Red and Proud

Let me be first to say that I’m not a “loctician” or some glorified loc guru. No…nonono, no. I’m a frugalista if you haven’t learned by now. A DIY-er, a crafter, a….broke women, don’t you know. THEREFORE, I must do things on my own while upholding a certain quality for my professional career. Understand where I’m coming from? Okay. Let’s get to it.

1) Go to your local beauty supply store and ask to be directed to the aisle with the bleaching agent. If they don’t know what you’re talking about, you may want to find another associate, lol! Other terms, such as color-stripping or lifting the color may also be useful. I have multiple bleaching products: some in powders where you mix with other stuff, agents that come already mixed, yada yada. I opt for anything that is already mixed because, simply put, I’m lazy. Also, not that I could not adequately mix the product, but this will also help with consistency if it is already packaged this way. Afterwards, pick that bright color you wanted. After all, if you wanted a hint or tint of color or dyeing your locs a darker color you wouldn’t be reading this post, right? I hope so. Once you got this step completed go to the next. Note: It would be AWESOME if you could purchase a hooded dryer from Wal-mart (it would be cheaper than getting one from the beauty supply store). Believe me, it comes in handy with those who have (or have not) locs.

2) Go ahead and prep your locs and your bathroom because it’s about to get messy. I’m not about to repeat everything over, so you might to read up my post “Dying to Dye: Tips for Dyeing Locs“. Yep.

3) Follow the instructions  with the bleaching agent to the T. Just that simple. Believe me, it’s not as scary as you think.

4) Apply the color, follow the instructions. My favorite product so far is the one I said in my post “Dyeing Your Locs Red“. Put on a shower cap, let it set for 15-30 minutes, preferably under a hooded dryer as stated before.

Bright, including that thumb in the picture.

The back of the T-shirt Wrap

Bright red locs, ladies and gents.

The dryer is not a pleasant experience for me. It appeared to be drying more than my locs.

Front of T-Shirt Wrap

While I’m at it, I’m going to let you guys see my 2012 pics and maybe later I’ll upload my 2013 pics.

September 2012

September 2012

September 2012

Yaaaaaaaaaaas! Work it, mama!

I know you have met those jackholes that just stare at your locs or look at them as filthy pieces of rope. Yup… I know, I know. I wish we could round them up too and hang them by their toenails, but that wouldn’t get anything accomplished. BUT what about those times you strolled somewhere in public and have someone compliment your locs?  Makes you want to catwalk something awful right in the middle of the building, don’t it!?  The point is this: Locs are sexy. Always. Sometimes it’s hard and you may feel a little stuck in a rut and need something fresh to make you wave them lovely locs. Try something new like:

1. A fresh wash and retwist. There’s nothing like locs that have been washed and retwisted. Feel that breeze on your scalp! 
2. Add some curls, crimps, or some other new  cute style.
3. Add an accessory or stylish hat.
4. Plan a sexy night out and do numbers #1  and #2 WITH a new sexy outfit. What?! Nobody ain’t going to have nothing to say! (Disclaimer: I’m from North Carolina and we do, at times, use double even triple negatives when we get excited)
5. Try a new color. It’s easier now than ever to try a new color. Red, burgundy, honey blonde, etc. Color is in! Try coloring your tips, half or all of your locs. And if you don’t like it, you can always redye your hair black (or whatever the original hair color).
6. Everyone has neglected their locs at one time or another. Take a new pride in your locs and improve the condition of your hair. Keep it moisturized and maintained. Within a month or so you should see a difference.
7. If you have the money, have someone else pamper your locs. No work or stress on your part. All together now: Ahhhhhhh! Feels nice.
8. Post your pics on your profile on facebook, twitter, or in a locs interest group and show off your locs. Guarantee it makes you feel like a million bucks to have people “Like” and comment on your locs.

Still feeling a little blah about your locs? Maybe it’s because of your health. If you’re not healthy, your locs are not healthy. This means you should be getting enough:

1. Rest; at least 7 hours each night.
2. Nutrients. If not, get a multivitamin, supplements, and some omega-3 in your diet stat!
3. Exercise, which actually releases those feel-good hormones into your body. Not to mention you get to shape up and boost your confidence about your overall appearance as well.
4. Self-care. Doesn’t make sense to have beautiful locs and ashy skin, tart breath, and jacked up clothes does it? Pamper yourself, including those claws.
5. Fun. Stress will not only release cortisol (a stress related hormone) into your body, but raise your blood pressure and thin your hair out. Don’t believe me? If your body isn’t doing it on its own, you’re physically doing it yourself. When you’re in deep thought or stressed do you twirl your locs, scratch your head, twist-retwist, pull, or any of the sort to your locs? Now think about how many times you do this per day during stressful moments. Mmm-hmm.

Did I miss something you do to get your sexy back? I would love to hear it!!

This is the exact red I used for my current color.

I’ve ALWAYS loved burgundy as a hair color. Red has also grown on me a lot since especially since Rihanna has been wearing it like the diva she is. So, you guys, I’m not longer honey blonde. I’m now a Redhead. I really love it, but word of caution. Red haircolor fades so much faster than other colors. I kid you not. That is not a myth and is very much true. Alright, alright, I’ve finished babbling. Let’s get to it. If you haven’t read my other blog post for “Tips for Dyeing Locs” then you may want to check it before you actually dye your locs because the information on this post is just a brief overview of what I did to get the red color.

To begin, if you hair color is dark you may have to lift your color.  They have products that lift your hair color in beauty stores, but since I’m not a hairdresser (lol) and don’t want to mix chemicals that I’m not familiar with I’ve chose another method. I was already honey blonde for a while. So really, my haircolor was already lifted. The product I used for this “lift” was the Clairol Honey Blonde.

Afterwards, you can use a dye of your choice. I used “Creative Image Adore 68 Crimson.” Which was absolutely awesome. It wasn’t a fire truck red, but a deep red. The picture of the dye I used is in the first picture of this post. I purchased it from the beauty supply store and believe it or not, it is significantly cheaper than the Clairol–like $3 cheaper! They have multiple shades of red, too. SO… follow the instructions for dyeing.  Now, what I’ve learned from a hairdresser to set the haircolor is directly after dyeing your dreads, put on a shower cap and sit under a hood dryer for 15 to 30 minutes. If you don’t have one, get one. It’s like $30 bucks from Wal-Mart–$29.97 to be exact. It’s collapsible so it doesn’t take up space (see pic below).

Hood Dryer in collapsed and open positions. I actually have this hood dryer

The Results

1st Trimester Preggers & Honey Blonde

After-baby & Redhead (this is 2-3 months after my locs were dyed)

“What can I use if I wanted to cleanse my dreadlocks without soap or shampoo?”

My answer at that time was:

“Do you want to clean your scalp and your locs dreadlocks or just your dreadlocks? If you are having issues with just your scalp, you can use witch hazel or some other astringent with a q-tip. If you want to thoroughly clean your scalp and dreadlocks you can use apple-cider vinegar and water concoction. You can find a recipe online depending on the strength you want to use. It cleans very well..and no you won’t smell like potato salad if you thoroughly rinse it out.”

Another poster to this forum suggested this:

“You can use a mix of baking soda and witch hazel or baking soda and water mix the two together to make a thin paste or cloudy liquid and put in a squeeze bottle. You can also add a few drops of tea tree oil, lemon juice, or sage/rosemary oil. I have also heard of people using strong herbal teas made out of cleansing herbs like milk thistle, chamomile, sage. Also investing in a high power water pressure detachable shower head (you can get one at Lowe’s/home depot), the strong water pressure has the ability to penetrate the locks and remove debris and oils with warm/hot water.”

Hmm, very wise dear anonymous one, very wise.

Do you have any more tips??

Loc’ers, Lockers…Get it? Hardy har har. Yeah. I know. It was lame (-_-)

The pride you get from your new locs is undescribable…but the frustration ain’t. I’m sure you got your new locs and have found after a couple of days–if not the first night–unsure of some things. Okay, a lot of things. The fact that you’re annoyed says quite a bit, but for the most part it says, “You’re on the right track.” Everyone with locs has had and continues to have these moments. So here are a few tips to help you out:

1. Keep your locs covered while you are at home with satin scarf/bonnet. It will keep a lot of lint and whatnot out your hair. Not to mention, if you happen to lay down, this will decrease the amount of unwinding/unraveling.
2. Don’t use grease or beeswax. If so, use at your own peril.
3. Do not let people tell YOU how YOUR hair is. You’ve lived with your hair all your life and know what works or not.
4. DO pay close attention to how your dreads are maintained, so you can learn to do them on your own (just in case you don’t want to keep paying that money or if you are in a bind).
5. Do wash at least once monthly. Contrary to belief, clean locs lock faster than dirty ones.
6. If you must wash your hair, use a stocking cap (Read my post about washing baby locs).
7. Do not use a lot of product when you twist your dreads.  A little product goes a long way.
8. Do NOT overtwist your dreads. It will thin the root.
9. Do not be a product junkie, lol. Stick with the products that work bests for you!
10.  Do try natural oils such peppermint, coconut, jojoba, tea tree oil, et cetera. Shea butter is great, too!
11. Expect your hair to unravel a little. It’s a normal thing. Don’t fret, you will learn to contain it after a while. It’s not as hard as you think!
12. Try to keep your locs in its natural position for now. Styles will come in due time. You don’t want to undo any progress/locking.

Do you have any more suggestions???

So how do you get this crap out of locs once the damage is done? Well, let’s start with addressing the problem:

First, PLEASE do NOT believe this myth—>”The only real effective way to get beeswax out is to cut the dreads off.” Please do not do this because this is not true. You can wash out the beeswax.

Do not use petroleum/latum-based products. Twist with holding gels and then pin the dreads down with duckclips; that will keep the root twisted. You can even followup with a holding spray (White Rain will suffice, you don’t need that expensive stuff even though I love John Frieda’s!). Just be sure to do a light mist with the spray. Be sure to also use a small amount of gel because a little product goes a long way. The plus to using these items: They wash out much easier than beeswax and other petroleum products.Moisturize your hair with oils (such as coconut oil, jojoba oil, peppermint oil, olive oil, et cetera), shea better, and stuff of that nature. It will do you some good.

Time for the washing:

Baking soda and water. You can start out by putting the baking soda on the root of your locs (make sure to rub in a generous amount). Spray your locs with water. This should attack the residue at the root. You can also use a clear, clarifying shampoo. The main purpose of this shampoo is wash gunk out of your hair. You can find one at your local Wal-mart (products like Pantene, heck, the Equate brand works great, too! I use it!), beauty supply store, or Dollar General. I’m going to let you know now that you are probably going to do a couple of rounds of shampooing before you feel any difference. You could also do an ACV (apple-cider vinegar) rinse. This WILL thoroughly clean your locs. Believe me, lol. No, you won’t smell like potato salad afterwards if you wash it out your hair. You may want to do this before using clarifying shampoo.

Do y’all have any more tips I can add???

You do not want to wash your locs frequently (i.e. every week or daily) since they are fairly young. You should wash your hair, at minimum, once a month. If you wash your hair every two weeks, fine—be careful. However, it’s not the washing you should be worried about; it’s how you wash your locs. Get a stocking cap or make one. Before you go into the shower (or if you are washing it in the tub/sink), put it on. Rub shampoo, conditioner, or whatever your preference, over the cap so that the product is getting in, but you are not rubbing your locs completely loose. Tip: Rub in one direction, such as from front to back with one hand, while holding the cap with the palm of your other hand. This way, the cap will not be moving everywhere! (video demonstration: scroll to bottom) After rinsing, squeeze the water out of your locs. Blot your locs dry with the towl. NO RUBBING. NONE. NADA. ZILCH. Those babies are gonna come loose if you rub the towel vigorously around your locs. Got it? Okay. If you have the time, I highly suggest letting your locs air dry. Spray some oil or moisturizer over your hair. 

To secure your roots after you have twisted them, you can use hair pins while your locs are shorter/younger. I would advise you to use duck/two-prong clips (you can find the picture on my products page). They are much easier and quicker; to put in and take out.

Here’s a vid about washing your locs:

SOME way, SOME how my locs manages to get into the trajectory path of my daughter’s bouts of spitting up. Did I inform you that my daughter had terrible reflux after every feeding? Because I don’t think you get the idea of the frequency of how much this happened. What’s worse is the amount that would ooze and soak my locs. Seriously, going to work with dried spit up in your hair is not only lame, but also questionable. Can we say awkward stares from male coworkers?

Oh, you think this is a simple task to avoid? Let me advise you that baby throw up is not easily resolved by a wet/damp cloth applied to the locs. Ohhhh noooooo, of course it wouldn’t be that simple. You will have to thoroughly soak your locs in water or you have to wash them. And to do this daily was a chore. What was that? Put your locs in a ponytail or a bun? Two things with this: (1) My locs are to the point where a ponytail even put high upon the crown of my head will touch my shoulders (2) my locs NEVER stay completely within the bun. The stragglers falls right out into the line of fire.

After some time I just said eff it… If it happens, it happens and if don’t, it don’t. Because being a new mommy, trying to maintain your sanity, and trying to scrap for all the sleep you can get is worth more at times than aesthetics. It’s 7 months after having my daughter and I’m JUST starting to put makeup back on. It’s THAT serious. Sidenote: I commend all parents with locs (mommies and daddies) who are actively taking care of their own or someone else’s children.

So what did you do to avoid the warm drips of toruture??

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Q: I’m black and thinking about dreading my own hair. At the moment, I have a lock it up gel that I plan on using. I’ve done a little research and everyone says you should wet your hair while twisting or backcoming it. How does wet hair affect the initial dreading process? If I decide to twist mine with dry hair, will it damage my hair?

My Answer:

1) Who told you that your hair has to be wet? lol.
(2) Using gel or oils is just fine. You don’t have to pack on gel, though. If anything, your hair being too wet will cause the strands to unravel while you are twisting or encourage breaking during backcombing.
(3) Wetness can actually inhibit the hairs from meshing properly because the hair becomes soft. That is why they encourage you to not wash your hair for a few weeks.
(4) Drying twisting your hair with a little gel is fine. I wouldn’t recommend your hair being unmoisturized (meaning, your hair shouldn’t be fried, overdried, or brittle).

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Q: What the fastest way to grow dreadlocks?

My Answer:

It’s not a particular way to grow your hair “quickly.” This decides on your own biological hair growth rate; everyone’s is slightly different. However, proper maintenance is what gives you long, healthy locs. The better you take care of your scalp, root, and locs the better off your locs will be (and it then it will seem like your hair is growing really fast, lol).

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Q: My question to you, can anyone start latching at any stage of there ocks? Take me, I’ve been loc’d for 29 months it will be 3 years come December, could I start latching? And final question, do you do a 3 pt or 4 pt rotation? Will you ever do a vid showing how to latch?

My Answer:

As far as your questions:

(1) I think people can start latching at any stage. The reason I say this is because I started my locs with the TST and palm-rolled. However, in November 2009 I started to interlock my locs and have been hooked every since. Basically, I interlock where is it matches the width of the lock; it’s not too tight or too loose. I think the most important thing to consider when changing methods is making sure there is a drastic change in the pattern of your locs. You want it where the size is consistent throughout the whole lock. You don’t want it to be loose/thicker at the root to the middle of the lock and thin/tight the rest of the way. The other way around would not look bad (tight at the root and thicker at the ends; this would like your locs are budding at the end). You have to play around with it a little bit to see what works. Believe me, it was just luck on the first try with me; not to mention, I experimented on the locs on the bottom and the back of my head.

(2) I’m not familiar with the 3- or 4- point rotation, lol. I just twist/palm-roll my locs in the same direction. Sometimes I pin them, sometimes I don’t, lol. That’s about it.

(3) I might show a vid on how to latch if I can learn how to do it without messing up my loc pattern. Good idea for a video, lol. Thanx!

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Q: so yea, im black (incase relevant)…but i jus got my hair twisted for dreads n ive been hearing that spraying a mixture of warm water, lemon juice, n salt on ur dreads helps with the locking process.

My answer:

I’ve never used salt in my hair. Just so you know, salt isn’t the greatest for you locs, lol. It’s just like when you sweat after a workout or go to the beach you must wash your hair because of the salt. Now, I have heard of lemon juice and honey. I’ve used this concoction, but I didn’t see any big improvement/increase in locking my dreads. I just used regular gel, twisted them, pinned/clipped the dreads down, spray a little holding spray, and cover my hair with satin scarf/bonnet/cap to keep hair from catching and unraveling.

…oh yeah, just b/c ur black doesn’t change anything, hun. lol

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Q: i have dreads and i put beeswax to start my dreads and now when i get my hair wet it turns white where i put in the beeswax at im not cutting my hair or taking out my dreads so do this work or do you know what will

If you have any more questions, feel free to email me

**I keep names/usernames anonymous so no one will feel embarrassed or exposed….unless the Q&A is on a public website such as Yahoo! Answers.  (^_^)

“I HAVE LOCS. I GOT THEM DYED AND NOW MY LOCS SEEM TO BE DRY, THIN AND MY ROOTS ARENT AS STRONG what can i do?

restore my hair so that it can be strong again and to kkep it from being dry, please help”

 I replied with this: