due to my puppy's constipation. Being in a car with him when he is in this condition could make you wish you were never born. My boyfriend and I agreed that we could stand a half hour trip at the most.

There were several websites devoted to finding black owned businesses but the search for a beauty supply store usually ended with zero results in our area. When there were results, we would call the phone number to get a disconnected line or an Asian person who could barely understand our inquiries. It was frustrating to the point of comedy. "You've got to be kidding me!" I laughed out loud. We searched and searched for some places in our area and concluded that the only other option would be to get gassed to death on our road trip to Carol's Daughter in North Jersey/NY or to suck it up and go to a local Sally's Beauty Supply. I googled some black manufacturers of hair products and found a company named Organic Root Stimulator. Fair enough! Sally's it is...or it was...'twas.

I felt very defeated in my CIA investigation, but the result of that search lead me to the conclusion that there aren't enough black owned beauty supply places. Maybe I'll save up some money and look into it. Who knows?

Alright so about the products I bought. I was doing some research and found that you can lock up your hair with gel or wax. The difference can be compared to using a water-based lotion to moisturize your skin or using vaseline to moisturize your skin. One will not last as long at all, being that it is water-based and water evaporates, and the other is thick/gooey, rubs off on everything and is harder to clean off. I decided that I would rather do the gel...what's a little maintenance once a week? There was one bottle of Organic Root Stimulator locking gel left (which to me is a sign that God saved it for me). I snatched that up as well as a bottle of shampoo (the wrong kind) and some scalp moisturizer, specialized for people with locks or braids. I have to take the shampoo back, because the Organice Root Stimulator company says that I should buy their uplift shampoo, rather than the aloe kind that I bought. Needless to say, I will be browsing the web to do more research.

Next task will be finding a day and a person to help me with the actual locking process. Maybe I'll have a locking party. I don't know. I was tempted to go to a salon, but dear reader, I have another confession. I'm cheap. My hair is as thick as it comes and with the kind of texture that I have, the locking process can start after two days of no combing. I have literally woken up looking like Bob Marley some mornings. In my case, it would be silly for me to pay someone $100.00 to do something that I've done by accident on several occasions.

And that about concludes my entry for today. Hopefully the next entry will showcase my new "locked look." See ya soon!


http://www.organicrootstimulator.com/

http://www.bobsaone.org/

Out with the old...

Greetings All,

I have read numerous inspired essays and testimonials about Black women wearing their hair natural and I have decided to write my own little blurb about the like. I have been wearing my hair natural for about two years now and have decided that I will go the dreadlock route very soon, possibly starting the new year with this new look.

While searching for websites that show the locking process, and pictures of locks close up, I realized that there are not that many websites to choose from. You'll find an explanation of how to form locks, but no picture of the process. Often times these websites will show pictures of Bob Marley looking characters with three big dread chunks shooting out of his or her head or white people with dreadlocks (with the exception of websites such as naturalhairphotos.com and naani.com). No offense to White people or Bob Marley fans, but I'm an American Black woman and I need to know about "our" hair locking process without being fired from my job for looking like a rastafarean. So for those of you who'd like to see my process, I hope to provide that with this blog.

As far as the history of my hair goes, I have done a whole lot of perming and a whole lot of weaving only to end back up at natural hair over and over again. I just can't escape it, and you know what? For once, I have stopped trying. I don't like watching my hair break off and fall into my sink. I don't like hearing it fry between the clamps of a hot curling iron. I don't like feeling a thick and heavy patch of rough hair thin down into a weak, brittle, straw-like mess that leaves me running to the hair salon (or my sister's house) for an emergency relaxing, only to turn my whole head into that very same weak, brittle, straw-like mess. I'm done with that.

I guess the only dilemma is this...I am a new hairstyle addict. While I do wear my hair natural, I absolutely love the idea of taking on different looks. I will wear my hair in a short curly afro, just as quick as I'll wear a long straight weave. I don't wear these different hairstyles because I am ashamed of my hair, I wear them because I like to be different. Switch it up. Keep them guessing. In college, this lead to a number of debates between the natural-heads and the perm/weave heads. Being that I fall or have fallen into every category, I NEVER took sides. I, personally, don't have anything against perms or weaves (or the people who wear them), I just know that I am compelled to wear locks at this point in my life, due to MY experiences and lifestyle.

So when I lock up my tresses, what is the hair diva to do? This definitely means that I will not be able to get all of the different hairstyles that I am accustomed to getting. Fortunately for me, locks are very diverse. They can be curled, died, worn up or down. It's just getting there that I hope I can survive. My hair will start out very short for a couple months (grimace) and while I can pull off the short hair look, there's not much you can do with a short doo. And that will probably drive me bonkers. But as the title of this post suggests, out with the old and in with the new. It's time to see things in a different light, so here goes nothing...