Month 2: part 2 (re-twist & style)

Just an update following my last post Month 2: part 1 As you can see I hadn't retwisted in a good while, even tempted to stop all together.

The warmer weather did indeed bring about a laid-back vibe for my hair upkeep, but I'm glad I found the will to do something in the end. The loose hairs were becoming unruly and it was probably best to merge then into existing locs asap.

before

It certainly had it's charm, thick and care-free with the odd bit of shrinkage, but I decided as delicate babies they really do need tending to, and I even had to return to using micro rubber bands to hold the ends of a few twists in the back that haven't knitted together yet, 

after

So, after all that my hair is back to being fresh and cute and I think I managed to make it even cuter! Now, how'd you manage to style your noobies, I hear you ask? Well, how about some flat twists?

(click pictures to enlarge)

I was in the mood to experiment while waiting for a few locs to dry and it just so happened that I had enough length for a flat twist or two. I think I've fallen in love with my hair all over again.

Flat Twist Method: 

1. Section off a row of locs and dampen to minimise breakage.
2. Decide which direction you wish the twist to go in and begin by firmly tucking the end of the first loc under the root of the next.
3. In one motion, twist the connected locs whilst moving along to tuck in the next one and continue in the same fashion.
4. Secure once you reach the end of the row.

What do you think?
When did you try your first style and what was it?

DREALOCKS ARE...

**Photography ownership is held with the blog account holder, DO NOT 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,**

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...

Week 3: ...and a bit

Time really does fly. Already on day 23 and heading up to the first dreading milestone. The past 7 days have moved very fast and been quite stress-free on the hair front.

Many coils in the upper back and sides started to firm up and they've been thick and springy all over. It was good to rock them for a while. The EVOO and water spritz works a treat so I decided to leave my hair alone for as long as possible. It was actually 13 days before I washed it this afternoon. I think I wanted to wash it because the rain (happy April showers) made it feel "heavy". I used baking soda and witch hazel because I haven't settled on an appropriate shampoo yet. There was very little buildup so I'll have to find something gentler to wash my hair.

I'm very happy with the growth and fuzzy thickness and glad I was able to wait it out in the hopes of them knitting together and little better but unfortunately I am still suffering from severe post-wash unravelling which I suspect is due to the short length. 

From now on I'll have to wash with a stocking cap and push each wash date to once a fortnight to prevent a total re-do every time.

So yeah, I was absolutely loving my hair this week, the thickness and low maintanence felt like a win-win situation. Nonetheless I was truely disappointed after washing and not in the mood for the 2 hour re-twist ahead, I will admit the infamous  Q. "why am I doing this?" A. "Cheaper than a perm!" was all I could think of . . .

I was planning on a visit to the salon for my one month mark next week but as my hair was cleaned and freshly re-twisted today I may hold off until the next wash is due and I have more to work with.

Plan:

1. Choose a dread washing product
2. Continue re-twisting with olive oil
3. Choose a natural oil that smells nice to add to my spritz
4. Check in at the salon sometime in May
5. RELAX!

Photos from the past 7 days:

on a trip to North Wales

DREADLOCKS ARE...

**Photography ownership is held with the blog account holder, DO NOT use without permission,**

Week 1: First Wash

Hurray for the first wash. I decided to wash my hair last night for a few reasons. One, the flaking was showing more and more and moving from the scalp to the hair, two, I'd been to the gym for the second night running and three, my coils just felt plain gross.

I wanted to wait it out for another week at the least and until the end of the month at the most but with the recent perspiration activities and going back to work in a few days I just had to rescue the situation.

Day 3: Do-over

MAY DAY, MAY DAY quick update: so the more I read and watched youtube vids about how locs turn out when started by two strand twists and braids the more I felt unhappy with the way mine were going to be. I know, I know it hasn't even been a week but something didn't feel right. The collective chaos of tst's, braids, rubber bands and who knows what else were just. . . not right. I didn't know what was going on up there and that would've limited my ability to manage them myself until the next salon visit.

So,

I took each one out, wet with gel and re-twisted it between my fingers - clockwise as it so happens. I held them all in place with bobby pins, makeshift, I know, but they're holding well and I'll being taking them out later to see how they look after the gel has dried over night:

(click pictures to enlarge)

Easier to sleep in than the rubber bands! So here's how they look...

Experimenting wasn't so bad after all. I think these stand a better chance of forming nicely in the future.

So, spray down with tea tree/almond oil/water mix, annnd done! I feel miles better about this and now I know how to twist my own hair and which method was used in which direction. I'll keep using the bobby pins until I can splash out for some shiny new clips when I return to the salon.

DREADLOCKS ARE A LIFESTYLE

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