In tribute to my on-line friend, Ms. Cheryl B aka Daez I thought that I would also throw in some helpful information as well. This page will have larger pictures (closer looks at the locs) and more specific information about what I do to my locs.

September 2002- I celebrated my one year locing aniversary in August 2002. This is not my first attempt at locing (see Leslie's Hair Journey) but it was my first attempt at doing it "right". What right meant to me was forming my locs as I wanted them, nourishing and maintaining my own hair, reaping the benefits of a healthy head of hair. As previously documented (The Year of Locing Carefully), I went through a year of discovery: about my hair, products to use on my hair, and even a little bit of discovery about myself. As you can see above, after a year, my hair has curly spirals on the tips and is still a bit frizzy. Some of my locs still have the little fuzz balls on the tips. I have a lot of "new growth" at the root. The reason I quoted "new growth" is because I sometimes wonder if this is hair that is left after breakage. I do braid, curl and nubian knot my hair to give it some volume. I usually do this after I wet it thoroughly. When it dries and "shrinks", I can feel my hair being pulled. This pulling may be causing some breakage, although not severe breakage. My rootbeds feel great!

November 2002- These pictures are taken under more natural light with flash. I'm pretty much a "what you see is what you get" kind of person. I have just spritzed my hair with my daily spritz formula (recipe to follow). My hair seems to have taken off as far as growth is concerned. I am very happy about that! My locs in the front of my head are much thinner and firmer than the locs in the back of my head. The hair in the very back of my head has a very loose curl and will not hold very well. I have had to tree locs back there also. I still have places where the hair has not taken hold back there! I keep braiding it and training it and hoping that one day it will cooperate. I lost my little beaded loc in late September, *sniff*. It was thinning out so much at the root that I was afraid that one day I was going to yank it out of my head. I cut it off and braided what was left into a neighboring loc.

I use this spritz first thing in the morning- to wake up the locs. My hair likes moisture, that is why I throw the carrier oil into the mix. Once I have my hair good and wet, I may also use ORS Carrot Oil for an added moisturizer. I absolutely love this stuff! It makes the hair feel nice and soft and gives a non-greasy sheen. After I return home from work, I will spritz my hair again. Usually by the end of the day it needs a little boost. I live in California where there is virtually no humidity and my hair isn't bone dry, but it does need some moisture. I shampoo about every two weeks. I use Dr. Bronner's Almond Oil Castille Soap.
(Here's a little secret that is probably not going to make me any friends, but I just had to pass it along- When I first started this set of locs I used a product known as Nubian Secrets. It turned out that the product had too much shea butter in it for me and my hair started turning a nasty dull gray. The wonderful part about having bought the product was the shampoo. They sell the shampoo in a foaming dispenser! They also sell refills of the shampoo, which means that the dispenser can be opened and refilled. It kind of reminds me of a shaving cream dispenser. You just pump the top and out comes the shampoo already foamy and ready to apply to your hair. You never have to work your hair to get suds to appear! I fill about 1/3 of the bottle with Dr. Bronners and fill to about an inch from the top with water. I get my hair good and wet and then smooth on the foam. Let the foam sit for a few and then rinse out.)

Nubian Secrets web site

I follow my shampoo with an apple cider vinegar rinse. I make sure to get my entire scalp with the acv. I usually don't put anything other than acv and water in a bottle and pour it over my head until its all gone. I do one last quick shampoo to rid my hair of the smell (I can't stand that vinegar smell!) and a really good rinse. The acv does wonders when it comes to minimizing any itching and flaking. I follow my shampoo and rinse with a generous portion of ORS carrot oil after towel blotting my hair. I don't usually do any deep conditioning because my hair is so soft and will unravel. Occasionally I will indulge in a hot olive oil condition. My hair feels absolutely wonderful after one of these treatments. It stays moistured for days without my having to put anything in it.

I have had a couple of requests for instructions on latchooking the new growth. Although there is material out there that can be purchased and goes into detail about how to do this- I have made up my own little set of instructions. I find latchhooking to be the perfect method of tightening for me and my hair type. It's quick, it's easy and can be done at any time. Since the hair is, in effect, weaved, there is no worry of the new growth becoming untwisted or not tight enough. I don't find that my locs are misshapened or flat after latchhooking. Care should be taken to not tighten the new growth so much that you are pulling the hair from the roots. Latchhooking also works when trying to integrate new growth into the rootbed. Click HERE to access the .jpg file with the instructions.

T-shirt Head Wrap- This came up in a Yahoo group discussion recently, so I thought that I would add the instructions here. This is quite handy should you need to cover the locs and you want to do it in some coordinating color.