Locs update-2 months

2 months loc'ing. The thought of taking them out has crossed my mind, but I know these babies are here for a long time. Twist n locs is the best product I've used so far. However, for a stronger hold, I had to mix black gel with Organic Twist and loc.






You know I'm beginning to love the messy look.






My hair hates assimilation and conformity, but I have to train it to lay down so that I can keep my job and pay my bills...




The results




Getting in touch with my locs

Conquered by the F

I am indeed my worse nemesis. I never been able to trust myself and believe that my talent can take me far. I'm confident in every thing else, except for the gift the Creator gave me. I grew up in a very negative environment with a bunch of brainwashed complex women, and fear that I'm becoming that. I want to move out of Boston and venture out in Chicago or NYC to promote my art and figured that going back to school would help me network with the right folks. I'm currently applying to get my Masters in Journalism with the dream of working for a magazine, but now I'm afraid that I either won't get accepted, or I won't have the money to pay for school. I graduated a year ago and still can't find that right job. The job I currently do is insulting. I work for a government state job where I sit in front of a computer from 9-5 and believe that poking needles in my eyes would be more fulfilling. I don't dream of being rich, but I do want to be successful and be known as an artist/writer. I want to be able to inspire young women and sit back one day and say "Thank you God I'm on purpose and I made it". I prayed to find an opportunity that will expose me to some of the aspects of a publishing industry and recently got a volunteering position as an Editorial Mentor for Teen Voices Magazine based in Boston. Although I am excited about that, I'm still scared that this may not bring me far. And it doesn't help that I live with pesky people who ask me everyday, "Why don't you do nursing? We told you to do nursing. If you do nursing you would be bel tifi (beautiful girl) by now". Let's not even mention my co-workers who say "Well don't you think Law School would be more pragmatic since your degree is in Legal Studies? Sorry to say but you're setting yourself up for a tough life...don't you want to make money?" Sometimes I just want to...AHH! It's to a point where I put all my art tools away, put a pause on my Grad School applications and been living like a robot for a month thinking "what if they're right?". It's like I have a fire burning in the pit of my soul that's not strong enough to ignite.
Caring about what other people think of me and fear of being rejected is definitely my weakness. It's something I'm working on, but honestly I don't know how to trust myself and tell the prominent people in my life to F off and let me be. I don't know why it's so hard to trust myself. I prayed to find a mentor or art studio where I can have stronger and more refined pieces and God helped me find a local art studio that offers classes for $15 classes (which is relatively cheap). So it's like every time I pray for something that puts me on purpose, God gives it to me but I still let fear run my life.

Story of a black girl's pain.

This is my inspirational loc video

So envious of the thickness of her locs!

"Kanye West Interrupting History"

I found these comical postings in reference to Kanye West's interruption of Taylor Swift's acceptance speech. I thought this website did a good job showing how rude and disrespectful Kanye can be:

http://funkjelly.com/2009/09/16/kanye-west-interrupts-history/


Here's a preview of some of the examples

Queen GodIS

This woman must be from outer space. She is ridiculously talented. Never heard or seen anything like this before.

Janelle Monae

She's dope. Love her energy, uniqueness, creative, style AHHH I love everything about her!

Tyra Bank's "real" hair

Hopefully her next stop is really going real by going natural...

Artist Steven Lopez and Erykah Badu

I love Erykah Badu and this dude's work is amazing.

My loc journey so far...

It's only been 6 weeks since I've been involved with my locs and already we've fought, cried, and made up. Last week was the worst fight ever! My scalps decide to give me some itch which in turn turned to dandruff that I thought I knocked down with Top Brass cream medication when I had my Afro. So I applied the cream without thinking about build up, and caused a major strain in my relationship. It was a disaster! White specs everywhere! It was embarrassing. So since I'm still in the early stages, I was afraid of washing my hair (I was told to wait 3 months) so I used dry shampoo by Organics. That didn't do a damn thing, it just made my hair smell fantastic. So I tried brushing the specs off and that didn't do anything either. I even ended up unraveling one of the locs at the crown of my head because it was purely white with creamy dandruff mixture and I knew it was crying for an oxygen mask.

The thought of taking apart my locs permeated in my mind and soul; but honestly, they weren't in agreement with that idea. You can do this. Si se puede!

I decided to write a blog about the issues I was having with my locs to my circle of sisters at ymib.com, and thank goodness I asked for help. I was told to dab witch hazel or sea breeze on my scalp for the dandruff, I did; it worked in between shampooing.

Then I was told that it's okay to wash your hair and that I didn't have to wait 3 months. It makes sense, how can your hair grow healthy when your scalp isn't being cared for properly. So I decided to dilute Tea Tree shampoo with water, and put it in a spray bottle in order for the shampoo to be well distributed throughout my hair.

Next, I was told to saturate my hair with apple cider vinegar to get rid of the build up and it works magic folks! APPLE CIDER VINEGAR IS THE TRUTH. I put a 1/2cup of apple cider in a spray bottle and diluted it with 4 cups of water. During the process, I even noticed that the cider made the hair firm and shiny. The smell is unbearable so after soaking the hair, I shampooed the hair again with tea tree shampoo.

Since I was also told to moisturize my hair with water, I wanted to use something extra, so I purchased Cantu Shea Butter Cream and put 4 teaspoon of the cream in a spray bottle, and diluted it with water and shook the bottle to give it skim milk effect. So after shampooing my hair, I sprayed a small amount of the moisturizer and my hair softened up and gave a shake shake hair effect.

So I re-twisted the locs with the product I live by Twist n' Locs: Natural Honey and Aloe Vera Locking Formula (If you don't know about this product, you better hop on it). Results: Magnificent, superb, fabulous, extraordinary, fresh, and crisp! No more build ups and my relationship is back on track. I'm even more ecstatic about this situation because I did this all by myself. A long time ago, when I didn't have the confidence in myself to do things myself such as my hair, I probably would've waited until someone cleared out their schedule for me, or even take them out and say I'M DONE. Instead, I asked bloggers on ymib to shed some knowledge, was given plethora of information, and fixed the problem. I know some might be saying, "Well it's just hair", but I'm learning a lot from this locing experience. You gotta have patience, respect, compassion, perseverance, dedication, and always remember that it's okay to seek help. You're not going to know everything all at once. So every bit of information is helpful. All you have to do is figure out what works best for you.

That's the beginning of my 6 weeks hair relationship. For those who are in the early stages as myself, I found this informative website about a few truth about locs .

http://www.hair2heaven.com/thetruthaboutlox.htm

Check it out, peace and blessings!

P.S. Stay tune for pictures