Orlando Natural Hair Event: Natural Connections mixer

Yours truly has been working alongside a very talented event planner to bring about a unique natural hair event.

Natural Connections has the education and excitement of an expo with the setting and vibe of a grown and sexy-type joint. I'm super excited about this! I know if you all could attend, you would but if you have any natural lady (and guy) friends in the Orlando area, please oh please send them this info.

Also, if you are a natural hair blogger, editor or vlogger and would like to be placed on the VIP list, let me know.

Y'all pray for me. I'll be MC'ing for this event. And I don't even know how to do such a thing. Luckily, I'll be MC'ing alongside my loctician! I haven't seen her since January so I need to make sure the locs look extra nice so she doesn't shoot me any side-eye's. I want her to know that I am taking good care of the locs that she started off almost 3 years ago.

Stay tuned for pictures!

Looking for a loctician? How are their locs lookin'?

One of my favorite loc rockin' guys (hey Brandon!) and I were tweeting the other day and he was telling me how he ran into a loctician that offered her services to him. The problem? Her locs were a hot mess.

One of the reasons why I selected LaTonya as my loctician is because of how gorgeous HER locs looked. Although I had already made the decision to loc up, checkin' out her gorgeous and healthy lookin' locs only reconfirmed my decision. If she can take care of her locs like that, I KNOW she'll take care of mine.

Stunning right?  That hair color of hers is making me weak. Loves it! I stole borrowed these from her Facebook Fan page. If you intend to pass these along, please source Estah Locs & Haircare. Nothing makes me more sad than the passing along of pictures and articles without sourcing.

Which brings me to another point....I think I'm going to start watermarking my photos. Hmm...

5 Questions to Ask A Prospective Loctician

Some of y'all have been stalking Loc Rocker but have not yet made the decision to loc your hair. And that's perfectly okay. The decision to loc should be made if and when you are ready. But if you are ready and you are in the process of seeking our a loctician, I've come up with a list of questions that I think you should print out and take with you during your initial consultations.

Don't give me that side eye. If you're going to trust someone with your crown, they owe you some explanations. You should not be embarrassed to ask these questions. After all, this is YOUR hair we're talking about. If a prospective loctician gets annoyed with your questions, guess what? You may want to find another one.  So here we go...

1. How much is this going to cost me?

I trimmed my locs!

The visit to my loctician was amazing of course. I'll be back to see her in a few weeks as I plan to do a complete salon feature. You know, interview her, take pictures and maybe do a video. I just found out that she has a Facebook page. I want to wake it up a bit so I'll be bugging Mrs. LaTonya soon about ways I can help her do that. You know...since I do undercover social media marketing and all. *pops collar* 

But anyway, I got my locs trimmed and I couldn't be happier. They really feel like a new set of locs and I couldn't thank my loctician enough for recommending the trim. Here's what happened...

You know you have a good loctician when...

...she asks for an in-person consultation when you call her for an appointment.
And you haven't seen her in months.
And you have outlandish requests.

I called my loctician today. One of my birthday presents from the BF is some hair pampering. So I called my loctician and immediately started apologizing for why I hadn't been coming in. She didn't even care. She just wanted to know how I was doing and how my locs were.

I told her that I wanted hair color. And knowing about my addiction to hair color, the GOOD loctician that is she, asked me to come in.

And so in I went. After chatting it up with other loc'd ladies (who I should have snapped pictures of, womp), my loctician says that my locs looked beautiful. Just a little dull. I can co-sign on that. I went swimming this weekend and that chlorine did a number on my hair. She said that I needed a hair detox. And that tomorrow she would give me one. And then if I wanted color later, she would do that.

I.Can't.Wait.

In the meantime, I'll be rockin' this...

Yeah. Don't judge a sista. If you have an amazing loctician that asks questions and cares more about your hair's health than you do, hug him or her the next time you see 'em. Tightly.

I shall return with updates!

Thierry Baptiste's Locfro Pompadour

It is a well-known fact that I LOVE Thierry Baptiste's work. I haven't had the pleasure of visiting his salon (I think he's in Indianapolis) but if I could, I would. In fact, there are only 3 people in the world that I would trust to color and cut my locs and he's one of them. I was strolling Tumblr the other day and came across this.

I've always been a lady that doesn't get down with fake hair (although I did wear extensions a few times) but I think I would rock this something seriously. It's the funkest loc do I've seen in a while.

What do y'all think? Hot or a hot mess?

And I heard from a bird that he's going on a world tour. Please, Thierry...if your Google Alerts send you this way, fit Miami, Orlando or Tampa in your tour schedule.

Salon Spotlight: Jill's Natural Hair studio

The night before the Orlando Natural Hair show, one of the organizers asked me if I would get my hair done to be in the Fashion Show. I didn't even have to think twice. Chances are my thick thigh-ed self will never be on any New York Fashion Week runways but do I feel confident enough to jump on a runway that showcases women and their natural hair?

Hells. yeah.

So I was told to go to Jill's Natural Hair studio in Kissimmee, Florida. Kiss is a good 20 minutes or so from Downtown Orlando. I was just happy to know that there were natural hair studios outside of Orlando. That's kinda hot.

Yes, her hair color is insane. I know. I couldn't take my eyes off of her colorful fro either. Jill of Jill's Natural Hair studio was so wonderful. My locs were already washed and ready to go but I loved that she asked me what kind of style I was looking for. I have issues with stylists that just jump in your head without asking you any questions. She oiled my locs with this amazing smelling oil. It was earthy and organic-y and intoxicating. I told her I would buy it NOW. But unfortunately, she ran out.

She gave me a bangin' look though. And in under 5-7 minutes. My photos don't do it justice as it is 4 days old in those pictures. I should have taken pics when I first got it done but a sista forgot yo.

I LOVED this look and got many compliments on it at the Hair Show. I didn't even make it in the Fashion Show. I helped do make-up for the models instead.

I definitely recommend Jill if you're in the greater-Orlando area. She's sweet and attentive and her shop was  clean and inviting.

Rock on, J!

A Visit to the Loctician after a 6-month hiatus...

Well um, I can safely say I won't wait THAT long again before visiting my loctician. While I don't mind doing my locs by myself, I can't deny the love I have for getting my hair done professionally. I mean, we call professionals 'professional' for a reason. My loctician can wash, condition, twist and do my hair better than I can.

So I need to stop being cheap and go at least every 2 months. I recommend that everyone go as often as they can afford it. Remember all of those issues I had with deciding to latch? Or locs that were too skinny? Or trying to figure out how to color my hair purple? All could have been alleviated with a visit to the salon.

Ah well..you live and you learn.

Look closely...can you see? LOL, probably not. I went back to palm rolling. And there I will stay. Very soon I will do a post on why I went from palm rolling to latching and back to palm rolling.

Can you believe my loctician didn't have any issues with build-up when she washed my hair? Nope!!! Meanwhile back at the ranch, I get build-up EVERY time. When I told her I was doing an apple cider vinegar every time I washed, she gasped in horror.

And then she saw the purple loc and laughed. She said if I was desirous of wild colors like that she could get intertwine some type of silky yarn in the locs. I know someone is going to say, "I told you so." Yea yeahhhh, lol.

I told her I wanted to color again (surprise, surprise) and she told me that the next time I came in, that we could. Woo hooo!!

And then I decided that I wanted a style. I really wanted an updo because I know they are better for working out but I decided on something a little more casual.

The real question is WHY can't I do these styles by myself? Ah well... Next month I think I am going to go back to get some color and an up-do.

Lesson learned: Loc'ing is a journey. And along every journey, it is important to have guidance. My loctician was always great at that. But I stopped going to her and the minute I did....all of the problems started. What I thought I could handle myself via research/YouTube-ing and DIY projects turned out to bring me nothing but irritability, frustrations and locs with Y-roots.  So while I pride myself on being able to maintain the health of my hair, it ain't gon kill me to a professional help me out on this journey every now and then.

Guess where I went?

I walked in with hesitation. I was a little nervous. Would she still love me? After ringing the doorbell, I looked both ways. Trying to think of some excuse. Some reason as to why I haven't seen her in 7 months.


Then out of nowhere, I copped an attitude. She wouldn't be mad. I mean, shoot---this is MY hair. She can't be mad at me for doing MY hair. Why am I trippin'? Man whateva...I ain't afraid of her.


The door buzzed me in and walked in. I missed this shop. Within seconds I felt at home. I noticed a new barber. I heard the sounds of one of my favorite gospel songs. Strangers said "hello". And then I saw her. My loctician. "Brittany!" she squealed. And at that moment I felt better. I ran to her as if she was my long lost Auntie. She gave me a huge hug and stared at my hair.

She gasped.

Oh crap. She's going to say they look bad. She's going to see that I started latching. And she's going to notice how un-even my color is. She's going to be mad.

"Your locs are beautiful, darling!" she says.

I stared at her in disbelief."

"You mean....these?" I say as I show her the back of my head.



"Yes those! Look how long they are. And they look so healthy."

Looks can be deceiving. She doesn't know my struggles with build-up. And how I have a love/hate relationship latching. She doesn't know that my scalp is drier than overcooked chicken. She don't know none of that.

We talked for a few minutes and I made an appointment. And I whined. I told her about struggles with build-up. And how I have a love/hate relationship with latching. I told her that my scalp is drier than---you know what I mean. She listened and she smiled. She smiled and she listened. She rubbed my shoulder and said "Don't worry. I'll see you in 2 weeks. You've been doing a great job. I'm proud of you. And I've missed you."

And I left smiling like a kid who got a compliment from a middle school-er on the bus.



I'm going to get my locs did in 2 weeks. I can't WAIT! They need it and I need it.

As I type this, I am sitting under the dryer. I just did the pipe curls method, part deux. I'll post pics soon.

And this week I will also talk about some of my hair issues. Especially the latching thing---I love latching but I don't like how it looks compared to palm rolling. But palm rolling doesn't last for this work-out woman. Fact of the matter is I need to choose a method and stick to it before I have some jacked up lookin' locs.

Stay tuned!

[ETA: I took the pipe cleaners out and I still hate them. I think this look only works for short short locs or long long locs. This is bad. I'm washing these curls out. I'm sad. :( Pics coming soon.]

The locs are 6 months old!

The locs turn 6 months old!!!

That's half a year!

I don't even know if they are babies anymore. I would say they are pre-teens. For the 6th month celebration, I set an appointment with my loctician and maaaaan, I forgot how fabulous her shop is.

She gives me hugs, cleanses the scalp like crazy and then I plop in the chair. She passes me an Essence magazine (the one with Queen on the cover...that's a good issue!) and we turn on "Along Came A Spider". We talk. I read. We watch the movies. My phone rings.

My loctician: "Want me to get that for you?"

Me: No ma'am. I'm in therapy right now.

She laughs.

And it's true....if I could afford it I would go to her every month. I have such peace being surrounded by ladies with positive spirits. My loctician was in love with how my hair looked. She couldn't stop complimenting me. She said that at 6 months.....the locs were looking good!

Looky!


I was soooo engaged in the movie "The Last Dragon".








I'm a silly rabbit...



Length baby length!


Thickness!



Wow.
I love them. Not as much as I will in a day or so. Locs look better a few days AFTER the hair appointment. The fuzzies start to come back a bit and they look amaziiiiing.

Products she used:
I still don't know! I always forget to ask. I am in such a zone in her shop.

My worries:
-Some of my locs are still very thin. Verrrry thin.
-My dandruff. I really think it's a scalp problem. I am going to the dermatologist to handle this.

I'll be sure to snap some shots of the locs in a few days and you'll see the difference.

I am in love!

Peace and loc've.

3rd Appointment-Day 62

I am lovin' you all's comments on "Black hair"...I think I will do more discussion posts because it is soooo interesting to see what Black women think about hair. Thanks for your input!

These pictures are a little delayed. I so forgot to upload them!

I had my 3rd appointment and can you believe that some of my locs are budding already? It's only been 2 months!

My greatest concern right now about my locs is that they are too small. My fear is that they will get heavier over time which will result in them getting thinner and thinner. I almost regretting getting them THIS small. I am definitely NOT turning back so I have to decide what I will do.

-Start Sisterlocking them ($$!!!!)
-Start combining them
-Deal with what I have for now and cross that road when I get there
(any advice from loc rockers would be soooo nice!)

I was remiss in telling my loctician how I felt. I I should have. I definitely will the next time I visit her.

Overall all though, I am in love with my hair. I think it's beautiful. My scalp was nowhere near as dry as it was last month's so that's a blessing.

I have decided that this time around I will start re-twisting myself. As much as I love my loctician, I never really wanted to be super dependent on a hair dresser. So I have to learn how to do this myself. In the next week, I will get to it. I will definitely be logging that journey.

Here are my babies...






...and some close-up texture shots.





It is amaziiiing what my natural hair is doing right now. I've always been fascinated with locs but even more so now because I am seeing the transition that MY hair is making. I mean....I can't even remember my comb coils.

I really wonder what my family will think when they realize that I am indeed growing locs. I swear folx wanted to get me counseling when I first cut my hair off and went natural in '05. I am the only natural lady in my immediate family.

We have to take "family photos" (gags) for my Dad's 50th birthday. It will be my Step-mother and three younger sisters. I'm sure all of them will be sporting fresh perms and/or sew-ins.

Meanwhile, I'll be the one standing out with my locs cheesin' like a mofo.

Peace and loc've.

Locs and jewels

For as long as I can remember, I have always loved earrings. I can walk outside without a bracelet, necklace or a ring on. But I can't recall a time when I have EVER left my home without a pair of earrings on. I even wear them when I work-out and swim.

Craziness, I know.

My loctician is always complimenting me on my earrings when I stroll through to her shop. Which is true irony because I'm the one that's in love with HER earrings. We have the same style when it comes to pretty dangling things from the lobe. Big, funky, African, homemade, colorful earrings would be our earrings of choice.

So when I went to Atlanta, I snagged her some beautiful earrings from this African-themed shop in Underground Atlanta.



I put them in a cute little pouch and put them in this little wicker box.



It's the little things, you know? I don't know what it is about nappy heads/loc rockin' people but we love these funky earrings. I didn't start wearing earrings like these until I went natural.

....and don't even get me started on loc adornments.


When my babies get longer, I will be sporting these like crazy!!! I got that picture from THIS LADY's Etsy shop. Click that link and you will visit her shop and view a dozen more photos of beautiful loc adornments. She's got a few on there that I KNOW I will be ordering in the next few months.

Like this one:


That looks so warrior-like and so....me. And the fact that they are homemade make them a little extra special. :)

Until next time...

Peace and loc've.

2nd Appointment-Day 32

Ohmigoodness, I loooooooove the hair salon. It's a certain kind of peace that I have never felt in hair salons when I was a permie that I feel now. I can't really explain it. I think it's because I love my loctician so much. I know, I know. I'm bragging about her....again. I so can't help it.


Ms. Tonya looooved how my hair was looking after a month's progress. She wasn't even disgusted with the dandruff like I was. She just scratched my head. For a good 4 minutes. I was in heaven.

And then she washed it. For a good 10 minutes. I was in heaven.

And then she got started. We watched "A Family That Preys" and I forgot how good that movie was. The 6 of us were in their screaming and laughing and just having a good ole' time. And then she put me under the dryer for a good 40 minutes. I spent my time blog hopping on the Berry and reading my "Blogging for Dummies" book [NOTE: Am I not obsessed with blogging/blogs or what?]

40 minutes passed and she gets to removing the silver clips and moisturizing my hair. I anxiously try and take a peek at my hair and she keeps me a head-lock.

Literally....my loctician is a mess, yall.

And then she tells me to close my eyes ,grabs my hand and leads me to the mirror.

"Open them," she says.

And this is what I saw:






Here's a texture shot...



Can you believe this? I mean this was my hair last month.



It looks completely different, right? And so much longer! I loooove it. They are mighty small and as I mentioned before, that is my preference. They almost look like Sister Locks and when they get fuzzy (because I KNOW they will), they won't look so bad.

She used a different method this time. I STARTED off with comb coils but from this point on she will use the palm rolling method to do my locs. And yep....they are officially locs now.

They are just a little too thin. I guess they'll puff up???? I don't know. I was too overwhelmed to ask many questions. I made an appointment for 3 weeks from now instead of 4. Waiting 4 was torture.

I'm excited!