9 months

My first pipe cleaner curl set. Not perfect but not bad I guess! I still feel like I'm in some sort of cocoon but the shell is starting to break...

It's Not Just Hair

So I stumbled on someone's blog about how most black women who blog, blog about hair (she obviously hasn't seen tumblr yet).

This blog is a metaphor.  I have other blogs.  This is my first time having a blog about hair.  I just want to be able to look back and see these photos.  I don't like fotki or whatever the fuck else they have online.  I've lost everything sentimental to me before so this is a way to make sure that no matter what happens in the future, these photos will always be here and online for me to view of how my hair looked in my 20's.

This is something I wrote on facebook in response to a friend of a friend dressing up as "blackface" for halloween.

"I guess it bothered me because I got bullied for wearing an afro in my old high school before I transferred. Tis why between the ages of 15-19 everyone has mostly seen me with braids. I remember having a conversation with a group of girls about which bleaching cream to use for our skin. I remember people telling me I was the ugly sister because my skin was darker. I still have friends who don't consider dark skin women and natural hair to be very attractive. I would never blatantly go parading out in public to offend someone's culture or their appearance. I don't want to give it power anymore T, believe me... I get tired of the stares and racist comments from being in an interracial relationship. I just don't know how to let it go just yet. But I'm really trying."

This is why I have a hair blog.  This blog isn't about just hairstyles.  This is a personal blog.  I'm not selling product, an aspiring writer, or a hair product junkie.  I just want to document how much I've grown from the inside out.  My babylocs are simply a metaphor.  I would like to laugh and make fun of myself for being so cowardly that I wore wigs and weaves because I was ashamed to be myself in public.  My partner had no idea what black women did to look the way they do in public.  She's never had to sit under a hair dryer for hours or book weekly wash and set appt or ever applied a white cream to her scalp so her hair can look universally appealing.  She's never had hair that refuses to go into a ponytail or get ridiculed for looking "different."

I need this blog.  So if it doesn't align with anything going on in your life, politely keep it moving.

8

So this is it.  This is the month where I have stepped out of my house with my hair showing a bit.  Still not 100% satisfied with them but at least they look A LOT better since I started palmrolling them last month.

They are finally starting to look like actual dreadlocks! lol  I have wispy ends but decided I will keep them.  When they're long I figured it will make them look pretty cool.  My relaxer has finally exited the building.  I can see more of my natural texture at this point.  Starting locs while still transitioning out of relaxer gave me a ROUGH ugly phase, but things are looking up from here.  Can't wait to curl them!  And that one year anniversary is right around the corner.

Happy Holidays :-)

Lucky #7

I just got back from my first trip to Vegas and it was wonderful!  I'm so lazy at re-tightening my hair but recently I've decided to change some things...

So I've been interlocking for the last 3 months.  I don't like how the interlocked pattern is starting to make my hair look.  I prefer the cylindrical dreadlock look:

This photo is how fuzzy they are without palmrolling for 3 months (interlocking only).

This one is blurry but you can still clearly see the difference palm rolling makes!

I'm gaining some length and weight to the hair as well! The hair in the ponytails have been mostly palmrolled.

So I've decided to give my latch hook tool a break and go back to palmrolling for the remainder of my 1st year.  I don't like how tightly woven interlocking makes my lock feel.  Plus if I do it too tight, it hurts something awful! At least with twisting, it can unravel back to a comfort zone. If I go back to interlocking it will probably be 3 times a year or less and very loosely interlocked.  Horayyy for 7 months! The holidays are coming up so I know the next 3 months will fly by!

Six months and some Change

Seems like every month it gets better.  I almost walked outside with my natural hair.  I'm still not comfortable with the way it looks in the back of the head, but in time I will.  It's been so long since I've been 100% natural.  I normally don't relax my hair but for the last several years I've been wearing wigs/weaves and covering my natural.  I guess a better way to describe what I'm trying to say is, 'imagine a woman that starts wearing make-up to the point where she cannot be seen without it.  Going out and about without make-up makes her feel insecure/unattractive.'   I'm not sure when it came to this point... then again I do.  I was with someone who told me to "always look your best."  Best to this person meant looking how celebrities look to only do grocery store errands.  They dressed me and chose my outfit as if I were a doll for them to show off.  I remember when I separated with said person, we were going out with friends (as friends) and I said, "do I look alright?"  They replied with telling me to wear two bras so that my breast look larger (they weren't joking).  I just remember in my head saying "wrong answer!" but I nodded and smiled politely.

I don't know why in the past I've attracted people to make me feel even worst about my self esteem.  I'm just glad the storm is long over.  I'm happy in my life and with a partner that encourages me everyday to be 100% myself.  And then I exhaled...

My first kinda sorta mohawk with my natural hair:

At this point I have 228ish healthy locs!

Babyloc Blues!

So I've been really frustrated with my hair lately.  My first issue is when the new growth starts to marry each other!!! UGGGH!  I hate having to RIP my hair apart to clean up the parts!  I would free form, but the look I am going for needs me to tighten the roots.

Some days I sit and wonder if I should have started with Braidlocs.  I took down 2 oversized locs and replaced them with 4 braidlocs.  They won't be as frizzy and swollen when they start to mature.

My other issue is the shrinkage!  When I braided my hair, I realized my hair is actually shoulder length!  My hair looks so damn short and it is 2-3 times as long.  lol But that is what my natural hair has always done so I don't know why I'm so upset about it now. I officially have 227 locs in my head (give or take). I'll post pics at the end of the month.  So I'm going to stop using conditioner for as long as I can til the end of the year to see what my hair does.  When I stop using conditioner my locs look more like locs.... Soon as I give in, they start to unravel!  So we'll see...  I might have to start greasing my scalp. (sighs)  I am not a product junkie... I don't like anything in my hair at all besides soap and water.  Grease smells, etc.  It's been working out wonderfully using no product.  When I took those two fat locs down, they had absolutely no lint or build up and I am 5 months in.  The shed hair smelled great too!

Alright, enough of my complaining!

Good news, I'm starting to have a bang... hair is starting to lay down in the front! I have less than 7 months to go! Note to self: I can do this!

wrap it up!

felt like wearing a headwrap over my locs today.

5

So it's been 5 months!  And my texture has changed notably.  Lots of growth as well.  I didn't feel like tightening my roots... having a lazy August!   

That one really long loc is where my hair would be if I hadn't chopped it off! Her name is Roxie! :p

Lawl, this last photo is a hot mess.  To be honest, I am not feelin my hair just yet.  The fuzzies are killing me! I'm really hoping that this is just a phase in my baby/teenager locs.  And I'm hoping that they won't always look uneven and bumpy.  *sighs*  DIYers have to learn things the hard way! lol  If anyone has advice or comments I could really use some feedback!

4 1/2 months

So it's been 4 1/2 months and my babylocs are starting to somewhat look like locs...... sorta. lol  It's the first time I looked at my hair and smiled since I started two strand twists.  I feel like as my hair grows back, I have changed alot as far as confidence.  I feel like I'm getting closer to being who I was always meant to be.

I've been interlocking since my unraveling issues a few months back, and it's been helping my locs to look a little neater in the areas that were interlocked.  I'm really excited and can't wait for my one year locaversary! Keeping my fingers crossed in hopes that the length will be noticeable and my hair will officially be locked and loaded... we'll see!