Por Fin

I finally finished my re-ti on the back portion of my hair! Wooohoooo! It took me 3 movies to get it done - Changeling, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Notorious. I started off with a quickie baking soda wash, followed by a combo wash of Hugo's Natural Red Tea & Yland Ylang shampoo & Oyin's Honey Hemp Conditioner. I also did a hot oil treatment (using my new hooded dryer) and ended it all with a good old fashioned ACV rinse. Phew! And then I started on re-tightening my hair. Crazy, right?

Nothing else to report. No pictures. Just sweet relief to finally be done. I'll attempt this agin in another 6 weeks.

Loc Lovefest

I absolutely LOVE my hair!!!! I especially love the way it behaves when I dance. When I was younger, I was taught to use my hair as an extension of myself and my movements. That's probably why I'm also the queen of the hair flip today. Swish. Swoosh. Tussle. Flip! What? You thought only Becky and them could do that? Nerp! My baby locs can flip with the best of them. When I took belly dance class last year, there was a move where the teacher would flip her hair. I did it, but having a Big Ass Afro and all, it didn't have the same effect. Ask me to do this move again now. So seshy!

My rubberband popped tonight in African dance class and it might have been the best thing that happened to me. With my hair now loose, I could flip it as I moved. Man! It's like a whole new dancer came out of me. The routine I'd previously done just seemed to come to life all of a sudden. I was in my element. My hips had a sassier sway to them, I bent down a bit lower on certain steps so my hair would dramatically move whenever I got back up, the jumps and turns I did felt stronger now that my hair was following my body's lead. It was awesome... and I'm sure I'll feel it in the morning.

But, for now, I'm having a love affair with my locs. While the other loced sistas in the class had their long hair pulled back, when I finally released mine, my short babies were shaking around the dance floor. I loved every minute of it. In that moment, I paid no mind to the fro envy I get from time to time. I forgot about the fact that I still need to re-ti the back portion of my head. I gave no thought to how I would probably need to rinse my hair now full of sweat. All of my thoughts were about how lovely it felt to have my tresses accentuate my moves. I felt feminine and free. Ahhh! This is great!

Weekend Update

Well, I finally bit the bullet and re-ti'd the front portion of my hair. What a difference that made! It looked neater and the back still looked full - I like it like that. I've combined a few more of my babies around the hairline because they were either too little or the braids kept unraveling.

I had a great time in Chicago with my friends, but didn't sport any noteworthy 'dos. You know me, the Queen of Freestyle. *sigh* And, though I didn't get any idiots touching my hair, I did get a few compliments from strangers. One came from a guy at Funky Buddha. He approached me, drink in hand, smiling from ear to ear, and enthusiastically exclaimed, "I LOVE your dreads!" Ummm... Really? How in the world can you see my hair in this dark room? I thanked him and felt a little bit like I had arrived. My babies aren't all sealed yet, but they are now being recognized by others as locs. Sweet!

This weekend was the first time I'd seen many of my friends in a year or more. There were some folks I hadn't seen in 3 years. The first thing they all said to me when they saw me was some variation of, "Wow! You look great!" Of course, me being me, I can't take a compliment very well, so I am now left wondering just how horrible I looked before. I even saw a guy I... had a situationship with and he said I looked great, kept staring, and finding excuses to keep hugging me. Really? I thought I was bumming it with my t-shirt and jeans. *shrug*

On another totally unrelated note, I'm thinking of including a few posts over here about my balcony container garden. I try to keep Me, My Naps, And I more family-friendly and what's more family-friendly than growing your own veggies and herbs? I know most of you don't read my other, more personal, sometimes inappropriate, hot mess, tell it like it T-I is blog called Random Thoughts, so I'll be posting mini updates over here as well. Stay tuned.

I guess I'll leave you with some pics from this weekend. My camera has been acting a donkey lately, so everything has been looking extra bright for no reason. *sigh*

Celebrating a friend's Birthday at Big Bar

And the celebration continued at Butterfly Lounge

Re-Ti Session Blues

I'm in the middle of a re-ti session and am already bored with this. Good thing I started with the front portion of my head because I have to finish it now. I can't go out the house anymore looking crazy. So far, I've watched Body of Lies and Not Easily Broken on DVD. Hooray for Redbox. I'm in the middle of watching Alexander and thinking this is the most uninspiring thing I could watch right now. Maybe I'll just catch up on Grey's and Private Practice episodes online. I'm also tempted to listen to an audiobook.

I want my hairline to be a bit neater, so I'm interlocking and twisting it. We'll see if this holds up through me sweating on the dance floor tomorrow night. Bleh! I need to keep going so I can get in the bed by 3am. Still haven't packed and I need to hit the road by 11am tomorrow.

What do you watch when you have a long re-ti or other grooming session ahead of you?

Au Naptural vs The Fuzz

I really, really, really need to do something with my hair because my roots are getting a bit out of hand. Yes, I know. How about a marathon re-ti session? Bleh! I'm just not in the mood. Sadly, I know that if I do a re-ti in short sessions, I'll never finish. Maybe I'll spend tonight with a few Redbox movies and get to work.

I'm going to Chicago tomorrow to visit some friends and have a great weekend. For many of them, this will be the first time seeing my hair in person since I've begun locing. I can't help but feel like I've got to put my best foot... or is it loc?... forward.

I thought I knew frizz before. Apparently, I had NO idea! My babies are all fuzzy wuzzy along the shaft (is this the appropriate term?) and it's driving me a bit insane. On one hand, the frizz gives my hair a texture that puts me in tactile heaven. On the other hand, the frizz also makes my hair look a bit more uncoiffed than I would like. I know this is all a part of the process, so I will not be deterred. Instead, I'll just bitch and moan about it a bit here on the blog. Ahhhh! Much better.

Randomly, as if this post wasn't random enough, I've noticed that a few men have recently ventured to discover how soft my hair is. I think it has something to do with the fact that my roots are VERRRRRRY loose. Guyfriend A has gotten better, but he used to have his hands all up in my hair when we were at work in the community center. He'd be all up in the roots and pulling on my coils. If I didn't wash my hair so often, I might be bothered by this. And then comes Guyfriend B. The first time I met him he put his hands in my hair. That put me off a bit seeing as how I didn't even know his name yet. Yep, he got a straight sistagirl cussing from me that night. Fast forward a couple of months and we've made nice. Now, he has permission to touch my hair whenever I see him. Why? Because that man gives the. best. scalp massages. EVER.

So, you see, I'm struggling because I want my hair to look a bit less fuzzy, but I also want it to be touchably soft. I'll figure something out soon. Thanks for reading my word salad today, Napturals.

Race Day

Hopped up on meds and ready to run @ 6:15 AM

I finished my 2nd Half Marathon for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training on Saturday. Thanks to everyone who donated, encouraged, or shared their testimony with me about how cancer has affected their life.

For the first time ever I was able to sport a cute little loc puff ponytail. I was quite excited about this as it meant my hair would be pulled back and I could sport my freebie hat that also had a pocket on the front. I got my hair caught in the velcro strap a few times while I was adjusting it, but no major damage was done.

You know I was looking for some locs whenever I was in the race, right? As soon as I jumped in the corral I saw a lady with the prettiest locs. I thought they were sister locs, but she told me they were very small traditional ones that she maintained by palmrolling. WOW! I also saw a few heads full of locs as I trudged on in the race. I think my count was up to 4. I was tempted to increase my pace to talk to one lady, but I didn't fancy having much chit chat while I tackled 13.1 miles.

I didn't bring my camera on the course and was feeling too ill to pose for many pictures after the race. I did, however manage to document a bit of the experience. So, enjoy my race recap video.

More Frizz & Other Updates

OK, folks. I know I said at the beginning of this journey that I would embrace the frizz. But... errrrr. ummmm... uhhhh. This stuff is getting out of hand. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if my hair actually appeared to be moisturized. I need to drink more water and do more oil treatments or something.

I've re-incorporated the ACV rinses back into my routine and it's been helping with the itchies. I wonder if the itching I have now can be attributed to stress (I itch and scratch when nervous) or growth.

A strand of my hair came aloose from one of my babies. I stretched it out and it was dang near bra strap length. I'm not big on length checks, but I'm not going to sit here and lie to you fine folks and claim that I don't care about length either. Pshhh! If I'm completely honest, I'll admit that one of the main reasons why I'm growing locs is to see just how long they will get. My favorite hairstyle was to keep my hair in microbraid extensions. I loved the look. Now, I am curious to see how my locs will look when they get that long.

I have serious hand-in-loc disease! Too bad this hasn't extended to me actually re-tightening any of my locs. Well, that's a lie. I did a quickie attempt to tidy up the first two rows over the weekend. It's not that I don't have the time, I'm just not motivated to work on my hair right now. I do wonder, however, how much of a difference the re-ti session would make on how my frizzy ends look. Maybe I'll get started tomorrow so that they are a bit more tidy for my half marathon on Saturday.

I still suck at taking pictures... and trying new styles. Here are a few shots from this past weekend in DC with my cousins.

My cousin was playing paparazzi while I was getting ready.

Filling up our SmartTrip cards

Changing purses before we left for our dinner cruise on the Potomac.

Me and my Boos (cousins) celebrating Boo #1's (middle) birthday.

Buds, Latching, and Curly Qs

I think I found some buds in my hair. Yipeeee! Of course, I wouldn't be me if I didn't celebrate and panic within the same breath, right? How do I know that those buds are just tangled hair and not embedded lint? Gross! The first one I found had some lint in it, so I've been kind of paranoid ever since. Have I been paranoid to the point where I'll wrap my hair up at night? Of course not. That would make too much sense. I inspected a few more of them and they just look like a tangled mass of hair, but I'm not sure.

I still haven't done a re-ti on my entire head. At this point, the front is beginning to look a bit fuzzy and my roots in the center and back of my head are amazingly thick. I don't want to wait too long, but I'm loving the fullness of the back of my head right now. Well, that and I'm being uber lazy. Something tells me semi-freeforming might be in my future sooner than I thought. I offered to teach one of my guy friends how to do it so I could enlist his help. Knowing him, this would probably last all of one time before he got uppity and decided he wanted to charge me for his services. Nerp! Not gonna happen, buddy.

Some of the Curly Qs on the ends of my hair are beginning to disappear. I will miss them when they're gone. I wonder if I can pick them out after my locs are completely sealed/formed?

Lochawk Success

Sooooo... About this lochawk. I just went for it and it worked! Too bad I had to take it down last night. Ah well. I used a bunch of tiny black rubber bands that were going to waste in the bottom of my hair supply cabinet. Started by making a small ponytail at the nape, then working my way up to my crown. That's the best description you will get out of me today. I'll do a tut or something if you reaaaaally want to see it. Otherwise, enjoy my foolish fabulousness. Yes, I was feeling myself very much last night. These moments don't come often, so I celebrate them when I can.

Beijos...

Bleh!

That's how I'm feeling about my hair these days. I interlocked the front of my hair over 2 weeks because I'm lazy and had more important things to do... like become a Doctoral Candidate. Wahoo! Not sure if I mentioned it on this blog, but I've been stressing out since January about this big paper that determined whether or not I would be allowed to finish my grad program. Anyway, my hair has taken a back burner to my academic life. Perhaps this is one of the many joys of having locs or braidlocs. I haven't had a bad hair day since I started my journey in December.

Where was I? Ah, yes. I interlocked the front part of my hair last week. I'm not in the mood to do the rest of my head and I like playing with the new growth. My roots feel great between my fingers. I'l probably bite the bullet and finish my hair before I leave for DC on the 25th to meet my cousins for our girls' retreat. I adore those ladies!

I've sort of changed up my routine a bit. I've stopped using Oyin's Honey Hemp Conditioner. *Gasp!* I know. I'm not sure, but I feel like my locs were feeling a bit more frizzy and looked duller whenever I used it. Too bad, because it smells great and works wonders on my new growth. I need to figure out how to use the rest of that bottle to benefit my babies. Last weekend I opted for a hot oil treatment with honey, EVOO, and EVCO. I then washed with baking soda and rinsed with ACV. Talk about soft hair??!!! I'd been slipping on my ACV treatments, but I see now that I must go back. I've also been experiencing a horrible case of the itchies, so going back to my weekly ACV treatments should definitely help.

Did I mention that I went into Sally's for a simple, tabletop hooded dryer and was convinced by another loced sista (very rare for this area to see another sista let alone a natural and loced one) to order the semi-professional, free-standing rolling one that was on sale this month. I shelled out $100+ for a damn dryer. Yea. I'll just have to do lots of hot oil treatments and roller sets to compensate for my ridiculousness. Seriously though, what convinced me to get it was the fact that using it didn't require me to sit uncomfortably with my back to a table. So long as it can reach an outlet, I can plug that bad boy up and sit under it anywhere. This means I could probably even blog browse NP play on Face.book work on my dissertation as I dry my hair. Sweet!

That's all I've got. I'm afraid I haven't gotten any better at taking pics either. I'm still rocking the freestyle look because it's cute, no fuss, and works for me. I'll see if I can snag some pics from my friend's camera of my hair this past weekend.

Until next time, Napturals....

Briadloc Rod Set

I had an event last night and decided to experiment with my hair. A big risk considering I had no clue how the rod set was going to look once it dried. I had very little time and was determined to make it work no matter what it looked like... Or wash out the curls and keep it moving.

Here's the video showing what I did. I'm very aware that I am acting very vain and coquettish in the first half of the video. I guess I was feeling myself just a bit. LOL! Ignore my antics and see the style at the end. I'm washing the curls out soon because my scalp is itching (I was lazy and rinsed my hair before curling instead of washing) and I need to tighten up my roots. Enjoy!

Three! Three Months of Locs.

I always loved The Count from Sesame Street! He had the coolest cape and his laugh was pretty wicked. Ah! Ah! Ah!

Anyyyyyway, I'm approching my 3rd month of locdom over here and still loving every bit of it. To celebrate, I'll do 3 posts with random things I've observed or learned so far.

Twisting my new growth is neat and quick, but is a waste of my time. I wash my hair way too much for that. I also don't like having to use products to make that stuff stay put. All those clips and thangs while I wait for my hair to dry? No, thanks! Pass the latching tool, please. Oh, and by the way... When you're latching, if you think you can get in just one more rotation - DON'T! Talk about a sore scalp? Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.

Water does a body good. Especially since my hair is dyed (*gasp* That's not natural. Yea. Whatever. Bite me!), it needs all the moisture it can get. Water is cheap and readily available around these parts, so that's what I use. I spritz and rinse in agua. Now if only I could remember to keep drinking it. *shrug* Be sure to check out MsFullroller's post called Moisture, Moisture, Moisture.

Adding water can also cause my hair to shrink as it dries. Shrinkage is a beast. It shall not be tamed by me, though. More shrinkage means that my babies are just hugging themselves a bit tighter. I'm all for that. The curlies at the end of my hair are getting more compact. I will miss them when they're gone.

Moisturize Your Situation

... And preserve your sexy. I still crack up every time I think about Diddy saying this on the skincare infomercial. Funny as it is, it's sooo true. A head full of dull, dry, brittle hair is very much NOT sexy.

Here are some of my favorite products I use to moisturize (and condition) my tresses and scalp:


Castor Oil - That nasty stuff your grandparents used to give you to alleviate constipation has another use. It moisturizes and conditions your hair. It is also a humectant (see Vegetable Glycerine).


Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) - Pick some up at your local grocery store on the cheap. I buy it by the gallon now because I cook with it and use it from head to toe. Apply to a freshly washed scalp, add to a spritz (see Water), or use as a hot oil treatment.

Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (EVCO) - I found this at Wal.mart in the supplement aisle, but I like the NOW brand I find at my local healthfood store much better (it's organic). This oil is wonderful as it smells heavenly and isn't too greasy. I apply a small amount to my body after the shower (before I dry off) and to my hair after a wash or rinse. I also use it in conjunction with other oils and herbs on my scalp (see Loose Herbs entry). Just a note, EVCO should be solid below room temperature and liquid above room temp (75 F).

Honey - Is a natural antibacterial substance. Besides tasting awesome, honey also gives your hair sheen. It can be used in conjunction with oil as a conditioning hot oil treatment.

Vegetable Glycerine - Can be found at your local healthfood store. It's a humectant in that it draws moisture from a humid environment into your hair (the verdict is still out on whether it has reverse effects when the environment is dry). In warm weather I use a spritz of 2 oz glycerine and 6 oz water every other day. You should play with the mixture as too much glycerine can make your hair a drippy, sticky mess. I don't use this in cold weather. Instead, I switch to castor oil.

Shea Butter (Unrefined) - This is a great conditioner and moisturizer although some folks (self included) find it to be a bit heavy on the scalp. I use a small amount on my ends. Sometimes I melt it in a double boiler and add it to my hot oil treatments. I also whipped it (and EVCO) with a hand mixer and used it when I two strand twisted my hair.

Water - Gone are the days when you must shield your relaxed hair from water. From filtered to distilled, water is a Naptural girl's best friend! Keep some in a small spray bottle and mist your hair with it as needed. You may add things to the water such as oil (EVOO, Castor), vegetable glycerine, a small amount of your fave conditioner, or a combination of any of these.

Sweet Almond Oil - This is another gem for me. I use it from head to toe. It's pretty light, gives my skin a nice glow, and isn't too clogging for my pores.

All of the above were used when I was a loose nappy. Now that I'm approaching my 3rd month of pop locing :-) I have streamlined just a bit. Number 1 on my list is water. My locs absolutely lurve it! I spritz my babies with water and a dollop of castor oil every day (when I'm not being lazy). After I finish washing or rinsing my hair I apply EVCO to my ends and apply either my infused oil or sweet almond oil to my scalp.

I no longer use shea butter on my locs for fear of it attracting too much lint. I miss it sooo much. I will try to re-incorporate it somehow. I will slowly begin to add veggie glycerine and honey back into my routine as the weather gets warmer. Perhaps I'll mix something up for a hot oil or deep conditioning treatment within the next month.

Coming up next on Me, My Naps, And I.... Joia's Big Chop

It Could All Be So Simple...

But I was making it rather hard. Let's start from the beginning.

I've seen the videos and read the NP threads about latching or interlocking, but it just wasn't making sense to me. Why go through all of this effort when you could twist those bad boys and keep it moving? So, I twisted the front of my hair sometime around week 4. It looked pretty fresh to death if I do say so myself. That is, until I rinsed my hair. Yea. Not so cute that look. I needed to try an alternate method. The problem? I had no clue how to go about interlocking.

All that talk about 4 point versus 3 point rotations, y pattern warnings, and compass-like directions was a bunch of mumbo jumbo to me. Then, to complicate matters, there are fiftyleven tools that can be used. Some folks use the Nappylocs tool. Others use a crochet hook - and a subpopulation of these folks complain about their hair geting caught on the hook. And then you have the rebels. The DIYers. The folks that said Later for all this purchasing of crap. I'll just make it my damn self! These are the folks that took paperclips, wire, masking tape, or a sewing needle and McGuyvered their own hair tools. Ha! These are my type of peoples.

It's been 7 weeks and my new growth is outta control.
So, off I went to NP and YouTube for a refresher course on interlocking. *Enter msfullroller's vid* I'd seen her video before I was locked and had that squinty-eye-lean-head-to-the-side look going on as I watched it. Your girl wasn't understanding anything that was going on. But last night... EUREKA and Thank God! I got it. I made two tools from a small and a large paper clip and went to work on a small section of my freshly washed hair. I looked in the mirror in disbelief at how simple and effective this method really is.

Paper clips work just fine for me

Can you see the difference? The right side has been re-tightened

Twisting, for me, is a quick fix. I'm thinking interlocking is where it's at. It might take a while to do, but that's what I get for having so much darn hair and then having a bunch of small braidlocs on top of that. I'll keep you posted on how the retightening session goes. Something tells me I'll be at it for a few hours.

Experimenting

I'm going to a charity ball at the end of the month, so I've been playing around with my braids to see what kind of styling options I can do myself.... I'll keep working at it. But something tells me that I may end up doing some type of curly updo. Here's my latest experiment with perm rods in the back and who the heck knows what was going on in the front of my head. Next time I'll try to use a natural product with more hold and remember to tie the front of my head down with a scarf. If you have any styling ideas, links, or pictures feel free to leave them in the comment box.

My HairStory

I've always loved big kinky, curly Afros. Each summer in college I'd attempt to go natural and then cave in after a few weeks. I just couldn't give up my relaxer. Especially not at Hampton University. I wanted to go natural my Senior year, but was told to keep my hair relaxed until I had finished my interviews for grad school. I was advised against coming across as the militant black woman initially. I complied and secretly vowed that this would be the last time that I would ever do anything like that.

After a major cut and about 2 more relaxers, I had had enough. I kept my hair in braids for a while during my 2nd semester of grad school in Miami with the intention of transitioning into natural hair.

February & March 2006

It would be smooth and painless, I thought. I had already consulted with my stylist and we both agreed that she would straw set my hair when I took out the braids sans relaxer.

In I walked for my appointment with a head full of nappy roots and straight ends... And my stylist freaked out! I sat in that packed salon for what felt like forever going back and forth with her about what she was going to do to it. Frustrated, I told her to just cut it all off. You should have seen the gawks and heard the gasps from all the other women in the salon who were in various stages of getting some type chemical process done. She cut off the straight ends, then looked at my face. "Keep going", I urged her. "It's just hair. It will grow back."

April - June 2006

I've been loving my naps ever since. I've worn my hair cropped close, in wild Afros, in weaves (*gasp* lol yea I have no shame), two strand twists and twist outs, cornrows, extensions (microbraids and kinky twists), bunny tails, and everything in between.

October - November 2006

March 2007

May - August 2007

October 2007

November 2007

December 2007

February 2008

May 2008

June - August 2008

September 2008

October 2008

November 2008

November - December 2008

Tired of de-tangling and re-twisting my hair (a 6 hour job because I like small twists and I'm really slow) every 3 weeks, I finally decided I would loc it up. Since I'm back in Brooklyn for the holidays, I had my old stylist, Lisa, color it (Clairol Textures & Tones Cherrywood).

December 19, 2008

Then I went into a braid shop near my Mom's house and had Amy put my hair in teeny tiny braids.

December 20, 2008

I'm so excited to watch my hair transform. I'm also looking forward to learning many a lesson through my locs like patience, flexibility, optimism, creativity, positivity, and pure unselfish love.

Stay tuned...