kalia-dewdrop

Video: 5 Year Lockversary!

2012-02-08T14:52:00.000-08:00

Last month was my 5 year lockversary! (Left) This picture was taken over the summer in a rose garden, and I thought it really captured the beauty of my locs. (Right) This picture shows the current length of my locs. Scroll down to the bottom for more pictures. Click here to see year 4 and year 3.

Routine: My locs feel strong and healthy ever since I started taking better care of them and using more natural products. I still wash my locs once a week with my Alaffia shampoo and leave in hair conditioner. Occasionally, I will spritz them with Aloe Vera Juice after I have washed them just to seal in the moisture. The length of my locs have outgrown my microfiber towels, but I still use them. I don't leave them on my head for too long or else they begin to feel heavy.

Length & Size: Right now my locs have reached bra strap length and they continue to creep down my back. My goal is to have them grow to my waist just for fun. As I tightened them the other day, I noticed that I had a few skinny locs that needed support, so I went ahead and combined them. At least seven were combined, so now I have approximately 219 locs. I'll need to recount them later. Nearly one year ago I had colored my locs and then stopped. To be honest i'm still not used to my natural hair color only because I had dyed my hair for years.

Old Locs vs. New Locs: I still have plans to keep my old set of locs (the bottom half/colored part). Once my new set of locs (the top half) have grown out to a certain length then I will cut off my old set. Right now my new set is between ear and chin length, so i'm guessing that it'll probably take another 2-3 years before it reaches my shoulders. Almost 2 years have passed since I had combined my locs and had my double dragons snipped.

Locs & Grad School: My long hiatus from blogging was due to the fact that several months ago I started another professional program, and i'm currently working on a second masters degree. I had many assignments/projects to complete and I didn't have time to update my blog. I will try to update when I can because it is relaxing for me. I am so glad to have my locs right now and with my schedule it really helps to just be able to get up and go. I can still exercise, wash my locs and style them in time for the next day. I am the only loc'd head in my program, but not the only napptural. :-)

Video: Tighten Locs with a Paper Clip

2012-02-07T20:06:00.000-08:00

I've been using a paper clip to tighten my new growth ever since my latch hook broke over a year ago. It works well for me and I can adjust the size as needed, but for the most part I don't need to since all my locs can fit through the 'eye' of the tool.

Video: Cornrow Braid out

2012-01-08T21:19:00.000-08:00

~December 2011~

Cornrow Braid out: I haven't made this style in a while, but I gave it try and I enjoyed the wavy look it created. This is how I made this style:

1) I lightly spritzed my locs

2) I made six large cornrow, but made sure to keep my roots loose to avoid too much tension

3) Let them air dry for several hours, or over night

4) Unraveled them the next day and finger combed my locs.

Jamaican Coconut Drops

2012-01-08T19:48:00.000-08:00

~December 2011~

Coconut Drops! I spent Christmas with my family making all kinds of delicious Jamaican dishes and desserts as part of our cultural tradition. I helped my mother make Rum cake, and I helped my father make coconut drops from scratch. It was our first time making these drops with a labor of love, and as simple as this recipe might seem the challenging part was timing it just right in order to create those nice hard chunks. Yum!

Happy Nappiversary!

2012-01-08T19:30:00.000-08:00

~December 2011~

It's my Nappiversary and my napps are 8 years strong!

To celebrate this occasion, I wore a simple braidout and pinned back the right side. This was also the style I wore at my Christmas Concert.

I worked out at the gym a few days later, and my crinkles didn't sweat out as much as I thought they would. Nice!

PCM's Wedding & Bridesmaids Locs

2012-01-08T19:08:00.000-08:00

~October 2011~

Remember PCM? (Pink Carnation Maryann) See post 1 and post 2 to refresh your memory. She was married in October and asked me to be one of her bridesmaids. I was so honored because I had never been a bridesmaid before, so it was an exciting day for both of us. She had a traditional Orthodox Jewish wedding, She wore a beautiful wedding gown, a veil with fresh flowers attached as a crown, and she wore a twist out. After the ceremony she changed into a beautiful Victorian style dress for her reception. I was so happy for her! She looked very beautiful and expressed great joy!

My Bridesmaid Locs: I used my loc loops to make small spiral curls that lasted for most of the day. I spritzed my locs with water, set them with these rods over night and had some fabulous curls the next day! My locs were arm-pit-length and I knew that my curls would droop by nightfall, so I made my curls extra tight.

These are what my locs looked like as soon as I took out my loc loops.

Then I finger combed them lightly to avoid having them droop too much by time the wedding started.

Before & After: This is how my locs look in the morning, and by nightfall (twelve hours later) they completely drooped. My curls were gone! At least they stayed secure during the wedding.

Dancing with Locs!

2012-01-08T18:19:00.000-08:00

~August 2011~

Dance on! I joined a faith based dance troupe in June and we had a performance in August. I was so excited because this had always been one of my heart's desires. We showcased troupe and personal testimonials through different forms of dance. I took a picture of myself and used that as my head shot for our show's program booklet. The show took place at a Broadway-style theater in H.ollywood.

I kept my locs back in a low pony-tail only because I didn't want them to fall in my face considering how many dance pieces I had and costume changes I had to make. That night was so exciting and one of my best experiences ever! In case you were wondering, I don't have a dance background and i've never been trained in dance before. I relied upon the Spirit of the Lord to help guide me with my creative expression and develop some technical skills through every single piece. I was very grateful.

Dance Testimonial: My solo dance piece was based on Psalm 46:10 Be still and know that I am God, and about surrendering my will unto the Lord. Since I am a fan of Latin dance, that's exactly the form of dance I used to express my testimony.

This piece was a battle/martial arts number about spiritual warfare (good versus evil) based on Ephesians 6:10-19.

This piece was based on the parable in Matthew 25: 1-12, and about waiting on the Lord.

This piece was about the celebration of life in Christ, and we wore classic church robes.

Hair Products

2012-01-02T22:09:00.000-08:00

~September 2011~

Hair Products

So I am still using my favorite line of hair products by Alaffia. A friend of mine found their shampoos sold at a discounted price of $5 at another health food store. When she called me to share this great news, I told her to grab as many bottles as possible and clean out the shelf. LOL! She was able to grab four bottles of shampoo, so I think I am set for the next several months. I still use the leave in hair lotion and so far my hair is feeling pretty healthy.

Apple Cider Vinegar & Baking Soda Rinse

2012-01-02T21:48:00.000-08:00

~August 2011~

ACV & BS Rinse
After reading about using apple cider vinegar and baking soda as a clarifying shampoo / rinse, I decided to give this method a try. After I mixed both ingredients in a cup (1 tbs of ACV, 1 tbs of BS and 2 cups of warm water), I transferred the mixture to a squirt bottle and used that to saturate my hair and scalp. It's so much easier than trying to pour an open cup of the liquid all over your head. I allowed the liquid to sit on my scalp for 15 minutes while I showered, massaged my scalp and then rinsed out the liquid. My scalp was squeaky clean!! I did this for about 2-3 weeks and then took a break because I realized how much it was drying out my scalp. I've learned that it's best to space out the time frame when applying this method, so now I only do an ACV & BS rinse whenever I have major gunk in my scalp after an intense workout. I made sure to condition or moisturize my hair/scalp every time.

Summer Fun

2012-01-02T21:04:00.000-08:00

~August 2011~

Photo Booth Fun

My friends and I attended a mutual friend's birthday party, and he had a photo booth set up for us to take some fun pictures. I played around with my locs as I used different props just to see what the outcome would be, and we had so much fun with the process.

Pretty in Pink

My friends took me out to the zoo this day, and we came across this beautiful hibiscus flower that matched my outfit. As we leaned in closer to the plant one of the flowers fell off the stem and into their hands, so they pushed it into my locs and said it looked perfect. :-)

How to: Cut combined dreads + Video

2011-08-24T21:17:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I cut the remainder of my double dragons in the back of my head and a in the front. I had delayed cutting these off because I wanted my back locs to grow out some more and to support my new set. Once they reached a certain length then I was able to see where I needed to cut them. The left photo shows the back of my locs with the dragons still attached. The right photo shows my locs after I snipped them. I have fewer locs in the back now and my hair has less density in this part of my head.

These are two pics of how much new growth I have since combining my locs 1.5 years ago. The left photo shows the back row and the right photo shows a loc from the front of my head.

I cut the remainder of my double dragons and this photo shows most of them between 9"-10" long. After I took this picture I found roughly 5-7 more locs which I missed from before and they were a little longer than the ones you see here.

Result: My locs definitely feel much lighter in the back and my hair doesn't take as long to dry after I wash it.

How To Cut Them: I hold up two locs and which ever one looks and feels stronger is the one I keep. I factor in uneven lengths and the overall health of each loc's shaft. If there are major weak spots in one loc (even if it's longer) then that's the one i'll snip because the other (shorter) one is stronger and consistent (meaning no holes or thinning areas).

Below is a video demonstration of how I cut my double dragons:

My Hair Texture

2011-08-24T20:34:00.000-07:00

I picked out the end of one loc and later re-braided it because it was too big and bulky to pull through my new growth when I latched my roots. I played with it for a little bit and took this picture to show you what it looks like up close. Most of my strands are tightly coiled and spiral like a slinky or double helix in an o-shape, and then I have a few that just bend in this z-shape. The beauty of our coils still amaze me and how awesome it is to have such versatility with our hair texture.

Flowery Fun

2011-08-24T20:03:00.000-07:00

Flowery Fun

My Shower Updo is now one of my staple styles. I really like how elegant it looks and i'm so glad that I no longer need to resort to hair ties to keep my hair up at any given notice. Last Sunday I just kept it simple with this style and wore a cute flower accessory to match my summer dress, and I started wearing side swoop bangs to avoid adding stress to my hairline. I received many compliments about my entire look and I think it's so fun when you have your own personal style that people can appreciate.

Curly Bun

2011-08-24T19:50:00.000-07:00

Curly Bun

I had a dance performance this month and as part of my costume I was required to wear an African print head band and skirt. My hair had to be up and away from my face, so I wore a curly pony tail with swoop bangs but the curls dropped way too much before the show started. I had to quickly change my look and make a curly bun out of it in an attempt to preserve my remaining curls. My performance went well and I received many compliments about this style. One lady with SLs approached me and asked me how I did my hair and if I would tighten her locs for her, lol!

Video: Fish Tails

2011-08-10T21:55:00.001-07:00

Shower Updo w/ video

2011-07-26T15:48:00.001-07:00

I call this style a shower updo because about 3 months ago I was about to take a shower, but I didn't have a hair band to keep my locs up and I don't use a shower cap either. So I quickly starting folding sections of locks over each other and just jumped in the shower. When I finished I looked in the mirror and noticed how lovely it looked, so I wore this style for the rest of the day. A few days later I made several attempts to re-create this look since I couldn't remember what I did, and then I finally figured it out. I'm adding this one to my list of staple styles because I really like it. Every time I wear this style it never looks the same, but I think it's beautiful and great to wear in a casual or formal setting. I don't use any hair pins or bands by the way. These pics are from yesterday:

These pictures below show the style from the very first time I re-created it back in May. Do you notice how different the style is in both sets of pictures? You can wear a flower on the side, jewels or chopsticks. I wear this style now when I go swimming instead of putting my hair up in a ponytail.

Below is a video tutorial demonstrating how to create this style step by step. Enjoy!

Loc Breakage

2011-07-18T18:04:00.000-07:00

Periodically i'll inspect my locs for signs of weakness or damage, especially if I had been putting stress on my locs due to over styling or other factors. Below i've posted pictures of two locs in the back near the nape of my neck which have thinned out. I believe I know what contributed to their breakage and it could be a culmination of factors:

1) They were very thin to begin with
2) I used peroxide every time I dyed my hair
3) I groomed them
4) I stretched them back into a tight ponytail with those thin hair ties from years ago.

I believe the fourth reason might be the main culprit because every time I wore curlers or put them up in a pony tail my locs were stretched. After taking them down I noticed they seemed thinner and longer than usual. I even wrote a post about this back in 2009 click here: "The shaft of several locks appear to be thinner and I know it's from wearing my shorter hair ties when I run. I really don't want my locks to snap off so I made the decision to wear my hair half up and half down to give my back row a good rest. I make sure to keep my shorter hair ties kind of loose, but I still have the same problem despite switching positions (i.e. higher puff, lower puff), and I know that my locks have thickened over the last few months."

(Left pic) This is Loc 'A', and if you look closely at the point near my fingers then you'll see some damage. (Right pic) This is a close up of that breakage where a few strands are keeping the loc together.

(Left pic) To the right of Loc 'A' in this picture is Loc 'B'. They were both the same length and had the same point of weakness. (Right pic) I removed half of the loc from Loc 'A' and 'B' at this point, but I used two different methods. I picked out Loc 'B' and and I just snipped Loc 'A', so now both locs are half the length they once were.

Now this is Loc 'C', a third loc combined from two previously super skinny locs from the front of my head. As you can see once again, a few strands are keeping this loc intact. I simply just pulled this loc apart from the weakest point and it came out with ease. It's a quarter of a length shorter than it once was, but that's okay because it creates a more tapered look once it blends in with my other locs.

My Thoughts & Feelings:

This is a good reminder about why I had to combine my locs to begin with, and to remain focused on my goal of growing a healthy set this time. I last colored my hair 5 months ago and I don't plan to color it again anytime soon. I'm not concerned about these weakened locs because they were part of my old set and I plan to cut those off anyway in the future.

Video: Tag - 3 Things I Love About My Locs

2011-07-18T15:06:00.000-07:00

Video: Cannoli Style

2011-07-05T16:31:00.000-07:00

Style #2

<br><br>St

8 weeks of new growth

2011-06-28T12:56:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago I tightened the front and back of my locs but I delayed tightening the middle because my schedule was full at the time and I just didn't get around to doing it. After the first four weeks I had completely forgot about the middle and only remembered whenever I washed my locs, lol! A few more weeks passed and when I checked my calendar, sure enough it was exactly 8 weeks since I had last tightened the middle. I knew that I could not let another week go by because the last time I waited this long, bubbles/bumps formed at the root and I couldn't do anything about it.

So I finally set aside some time to start latching the middle and noticed that a few of my locs had formed bubbles already which I couldn't undo. I wasn't surprised though because I know how quickly my hair can lock and what will happen if i'm not consistent with my latching schedule. I was able to fit maybe 1-2 fingers through my new growth and I thought 'whoa, I really need to tighten my roots now'. LOL!
____________________________________________________________

Another Shampoo

It was time for me to purchase my favorite shampoo but I'd decided to use some of my left over black soap for a while before doing so. I like how well Black soap works for me, but it can be a little drying and I wanted my other shampoo. So when I went to the market apparently they had increased the price of my favorite shampoo by a lot, and I wasn't thrilled. I looked for an alternative and came across this shampoo that was several dollars less and would most likely do the same thing. It's Herbal Mint Shampoo and it does not contain parabens, Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate or an artificial fragrance, and it's just as effective. The good thing is that it smells great and works just as effectively as my other shampoo but doesn't leave my hair dry. The down side is that it's a bit on the watery side and not super sudsy, but it does work pretty well. This is actually better than my other shampoo for when I need to do a quick rinse of my locs after a good workout.

Video: Lounge Locs

2011-06-23T14:31:00.001-07:00

Video: Night Head Scarf

2011-06-22T14:38:00.000-07:00

Crinkles & Curls

2011-06-20T16:29:00.000-07:00

Summer Crinkles

A friend of mine took me out for the day and we both did something cute with our hair. She had her hair tied up in a very cute urban chic head wrap and I wore my crinkles with a summer flower accessory (plumerias are my favorite hair accesory). I'm beginning to notice more length and I'm definitely liking the two-tone color in my locs.

____________________________________________________________

Curls

As I said, i'm just playing catch up with all my updates since March. For Resurrection Sunday (a.k.a. Easter) I flat twisted one side of my head and curled my locs with loc loops. As much as I like my loc loops I am finding that my curls last about 1.5 days and droop considerably since I have more length now. I would like to try pipe cleaners once again because maybe it'll produce tighter curls and last longer.

Half-Marthon Race w/ Rain

2011-06-15T13:25:00.000-07:00

In May I participated in the Pasadena Half Marathon and it happened to rain on race day.....again. ( Flash back to when I first ran this race in 2009 w/ soaked locs.) They changed the course and I actually prefer this new course as compared to the old one. It rained throughout the race but not heavily this time. I crossed the finish line in 2:10.32 (2 hrs. 10 min. and 32 seconds) running a 9 minute/mile pace. My 10km split was 57:35 and my 5km split was 28:31. I'm so proud of myself because I set a new personal record and shaved just 4 minutes off my time. Hopefully one day i'll finish in just 2 hrs.

So my hair was another story. My plan was to wear a cute curly or crimped style if it was nice and sunny or just keep it simple if it rained (normally I like to style my hair for my races, just for fun). Since it rained, I just wore my locs half up and the rest down, because I wanted them out of my face and I wasn't as concerned about the back. My locs didn't feel heavy and I didn't need to squeeze out any water, so I was fine. The only semi-challenging part was the fact that my back locs kept falling past my shoulders to the front. Here are a few pics of my locs up close. I especially like this first one where they were just flailing in the wind as I crossed the finish line.

I enjoy running with my locs down, but maybe not so much in the rain (this was my first time running with them down). If I plan to run another race in the future then i'll have a good idea of what to expect....depending on the weather. I was contemplating wearing my fish tails but I didn't know if they would fit under my running cap in case I wore one, so I just opted to wear my hair down instead.

5 Styles in 5 Weeks Challenge

2011-06-15T12:26:00.000-07:00

I'm just catching up with posting all my updates since March, so I appreciate your patience. ;-) During the months of April and May I challenged myself to be more creative and wear a different hairstyle every week. 5 styles in 5 weeks. It was quite fun. In fact there was a sixth style that I really liked the most, and once I tried it I wore it for nearly 3 weeks straight (i'll post pictures and a video in another post. It's a really cute updo and I received many compliments for it). So here are my 5 styles in 5 weeks:

#1 The Spiky Bun

It's an upside down bun, so instead of tucking the ends underneath I tucked them upward.

______________________________________________________________

#2 The Cannoli

This style reminds me of a cannoli so that's what i've named it. I grabbed several locs from the front, wrapped them around the back, tied them into a knot, took the rest of my locs and made a pony tail but tied the hair band at the end of my locs instead of closer to my head. Pulled the pony tail up and tucked it over and into the knotted part. Then I tied a cute scarf around my head.

____________________________________________________________

#3 The Side Crown

I took several locks in the front and started rolling them over each other as I continued down and around the side of my head. Then I gathered the remainder of my locks and made a side pony tail using a hair band. You can also curl your ends or just leave them as is.

_____________________________________________________________

#4 Swoop Bang & High Bun

Leave a few locs out in the front. Make a high ponytail and tuck the ends underneath to make a bun. Let your front locs fall over your forehead, cover them with your hand near the root and loosely fold the bottom half of these same locs up and over your hands then away from your face. You can pin it in place so that it doesn't lose it's shape or tie them down with a cute hair scarf.

_________________________________________________________

#5 Swoop Bang

Same idea as style #4: Place a stretchy hair band over your locs, but leave some out in the front for bangs. Let your front locs fall over your forehead, cover them with your hand near the root and loosely fold the bottom half of these same locs up and over your hands then away from your face. Tuck the ends under your head band and cover them with a hair accessory, OR, tuck your ends around the hair band again to create a cocoon shape around it.