Little Update

OK..............This is concerning my youngest and his little locs. They are growing and growing and his retights were going well, until I switched gel and MAN OH MAN WHAT A MESS. After his July 4th retight, his locs looked GREAT. Then I noticed that his hair was looking 'dusty/dirty'

and they felt crunchy. So, I decided to wash and retighten them again. When I sat down to go through his locs and get a good look at them, I also noticed that he had about 3 inches of new growth - MAN THIS BOY 'S HAIR GROWS FAST and gel buildup!! So I knew I was going to have to make a drastic change in his overall routine, one that would allow frequent washing, no gel buildup and get his hair under control.

This weekend, I washed his hair with a very strong shampoo, conditioned it with jojoba oil in my favorite conditioner - spritzed it generously with my Rosemary oil/water mix and did the retightening using the interloc method. Because he's much more active now, I will have to wash his hair more frequently, so my gel and twist method is OVER for him. I have to say, it took almost 4 hours to retighten his hair because he had so much of it that needed to be tightened. So, here he is, no more dusty locs. LOL!!

P.S. That gel went into the TRASH!!

Peace Lovies!!

August Retight

Well, I just finished my monthly retight and here are some updates:

I had to do a lot more separating this time around. I think I need to do a better job of that when I wash my hair.

The retightening didn't take as long - I know I'm getting a little faster at doing it, but I really think it's going faster because I am keeping to a very strict 4 week schedule. My hair is so dense, that my hair start to do some funny things if I go any longer between retightenings.

My hair is definitely starting to lock up - I have noticed that the braid pattern is starting to disappear.

I combined about 5 or 6 of them because I wasn't comfortable with how they felt at the roots (can't really explain that any further). I figured, combine them now or risk losing them later - so I went with combining. LOL!!

Here are a few pics:

It's been so hot here lately, now I can actually feel the wind on my scalp. LOL!!!!!

Peace Lovies!!

What's Going On (Final)

A little update on my middle son, Bryen. For those that don't know, he marches with a drum corps and was told by one of the assistant directors back in March that in order to march this summer he had to cut his hair. Of course, I wasn't happy and neither was my son. The director told me in a very unprofessional email that the corp had to maintain a certain "image" and that "trendy, edgy, urban hairstyles were not acceptable"...........

Well, my son did his reasearch and found out that several trendy, edgy styles had been tolerated from caucasions in the past. One of the drum majors (who is also white) told my son "The director is an idiot, I think your hair is cool and you definitely should NOT cut it".

Long story short, the head directors WIFE told Bryen at the beginning of the season that he should not consider cutting his locks - he had the right to express himself. She told him in front of the rest of the staff "Just make sure they are neatly tucked under your helment during competition and everything would be just fine.

This article appeared on July 18th in a local newspaper:

Tuba player Bryen Warfield practices with the Bluecoats of Canton, Ohio, on Wednesday at C.H. Collins Athletic Complex. The Bluecoats and seven other groups will compete in the Red River Thunder Drum and Bugle Corps show at 6 p.m. Sunday. www.cavaliers.org.

As you can see, my baby's lovely locs (that he maintains himself) are alive, well and doing just fine. So what have we learned from this little test? Perseverance!! Don't be afraid to be who you are - be comfortable with your style choices (dress, hair, etc.). When you are confronted with the kind of fear and ignorance my son had to deal with, don't be afraid to do your research and stand very strong.

Peace Lovies!!