Happy (super duper belated) FOUR Month Lociversary to Me!

Wow! It's been a minute. I've missed blogging and reading blogs. Work is on the downswing - at least a little bit so I'm hoping to be back to posting. Also, welcome to my new readers. . .I still can't believe I have more than one subscriber :)

Even though I didn't blog about it on the day or even close to the day, I celebrated month 4 with a wash and re-twist. I still have very frustrating days when I just want to chop them off but I'm holding on. I was really hoping to see a loctitian but haven't had the time to make an appointment. One of my friends has recommended someone so hopefully month 6 will find me in a salon chair!

These pics are from 04/08 and 04/09 (my actual lociversary). I finally mixed the Oyin Handmade Burnt Sugar and Shine & Define. I didn't measure so I don't have specifics but the two products blended together well. I was happy with the hold three weeks later.

Again, I apologize for the picture quality. This time around I used my Flip camcorder. Haven't gotten around to unpacking and finding the battery charger for my camera. 

Not too much change from month 3. I'm trusting the process. Month 5 is just a week away!

Thanks everyone for being patient with me. I look forward to catching up on all of your blogs.

- kareen

Happy (belated) THREE Month Lociversary to Me!

March 9th marked my three month lociversary! Month three was uneventful for my hair unfortunately. I didn't care for my babies as I normally would so they didn't get their moisture. In addition, life is chaotic and I'm sure all that cortisol running through my system didn't help either.

I was hoping to get on a three-week wash and retwist cycle but my new job is kicking my butt. You can read about a little more about all of that here. So I didn't get a chance to wash my locs until this past Thursday evening and I won't lie, my re-twist was half-baked :) I was so tired and just wanted to finish, I didn't let them dry enough. Truthfully I'm just happy to have clean hair!

Even with the lack of loving care this month, I was happy to see fuller locs even with stagnant length. Shrinkage, maybe? Am I imagining the change?

On a side note, I wanted to encourage everyone out there concerned about starting locs while job searching. It's possible! I not only got a new job but also a promotion within one month. That's the short version of the story but know that your intelligence, experience, interview skills and appropriate overall grooming play a major role in a job offer. Keep your head up and go get those locs :)

- kareen

Happy TWO Month Lociversary to Me!

Two posts in one night! I couldn't let midnight pass without acknowledging my two month lociversary! I think my hair is really enjoying this loc'ing thing.

Here's the loc bun I talked about here. As you can see, not having locs that are all the same length makes this low bun difficult to pull off but I'm rocking it.

In new developments, one of my locs has the curl at the end. . . you know, the ones that usually take forever to loc? Now how cool is that? Here it is. . .

Also new is the increase in budding. The locs on the left side of my head have come to life with buds. The buds already in existence have grown to new levels.  Some of my favourite locs. . .

Last but not least are a couple of locs that were not budding before my wash last week but are now starting to show some life.

Living life loc'd!

- kareen

Happy One Month Lociversary to Me!

Wow, time has flown. Can't believe it's already been a month! As I've mentioned before, I am so ready a re-twist and wash. I have managed to avoid the itchies but then again, I haven't done much to my hair. I spritz my babies as needed with an oil and water mixture and that's it! Also, as previously discussed, I usually cover my hair when heading out of the house.

What I have not been immune to is the frizzies. There are strands of hair that are completely loose and I have no idea from which loc baby they came! So glad I'm going to a loctitian; I don't have the knowledge yet or patience to re-create my parts. The frizzies came about just with normal wear and tear. I've exacerbated the issue over the past two weeks by working up a sweat exercising. Yes, the increased movement is part of my 2011 goals but I plan on sticking with the plan so I may need to up my learning curve on home maintenance. At the very least, I'll ask for recommendations on rinsing/washing hair between re-twists.

As far as work is concerned, I haven't received any negative feedback but I also keep my hair covered. On the flip side, a nurse who I don't know approached me to ask when I was going to let my hair out. She missed  my curls. Too sweet. I kinda miss my curls, too.

Here's the current state of my hair at one month. These pics were snapped this morning after my workout.

The coils themselves are holding on; just can't believe the amount of loose hair. As messy as the process is, I'm enjoying it. I'm looking forward to the coils taking on the appearance of locs!

- kareen