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.

Soft Spike curls

So here is a picture of my hair at the end of the work day.  After the colouring last night, I set my hair on soft spike curlers.

DIY Dye Job

Feeling emboldened and empowered by my newly acquired re-tighteneing skills, I decided to give hair colouring a try.  I am not really interested in changing my hair colour.  My main interest is in covering up my grey hairs, which are mostly at the front of my hair along the hairline. Because my hair is thin in this area, they grey colour makes my hair look a bit mousy.  Over the last year, I have been getting my hair coloured at the salon, and while I have been pleased with the results, the colour doesn't last very long.  My colourist has only used temporary colouring, as she has told me that the permanent colouring is far more damaging to the hair.

So my quest in doing it myself, has been to find one of the commercial colour systems, which will not damage my hair.  The commercial box dyes that you can buy in the pharmacy are all permanent colour systems.  I did my research and asked lots of questions of ladies who have experience in hair colouring.  Thank you Dewdrop!  The choices are overwhelming to say the least.  Anyway, I settled on the Dark and Lovely brand.

Brown Sable

Applying the colour is fun

Greys all gone!

While I was washing out the dye after leaving it in for the required 30 minutes, my hair felt hard and straw-like.  This did not make me feel happy.  However, the kit contained a tube of heavy, creamy conditioner which seemed to repair the dryness.  This conditioner was really hard to rinse out because it is so thick and heavy, but I think I got it all out.

I am really happy with the colour.  It looks dark and rich, and I love it!  I will watch my hair over the next couple of days for extra dryness.

The Hump Hairstyle

I have been sick at home for a couple of days and when I have the energy, I have been amusing myself by watching hair videos on YouTube.  I decided to wash my hair this morning and try a new style.  Must be feeling better huh? It is a quick and easy style and the instructions were given by Pecadora99 and can be found on YouTube at this link The Hump Hairstyle

It is amazing how a nice shower and clean hair can make you feel so much better when you are not well.

Empowered

Since I learned how to re-tighten my hair on Sunday, I have been feeling mighty pleased with myself.  Each night this week I have working on small sections of hair, and doing a pretty good job so far. One thing that made the whole process easier for me, was that the trainer showed me how my hair was parted initially, when my sisterlocks were first installed.  I had just assumed that my hair was parted in four sections, two at the front and two at the back. And I could never ever find that middle part from front to the back, which was very frustrating for me.  However, it was pointed out that my hair was actually parted in five sections, two at the front and three at the back.  That was when the light bulb went off.  My AHA! moment. 

So each night I have been working on one of the five sections.  I have completed three of them, and just have two more to go.  It is a nice feeling to know that I am gaining independence from my consultant.  I will go and see her soon, just so that she can check that I have been doing OK with the re-tightening.  I did manage to knot two locks together, but with the help of my daughter, I fixed that.  The secret to preventing this from happening is to use clips to keep neighbouring locks out of the way of the lock that you are working on.