AUG 1ST 2004 -MY 3 YEARS MARK of locing ~~loc freedom and freeforming all the way... Be peace. ~ *feel free to leave comments*

Sunday, January 30, 2005

A CHANGING ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE LOCING PROCESS...

After all the fuss and TLC from OYIN: and getting those cute curls, I went to bed last night and had a mad dream....

For some reason, my locs were really really long ... like butt length and I decided that it was time for a change. So I cut my locs from about 2-3 inches from the scalp and picked out the remaining of the locs... and had this amazing afro....

Which I let grow for about a year ...

Doing all the wash and go's mainly and having fun with a different style....

And then Christmas came, and I decided to get my hair braided up.... And I re-attached all my locs. Back to normal and and growing my locs again.

Its a funny thing that I had this dream as recently I have re-attaching and doing some minor loc surgery with a few that fell off at the back ... The black yarn really came in handy and it doesn't show at all.... I just kept wrapping the yarn through both locs and around until it looked like one again.

Who knows.... Maybe one day when my locs are much longer, I'll give that experiment a go for real and see how it all turns out.

I might have mentioned before that when I did have loose napps for all those years, I did not have the wealth of info that exists today -- My whole mindset on natural hair was terrible. If I knew then, what I now know -- I KNOW I would have had much more fun.

At the same time, my attitude towards locs has changed over the process too -- from only wanting and accepting manicured locs to falling into freeforming and rebelling from what neat locs are suppossed to look like.

And now I'm slowly seeing that my attitude is changing from loced for life to for whatever feels right. There is no need to feel that locs are permanent.

Hair grows, thats all it does -- and for the rest of my life it will do, in whatever style I want, I shouldn't tell my Self that having short hair is a bad thing or that cutting my locs would be a failed thing.... All those old mind conditioning is not healthy while I have my locs. Infact, its time to move away from all that and choose real freedom to enjoy what nappiness is all about.

Having locs should not be seen as a no going back process. If it feels right to just chop them off, do so and start again when you have had your fun with your loose naps. But I feel that whatever choice we make, make sure it is what we really want and willing to take the good/bad of it. Really thinking it through before doing it.

Saying that, I don't feel ready to cut mine off -- It might be a long wait or never, but I know that if I want to go back to having loose naps, then thats fine too.

After that dream and all the loc surgery I have been performing over the years, anything is possible.

At the 5 year mark, I'll observe my feeling towards my locs.
As for now, I love them way too much.

Just my feelings and thoughts.

PLOPPING....

It sounds like some new exercise trend. 'Plopping' refers to a method of helping to create curl structure prior to diffusing or air drying that has become a favorite among NaturallyCurly.com members.

As described by a member, after one washes and conditions the hair, you apply product to wet hair and get ready to 'plop.' Put a t-shirt or aquis towel down on a chair - some use the toilet with seat down. Leaning over the towel/t-shirt with your head hanging down bent over from your waist, position the wet hair onto towel so the curls are all concentrated on top of the head. Then pull the towel taut against the top and sides of the head, grabbing the 2 sides and twisting them into long sausage rolls near each ear. Take these rolled up towel extensions and pull them to the nape of the neck and secure them by tying them together.

Says one reader, 'Then I put go about my morning routine — makeup, coffee, etc. The towel helps to absorb excess water while letting the curls 'set' into clumps. When you take the towel off, gently shake down the curls and diffuse 's' shaped, individual curly locks, with some volume at the roots.

If you want extra control, another member suggests spritzing on on some spray gel or scrunch in a bit more gel after you take the towel off.

Taken from this link

...This sounds like a good method for drying locs too.


LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT T?....

A WHOLE LIST OF ONLINE SHOPS WITH NAPPY TEES

Taken from Afronappy's website:
http://www.napturalglory.com/index.html


Saturday, January 29, 2005

I GAVE MY PLANTS THE OYIN: FULL WORKS!

Today, my pack came. So quickly!

Pleasantly surprised to find the postman knocking at my door when I was expecting the plumber to come and fix my busted radiator.

And perfect timing too - today I felt that my locs needed a little TLC so I had all my stuff ready to treat them after all my work for the day was over....

So I gave my babies the OYIN: works - she even included a little pack of the Poo bar and the stick to go along with my gift pack :-)

The Shampoo bar was very lovely scented, glided right on my locs...and unlike other natural soaps, I didn't feel afraid to just rub the soap into my locs/scalp as there are no little bits in it, just pure smoothness. A gentle clean and doesn't leave that stripped feeling, just softness.

The conditioner --- This stuff smelled SO YUMMY! I mean, as soon as I put a little on my plants, they just ate it all up lol! It felt thin to the touch, but bursting with moisture and fragrance. Very refreshing. I massaged the conditioner into my locs, left them on for a few minutes and hesitated to rinse ... it was too good to let go!

The wonderful thing about freeforming is that there is plenty of loose hairs around the scalp area that gives me the added pleasure of touching my loose fuzzy naps ... And it is usually the first thing I notice after I use any product. If my loose curls are feeling good and healthy, then I know my locs are loving them too.

My loose naps were flying with textured moistured curls after the wash! A sure sign that I have found a few products that are good for me!

Next, I lightly squeeze my locs with a towel and add a pea size amount of the shine and define on. A little of this stuff really goes a long way!

The stage I'm at right now ----
I'm sitting at this computer with damp locs and little curls at my scalp, they feel so cute! I'm guessing that all the moisture from the wash and the styling serum of shine and define has worked its magic into my curls.

When my locs are dry, I'll give them another zapp of the Greg juice. I tried this earleir, before washing my locs out of sheer curiousity and found it to be very soothing and the perfect remedy to my dry locs. I can't wait to use it again after my locs have dried a little.

That leaves 2 more products to try -- the lip balm and the whip pudding.

OYIN: is amazing! No other word for it,
I'd recommend it to any napps out there reading!
Its a sure thing!

Sunday, January 23, 2005

Thursday, January 13, 2005

WAITING ON MY OYIN: ....

This is why I love the internet, a chance to 'meet' others and try out their products...

This lady is truly beautiful and talented....
I just bought the gift pack to try out her stuff and see how it works on my locs...

ENTER OYIN: AND BE PREPARED TO LOVE THE WEBSITE:
http://oyinhandmade.com/

NAPPY HAIR TIPS: http://oyinhandmade.com/oyin/index.php?p=20#more-20

Wednesday, January 05, 2005