Budding: A question of...?!?

Budding: An early stage in the dreading journey where small, pea sized knots form in the loc. Buds signify the beginning of the loc'ing process where a part of the loc has begun to tangle or mesh together forming the nucleus of the loc's struture. This is where all future knotting will stem from, usually downwards and then up toward the root.

So, when your hair is less than three inches long and your locs are just over a month old is it possible to see budding? I think I found a couple but I can't be certain at this point so over to you, a bud there be or (k)not?

Subject A

   

Subject B

Subject C

Dreadlocks are a lifestyle

**Photography ownership is with the blog account holder, DONOT use without permission,**

Stocking Cap Rinse

The battle against post-wash unravelling may have just come to an end. I believe this was the third wash and I wanted to try using a stocking cap. In my attempts to make this journey as cost free as possible I always have a look around the house before purchasing any new items. I cut the legs from a pair of tights and tied a knot once the cap was on.

make shift stocking cap

I then wet my hair thoroughly and applied baking soda pressing it into the cap and massaging gently. It seemed to absorb fairly well so I rinsed and repeated the process one more time. I followed up with distilled witch hazel and rinsed with plain water to finish. Here are the results:

 

An overall success! It wasn't as squeaky clean as previous washes and I still had to re-twist in the back but when I pulled the coils out of the matted shape it was clear they had stayed intact.

Compare here with my first attempt.

Dreadlocks are a lifestyle

**Photography ownership is with the blog account holder, DONOT use without permission,**

Tips: Itchy scalp? Try natural oils!

Last month I talked about sampling various oils each week until I found one that worked well with my hair and soon after my week trial with tea tree oil I settled on extra virgin olive oil because it seemed to work miracles. Not only did it hold in moisture when I used it regularly with water but it also worked well for re-twists (no build-up or flaking). I've also been relieved of itchiness even when my scalp is due for a wash. I'm very impressed with the multi-purposes of this oil and love that its 100% natural.

New Followers

Oh I forgot to mention to my 4 new international loc followers, Splendid Tresses, Diva Desert Locs, Foxy Locs, and one follower who I don't have a link for: thanks for joining me on my loc journey, hope to hear more from each of you soon, much appreciated.

Click on each link above for plenty of natural hair info.

Dreadlocks are a lifestyle

Month 1

Nappy hair anyone? My babies have thickened up somewhat this week and I think I can finally say my hair is slowly taking to the idea of  becoming "loc'd".

Let's have a quickie comparison shot . . .

most recent retwist...