For the past three weeks I've been hitting the gym regularly and came to a compromise between my hair and exercise regimes. I rinsed my hair most days of week and gave the maintenance a break. My locs were transformed! Most had unravelled and swelled out of control. During this time I decided that I had far too many locs and that I wouldn't mind making them thicker and fewer while they were in this state. Gathering adjacent locs together with rubber bands I planned to twist them at a later date.
After each rinse they seemed to lock tighter feeling moisturised but very firm (what I imagine very mature locs to feel like). Everyday I looked at my hair and wondered if this was true progress. You see my confusion came from a combination of grey hairs and suspected buildup that I couldn't distinguish between. Nonetheless I continued to exercise, rinse and hope for the best.
August 1st arrived and I decided it was time to go through the previously sectioned locs and start my maintenance again. For some reason I suddenly got the over powering urge to inspect my loc'ed ends more closely and cut off one tip! I was shocked, there was buildup, but how? I cut another, again! And another, the trend continued.
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| buildup at the ends |
One baking soda, lemon juice and water scrub later I was ready to get to work. I called in on my mother's helping hands and after first conditioning with coconut oil and then with olive oil she set to work re-parting and re-twisting my hair.
I had 107+ at first count. I now have 74 thick twists. Slightly short after their trim but healthy and clean.
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| before |
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| after |
What caused the buildup? I can't be certain. At first I thought it was the exercise sweat but surely rinsing had helped. I then wondered if it was the lock & twist gel I had started my locs with. I only used it for a week but it would explain why only the tips were effected. Either way I've discarded the tub and continue to use only oil & water. I will also be washing my hair every two days and exercising without a head wrap so more sweat can evaporate as I cycle home from the gym and it get pretty windy.
Dealing with buildup? Check out Quotidianlight's highly informative video below:
Also take a look at my post: Tips: Baby Locs Problem Solved.
Oh what fun. You thought my journey was sounding too easy? Well there you have it. I was quite deflated to say the least but let's think ahead to month 5 for a length comparison.
DREADLOCKS ARE...
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Hey sis,
ReplyDeleteI laughed out loud and held my head with a familiar pain as I read through your recent trials. I know when my hair was loose apple cider vinegar was an amazing tool in the fight against build up. I have found baking soda makes my hair go crazy hard since colouring so I have stayed away from it in recent months.I have decided that when it comes to colour, I'm just not messin with it until my Locs are established unless it's a Henna dye. Good Luck.x
Ha! Well at least we can laugh together. I wasn't going to post about it but if it helps someone out I can deal with the pain.
DeleteI agree, colouring is serious business especially when products aren't designed for locs.
Stay strong they'll reach a year's maturity in no time!
wow, you've had an eventful month. hahaha!!! my aunt asked me this week if dreadlocking was easy and required little maintenance. i actually had to hesitate before answering. they are turning out not to be as easy as i thought. but i still love them.
ReplyDeletei had the same confusion with my grey hair. it took several rubs to figure out that i had that many grey hairs. :)
Congratulations on reaching month 4!!!! Yay!!!!!
Agreed, I hope mature locs are as low maintenance as they're cracked up to be...Anyway we solider on.
DeleteGrey?! There's nothing grey about you. You seem like a particularly colourful person indeed! :P
hahaha!!! ;)
DeleteDon't be discouraged, sis. Natural hair is trial and error. I'm glad you had the courage to fix what you felt was necessary before it got out of control.
ReplyDeleteSo were you washing you hair at all or just rinsing? Rinsing helps with moisture but it does nothing to actually cleanse the scalp. You'd be surprised but even the lightest products can cause buildup if not cleanly rinsed.
I'm trying a baking soda cleanse this week. I'm a bit leery because I know it causes extreme dryness. I'm hoping my deep conditioner will be enough to restore moisture.
Congrats on your milestone and here's to many more.
Yes I was just rinsing (water only). I kept promising to do a thorough wash in August. I suppose the fear of over washing and over twisting got the better of me and I liked the idea of "letting it do what it do".
DeleteIn the end I was better off listening to my own advice and paying attention to it regularly.
The thing I like about baking soda is that it's a mild abrasive, almost like a face scrub, and dissolves properly. I was tempted to try brown sugar for similar reasons but I don't feel I can scrub my scalp as thoroughly as I'd like to without unravelling.
Work in progress...
Baking soda so far has been pretty mild for me. It's the ACV-and-baking soda wash that really dries my hair. But my hair feels so much cleaner after doing one. Anyway, which ever one I choose, they both feel nothing like the chemical-filled, extra-moisturizing shampoos and conditioners I used to use.
DeleteBrown sugar... interesting, never heard of it for hair but should have thought of it since I've seen it in several home-made body scrub recipes. Not sure if i've said this before, but baking soda is also a wonderful body and facial scrub. I get such soft skin from it.
Have a great week!!! :)
Hi!!! What deep conditioner do you use?
DeleteCoincidence that you responded about the baking soda now. I've been hooked on YT vids today and it would seem you can use b.soda as a teeth whitener too.
DeleteI was thinking about how I'll shop differently next year when I'm a student and with all these natural hair & beauty products I'm going to save a great deal.
My question is, if it all works why are we still buying commercial quick fixes?
Oh and was the DC question to NHBG? There's a link to her page up top, on the right-hand side.
DeleteHope you're still enjoying the summer :))
I actually do that -- use b.s. as a toothpaste. It's great for whitening your teeth. And it makes your teeth feel squeaky clean. I use it once in a while as a deep clean. You can't do it often because it is abrasive and can ruin your enamel. I've also tried b.s. with hydrogen peroxide. That's also great, esp if you're experiencing a beginner's case of some dental issues and don't want to go to the dentist. But that also will ruin your enamel if done too often.
DeleteI think we buy commercial quick fixes because they are quick fixes. Businesses tailor their products to give consumers the best experience. And eventhough I know this and am that consumer, I still ask your question. :)
The question was for NHBG. Sorry. I guess I replied in the wrong spot. Thanks for letting me know. Ciao for now. :)
I actually do that -- use b.s. as a toothpaste. It's great for whitening your teeth. And it makes your teeth feel squeaky clean. I use it once in a while as a deep clean. You can't do it often because it is abrasive and can ruin your enamel. I've also tried b.s. with hydrogen peroxide. That's also great, esp if you're experiencing a beginner's case of some dental issues and don't want to go to the dentist. But that also will ruin your enamel if done too often.
DeleteI think we buy commercial quick fixes because they are quick fixes. Businesses tailor their products to give consumers the best experience. And eventhough I know this and am that consumer, I still ask your question. :)
The question was for NHBG. Sorry. I guess I replied in the wrong spot. Thanks for letting me know. Ciao for now. :)
ok, i'm hoping my reply went through. got redirected and think i lost my reply. :(
DeleteIt came through fine :))
DeleteAm I getting the wrong idea; hydrogen peroxide, as in the same stuff used with hair colour and bleach?
I agree we believe the hype time and time again. Also knowing what's good for you is actually very difficult. Even when something is pareben free, sulphate and alcohol free we then find out "cones" are just as bad. And then we remove all the oil from our skin and hair because we're told it causes issues and then buy sweet smelling lotions because it's too dry.
For now my go to product is olive oil. Multi-purpose, organic and cheap!
I'm also taking your brown sugar body scrub idea. I plan to make my own and see if all natural really works.
Have a good evening!!
Am so glad it went through! I was dreading having to re-write it.
DeleteYep, it's the same hydrogen peroxide except in a lower strength. Also, to bleach hair HP is mixed with ammonium peroxide. Alone, it's said to only give you soft, natural looking highlights, kind of like what you'd get with lemon juice in your hair. Anyway, it's the stuff that comes in the brown bottle in the medicine section. My mom used to put it on my cuts when I was a kid. I definitely wouldn't use it often. A chemical is a chemical. (so is b.s. -- i just found that out and was like nuh-duh) But HP is still a household remedy for many things. You can also find it in several whitening toothpastes, like Arm & Hammer. I was surprised when I first saw it. You wouldn't believe how many sites talk about it. I even read HP helps with acne.
Please let me know how the brown sugar worked out.
If I'm remembering correctly you're like a day ahead of me. So, want to wish you a happy fun weekend!!!
I think most of America is only 5-7 hours behind so we've just entered Friday over here but it feels pretty weekend-y anyway thank you miss ;D
DeleteI'll have to look out for it. And yes it's easy to feel natural chemicals aren't chemicals at all. I'm a bit liberal with essential oil too.
I'm so keen to up my natural health game and make savings too.
I'll keep you posted on the scrub after a trial run this weekend!!
Ciao
Build up is a bummer, Dr Bonner's Castile soap works wonders with this problem. I always do a deep conditioning steam afterwards so my locs are not left to dry. You are never going to have 100% build up free locs. I like you have stated cut my loc tips when required. Some people dye their locs Which is also another way to hide build up.
ReplyDeleteI have even gone so far, as use tweezers to rid my
locs of build up.
I hope some of this helps.
Thank you, I am tempted by Dr B's but without seeing the product in person 'm a little skeptical of the ingredients. ACV seems to work well and lemon juice for severe buildup but as you say deep conditioning would be required.
DeleteI use baking soda to brush my teeth too ands trial I love it!
ReplyDeleteYeah make sure you are washing your locs on a regular basis. Again it's trial and error to find out what works best for your hair. My locs at 4 years are not hard at all.
That interesting to know. I would hope to keep the moisture at all times. I suppose I've been experience more errors lately but things are looking up!
DeleteTake care ms :))