An innner-lock journey

The bad blogger strikes again

2012-01-12T11:51:00.001-08:00

This is just after I cut the front.

The bad blogger puts up a picture

2012-01-12T11:50:00.000-08:00

I have been horrid but i want to post a picture. will write some soon

2012-01-07T08:17:00.000-08:00

Oh I have been such a bad blogger but i wanted to at least catch up on the hair. I am still madly in love with my wild locks!

2011-11-25T19:12:00.000-08:00

Daily Care

2010-08-26T19:46:00.001-07:00

Funny how when I tell people gleefully that I don't do much to my locs they suggest something I should do. Today a coworker complemented me on my locs and asked me about my maintenance. I told him what I do – like wash, dry and mostly not much after that – and he started telling me things I could buy for my hair. I think he was well meaning as he suggested that these products would make my hair (that he had just complemented) "healthier" but I don't think he understood when I just shrugged and didn't ask where to buy such a wonder of chemical cocktail.

A friend is getting her locks put in this week. She admired mine and I connected her to woman who put them in. I am excited for her and pleased to have someone else realized the ease and beauty of my "do".

I have been a bad blogger

2010-05-29T20:36:00.000-07:00

A long time has gone by since i have written here and many life changes. The biggest change was my mother's passing this winter. Another huge shift was my graduation a year ago and moving on to a real job. Through it all I have loved my locks. They are about two and a quarter years old and each day they are a pleasure.

My mother was my anchor in a complex world and i am still trying to figure out how to live in the world without her. She thought my locs were wonderful and i feel blessed to be connected to her when i look at them. The stress of her passing has also made me much grayer and i am pleased to report that hair dye does not seem to damage my hair.

Graduate School, kids and a field placement were all the balls i could get in the air. Having a life of no more bad hair days was such a blessing every day. My field placement was in a very formal hospital environment but my lock were never an issue. I looked tidy and professional every day.

My daily care is still very limited. I use few products. I wash weekly with cheap clarifying shampoo that i water down before I use it. I takes about 24 hours for my very thick hair to dry. After it is dry, i lightly spray it with water, sometimes with a little setting lotion in the water. I then put it up on Soft Spike rollers (R), lots of soft spike rollers. I think that i use about three dozen or more of them. If i use less it takes too long for my locs to dry. I then have curls that are a little too curly for me the first day but will stay for about 5 days with just the bounce i like.

I retighen myself with a nappy locks tool (I used small for a long time but medieum works just fine with less and hassle). It takes me about two movies to do my whole head and I have done my maintenance myself since my locks were put in. I think if i had a loctician do them they might be smoother but all in all they are wonderful.

I don't do a lot of things, I don't:
oil my scalp
add anything to my spray
condition
band and braid
put on a scarf at night
buy products for locs

I do get stopped in stores and on the streets to have women ask me about my hair. I explain and send them to websites but I can't send them to to someone here in Pittsburgh to do their hair because as far as I know there is no one who can do it.

2009-02-06T20:38:00.000-08:00

In a few weeks it will be my hair's birthday. One-year-old micro-locks are still looking good and still getting complements everywhere I go. I am amazed how quickly that they have grown and how little trouble that my hair is. Wherever I go I can tell a new look on people's faces that means they're looking at my hair. After a while they ask about it, after a while yet they often ask to touch. I have had many questions about how I got tiny locks in my hair and how they can get tiny locks and their hair.

I need to go back and talk to the woman who put my locks in. When I last talked to her she was so busy doing hair that she was not excited to have more micro lock clients area. I think the process is slow, and she can stay busy and inside her comfort zone with her many clients. I have told a number of people to go there if they want their hair done. But I don't know if she's accepted any of those people. If she is not accepting any client I may go to another salon near my home and see if I can teach woman who works there to retightened my hair and work something out and return for recommending people to her. If you read other pages of this blog you find out that I have been on an adventure of training people and training myself to do a process I am calling micro locks. Now that I can maintain it myself I would still like to have someone else do it occasionally. I think that having eyes that can see what's going on is a big help.

I put rollers in my hair a few days a week just because I like a little curl but beyond that I do little to maintain my hair. Over the past year, I have had three or four professional re-tightenings. There are wonderful treat. I can sit and let someone else do my hair while I relax. That person can see what she's doing, and I probably get my very best results. On the other hand, I have re-tightened my hair myself three times now. Doing it myself is easier on my busy schedule, because I can do it myself in the evening. A few minutes at a time rather than have to sit somewhere and wait for someone else to do my hair. It is also easier on the pocket as I bought a nappy lockstool and I can use that in conjunction with a latch hook to do my hair.

I bought both lock loops and soft spikes to roll my hair. I think that the lock loops are just about the right size and have a very comfortable feel. On the other hand, the soft spikes I think cost less. Now I have a lot of both and in different sizes. I think it will be a long time before I buy any more of those.

In addition, I have dryer that looks like aliens have landed and are reprogramming my brain. It does not have a hard plastic dome but rather something like a strange baggie that goes over my head and my lock loops to dry my hair. I only use it for emergencies and sometimes I use it when I've washed my hair and rolled it up but don't think it will be dry by morning. It is more effective for me to start the drying process off with the hairdryer that it is for me to try to get them dry at the end of the hairdryer. If my hair is rolled up my drying time is very long maybe as long as 14 hours. For me at least that is not overnight. I never get that much sleep I am lucky if I get six hours. So I have to do something to get my hair from wet to dry.

I don't know if you can tell by the picture I posted today, but it my hair has gotten much longer than a year ago. It is that a medium length that tells me that by the time it is two years old. I will be able to pull it back into a ponytail for busy days. This has been my goal for quite some time. I just feel that I need a hairdo that can work on days I can't manage my hair at all.

On the other hand, I really like the length my locks are now. I think it is very flattering. I even liked the results of a big mistake that I made. My mistake was, and my advice to you is, don't use a curling iron on your locks. I had the idea that I would just like the front to have a little curl. So, I grabbed a curling iron that was nearby. The curling iron simply melted off the ends of my locks. In the picture it is the portion of my hair that you see as a fringe or bangs in the front. I am lucky that I don't mind the way that it looks with bangs but I have to say that I took about 4 inches off the very front of my hair that day.

2009-02-06T20:24:00.000-08:00

It has been almost a year. What long strange trip it as been. In each part of my new life my hair gets in the act and gets its own fans. As I move toward my locs birthday I will have to get some better pictures taken.

This year I have gone from mostly a student to mostly a social worker. I work at a hospital part time and still have full time classes. I also have 3 kids. Each time I think about it it

2008-10-28T18:33:00.000-07:00

I got an e-mail concerned that they couldn't see my hair in this photo so I tweaked it with Picasa.
Picasa is a photo editing program that is simple to use, free, doesn't crash my computer and does abo 80% of what I use photoshop for. So I use Picasa for simple jobs and only use photoshop when I must.

The fill light makes this a lousy photo but it is a great picture of my hair.

A picture! a picture!

2008-10-28T17:06:00.000-07:00

Welcome, finally a picture. When I compare the pictures from eight months ago to the pictures for now it is amazing to me how much my hair has grown. My lock seem to just get longer each day. I have always had a lot of hair, but I have also always had a lot of breakage. I think my hair grew about as fast as it broke.

when my hair is straight, it looks longer, but I think you can even tell in this picture. How much growth I have had. I also think you can tell how much I like my locks. They never stop making me smile.

I do have to be careful at work. I sometimes get an urge to mess with my hair was talking to people. It is because it feels fun to me. I am amazed that I am enjoying my hair I am also amazed that I can just take my hands and mess it up shake my head and still have great-looking hair.

Lock blog at long last

2008-10-28T16:57:00.000-07:00

It has been eight months since I posted here. I promised myself and people who read this blog that I would be a good blogger and I'm not. I really wanted to post regularly, but two things have gotten in the way. The first is simply my time. I am a full-time graduate student, I work, and I have three kids. The second thing and maybe the most important thing though is my vanity. I simply have not made time to take pictures of my hair that looked as good as I think it looks.

In the intervening eight months I have had my hair re-tightened twice by my locktician and did it myself once. I have gotten compliments on the street, and from friends and from people at church. my husband loves my locks. I have been extremely happy and comfortable in my own skin. I think that my hair looks great, and it is growing like crazy.

I love my locks!

In the daytime I am a social worker. I usually wear my hair with some girl in it. I have tried a variety of curling methods. I'll discuss later, but I I say this to say that what I think is great about my locks is that I can curl it for a more conservative look. And I can have them loose and wild for a more fun look. The flexibility is amazing to me.

I started out using perm rods to curl my locks. I would put a few drops of setting lotion and a few drops of an essential wheel for a pretty smell in a spray bottle spray my locks and then roll them on perm rods. I chose a perm rods side that was about the size of three pencils. That seemed to make tight curls that were not too tight for me. At first I only used water. But I found that the curls lasted longer if I put a little setting lotion in the water. The problem was I didn't like the smell of the setting lotion. So I bought a tiny bottle of essential oil, and I put less than one drop in the bottle of water and setting lotion. That is plenty to give my hair a pretty smell with how making my locks slip. That may not be true for anyone else. I have extremely thick hair that is really happy to lock and has slipped very little.

I use a spray bottle because if I put my hair in any type of rollers, while it is wet from washing it will not dry overnight. My hair is too thick and my locks are too many for it to dry in any one nights sleep. Well, maybe I just don't sleep enough. I guess I get about seven hours sleep and if I put it up on rollers when I wake up seven hours later, it is still wet. If I wash my hair I let it dry and then spray it a bit rather than roll it up wet. That way I don't have wet hair in the morning to deal with. I bought a bonnet style hairdryer and I can dry it with the bonnet style hairdryer. But I think it is not just good for my locks I find it very annoying, noisy, and confining. I just use the hairdryer as an emergency backup method. The hairdryer will also work if I just spray the locks and get under the dryer for about 20 minutes. I just rarely have 20 minutes to spend under the dryer.

I used to rods and got great results but I really wanted to sleep more. I found them hard and they poked me in the head at night. next I tried some satin covered rollers with a small wider in them. They work, but they had a couple of problems. First they were very small so it took a lot of them to back my thick locks around. Second, they slipped out easily. Oh, I guess there were three problems, third. The why yours quickly began to poke through the material. Next I ordered lock loops on the Internet. I really like the lock loops. They do well with my locks I get great curls. I can put in a handful of lock loops and go to sleep and not have any pain from them poking in my head. They are also black and discreet and I don't feel silly sleeping in them. They also seem to dry quickly and not hold any odors. There is another company that makes a similar product called soft spikes. Maybe I should've bought them. I think that you get more for your money. But I ordered the lock loops, and that's what I have.

Will, I bought type cleaners. I saw on the Internet that some women have done their hair with pipe cleaners. I started using them one day by I couldn't sleep in them. So I took him out before I went to sleep. Maybe you have to be a tougher woman that I am, in order to curl your locks with pipe cleaners. I do not like them poking me in the head, and I am just too tired these days to lose sleep over hair.

2008-02-20T15:45:00.000-08:00

This day has been beyond my wildest dreams. Maybe my new do is even too great (is that possible?) Many people complemented me and asked me about my hair.

My not sisterlocks, not nappylocks -- microlocks look is new to the streets of Pittsburgh. Even on a cold windy day people noticed my do. I didn't really look to get noticed on the street. I am middle aged and married but I am happy to have more people excited about natural hair. So many people stopped me to go out of their way to compliment my hair. What fun!

I sprayed a little water and put some perm rods in in for about an hour this morning. The curls are great. They have lasted all day.

I also have people asking me about how to get their locks done. My biggest challenge is what to call my locks . . .microlocks . . . cousinlocks. . . Funny how many people have to be told a couple of times that this is all my hair that grew out of my head.

2008-02-19T13:05:00.000-08:00

I have started a little styling and I like my locks better and better. I am struggling to keep my hands out of my hair and can't help looking a little extra in the mirror. Equally important I am celebrating my decision to have natural hair in any form. I was wearing my hair in two fat cornrows down the side before I got locked. It wasn't my favorite style but I loved the thickness and texture of my hair too much to go back to scalp burning relaxers.

I was in Natural Choice salon in Oakland I saw the prettiest little girl around 3 years old getting her hair done. She was getting a style of cute little Afro puffs. She was so charming and happy. I loved her smile. It was so open and healthy and self-loving. At the same age I was crying with the sizzle of a hot comb in my hair and a wack with the brush if I moved. I was worlds away. I celebrate Natural Choice and natural hair care and I want to say thank you for me and that pretty little girl. As much as I love my fancy locks I even more celebrate natural hair care and the movement away from hair care torture.

2008-02-18T05:29:00.000-08:00

wow I can't believe it's all done. The locks look great. They are more than I would have ever dreamed. It is fun to be able to style my hair already. You can see in a few of the pictures that a couple of blocks have unraveled. I plan to be patient and let them start to really lock up, fill out and looked even more beautiful.

In part thanks to all of the wonderful pictures and advice I have gotten from so many wonderful women I feel confident that I am on my way.

lock day part four

2008-02-17T17:50:00.000-08:00

Hey here are a few more pictures of the process. When I was contemplating getting my hair done I wanted to see pictures of the process and I just couldn't find any. I'm sorry if this is too many pictures. My locticans don't have any secrets and are happy to have you all see the process. There joy and strength in their skill is really bread for the journey.

Lock day part three - how did I get here

2008-02-17T15:15:00.000-08:00

I was just thinking about how I got here with my hair being worked on by two women all day. It is a strange place to be. I never thought I would get locks but I never thought I would have this huge head of natural hair either.

I kept my hair braided for more than five years. Finally my hair got so long that it was taking longer to get the braids with extensions out than it was taking to put them in. i was considering cutting my hair for braids and extensions so it seemed like a good time for a hair experiment.

I saw a woman with Sisterlocks(R) many years ago in Harrisburg PA. I started exploring how I could get that pretty microlock look here in Pittsburgh. I didn't really care about the brand but the brand made is easier for me to feel confident about the outcomes. I tried to find a certified consultant or trainee in Pittsburgh but the nearest that I could find were in Ohio, or Harrisburg Pa. Both of them are a four or so hour drive I just couldn't bring myself to that much of a carbon footprint. I wanted little locks but not that bad.

I tried every shop in town, most said palm roll only, I then called the Sisterlock (R) company and they confirmed that there were no consultants or trainees in Pittsburgh. I then ordered the Nappylocks (R) kit for about $100. The main thing that I learned is that my daughter and I were not women enough to put in all of those locks. Finally I went back to the first salon I tried and I found a lovely and soft-spoken sister with a line waiting for her to tighten locks. I told her what I wanted and she said "no problem". Is it ok if my friend helps too?

I just stepped out in faith and booked a day. I have wavered in the time between booking the day and now but I am happy that I have persisted.

Lock day part two

2008-02-17T14:31:00.000-08:00

I am guessing that we are about 60% of the way. It is pretty exciting! I am very happy that I have taking control of the fate of my hair and stepped out to something new and natural. I am still loving my locticians! I feel guilty that one of them is pumping rather than nursing her baby so we can get this done. I offered to send my husband for her baby but she said no.

The lock are small and scaply but I can tell that they will fill in. I am looking good!

Lock day prequil

2008-02-17T13:21:00.001-08:00

I guess I should have published this before the locks start-- sorry. Before the locks I kept my hair braided with extentions for about 5 years. Before that perms and other mess!

I had a 8" long head of natural hair. I just wanted to post some photos of what went into the locks just in case they look great when it is all over.

Tracy

My Lock day

2008-02-17T10:34:00.000-08:00

It has been a long journey to this point. Hot combs from the stove, hard to maintian blow out afros, relaxers and braids with extensions are all littered on the road behind me. Ahead of me is a new adventure -- my own tiny dreadlocks.

Two wonderful lockticians are working on creating a head full of lovely locks. About 20% are done.

I wanted to post some pictures that would show the process. There are a few before pictures