Lovin' my Locks

I just decided to wash my hair, because my scalp was feeling a little itchy.  I washed it, towel dried it, put a little oil on it, and Voila!! I am ready to hit the road again.  Locks are really great for a busy lifestyle.

2nd Anniversary

At the end of November I quietly celebrated my 2nd anniversary of lockdom. After two years, I still have no regrets.  With each passing month, and with every inch of growth, it just gets better and better.  I am really enjoying my hair.  Even when I have not had a chance to wash and style it, I am still able to have a nice looking style, thanks to hair ties and hair bands. 

This was also a time that was tinged with sadness, as the wonderful lady who first installed my locks two years ago died. She was in and out of hospital for months, which is why I had to switch to another consultant.  She sadly succumbed to her illness.  May her soul rest in peace.  I would still call her from time to time, and have a chit chat with her. She was still interested in the progress of my hair, and was always asking if my new consultant was caring for my hair properly.  I assured her that my hair is fine.  I will miss her.

Here is a picture taken in my car, with my phone, during a rare moment of idleness.  I just washed and set my hair on soft spikes last night.  The curls are still quite tight.  As the week progresses, the curls will relax.

Pony Tail

Well, as predicted, it was an uncomfortable night sleeping on those hard Chiney Bumps.  But I persevered and did not pull them out during the night.  Unfortunately after I unraveled the Bumps, the resulting hairstyle was rather unflattering.  The curls were wild and were going in every direction you can imagine. Not a pretty sight.  Anyway, my hair tie came to the rescue.  I put it up in a pony tail.

 

Here is a picture showing the curls after a day.  They have significantly relaxed, and don't look quite so frantic.

Bantu Knots

Tonight I decided to set my hair in Bantu Knots.  In Jamaica we call these Chiney Bumps. These were fun to do, and brought back childhood memories of my mom combing my hair in these Chiney Bumps after washing every Saturday morning. I would get a really pretty, curly hairstyle after the bumps were pulled out the next day.

Each Chiney Bump consists of 8 or 9 locks. I had to secure the ends with bobby pins, because the ends of my locks are plump, and don't tuck under very well.  I mildly dampened my hair after I was finished, because it is a very cool night, and if my hair is too wet, it will not dry on its own by tomorrow morning.

I had my hair re-tightened this week, and my scalp is a bit tender.  I am predicting that it is going to be difficult to sleep with this style tonight.  I also predict that I will probably pull out many of these Chiney Bumps during the night.  We'll see.

Here we go again

Well, we are all here bracing ourselves for Tropical Storm Tomas.  Here in Kingston, he seems to be playing a bit of hide and seek with us at the moment.  We had expected that by now, heavy rain would be tearing up the place.  So far it has just been drizzling on and off.  Not that I am complaining.  Quite the contrary.  I hope Senor Tomas moves right along and leaves us all alone.

My 2-year lock-versary is fast approaching - at the end of this month.  I cannot believe that the 2 years have gone by so quickly.  Sometimes I feel that my hair growth rate has slowed down, but I regain some perspective and objectivity when I compare a picture of two years ago, with a recent picture.

That's quite a difference isn't it?

By the way, I got a new toy last week.  I purchased a Kindle.  It is just the coolest toy ever!!  My husband calls it my new boyfriend, because it gets a lot of my undivided attention, and I do snuggle down with it at times.  Ha! Ha! He is such a joker.  I have not been reading as much as I used to, mainly because I am so darn tired all the time.  I am hoping that this gadget will entice me to say awake past the first two pages of a book!  We'll see.

I love Tomoka's Hair Ties I have one, and I absolutely love it. I decided to purchase two more today.  Here are the one's that I chose:
http://www.tomokastwists.com/images/thumbnails/GoGoDark.jpg

http://www.tomokastwists.com/item_226/Rae-II.htm

Aren't they gorgeous?  Can't wait for them to arrive.

Hot Oil Treatment

Last night I decided to give myself a hot olive oil treatment.  I put small amounts of olive oil in my palm, rubbed my palms together and worked the oil into sections of my hair.  When my entire head was done, I covered it with a plastic cap and sat under the hair dryer for about 15 minutes.

I then shampooed as usual. After shampooing I towel dried my hair, and put a little more olive oil on.  I set it up as usual.  This morning my hair feels great and looks lustrous.

I think I will try to do this every month.  I am sure my hair will thank me for it.

Relief

As I mentioned earlier this week, I have a dry, scaly and itchy patch on my scalp.  In fact, my entire head has been very itchy.

I decided to try good old Head and Shoulders dandruff shampoo.  It worked really well.  After just one shampoo, the itchiness has calmed down completely.

After a week of torrential rainfall that has caused much property and infrastructural damage and some very unfortunate deaths,  the rain seems to have abated.  This morning it is just drizzling.  I hope the sun comes out again soon.  I offer a prayer for all the families that are grieving this morning.  Property damage is one thing, but when your family members die because of a collapsed building, that is a whole other nightmare.

This sort of tragedy really puts things into perspective.  I realize that my complaining about a leaky roof and wet spots in my house really sounds whiny and pathetic, When you think about families who are wondering where they are going to live, and how are they going to feed their children, after this devastating storm.

It is very humbling.