Hi There

Summer has come and gone, fall is starting to feel like winter, and I am finally about to post.  Sorry for the delay.  There have been many days that I wanted to post, but just couldn't fit it into the schedule.  Did I tell you guys that I'll be participating in the Washington, DC Avon Walk for Breast Cancer?  Fundraising for that has taken over my life.  Oh, and I'm moving.  More on that later, hopefully.

Anyway just play a bit of catch up on my hair situation:
1.  I did not try to get my scalp under control.
2.  I stuck to the no retwist until about September 5.  My husband wanted me to go to a wedding with him and I thought it would be nice not to look crazy.  Unfortunately, I was so busy admiring the hair on one of the members of the bridal party that I forgot to take a picture of my own.

Her stylist took loc petals to a whole new level.  Her hair is about waist length I think she said and it took about 4 hours.  Not sure if that was including the first style the stylist tried that she didn't like.

Here's what my hair looked like when I retwisted it myself last week:

October 2013

October 2013

It's been been about three years since I cut all my hair off.  That's so crazy.  

September 2010 - the BIG chop

January 2011 - Finally decided to loc

New Year's Eve 2011

October 2012

Today

Now, I'm really wishing I asked homegirl how long it took to get waist length.  Not sure I could manage that much hair anyway.

So, there's how things are going with my hair.  Hope all is well with you and yours.  Many thanks to NaturaLocs for letting me know that someone actually reads my blog.  Thanks for motivating me.

Psoriasis and Locs

Finally watched the video on removing psoriasis from locs.  Super informative.  Thanks to Quotidianlight for posting.

I hope this comes in handy.

Maybe this is what I'll try getting under control for the summer.  Some things I've already done.  Definitely done a lot of the picking. And yes I have seen a dermatologist.

Shame on Me/Plans for the Summer

So, two weeks ago I was really flipping out on my scalp.  No matter what I put on it, it flaked up.  Then I got an email about psoriasis.  Duh!  Why did I not think it was a flare up?

Just a sample of what was going on. 

On Sunday I sprayed a 50-50 solution of ACV and H2O onto my scalp, put on a shower cap, and went to work out.

About four hours later, I washed it out and headed to Nia's for her to style it.

Yes, placing this one last was intentional.

I'm super happy with how it came out and that I didn't have to do it.  I'm going on a break for the summer which means no retwisting if I can help it.  The next time I intend on doing it or getting it done will be after Labor Day for this wedding.  We'll see what happens.

What are your plans for the summer?

I Need to Do Better

My scalp craves moisture.  I remember when I would get my hair braided over several days and we would have to add more moisturizer every day because my scalp just drank it up.  That's why I have to drink water.  If I don't, my scalp will tell on my.  And tell on me it did.  Over the last few weeks, I noticed that I wasn't drinking enough water, but I didn't try to do better.  As a result, after I got my hair done two weeks ago, I could tell the next day that the future was not looking good.  Even with steaming and adding moisture to my hair daily, my scalp was talking about me.  The dryness made me scratch.  The scratching lifted my scalp.  That led to bleeding in some spots. That led to scabs.  Then I picked the scabs.  Oh, it was horrible.  I was too embarrassed to take pictures to post.  So I've gone back to a water only drink list this week.  Today I washed my hair and what a difference.  The remnants of the scalp I angered are gone. And I'm not itching anymore.  Praises be!

That's all.  I need to drink more water.

Length Check

So I put in a ponytail on Saturday and realized just how much I've grown:

February 2013

May 203

May 2013

I know the angles are different, but you can tell the difference.

I've Got a Natural Hair Consultant? Wow.

Because I'm the "worst blogger ever", this post is about two weeks after the initial happening...

If you haven't heard of Nia Phoenix, it's time you did.  She's a natural living blogger who's really dedicated to doing the research and posting pictures.  One day may I be like her.  In the meantime, I'll be satisfied with just being her friend.

Two weeks ago, she contacted me about becoming my natural hair consultant.  For her it's about getting hands on experience with locs - hopefully she'll do them sometime.  The styles she does on loose natural hair are so cute.  But, I digress.  For me it about..I'm not sure.  Well, at least one bonus is it will give me something to post about.

When we met up for the consultation, she inquired about the state of my hair - length, porosity (how well it retains moisture - or at least that seems to be the meaning), current regimen, scalp issues.  Then she asked about my goals.  Honestly, my only real one is boob-length hair, but she managed to come up with more based on what my hair is looking like at this point.

For the next six weeks (or four from the date of this post) we're working on two goals - getting my hair to grow at those thin spots and getting my locs not just my scalp to retain moisture.  So far the moisture one has been the easiest to work on.  Nia has recommended that I steam my hair or use a moisturizing product (not just oil) every day and follow that the oiling (or sealing) the locs to retain the mositure. For the record, that really takes a lot of effort.  Steaming is easy since I no longer use a shower cap, but rubbing down my locs every day does take a bit out of me.  It's not that I have super long locs, I just have other things to do in the morning.  Since starting, I've only missed on day - yay me! I do notice a difference.  It makes me want to whip up some daily moisturizer - I've just been using coconut oil for now.  [On a side note, since the first batch, I haven't been able to recreate that perfect balance I experienced and it really pisses me off.]  This week I'm going to try castor oil, not the Jamaican Black one though since my scalp was not pleased with it.  We'll see how that goes.

For my thinning edges, I've been using a rosemary and olive oil blend.  This I do at night.  I've only been doing this a week now so no results that I've noticed yet.  Here are some before pictures:

Gosh that looks dry.

Thinning edges? Give these a try

Many thanks to Nia Phoenix for helping me with my thinning edges.  Here are some recipes she shared with me which I now share with you:

Rosemary Oil

Rosemary herb in olive oil massaged into scalp. Use olive oil based on head size. Approx 2 tbsp and a piece of rosemary herb. Allow it to mix well before applying.

This is what I'm using at the moment.  I used rosemary essential oil since I already had some.

Bayberry Tea

Make a strong bayberry tea and rub it in well at night. Wash off in the morning thoroughly and apply again, possibly add a few drops of lavender oil.

I haven't been about to find this in stores and online it's about $15 so this recipe is on hold for now.

Pre-Wash

1 tbsp jojoba oil, 3 drops rosemary oil,3 drops lavender oil, 1 drop lemon balm and 1 drop atlas cedar wood oil. Mix with wooden or plastic utensil not aluminum. Massage mix into scalp, leave on for 30 minutes. Wash hair, adding 1 drop of rosemary oil to each shampoo application. As a final rinse, add 1 drop each of lavender oil and rosemary oil to a quart of cool water and pour over your head.

I don't have any lemon balm at the moment, but this will get a try eventually.  Hopefully.

If you try one, let me know how it worked for you.

Mature? I think so

Over last week or so, I've felt a new love for my locs.  They just seem so mature now. Yay!!!

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New Color

Yesterday I went back to Natural Vybz to use my LivingSocial deal and get a color.  What do you think?

Before they started

Sectioned hair

Three layers of color.

Do you see the patch around my hairline that didn't get any color?

Yeah, I know that's a lot of pictures.

When I went for my consultation, we settled on three colors - copper, red, and purple. That's how it's layered on my head.  Shanna, the colorist, said that over time the copper will lighten, but how light it will go varies.  I guess we'll see what happens.  Oh yeah, remember the $35 I had to pay for the consultation?  That was a deposit towards to actual service. Awesome!  The total price for the three colors was $65. They used CHI brand in case you were wondering.

I feel like this post doesn't flow great, but at least I got the important information out.

Oh.  Another thing.  Shanna recommended deep conditioning since my hair is colored.  That works out because Loc'd Life did a post recently on conditioning.  Time to re-read it.

Well Hello Stranger

Most natural black women don't like their hair to be touched.  I am no exception.  Mainly because you don't know me that well and I don't understand why you feel the need.  I did grant an exception to this allowance while in Mexico.  On a tour of some Mayan ruins, an Indian woman was quite captivated by my hair and asked to touch it.  I think it was her genuine curiosity, lack of English, and the chance for a photo which made me give in:

I'm not sure which was more intriguing to her, the texture of my hair or the color.  An Indian colleague of mine told me that in India the hair color I was currently rocking was achieved using a plant (not henna) and he wanted to know how I did mine.  I felt honored to be this woman's first exposure to locs and hoped it was a good one for her.

2 Years Loc'd

My locs turned two in Mexico.  It was interesting.  Last year, I went and got it done.  This year what was the point?  I pretty much just did a regular styling:

2 years

As pleased as I was with the growth in length, I couldn't help notice...

...my "bald" patch isn't looking any better.  In the  Natural Hair Challenge 2014 newsletter for February, they talked about thinning hairlines.  One recommendation was "combine a few drops of either peppermint oil, tea tree oil, sage essential oil or pumpkin seed oil with a 2 tablespoons of  olive oil or whipped Shea butter and Vitamin E.  Use this on your hairline everyday for several months." Since I have some of these ingredients, I'm going to try this and hope it works out better than the Jamaican Black Castor Oil which caused build up on my scalp and made it gross.  

So when I first got my locs, they looked like this:

A year later:

Two years later:

I just need to be patient and eventually, my hair will cover my boobs.

Social Media Works

I was super pumped when I got an email telling me that Dominique Blake liked one of my pins on Pinterest.  Especially since it was a pin from the blog.  If you want to see some of my random likes, check me out on Pinterest (Nina Pierre) or Instagram (locswillfly).

That's all for now.  I'll post an update on my 2-year lociversary in Mexico in a few (days?).

First Loc Color

End of May I went to Urban Nature Styles and had Lauren color by locs.  She used Naturatint, a plant based natural hair color.  She mixed two colors in the cooper and mahogany family to come up with the final result.

This is one of the better pictures.  I can't find a picture from right after.

I was pleased with the end result aside from the price - $12 per box used and $35 for the process plus the price of regular grooming totaling $134.

Now, I'm bored with my color being so close to the color of my skin, so I've made an appointment to go to Natural Vybz to color it when I redeem my LivingSocial voucher.  For them, I have to have a consultation first, and that's $35 (sheeh).  I hope it's worth it.  

Back to Work

After not having to do my hair for two weeks, it was tough going back to work yesterday.  This was the most I could do:

If I braid the front back, I've got a ponytail. Yay!!!