Me + My Locs=?

Well y'all, this may be the last post I do about my hair in a while. I'm just in one big rut and I'm going to have to stay there and sulk silently. And I'm not even being all dramatic this time around. I'm really not digging the locs too much right now.

But don't worry...I'm not going to cut them off. I did the one thing that always makes me feel better about my hair.

That's right dammit. I promised myself that I wouldn't color them until the married locs completely loc'd but whatever. And it's not like I went out and got this color. I received a sample of it to review for Clumps of Mascara and that box kept staring at me, y'all. Aaaand, I haven't done an all over color since what? October? Come on...that's pretty good for a color-obsessed fool like myself.

I know I said I wanted to go red but hmmmm....not really. Red all over? Hmm...yeah. But I was desperate for some action in my hair so I applied the color. It got red FAST. Fast, y'all. I took my girl Ness' advice and did an herbal rinses. I grow herbs but don't grow rosemary so imagine my surprise when I found out that my grocery store sells herbs. They ain't fresh, locally grown or organic but they'll do.

Brewed 'em and threw in some lavender drops, let it chill and used it as my last rinse. It.was.amazing! Will be doing these rinseses a lot often.


Check out this new growth!!

Mind you I re-twisted a good two weeks ago. Craziness! And what is this?

LOL! It's straight hair. So funny. I decided not to re-twist. The red is okay. I'm not in LOVE with it but it'll do. I still plan to go lighter and do some streaking but my loctician will be doing all that. In the meantime, this will work.

My face says it all. I've got like 2 inches of afro hair all over. It's just...funky and I don't know if I like it.

These rubber bands freak me out. But not more than the 2-strand twist lookin' locs. However, this weekend they didn't bother me too much. It feels good to be re-acquainted with the loose natural hair at the roots. If I wanted to BC right now, I'd have a nice sized TWA to work with. The freeform look is refreshing. I kinda like it. But then again, during the weekend, I am completely boho chic. I think I'll have to re-twist the front for work.


I've also divorced a lot of my married locs. Some were larger than I liked. And now I've got a head full of thin locs and thick locs. Crazy. But I don't care. Goodbye uniformity. Hello un-decisiveness. I'm not diggin' the thin locs but the larger locs aren't making me happy either.

Whatev. I need to sit down somewhere, leave my hair alone and call it a day.

Like Mrs. Honey Dip says, "Who says hair isn't emotional?" It is, y'all. But like everything in life, you have to learn to take it in stride and do what makes you happy.

Say goodbye to pics of my locs for awhile. The next few posts, we're going to focus on other thangs.

Stay tuned! And as always, thanks for the love and unconditional support. Loc Rocker is supposed to be helpin' y'all but your comments and emails have REALLY been helping me too. Awww...*group hug*

My corny self..lol!

Fitting in with natural hair....

The job that I have now requires that I dress professionally. I wear dress shoes/heels everyday and I generally wear dress pants, skirts, blouses, dresses and suits. I never complain because I prefer dressing this way. Business chic is totally my style.

So is bohem-hippie but I only bring that out on the weekends. :)

I first went natural I was in college. This was the PERFECT time to be free with my hair. I would rock an enormous fro some days and two strand twists other days. I did the fro-hawk and I would dye it at even given moment. I never thought that my hair wasn't professional. I was able to get business internships and even a management position. I went on several interviews rocking my fro and never thought that I was being judged. I was young then and in my early 20's so this, of course, was appropriate..... [EDIT--did I really type that? Why should my age determine what hairstyles are appropriate? Are fro-hawks inappropriate for 30 and up? Hells no. Can't believe I wrote that. Bad B.]

When I graduated from college, I got serious about being taken seriously. I traded my flip flops for cute sandals. I stopped wearing t-shirts in public and started wearing cute blouses and baby doll tees. I also stopped wearing my hair all wild and settled for nice and neat afro puffs and twists. Ironically enough the only time I felt that my hair was an issue was when I was around "majority Black" settings. Ain't that something?

If at a moment's notice I have to attend a luncheon or meeting, I always HOPE my hair is "neat" enough. That the frizziness isn't as bad. Sometimes I will even re-twist a few locs to ensure that I look professional.

I hate that I have to do this. This is something I will need to get used to because although I'm not sure I'll have locs forever, I know for a fact that I'm not getting a perm ever again. I wish that I felt confident with my natural hair at all times, but I don't. Some times I'll feel dynamic for being the only "nappy head" in the room and other times I feel as if people immediately judge me. It's sad that I feel way and am trying to shake it. But am I the one that needs shaking?

Or do the views of Black women and their natural hair need some shaking?

Hmmm....

Check this vid:

Because having nappy hair...hurts.

I owe an update of my locs' 7th month birthday. I didn't forget! I just have to find to take awesome photos on my Blackberry. I left my camera charger at my Mom's house 4 hours away. Boo.

But in the meantime, check out this vid.

THIS is the reason why little Black girls screeeeam at the sight of a comb.





This is insane!! Why is her Momma (but I bet you $10 that's her cousin) combing her hair like that?

-And why is it taking so long?
-And why didn't she section her hair?
-And what the hell is she spritzing in her hair?

-And why is she so rough?


So many questions. My Mom/cousins never combed my hair THAT hard but I remember hating to get my hair done because let's be honest...

Having nappy hair

hurts

I will never forget the day my Mom made me go to school with my hair lookin' like a ragga muffin' because I was a hot cryin' mess. I didn't want her to comb it. And so she didn't.

---One of the after school teachers ended up hookin' me up with a style though.

But still.

Little nappy headed girls never get to glorify and love their natural hair because they always associate it with PAIN.

Moms with babies who have thicker hair, please be gentle. Remember what it was like when you got your hair combed. And to my permies....having nappy hair STILL hurts for y'all. I don't know what's worse. Having my natural hair combed or letting a perm sit on my head for a few minutes. You would try to endure the pain because you wanted your hair to be as straight as possible. Now that's pain. And whether natural or permed....

Having nappy hair

hurts

But it doesn't have to.

Thoughts?

Day 8 Update & Frustrations

So it has officially been 8 days since my comb coils. Only 8 days. *sucks teeth*

Tracking this journey will be harder than I thought b/c each update will remind me how many more months and years I have until I get mature locs. It is extremely frustrating to say the least and I can honestly say that...I am not happy with my hair right now.

I mean look at it.



It's a mess. It don't look "neat". I understand the process that the hair has to go through and I know those desiring locs are going to go through that "phase" but this is out of control
My ugly phase came sooner than I thought. I've got coils unraveling, dandruff in the front and fuzzy hair all over. I look a mess.

I was feeling so discouraged yesterday that I went to visit my loctician. She took one look at me and said I looked fine. "WHAAAAT?" I cried, "Do you see these coils?!" She smiles at me and gently tells me that there is nothing wrong with my hair. This coming from a lady who has the most beautiful locs in her head. I should have taken a picture of them yesterday. She had a coin in one of her locs! A friend gave her a Japanese coin...she puts a hole in it and puts it in her hair. Amazing!!

...she shows me how to re-twist the unraveling coils and tells me to calm down. Which I found...and am still finding to be a challenge. But she soothed me. And made me feel beautiful again.

"So can I get them re-twisted next week?" She laughs and tells me that she doesn't want to do my hair until 4 weeks after the coils were done. I moan and groan and promise that I WILL be stopping by again before I head to Atlanta for my birthday.

She tells me to come by any time.

Next time I will bring her a gift....this lady is starting to become more than just a hair dresser or stylist but some kind of divine presence in my life..I can't even explain it.

Here's the mess that I call my hair right now.





The pictures actually make them look better. They look far worse in person. I've been using those silver clips to hold the re-twisted coils. They hurt like hell so I plan on using bobby pins instead.



I'm also seriously thinking about wearing scarves/hats for the next 3 weeks. I'm so not kidding. I am a little embarrassed at my hair at this point. My facial feminity relies on perfect brows and bangin' make-up since my hair obviously ain't helpin' me out. Kinda like this:



I figured that highlighting my eyes and cheekbones would take away from the messy hair. HA! I thought growing locs would be easy but uhhh...no. And it's only been 1 week. I'm laughing at myself because my thoughts are similar to the thoughts I had when I first BCed. I pretty much hated my hair for the first month.

I should have saved my money and gotten sisterlocks.

Ah well..hopefully I can hang in there. :)

Peace and loc've.

4-Day Check In..

I just realized....

I won't be updating this blog THAT often. I mean how much activity can my hair go through? Locing is a process that doesn't happen over night so don't expect daily updates, people. :) 2-3 posts a week at the most. But if you are so desirous of hearing me ramble you know there's always Clumps of Mascara and Rantings of a Rebella!

I don't intend to only talk about my locing process in this blog though. I'll be ranting on other topics like:

-Why I hate the word dreadlocs.
-Why I love my natural hair.
-Why I could care less if you have a perm or not (do you!).
-Why I get sick of people saying that natural hair is unprofessional.
-Why I've never worn a weave/wig.
-Why I think natural hair is a repellent for a lot of Black men.
-Why hair is such a issue for Black women, in general.
-The excuses Black women make about why they won't go natural.

...all kinds of ramblings. And while most will focus on "natural hair and its beauty", I have to say....I am not against perms. I, personally, will never put one in my head again but that's just me. Brown ladies are beautiful regardless how our hair looks.

So yeah....that's that. I thought I'd do a quick 4-Day Check In....


Why is my hair so bare here? Yikes! I'm not diggin' this. And that coil with the gold tip is the one that is usually soaked AFTER a strenuous work-out. That baby coil has survived thus far but it will only be a matter of time....

And then here's the back...


Look at those crazy fine hairs. I know they will cause me some trouble as I get deeper into the locin' process. And look at the one coil unraveling!


Yikes! I've since re-twisted it but I am going to hate having to do this after every work-out.

And..bring on the fuzzies!



I've been warned about the attack of the fuzzies (thanks Kia) but didn't know that they would arrive so early. I didn't even pull out the WELCOME mat. LOL. My loctician has said "Leave your hair alone"...but I can't help it. I just--have to--re-twist some of these.

And as for as moisturizing....the gloss/oil is working perfectly. No itchies or anything!

Has it been 2 months yet?

Until next time...

Peace and loc've.