Monday, January 23, 2012

My 3rd Year Locking Anniversary!





Well...I can't believe that today is officially my 3 year locking anniversary. I know it has been a LONG time since I've updated...I really just don't have much to say anymore. I'm still freeforming, I still use the same homemade products, and I feel like overall my locs are thick and healthy. If anyone has any questions or thoughts, by all means ask and post :). Thanks everyone who is still following my blog, it's greatly appreciated!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

I'm (Finally) Back With A Hair Update!






I know it has been a loonngg time since I've been keeping up with this blog, and it seems like it's been forever since I've done a hair update. As you can tell from the photos, my locs are definitely maturing. They aren't 100% mature, but they are getting there. It's hard to imagine, for some reason, that it has been a year and 2 months since I freeformed, and probably longer than that since I combined my locs. Time flies!

My thoughts on freeforming:

I LOVE freeforming. Is it for everyone? No, but if you feel that it is for you, GO FOR IT. The greatest thing I love about freeforming is that I have learned to let my hair go. I don't play with my locs, I don't have HILD (Hand-in-Loc-Disease), I don't have any thinning edges or thinning roots, and in general, I don't obsess about how my locs "look" as much as I used to. Freeforming allows you to embrace your loc's imperfections. Freeforming has helped me to recognize that although my locs aren't perfect, its imperfections are what make it so beautiful. I love the thickness of my locs and my roots, sometimes I feel like my roots are a little too thick, but I love it. As usual, my routine is so simple that I hardly have to think about it. I spritz my hair with my water and essential oil spritz, oil my scalp very occasionally, and rinse and wash it whenever I feel like it (at most, 2-3 times a week) with an ACV rinse (i do that only once a week). That's it.

My thoughts on combining:

You know, I once regretted combining because I felt like it was more of a hassle than I ever expected it to be. I did not want to start my locs over (never even thought about doing that), so I had to combine to have the thicker locs and stronger roots that I desired. Yes, it was rough at times. Combining your locs is almost as if your locs are babies again. Sometimes they unravel, and sometimes they just look straight up funky, but now the combined locs have FINALLY meshed into one. It's almost hard to believe that one loc used to be two separate ones. I love how combining my hair has made my locs much thicker and stronger. They aren't super thick, but they aren't tiny either. They are the right medium and thick size that I wanted. At times combining my locs was rough, but it sure was worth it. To anyone who ever has doubts about combining, if you feel that your particular loc and the root is weak, COMBINE IT with an adjoining loc. I don't think it's worth holding onto a weak loc for the sake of length and consistency; you could potentially lose it. Recently I combined yet again another loc at the back of my head, and it's already stronger and meshed with the other adjoining loc. In a way, I embrace the idea of combining locs because it's really neat to see how it grows and develops into one loc. It makes the journey even more fulfilling and rewarding.

The only other changes I've made in my regime is that I've been experimenting with more essential oils. I just love having my locs smell good. New essential oils i've experimented is patchouli, clove, chamomille, lime, lemon, and clary sage. I've also noticed that I'm not as strict about the type of shampoo I use. I still love my Dr. Bronner's, but I occasionally use Suave, Pantene, and Treseme. I just like to mix it up and have a balance between using the all natural stuff and the commercial stuff (because let's face it, the all natural stuff can be VERY expensive and is not always so convenient to get anywhere, anytime, anyplace).

Soon I'm going to start doing pipe cleaner curls. I tried them once for my graduation in May, and loved them. I just didn't take pictures during the time (shame on me!). I don't see myself being too adventurous with styling my locs (I'm just a simple girl, not big on hair styles), but once in awhile, I will try a couple.

Until next time... :)

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Random Loc Photos




I know I'm still not doing that great of a job with my loc updates...I honestly just don't have anything to say about my locs or locs in general anymore. I guess the only way I can "talk" about my progress is by taking pictures and sharing them with you guys. The only thing I can say about my locking journey now is that I have TONS of new growth, so much that it is almost tempting me to retwist, just to see how much length I've gained since I started freeforming last April (so that technically makes it a 1-year Freeform anniversary, very soon...). I might retwist on my "freeform anniversary", I might not. If i do, it will only be once and for that day, since I love freeforming too much to get back to retwisting my hair, and I LOVE getting my hair wet ALL the time (except for when i'm sleeping of course). We'll see...

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Baby Loc Sprouts!






What I love the most about being a freeformer is that you never know when a new loc can crop up. Recently I found SO much new growth, so much that I double strand twisted it into a new baby loc. The second photo is of a baby loc sprout that has long reached maturity (and has gained some length)...it has come a long way! Just for the sake of boredom and randomness, I took pics of my hair from the back and side. It's funny how fast locs seem mature and longer when you LEAVE THEM ALONE!

Friday, February 4, 2011

Friday, January 14, 2011

I Just Remembered...


That awhile ago, sometime this January, was when I first had the big chop! I remember having the big chop sometime before my birthday on the 9th...so officially, I've been natural for 3 years, and shortly will have locked for 2 years on Jan. 23rd. Doesn't time fly or what? Looking back, I find it funny thinking about how OBSESSED I was with researching so much about natural hair/locs and natural hair products. Now, I'm at the stage where my hair and my locs are just that...hair/locs. I don't think too much about it. I don't really put much of a schedule around taking care of it anymore, besides still washing my locs and using an ACV rinse once a week. I really just get up and go. No stress, no worries, just letting my hair be. I LOVE that!

Lately, for some reason, I've been washing my hair with just Suave shampoos (the Rosemary Mint Shampoo). I feel like Dr. Bronner's has worn off on me. I mean, don't get me wrong, I still love the stuff, but I don't feel as much of an urge to purchase a bottle pronto as soon as the last bottle is empty. Maybe, plain and simple, I just got bored and tired of using it, not to mention, I'd much rather spend $3 on a cheap shampoo that does the trick rather than dedicate a part of my paycheck to purchasing Dr. Bronner's. I also tried TRESemmé shampoo as well randomly when I was at a friend's house...I kinda liked how it made my hair feel soft and luscious. I think I'm getting over my whole "100% all natural ingredients" shampoo kick. Nowadays I'm OK with using a shampoo that has the "bad" chemicals in it (aka commercial products). My locs are still healthy, and that's all that matters. I still use my daily water/olive oil/essential oil spritz, which keeps it nice and moisturized. Once in awhile, I might still revert back to Dr. Bronner's, but only when I really really miss it. Otherwise, I just want to keep things cheap and simple lol. Has anybody else ever been tired of using the same ol' product(s) and decided to switch to something else?

The pic that is posted was taken on Christmas...took me until now to decide to post it lol.