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,**

Locs Love Water

Who doesn't love a good humoured YT vid? What if it also came with a good hearted dread care message?

Jirod Greene

Water really does help locs to mature quicker. Get a water bottle and do it now!

DREADLOCKS ARE A LIFESTYLE

**I DONOT posses video ownership or creator rights. Video ownership or creator rights are held with jirodgreene**

Week 2

Second week in. It's been eventful. The first wash, another re-twist, lots of research into hair care and returning to work with the newbies. . . .

Following the refreshing wash and twist event last Friday, I have really come back to liking my hair. Looking back I feel like the beginning of week two (pre-wash) was a mini 'ugly phase'. It was like every part of the journey was unravelling (excuse the pun) but once I'd returned to a clean scalp, things really improved. The fuzzies are under control at the moment and the coils are pretty established.

PRODUCTS: The only "products" I'm using now are extra virgin olive oil and water, only two! All natural! After all these permed and processed years how brilliant is that?! I spray most days and I must say, comparing the tea tree with EV olive oil, the latter has proved highly successful. Now that I think about it the last three days have been flake free, itching is virtually nonexistent and my hair actually feels soft, like, really soft, you know. Way less re-twisting so far and I feel happier leaving them alone for longer, though the softness makes them so touchable :D

Still on the look out for affordable coconut oil or jojoba oil for the possible future but I am more than happy with the olive oil and water spritz as a permanent moisturiser.

One thing I am doing differently is leaving my hair uncovered in the shower. For the first week I thought damp hair would lead to problems but after a day where I forgot to put on a shower cap I noticed my hair really perked up. I've read so much about water being really good for locs but I didn't think that included moisture from the shower until now. I think it's made a real difference to the look and feel of my hair, in fact I actually don't recall when my hair last felt this soft without conditioner.

So, the holidays have finally come to an end and going back to work I had to make that major decision between uncovered, scarves or hats...


Here's how I had my hair for work:

Yeah I went with the hat, too early for scarves and I love wearing purple (donated by my family at the last minute). Working with children I didn't feel comfortable leaving them uncovered, you know teens can pick up on anything "different".

I liked it a lot, I'm pleased that the satin head scarf fitted underneath. No comments, but it did give me a chance to forget about my hair for the evening and it was so good to be effortlessly natural.

Onto week 3 - check it!

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.

Make it your Hobby: Bracelet

On a non hair related topic I have just finished making my first bracelet after deciding to gather the materials a couple of days ago.

The finished product
using a square knot pattern

Instantly wearable

I used the beads from a necklace I found in a charity shop and then purchased the leather string from a jewellery craft store.

More to come!

-NaturaLocs

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