Loc Log #13 - 7 months

Today is my 7th month with locs! yay! Not a lot has changed except that most if not all of my hair is locked!!!!!!!! Not mature, but locked. I still have quite a few curly ends, but many of them are sealed at the ends. I continue to have a tough time with frizziness, but I'm embracing it. My last concoction included TW's loc it up gel, ORS loc and twist gel, and honey. While this proved successful, it has also created a bit of an issue. Flakes and buildup. Dang! Well, the product junkie in me lives on and I move on to try something new. Yesterday, I received my order of Nubian Kinks' locing pomade. Can I tell you that that stuff smells like Heaven?! I can't wait to use it. The order I received yesterday was accidentally ordered (by me) from Amazon while waiting on my actually order directly from the salon in New York. Hopefully, my direct order will be here today......Green Tea Oil, Mint Medley Shampoo, and more locing pomade. I can't wait for it to get it here. More Christmas gifts! jk! I'll come back later with the results of these products.

Loc Log 12 1/2 3 days through 5 months

Loc Log #12 - 6 months!

Yay!! It's been 6 months since I started my braidloc journey. It's been great. I feel like I've had great success on this journey and must attribute this success to a few things.

1. Regular shampoos - It is impossible for me to wait two weeks between shampoos! I must shampoo once each week. This alone (the water factor) has really sped up the locing process for me. Back in late June I started periodically interlocking my new growth. When I did this, I started rinsing my hair daily. What a wonder! I started noticing that many of my ends were beginning to harden and seal. Because of this, I try to interlock my new growth at least every two months so that I can go through a rinsing cycle.

2. Apple Cider Vinegar Rinses - My hair thanks me when I do an ACV rinse. My hair is cleaner with no buildup. I try to do an ACV rinse every two weeks. Sometimes, I can't help myself, and just do it!

3. Hot oil treatments and oil in general - My hair has always been a fan of oil. Nothing is any different now that I am 6 months into the locing process (yay!). My bathroom is full of different oils. When I first went natural, I bought my own stash of sweet almond oil and jojoba oil along with several essential oils. I started out making my own oils, but kept buying new stuff. I now have so much oil, I'm about to drown in it. Of course I have my favorites. I love Oyin Handmade's After Bath Oil which is actually GREAT for the hair, Nyle Oil, and Afroveda's Shikakai Hair Growth Elixir.

4. Honey - I first used honey during the very early stages of locking, and absolutely hated it! I soon realized that I had used waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much. Now when I do my retwist I make a mixture using a favorite gel (ORS or Taaliah Wajid), small amount of loc butter or olive oil, and just a little bit of honey. Perfect combination with little to no buildup and excellent hold. And if there is buildup, the ACV along with a clarifying shampoo take care of that right away.

These are just a few things that I attribute my locing success to. Keeping it nappy!

Mik

Loc Log #11

Yay! Today (it's 2 days late!) marks the 5th month since beginning my braidloc journey! One more month and it will be half of a year! Can you sense the excitement? This journey has gone by much faster than I could have ever expected. My hair has totally transformed. What started out as some little braids that I had no clue what to do with have become locs! By no means is my hair fully locked, but they are well on their way.

I was just watching my first YouTube video that I made when I had only been locking for one

month. I had a head full of little coils that had transformed from braids. They were so cute and curly! My hair literally appears to have doubled in thickness and in length. I love it! I could go on and on and on, but I digress. This journey is a beautiful thing!