Week Two

hey hey

It's hard to believe it's only been 2 weeks. It seems like a month already since my last loc was set in place.  I guess that stems from me bein used to havin my hair braided so often that it jus seems like jus another style, if that makes any sense.  So, I tried usin the spray bottle with the water and jasmine oil to help with the itchies I was havin and I'm pleased to say that it actually helped.  Added side benefit: moisture and a great smell (lol).  The jasmine is nowhere near as oily as other oils I've used, but I have to admit that I do miss my good old coconut oil.  My mane really loved her some coconut.  

So, I separated the big spirals in the front of my mane and was cute and curly for a few days.  Then I took out the flat twists that I had for my b-day hairdo and left my hair out and down for a few days. I experimented with wrappin it up since I have quite a bit of scarves and such.  I kept sayin it was because I needed to wash my hair but honestly, I was a little nervous about this initial wash.  It sounded so easy when my loctitian explained what I was supposed to do.  But then when I tried to remember how to put my fuzzies into their little bundles and whatnot, my mind completely fizzled out on me.  All I could remember really was bein told not to scratch with my fingers and to put my hair into sections.  'Not exactly helpful' 
Thank GOD for you tube.

After a bit of searching on various washin styles and methods, I stumbled on the most helpful one for me.  A young lady, who is currently on her 2nd sisterlocs journey, had the best video I saw after spendin most of my day lookin.  Okay, okay I wasn't only researchin how to wash my fuzzies so shush.  Her locs were shorter than mine are but her parts are still clearly defined and visible.  What she suggested made complete sense to me.  Once I figure out how to share her video with you, I'll be sure to include it next time.  But anywho, she basically suggested takin a spray bottle with about a cap-full of your starter shampoo, mixin it with water and then usin said spray bottle to spray directly into your parts.  

GENIUS!

Not only does this help with keepin your locs separated, but you can be sure to get directly down to your scalp and roots and make sure that they get super squeaky clean.  So I decided I would try this.  

Now, it took me about 3 days before I actually gave it a whirl.  Hey, I'm a busy lady; by the time I get home from work, it's too dark and I'm not sure how long it would take for my fuzzies to be fully dry.  So I said I would do it on my day off but then I went to zumba with my sister, volunteered in the soup kitchen at church, then went with my mom to visit and friend under the weather. Needless to say, Saturday was out.  So finally on Sunday after work, I recruited my baby sister to "help" (read do it for me lol).  

At first, there wasn't enough shampoo for the bottle I got.  It was much bigger than I originally intended to get so I had to add more than the cap-full suggested.  After doin that, my scalp did lather more, but not as much as I like.  So I had my "assistant" spray my scalp, then dabbed a few drops of shampoo directly.  That worked so much better.  She did this to each and every part/section of my fuzzies so my scalp was nice and sudsy.  Then we rinsed and I like to use an old t-shirt to dry my hair to avoid frizziness.  From start to finish, about 30 minutes, then about 2 1/2 hours to dryness.  Not bad at all.  

So here it is, Wednesday.  There's no more dry spots and my scalp hasn't been itchin quite so much, but then again I was advised to wash every 2 weeks, unlike most who will be washin every week so we'll see.  An added bonus for me is that I can always go to the beach and soak my head in the water.  As far as stylin so far, I jus sorta wet my hands to add the dampness to my hair and the ends.  I've been wearin a side pony since Sunday and it's super cute, if I do say so myself.  All in all, I was a little daunted when I thought about how I would manage with gettin my roots clean.  Now that I have my little trick, I think I'll be jus fine . . .

Week One

Hey Hey

So, I've officially survived my first week bein loc'd.  I have to say, it's been a pretty interestin week.  Most of the people who saw me for my birthday couldn't stop tellin me jus how pretty my hair was.  Now granted, most of them are used to me by now havin the fresh braid-up or down as the case may be, but when they saw my newly loc'd mane, it was excitin.  Many of them said, "Girl, why are they so small?" or  "Who's gonna help you when it's time to take those tiny things out?"  It was funny to see their faces when I replied, "They're not comin out.  This is my FOREVER hair."  What an empowerin statement!

FOREVER HAIR! SQUEE!

So of the few people I told in advance, all of them were so pleased with how happy I am about my results.  They, much like myself, can't wait until they grow out and get longer and thicker.  Yes, I know.  It's a process.  Enjoy the process. And I am, honestly.  I mean I'm only at 7 days in after all.  But it is excitin to think about how bomb my hair will look when it gets down past my shoulders. How strong and happy and healthy it will be jus by bein left to do it's own thing.  I will admit; I do have a case of the touchy-feelies.  I jus love the way my hair feels so my fingers are always in my mane.   But it's all good.

So now for my first semi-issue: Dryness

I've been a life-long sufferer of dandruff and it continues to persist.  It's not nearly as bad as I remember it bein growin up, but I jus can't seem to shake these pesky flakes. Hair washin day meant spendin at least an hour of sittin on the floor between Mommy's knees and havin my scalp scraped with a fine tooth comb.  And I have A LOT of hair on my little head.  Now I have noticed that when I move, it takes a while for all of me to adjust to the new weather/climate of my new environment.  My hair and skin were doin pretty good since I moved back home.  Then I jus had to be fast and apply to work in Alaska for the summer.  'Way to go Arlene, thanks for the shake up. Sheesh'  And while it wasn't nearly as cold as I had thought it would be, it was dry.  For the first couple of weeks, I jus couldn't seem to drink enough water.  I was constantly thirsty and apparently, so was my skin and hair.  But I eventually got used to it, and by then it was time to come back to the tropics. 

So now here I am.  I've got these pretty little fuzzies on my head and a very itchy, dry scalp.  I understand the whole mechanics of not usin products on my new babies and before you say I'm jus goin through withdrawl, I will tell you.  MY SCALP IS DRY!!! (lol)  I know it's gonna take a while before my scalp will begin to produce the oils I need naturally but what do I do in the meantime?  My Loctician told me to be careful about gettin flakes in my locs.  I still haven't quite figured out how to accomplish that yet.  IT ITCHES!!!  But she also mentioned that there is a dandruff shampoo I could also use in addition to the Starter shampoo she gave me.  She suggested usin a spray bottle with a few drops of Jasmine oil and water on the areas that are itchin.  I haven't tried it yet, but I'm goin to real soon.  I've also read that usin ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar) mixed with water also helps.  I'll consult with her and give that a try as well to see which may actually be more effective.  Time will tell.

Itchiness aside, I'm tickled pink about my hair.  Me and my mane have reached that place of acceptance and gratitude a while ago.  Now that I've given her free rein, I can't wait to see what she can really do . . .

My Fuzzies!

Hey Hey 

This is Me.  I'm Arlene.  I'm still gettin the hang of this whole bloggin thing, but I've got the naturalista thing down-pat.  I've been wearin my hair in its natural fierceness for almost 7 years now, but I guess you could say I've always been fascinated with the look of Locs.  It took me a while before I finally decided to give up the creamy crack.  I kept thinkin "Maybe if I don't scratch as hard" or "Maybe if I don't tie down my hair" right before the touch-up that I would be spared the agony of that tinglin sensation that leads to small scabs clingin to my scalp.  I'd make my appointment, get in the chair and before the back sections could even set-up properly, I knew I would be burned.  It happened ALL THE TIME.  No matter what I did or tried, no matter if I did the home perm with a friend or actually made it to a salon, I ALWAYS burned.  Finally I was jus like "Why am I spendin money for someone to torture me?" By the end of 2 weeks, I'd be kinkin up again.  So for about 2 years, I would wash, deep condition, blow dry and flat iron my hair religiously every 2 weeks.  I know, that's dedication.   But it was the only way I thought I could deal with my mane.  I'm surprised I didn't have severe heat damage.  Actually, I'm surprised my dang hair didn't jus start breakin all off.  So one day I was on good ol' You Tube and stumbled upon this video of a sister with gorgeous, healthy, super long NATURAL hair.  I was like "Whoa!  How can I get my hair to do that?"  So, I cut it.  Now most people will do a big chop.  Eh Eh.  Not me.  I was way too chicken for that.  What if my head was shaped funny?  I'm too cute to take such a big risk (lol).  So I had a coworker trim me up durin lunch at work one day.  Yes, I did it at work.  I have proof.
 

BeforeAfter

Now, I realize it doesn't look like much.  But remember; my hair is NOT relaxed.  I jus had a bomb flat iron (lol).  She didn't want to do it at first, but after much coercion, I persuaded her to get to snippin.  I wore it like this for about a month, then my sister came to visit and she finished my straight ends off.  Then I ended up with this.

Newly Natural - Again

So, I played around with my coils and kinks.  I was pleasantly surprised the rediscover jus how versatile it was.  I would braid it by itself or with extensions, I could rock out with my fro out, (see above pic), tie it up\down with a pretty wrap or scarf. So much to do!  Then one day I saw a lady on the train.  At first I thought she had micro braids.  Like itsy bitsy, teeny, super tiny micro braids.  Curiosity got the better of me and upon further and much closer inspection, I realized her hair was loc'ed.  Huh.  I've seen people with really neatly shaped, symmetrically sized locs before, but this, this was somethin new.  So the next time I saw her, I worked up the nerve to ask about her hair.  "It's called Sisterlocks," she told me with a smile.  Hmmm.  Yep, definitely something new.  I remember lookin it up jus to see what I could find and at the time there wasn't really much.  Maybe I wasn't lookin in the right place.  Maybe it jus wasn't time for me to know more.  But at least I had an answer.  So fast forward a few years.  I'm confident and comfortable with my hair.  It's doin its thing and the people who were skeptical about my whole natural hair project are happy that I did it.  Then I decided to move back home to the Caribbean where there are way more of us Naturals than in the States.  And ironically, this is where I stumbled upon Sisterlocks again.

My Fuzzies are here and I couldn't be happier.  I celebrated my birthday yesterday and couldn't think of a better gift for myself.  So even though they're technically only a day old, I know I made the best decision for me in the long run.  I got so much positive feedback when I told family, friends and coworkers about my choice.  Some people seemed more excited about the process than I am (lol).  I know that it's a process and I know my hair isn't gonna completely loc overnight, but I've done my homework and since I have a good relationship with my Mane, I know we gon be aight.  I'm told to enjoy all the of it, the whole thing, takin things in stride and one day at a time.  That's easy for me; I got my practice when I decided to return to my real roots.  I'm enthusiastic about where this journey will take me.  But I do plan to really enjoy the ride.