Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas All You Lovely Locked (And Unlocked) People!

Hope The Season Brings You Joys And Lots Of Time With Loved Ones!

Till Next Time, Have A Happy Holiday!

-Raxxie

Yay Me!

This is gonna be short I promise...

I found at least two buds on my ends, at least that's what I think they are. They are sizable, matted, condensed sections in the braid that I can't undo. To me, that's a bud... so... YAY ME!

Thank you, thank you. Goodnight.

Facebook: Fostering The Habit

As I've mentioned, I'm a lurker of natural hair pix! The last night as I browsed the Nappturality forums I stumbled upon a link to a Facebook group FULL of gorgeous locked folk. There are over 1000 members and 2100 pictures!

Even though this is CLEARLY unhealthy for someone like me (lol, yes I joined the group too) I decided to pass it on to my wonderful followers!

Every time I try to post links it doesn't work so I'll just type the URL and you can copy and paste it!

Enjoy!

URL: http://www.facebook.com/#/group.php?gid=2229060717&ref=mf

-Raxxie

Everybody Buds?

That's the question I posted on Nappturality.com last night. I had wondered because I'm a notorious lurker on Fotki.com and in looking at the journeys of many lockers I tend to see that softer textured napps don't have noticeable buds.

I thought that me, in my limited locking experience, was simply looking with an untrained eye. The answers I got on Nappturality pretty much confirmed my suspicions however, so I'm passing this info on to you ladies!

The verdict: Not everyone buds. It depends on your texture. I don't know how loosely textured you have to be to skip the budding step or how tightly coiled you have to be to see noticeable buds. I just find it interesting.

I'm in my third month now which means in the coming weeks (to the next couple months at most) I should be reaching the stage where I see some changes in my hair, including the emergence of buds (if I get them).

Thanks for reading ladies (and gentlemen, perhaps?). I shall indeed keep you updated from birth to maturity! If anyone has questions or suggested topics feel free to drop me a line! I love sharing what I know and looking up what I don't. Plus, I'd really like to interact with you ladies some more.

Take care, and have a GREAT holiday season!

Happy Nappiversary!!

Yesterday was my 2 year Nappiversary! It's so sad that I forget (month to month, and year to year). 2 years ago I decided I was tired of waiting for my hair to grow out the damaged ends so I cut them off.

(Before and After Shots)

That was a serious day (well, night actually) for me. My parents were not pleased but I knew why I had to do it. There was too much damage to correct and I wanted to find out what the REAL me looked like.

I played with it for a few weeks (maybe days, lol.. don't really remember) then because I was too insecure to really rock it put in braids. Then kinky twists for the next few months.



After those came out and I saw how much my hair grew it was a wrap! I went nuts for the rest of the year trying every style I saw till I fell in love with coils and braids. I wore those styles OUT! lol.

They brought me into 2009. I slacked off on the coils and stuck to braids mainly till I decided to solidify the relationship and make it permanent!

On October 12, 2009, I installed my last set of braids. Interestingly, my 2 month lociversary is the 12th and my 2 year nappiversary is the 13th! I guess I get bored towards the middle of the month and feel the urge to spice things up.

Today I stand before you on the cusp of my braidlock journey and I won't be looking back!

I have WAY more pictures on my fotki so feel free to check out my journey thus far. I love visitors.

Thanks for reading ladies!

Very Cute Loc Updo

I love this girl's tutorials! Make sure and check her out!



This is her youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/sistaanclyned



Seriously, go now... lol

Combinations

Hey everybody! Been a little while, sorry about that. Just finished exam week, and it feels so good!

Anyway, this will be short because not much has happened. Just letting you ladies know that I combined 10 of my locks. 3 in the back (where my hair is super straight) kept unwraveling. It drove me crazy because every time I washed, rinsed, or spritzed I had to redo them. So I combined them with adjacent locs. I twisted them together and knotted the ends. I hope they hold... they BETTER (lol).

I also combined 4, closer to the front because they were a little smaller than I realized.

Oh.. random piece of added info. Since I was getting slightly obsessed with retightening (I just LOVE how it looks after I retighten) I've made a vow to hold off till the new year. No more latching till January. Knowing me though, I'll probably do it on the 1st! Haha.. aww well.

Thanks for reading ladies!

Musings #5 : To Wash Or Not To Wash??

In October and part of November I washed every week. I was used to wetting my hair often so it was natural to wash that often. Then I started reading in hair boards how baby lockers should refrain from washing too often.

After reading it in numerous places I decided to stretch the time between my washes. I ended up stretching it to 3 weeks (eww). I was overjoyed when I got to the end of that period because I was DESPERATE to wash my hair at that point.

It's been another few weeks since I've shampooed (though I have rinsed a few times). This time it wasn't a conscious effort but rather a lack of time due to finals (grr!). I've experienced the look and feel of my hair after using both regimens and I've decided to go back to weekly washes.


In the beginning my hair unraveled a lot because of the water as well as the moisturizing ingredients in my spritz and shampoo.

Since then I've changed my spritz and shampoo. My hair has also condensed a bit since then and no longer has an unraveling problem (save one tediously annoying loc at my nape). I think by this point I can stand to wash more often as long as I don't over moisturize. Cleanliness is next to Godliness as they say, so I'll err on the side of cleanliness.

1st Updo Attempt!

I fear that I need to protect my ends..

From last nappiversary to this coming one (next week) I see VERY little growth and that bothers me.

I've been told that it's likely just a matter of shrinkage (which makes sense) but I think I'll protect my ends nevertheless.

At first I decided to get out my satin scarves and wrap it up everyday to protect them but after more thought I remembered that hair can be styled up as well as down (lol.. duh).

So for the rest of the winter I'll be experimenting with updos and various other styles to keep my ends off my clothes.

Hopefully when it gets warm again my hair will have passed this awkward length.

Musings #4 : Lop-Sided!

One side of my hair is noticiably longer than the other.

It didn't bother me when I was a loose natural because when it all shrunk, there was no way to tell. Now though, I can see it a lot more clearly. One side (left) hangs better than the other (right). The shorter side sticks up, which I'm not particularilty fond of.

My hair has grown a little bit since I started locking, but the left is still growing faster.

Do you ladies know if it'll even out one day or will I ultimately have to cut it evenly? I'd rather not go at my hair with scissors again.. like.. ever! (lol)

Thanks for reading!