2 Year locaversary

So, yesterday the locs turned 2.... I really can't believe that I have been loc'd for 2 whole years.  It's been one heck of a journey, and now I'm at the stage where it's just a matter of watching them grow.  I just keep saying I'll be satisfied once they are long enough that the locs in the front will fit back into my ponytails... in the meantime  I make due with finding fun ways to keep the shorties out of my eyes... and though it's not of my hair specifically, here's a pic from last night:

  

I danced so hard I was sore before we even left the club.

Tying the Knot...

*Disclaimer: This is a hairstyle post, not an announcement ( I know I know).  

I don't know if I mentioned it in my last post or not, but lately I've been feeling kind of blah about my locs.  So first I dyed them, then I got them retightened, and last I went prowling around youtube for some inspiration.  I ended up finding this:


My hair is not nearly so long as pecadora's but I gave it a whirl and came up with my own twist on her 'do:

Side/top

Really like my color here

over the hump

side

The knots (and some of the escaped ends)

The hump

my work pants say hi

Instead of spacing them out and stopping after one or two knots like she did, I just kept tying until I got to the back of my head.  I then just tucked the loose ends into the bottom (you can see them peeking out in some pics).  Still can't believe I'll be 2 years in like 12 days

Newest Color

I didn't intend that they'd match the cowl I was knitting

M I A

So it just dawned on me that I haven't posted in over a month, and you know what... it's because I'm in a rut.  No new styles, no major developments nothing.  I combined two locs on my left hand side, and if I like how they turn out I'll combine some on my right.  I also colored my hair last night, and I kinda don't know how I feel about it.   Other than that yeaaaaaa nothing much going on around these parts but the rent.  In the meantime I'm knocking at the door of 2 years loc'd.

YBWLOCS is... 26

Yep today is my birthday, and my locs are 3 months away from the 2 years mark... I cannot complain. I celebrated over the weekend by going out with 3 of my favorite ladies. The hair is a day old perm rod set (I sweated a lot of the curl out with my tipsy dancing). 

My Birfday Outfit

The shoes I wore

Curly Locs Ride Again: The Rod Set

I washed my locs last night... no big deal.  Then I tried something new... I set my locs on perm rods.  Those damned things hurt! Seriously I just took them out ~10 minutes ago, and my scalp is TENDER.  I like the tighter curl that they produce, and can't wait to incorporate the resulting curls(will be doing another set next week) into my birthday look.  


I can't say that there was much too it, I used gray/pink rods on damp locs.  No gel or setting product, and NO HEAT.  I really do despise my hooded dryer, but it serves it's purpose.  I'm thinking my hair looks like curly fries.

Braid Out

A couple of weeks ago I tried my first braid out....  I'm not really sure how I feel about it at this point.  I feel like it's one of those styles that will look better once I get some more length. 

In order to "set" the braid out I sprayed my dry locs with water, before saturating them with diluted alcohol free gel.  
I then made braids using 3 locs per braid.  The braids were secured with black rubber bands.  I allowed them to stay in for ~a day.  I would have left them up longer but my scalp seemed quite irritated with the braids.  In the end they didn't look too bad but meh.... I wasn't feeling it.

The braids... Very Coolio

Side (they would NOT lay down)

Back, you can see the rubber bands

After I took them down

I'm not sure what I was so focused on... but look at that FUZZ

Under Wraps

First things first... I HATE SLEEPING WITH THINGS ON MY HEAD... yes it's so serious I had to scream it.  Covering my head is a sure fire way to sweat myself to death.  There's also the reality that I have the worst time finding things that actually stay on my head.  Well, all of that has been changed by this gem of a creation:

This wondrous thing has saved my locs the trauma of pillow induced dryness.  I have tried scarves, bonnets, satin pillow cases, and anything else you can name.  This is the first and only thing I've been able to get to stay on my head.  It still makes me a little warmer than I'd like, but it's not as bad as it might be.   So for now the stay on satin pocket bonnet is my bedtime friend.

Updo by Celesta

Have I ever mentioned how much I love my loctician?  Well I'm saying it now.  I love my loctician.  She is awesome.  I went in for my retightening today and after she finished she gave me this style:

I think it's awesome, but more than that it's loose enough that I'm not going to have to take it down now that I'm at home lol.   Check out my loctican's fb page here.

Bejeweled

Bandwagon: Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap (Peppermint)

So, I finally gave in to my urge to see what all the fuss was about this stuff, and well I'm with the band on this one.  I got mine from drugstore.com (it came via UPS today).  My scalp was feeling crazy so it was right on time.  One thing I've seen consistently is to dilute dilute dilute.  Well, I didn't have any empty bottles to dilute in so I put a few drops into my hand and allowed it to mix with the water from the shower.  I put this directly on my soaking wet locs and went to town.  It lathered up beautifully, unlike normal shampoo which NEVER gives me a lather on the first wash. 

Then I felt it... the minty tingle.  Oh man it was beautiful. My scalp was like OMG wtf is this feeling... this delicious amazing tingly feeling! I seriously think my locs/scalp were singing and dancing.  I did a prolonged rinse, and for the first time since loc'd I didn't feel the need to do second shampoo.  my locs felt light, soft, and flexible.  I removed the excess water with an old dark colored t-shirt, and then applied my usual EVOO.  So far my locs feel wonderful.

  I guess time will tell if I have the same build up issues I've heard some loc'ers talk about. 

Drive Thru Style: Totally twisted updo

Wash Day

Oh how I loathe thee!  I despise spending 30 minutes in the shower trying to make sure that I got all the dandruff, all the dirt, and all the shampoo out of my locs.  I hate waiting for you crazy loc kids to be dry enough to not get the furniture wet.  Reality is though, that as much as I loathe you wash day... I love the feeling of clean locs and scalp. 

Drive Thru Style: Post Wash Scarf "Braid"

Today was wash day, but I'm headed out of the house so I needed a quick style.  I came up with the scarf "braid" which is really a basket weave sort of deal, but it looks like a braid so I rolled with  the name lol.

Hope you like... off to get cupcakes.