Loc Journey Update/ Loc Anniversary

Hey everyone, 

This is just a quick post to mark my loc anniversary! whoop whoop! Actually I kind of missed it as it was in July but let's carry on anyway. 

I am still very much enjoying this journey, I feel so comfortable with my hair and within myself. From my previous hair journey update (Starter Locs Journey), things were a bit up and down and at times I felt ugly but I'm a lot more confident. I don't feel intimidated or insecure about girls with 'luxurious silky' weaves because I'm just being me - that's it.

My hair is still 'immature' at times where it is still quite frizzy, my locs are not as smooth and tight as more 'mature' locs can be. But I don't mind that. My growth has not been as dramatic as I have seen by others but I love the progress so far, this length is neat not too heavy and just about long enough to get into a ponytail

 I have learned a lot about my in getting the dryness under control, which has meant I've been able to chill out and relax about my hair. I'm not worried about the having a fresh re-twist or how neat they look. In fact, I think I prefer when there is a little regrowth, it looks more rustic and natural. The only thing I still haven't tried braid-out but I am so excited to get involved in that. 

Products-wise I don't really use a lot I like to keep it simple so simple shampoo/conditioner (recommendations welcome), olive oil/coconut oil with rose water to moisturize. That's pretty much it, it's ridiculously simple and I love it. 

If any of you guys have any products or methods to try out please let me know, I'd be happy to give it a whirl. 

Well, that's all for now see you! x

How to Wrap Your Hair With a Scarf

Hey everyone, 

So the summer is here again and is as unpredictable as ever. Today I'm going to show you how I do this cute head wrap with a scarf. 

I love this style because it's protective and if your hair is looking particularly rough it's stylish cover up.

I really have a thing for bright colours at the moment so I picked up this African print material from my local street market. It wasn't expensive either just £2 for off cuts, alternatively, you could use the scarves you have available.

First, you will need to wrap the scarf around the back of your head and make a simple tie at the front. At this point, you could roughly jiggle your fringe to your liking. 

Do another simple tie the opposite way. The reason for this is I found when you do it the same way your overall tie is a bit one sided.

Depending on how long your scarf is tuck in any remaining pieces. If you have a longer scarf twist the length of the scarf and tuck it in at the back of your head. Touch up your fringe if needed by tucking neatly to the side or go for the side sweep leaving some hair loose. 

That's it your done. Accessorise with some cute earrings or sunglasses and you're good to go!

I hope you enjoy the simple style, let me know if you are a fan of hair styling scarves. Let me know if there is anything more you would like to see and be sure to come back for more updates. 

Take care x

How to Remove Lint From Locs

Hi everyone,

I knew this day would come eventually but it still managed to take me by surprise. How the heck did it take me so long to notice the nasty white highlights dotted all around my hair? 

Not just on the surface either, these buggers have had time to in-bed themselves into my locs. It's just so annoying and looks so... not cute. It just make your hair look dirty and is just a constant stain on your look.

How can you prevent or remove the lint? 

1. A popular choice is to remove it with tweezers or needle. For this I would begin with picking at the lint with my fingers the lift the lint up then I would use the tweezers to individually remove the lint. The problem with this I found I was picking and attacking my hair at the same time. So the loc would get frizzy and slightly thinner then what it was when I started. I imagine if I continues doing this it would cause more harm then good to my hair. Or perhaps the way I'm doing it is wrong? Let me know

2. Shake it off, shake it off! I do this often as my hair is quite short and isn't really long enough to be tied up, I'm always shaking it trying to poof it up. But it's a good way to get out any fly aways, dirt and bits of lint sitting on the surface of your hair. 

3. Brush your locs with a baby brush, similar to shaking it off I've found it an effective way of getting out debris and dirt. I like to do this before going in the shower; as wetting my hair allows the debris to in-bed themselves into my hair. However brushing can cause some frizzing so if it bothers you, you could palm roll the hair back in place. 

4. A good habit to get into is to cover your locs with a satin scarf/bonnet at every opportunity. If your cleaning...cover it, if your sleeping...cover it, when you are taking off your favourite fluffy jumper...cover it! Better yet as soon as you get through your front door just wrap it up. 

5. Sometimes it just is not worth the fight - dye it. Hair and lint can become one and nobody need know. In some cases dying hair to a darker more even shade can make it appear healthier, shinier and cleaner. Dirty mouse brown be gone.

Before (my natural colour)

After (I was too chicken to go permanent but I probably will next time)

As I mentioned before I am no expert, these are just things i've learnt along the way. I'm still learning things so if you guys know anything or have a experiences of your own please share I'd love to know about it. 

 Until next time...laters!

Short Hairstyle for Women

Hi everyone,

We all love fabulous intricate styles and it is my hope to one day master it for myself. But unfortunately I am not there yet, that aside I wanted to share a style I was sporting this summer. (I know I'm a little late but bear with me)

I got this done at Premiere Dreadz which is one of my favourite places to go regarding my hair, I completely trust them, the staff are very professional plus the banter is really good :)

This styles can be for Starter Locs, Short/Medium Locs, and Twists. The style is essentially twisted to the sides, into mohawk down the middle and side fringe. What I like about this style its low maintenance, which is perfect because I am bit  lazy. I really like that most of the hair is twisted in, so my locs do not get frizzy and messy as quick and stand a better chance of holding the retwist of the roots.

To honest I thought my hair was too short for styles like this so I was delighted that this was possible. I think the fringe at the side added  a bit of femininity to style without it, this style could easy work men.

I absolutely love that its neat and edgy at the same time, so can be professional at work and be fun and funky on the weekend.  

If you have any styles or tips to share let me know :-)

Take care x

Starter Locs Journey

Hey everyone,

As I mention previously I have decided to locs up! Yay!! whoop whoop! One more for the natural sisters of the world.

Ok, so I've made the decision now what? Although I got the gist of starting locs is two stand twist and leave it for a while, but even still I had so many questions. Like how thick should my dreads be? What is the best technique for my hair? What should I do to my hair before I start? How do I look after my locs? How often should I wash my hair? and biggest question was how will it before hair is down to my bra strap?

I am so excited to get to the point were I can do those amazing locs styles I see in the magazines and videos. Seriously check out pinterest the styles are amazing!

Before I get into my story, just a little disclaimer I am not an expert, everybody hair and experience is different this just my personal experience. Before I started I washed my hair, had a treatment and trimmed my ends. The technique used on my was a two stand twist that was interloked at the base (with fingers). In terms of how thick i wanted the locs, I wanted them to be medium/thick. As pretty as skinny locs are, I was worried about the strength of them. So the size partings the stylist did was approximately 1 inch squares. My hope is that my locs/hair will be thick enough to fill it out.

This was my first day, hopefully you can see the twists

Not going to lied you, once it was done it really wasn't want I was expecting. It was far too gappy and I could see too much scalp. This was not how the girls on Youtube look! After a little sulk I remembered that locs is a journey and there are no quick fixes. Time to man up and get on with it. I noticed my hair had shrank at bit since the initial twisting, which I was not expecting.

After about a month this is what it look like - thank goodness for hats!

I went through an 'ugly' stage (tbh I still go through this every now and again), this is development stage. My hair hadn't quite worked out how to be and was not 'looking' the way I'd like. I didn't feel very attractive, I couldn't do much with it. It took time for me to build confidence at first, but slowly but surely its really started to home in that my hair is for me, not for anyone else.

Although its neater still looks thin and a bit gappy 

About 5 months into locs I decided to go to a different salon and get my hair neatened up and interlocked tightly with the tool. I decided  to do this because my hair was starting to unravel and the 'interlocking' that was done was pulling out. After doing this my locs felt much more secure and fuzziness at the ends had reduced. At this stage I also noticed my hair had began budding so progress at last.

This was in January

Fast forward another three months and this is were I am. I try to re-twist my hair every 8 weeks or so. My aim is learn how to re-twist and style myself and only go to the salon for special occasions. I'd like to talk about product build up and lint, as well as frizzy ends. But I'll leave that for another post.

Overall I am happy with my hair and the way it looks, but I still have much to learn. There is no set time on when your hair will loc. Patience is needed, its a process. Its going to take time.

Take Care x

My Natural Hair Journey

Hi everyone,

It feels a bit late to say Happy New Year, but it would be rude if I didn't. Thank you for visiting my little blog and lets continue to get to know each in the new year :-)

So a while ago I decided to give up the perm and go natural, well... sort of. The transaction period of straight ends and thick bushy roots was incredibly frustrating. Simple styling or even basic combing was becoming difficult and painful, no matter what I did my hair would not cooperate. It was embarrassing and it really knocked my confidence, I didn't want to go outside and I felt so unattractive.

My quick style for natural hair

For over 10 years my hair was permed. I was never really one for long hair so I was sporting short styles, it was easier and manageable. However over time I was beginning to see a difference in the texture and thickness of my hair, even though I had regular treatments.

Doing a big chop was a bit too much for me but I felt more comfortable using extensions and weaves and deep trimming the ends between installments. I've had single plaits as a child but 2011 was my first sew in weave. It was fun to able to change things without causing too distress to my natural hair.

Weave Downsides:

• Hair does not age well (this does depend on the hair you buy)
• Crazy ass shedding - Hair all over the floor, hair all over your back... eww that's nasty!
• Once you have regrowth hair looks high and puffy -  When the wind hits the front of your head and it lifts up it looks NUTS!

Two Strand Twist Extension Downsides:

• Can take a long time to install and take down
• Difficult to hide messy roots and your hair is more liking to loc if left in too long

Out of the two I'd prefer to have two strand twist extensions in, I think it looks more natural (especially with a little regrowth) then straight weave. Its more versatile in terms of styling and its easier to moisturise the length of your natural hair.

In 2014 I decided its time time for a new chapter in my hair journey. I'm locing up! For me it just make sense, I've always been a fan of natural hair, but never really had the skills to manage my hair; problems with shrinking and tangles were a constant battle. Having locs means I can do all the things I did with the twist extensions but with my own hair and half the fuss. It won't be easy though, there will be times where it will look rough, it will be short and look thin/stringing. After much research I have learned that locs is a game of patience. It is different for everyone and it certainly doesn't happen overnight. So this is me the start of my locs journey, hopefully it would be happy and rewarding.

Goodbye little afro puff 

I do another post on my loc journey so far, but for now I hope you guys have enjoyed looking back with me. What has your hair journey been like and what have you learned? Any tips for locs please do let me know!

Until next time, take care x