Loc Jewelry

These pics are of the loc jewelry that my friend has made, taken back in November while I was living in England. He can make them in any shape, size, or color and customize it anyway you like. These pics aren't representive of ALL the loc jewelry he has made for me it's just an example of some. How much do you think is a reasonable price to sell them for? Any comments would be really appreciated!

Jewelry Sale

A talented friend of mine is starting his own business y'all! He makes jewelry and also loc adornments. He's not sure how much he wants to price this so he's been asking me and our friends how much they are willing to pay for his jewelry/loc adornments. Since I love ya guys so much, I want your honest opinion as well, how much would you pay for his products?

Loc Rockers in New York + What's Going On Now With My Locs

I went to New York yesterday (I will be going back this sunday as well) and my oh my I saw so many loc rockers I felt like I was in loc-paradise! All of them were obviously mature dreads. Dreads worn by older guys, younger guys, young ladies, and even babies, it almost made me self-conscious because I was like "garr why can't my locs be at the mature stage like theirs?!" LOL. But seriously, I saw some really nice dread heads at the train station and in Times Square. I would have taken pictures, but I find that kinda creepy I wouldn't dare take pictures of strangers because that's just rude, and naturally being that it was in the city it's not as if they were standing still anyway (New Yorkers are always on the move!). The one lady that caught my eyes the most had really nice dreads, and she also caught my eye because she had her baby dangled in a kind of cloth baby carrier thing on her back (hard to describe, but it seems to be the trendy thing to do to basically get a huge cloth and wrap the baby against your stomach or your back, like a baby carrier...but it pretty much reminds me of a kangaroo pouch lol). Oh yeah...and there was also this one girl I saw that had dreads all the way down to her butt...and there was this other girl who was a redhead, her dreads were so thick and chunky but it was awesome! I've been to New York for most of my life and for some reason I'm now noticing how many people are wearing locs, not to mention that there are also a lot of people wearing TWA's and some even sporting a bald head. It was beautiful. Hopefully I will see as many loc rockers tomorrow as I did today. Sometimes I just want to come up to some of these people and say "Hey, nice dreads!" but I'm always shy and afraid to come off as corny and just stalker-ish lol.

As for what my dreads are going through now...I'm still freeforming y'all! And truthfully, even though I'm not yet at my 18th-month mark, I really do think that I'm going to stick with this method for good. I don't see myself changing my mind about that anytime soon.

The hair-wrapping method is a success so far, so much so that all that loose-fly away hairs has locked around the loc, and all without twisting it. The hair wrapping method has also consistently maintained a cylindrical look to my locks as well. It's amazing how much my locs have transformed since I've stopped twisting and messing with it. The combined locs are merging SO well, they are becoming so smooth, fuzzy, but smooth, and to my surprise tonight after I got out of the shower, I noticed how the ends are sealing! Finally. There are still a couple of curly q's, but I like them and hoping they will stay. I was trying to take some pictures of some of my locs in detail to showcase the progress but the camera didn't really showcase them well. Basically though, it hardly looks as if I combined my locs at all, they all look like one loc now. I did combine a couple more in the back weeks back, one day I have to do a serious recount because now I hardly know how many locs I have lol (not that it matters, but it is nice to know!). Now that things are becoming a bit easier I'm going with the flow with these locs. Naturally I have my days where I don't like them, but don't we all? Overall though, they are doing good so far!

The Green Smoothie Challenge!

We all know that a daily intake of leafy green vegetables is good for your health and also for your hair. Lately I've been making myself green smoothies, and it is by far the best smoothie I have ever tasted! Plus it is so darn good for you. Here is my recipe for it:

-baby spinach (at least a cup or two)
- 1/2-1 cup of frozen mango (you can use any other frozen fruit, but yellow fruits like pineapple or mango are the best. I've used blueberry and strawberries, and it just made the smoothie look really gross and dark purple instead of green).
- 1 banana
- apple juice or any type of fruit nectar (technically you are supposed to use water, but I add juice because it makes it sweeter and yummier).

Blend it all together and voila, you have a yummy and nutritious green smoothie! I'm going to challenge myself to drink one glass of green smoothie all summer, once a day. The mixture I make makes 2 servings, even better!

I found a website that spoke of the benefits of green smoothies, and here they are (http://www.smoothie-handbook.com/benefits-of-green-smoothies.html):

1. More Energy

2. Regular Digestion

3. Experience fewer cravings for sugary and salty processed food

4. Receive fewer mood swings

5. Lose weight!

6. Your skin becomes radiant!

7. You may feel an urge to start exercising.

8. Blood sugars may be stabilized

9. Hair and nails grow in faster and stronger

I have been drinking this smoothie for 2 weeks, and I can definitely attest to ALL those benefits. Who wants to join me on the green smoothie challenge? I dare ya! haha.

Things To Celebrate and Loc Update (sorta)!

Well y'all, today I'm officially no longer an undergraduate. I will be returning to my university in the fall to continue my Masters in Education, but it is still really weird to say that I'm no longer an undergrad student. Thinking about the future freaks me out, but we all have to get to that point of actually being in the real world and all its challenges. I so can't wait to enter into the teaching field, but the chances of me getting a job in teaching is looking slim now since the governer of NJ has decided to do A LOT of budget cuts (which means, NO HIRING NEW TEACHERS!), which is really just a crying shame, but hopefully in a year after I finish my graduate things might change, and who knows, maybe I will find some luck along the way. For now though, I'm not going to worry about all that. My focus now is on my graduation (next tuesday y'all, the 18th of May!), which I can't wait to celebrate with family and friends. Then after that, the usual summer thang: finding a summer job, doing my usual exercising, hanging out with friends, diving into my literature reading (currently I'm reading James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room,Les Misérables, an Oscar Wilde anthology, and Arthur Rimbaud's Poesies Une Saison En Enfer Illuminations), and one of my favorite hobbies, studying French (which includes grammar study, vocab, watching french tv, reading french novels, chatting with french penpals, and so on...the list goes on!). I used to be so preoccupied with the future but now I'm happy to celebrate a point in my life where I'm just taking each day at a time, instead of looking too far ahead.

Anyways...back to my hair (just wanted to show to y'all that there's more to me than just my locs hehe). I don't normally rinse my hair at night, but for some reason tonight I was really gagging for it to be drenched in water. I tied my silk tie around my hair, and realized how much I miss styling my hair. Mind you, all I've ever done style-wise was loc puffs and a pony, but still, that's something hehe. I think since I've combined, I've been very hesitant to style my hair in fear that a rubberband would pop off or a loc would unravel. Plus, frankly, I'm just not a hair styling person. I have to really be in a girly mood to feel that need to style my hair, I've always been like that. Otherwise, I just let my hair be. When my hair gets longer, I can see myself styling my hair more often. At the moment, I just don't feel like I can do much with the length I've got going, plus I still feel like my locs need to seal and combine more before I really start messing with it. With summer coming around, I think the most I will do is maybe wear head bands, similar to how I tied the silk tie. I hope to get more stylish looking scarfs so I can turn them into headbands for my hair (I can't stand the elastic ones and the solid ones remind me too much of being a little girl lol).

On that note, what styles are you guys planning to rock this summer? And what style is your favorite all year around? I must say that even though I'm not a styling person, I sure do feel inspired when I see so many loc rockers sporting such gorgeous styles!

The Freeforming Process (so far)

Sorry I've been missing in action for a bit y'all! With graduation coming my way and job hunting and all I've been quite busy, which is why I haven't been really focused on writing about my hair (but naturally i'm always reading/looking at other loc updates/journals/fotki/youtube videos of other loc wearers...it's one of my hobbies lol). Anyway, the pics are basically what my hair is up to so far. Here are the things I'm noticing:

* It is getting really thick and juicy (esp. the ones in the back), condensing a whole lot more, and to my surprise the ends are sealing quite nicely and I have even taken out some of the rubberbands on some of them that don't need their help anymore. I rinse and spritz on a daily basis, wash once a week, deep condition once or twice a month, and use an ACV rinse to clarify. Same as usual. I have been leaving these locs alone for the most part, and I'm 100% more patient with them now than I was awhile ago, and just embracing the process. No stress no mess! I still separate and wrap the loose hairs around the loc, and it seems like my locs are doing very well at not creeping together.

*I bought some peppermint essential oil, and I just LOVE it, it gives me a boost of energy and makes my hair and my skin feel so fresh. Love this oil, so refreshing in general! I definitely want to invest in essential oils, I'm really starting to feel the wonderful effects of them mentally and emotionally, it just perks me up. I'm also sensing that my scalp is loving essential oils, which therefore promotes growth.

* I've recently been taking B-complex vitamins, and I love them! In case I haven't mentioned it, I also take Biotin and a multivitamin. Overall I do see a change in the overall feel and texture of my hair, and yes, my hair is growing (sometime in July I will try and take a really in depth texture shot of my new growth, assuming that I will still be freeforming by then).

*As for growth, not sure if I'm seeing it, but I can definitely tell that with each rinse and wash it seems to be getting my locs to hang more. I'm starting to feel a tad bit of "hang time" going on. My locs bounce in the wind when I'm outside, and I'm starting to deal with having long locs in front of my face. Takes getting used to, but I try not to think about it much! I will also try and take comparison shots by July as well.

All in all, I love freeforming. I think it has been approximately 6-9 weeks since my last retwist. Haven't really been keeping track, but it's just a guess. This has been the longest I have gone without retwisting. I'm loving the frizz and the fuzz, and I really don't think it looks all that bad, it may not be a preference for everyone but I think on me it looks swell. By July 21 (my 18-month update) I will give more thorough detail with pictures and all.