I am publishing this picture to show the real length of my hair, without any crinkles or curls.

My locks are now three years and five months old, and are really growing fast at the moment.  I am about to cover my grays again, but this time I am going to try Clairol Textures and Tones,  instead of Dark and Lovely.  The Dark and Lovely makes my hair much too dry.  If anyone has any experience with the Textures and Tones I would love to hear about it before I apply it to my hair.

Happy Easter

I hope you all had a happy Easter!  Mine was very good, what with church services on Friday and Sunday, and a big family and friend gathering for Sunday dinner.  I took it easy on the bun and cheese too!

I am in the process of retightening my hair myself. As always it takes 4 to 5 sessions, each session lasting about 2 hours. It is getting easier, but boy is it tedious. I have one more section at the back to complete, but I thought I would just take a snapshot now.

My hair is going through a growth spurt at the moment.  It seems to do this from time to time. As I go through the retightening process, there are some locks that require 3 or 4 rotations.  That's a lot of growth.  And there are some locks that have not budged since the last retightening 6 weeks ago.

I have added black castor oil to my hair care regimen.  After washing with White Rain Shampoo, I use it on my scalp and hair.  It really gives my hair a nice feel. And it is not as greasy as petroleum based oils.  I often use a heavy conditioner (like Pantene or Redken Smooth Down Butter Treat on my hair because it is so dry. I live in a hot dry climate, which makes the hair dryness worse. In the mornings I spritz with a mixture of water, vegetable glycerin and lavender oil.

On another note, I am very impressed when I go out and observe just how many women are wearing natural hair styles.  It is heart warming to see so many women just rocking their afros, twists, locks, plaits etc. It seems to be a growing trend, and I think it is just wonderful.  There's nothing wrong with wigs, weaves, extensions or relaxed hair in my opinion.  I say do whatever it is that makes you feel pretty and empowered!  Life's too short to be making a huge fuss over a hair style.

Time Marches On

There is nothing much new going on with my hair these days. It is continuing to grow and do its own thing. I can no longer sleep comfortably unless it is tied up or pinned up. Otherwise it just gets in my face and annoys me. I know I should cover my hair with a scarf to prevent lint, but I just cannot stand sleeping with a scarf on.

I just did another retightening on my own. Whenever I manage to do this, I feel a great sense of accomplishment. It takes me up to four days to complete my whole head (spending about 2 hours each night), but I feel good knowing that I have saved quite a bit of money by doing it myself.

I continue with my weekly washings, and I set my hair on soft spike curlers each time. The curls make my hair look shorter than it really is, but it is still the style that I like the most.

All the very best for 2012

Christmas is my favourite time of the year, and this past Christmas did not disappoint.  Lots of relaxed time spent with friends and family. I love to cook, and I did a lot of this too.  The number on my scale is proof of this.

There is nothing much new going on with my hair.  It is continuing to grow and do well.  I am also doing most of my retightenings on my own, which is nice.  I still occasionally treat myself to a professional retightening, to ensure that my partings are being maintained properly and to just give myself a break sometimes.

Happy New Year to all, and a wish for nothing but good things for 2012.

Happy 3 Year Anniversary!

Tomorrow will make three years since my locks were installed.  The three years have passed by remarkably quickly, with very few bad hair days during the period.  I still get compliments on my hair, and I still have no regrets about my decision to get locks.

I only wish I knew how to style my hair with a greater variety of styles. There is a lot of information available on the internet, including some very useful Youtube tutorials, but I guess I just have not taken the time to learn.  All in good time.

I wash my hair once a week with White Rain Shampoo, and I condition with Pantene or Redken Smooth Down Butter Treat Conditioner.  These thick creamy conditioners are not usually recommended for locks, and with good reason.  If you don't wash the conditioner out properly you can get buildup in your locks.  So I am very careful about rinsing the conditioner out, but it is worth it, because these conditioners make my hair feel so good.

Locks at day 1

Locks at Year 3

Things that make you go hmmmm?

Why is it that there are some locks that just refuse to grow?  I have a few locks that are still just barely over 1 inch long, and seem to have stopped growing.

Why is it that some locks refuse to lock, and seem destined to unravel and forever have open ends?

What's up with lint?  How does it manage to get so completely stuck in a lock?  Picking out the lock with a pin seems to be the only way to get rid of the lint. And who really wants to do that?

Why does my head hurt so badly when I wear my hair in an up do?  I used to wear my hair in a ponytail all the time, when it was relaxed.

How is it that when we were little girls with loose natural hair, our mothers and grandmothers swore by Castor Oil, Dax Pomade and that blue Ultra Sheen hair oil, and now that we have locks, all the "experts" say that our hair needs nothing more than water?  I really don't agree with the experts.  My hair has always been dry, and I live in a hot, dry tropical climate.  My hair needs water, and some oil to seal in the moisture.

These are some of the things that make me scratch my head and go "hmmmmmm?"

Update on Dye Job

It has been a few days since my DIY dye job.  I have been very diligent about keeping my hair moisturised because I have been scared about the drying/damaging effects of the permanent colouring process.  Everyday I have been spritzing with my water and lavender oil mix. After the spritzing I have used Jamaica Mango and Lime Cactus Oil on my scalp and massaged it through my hair to seal in the water. I have done this oiling thing once so far.

My hair feels good at this point.  Knock wood.  I don't think it feels unusually dry, but I will keep on being diligent with the moisturising.