K.I.S.S. and Hot Oil Treatments

K.I.S.S. = Keeping It Simple Sexy

That is what I am doing folks, I am keeping my routine, regimen, and product use simple. It is so easy to get caught up in wanting to try this or that on my locs but I have Sisterlocks and the beauty of Sisterlocks is that they really don't need much. Actually, using too much on these locs can be detremental ie build up, unraveling and slippage. My locs are maturing and I really thought that by now I would start to use a phlethra of conditioners, moisture sprays, and oils. But oil is the only thing that I have added to my simple regimen. (However, I will use a leave in conditioning spray once I color) I had a hot oil treatment last weekend and it was great. My hair feels conditioned, looks shiny, and is stronger.

Hot Oil Treatments are highly recommended for people with dry and/or damaged hair. They are beneficial because the oils can infuse your hair with keratin leaving it strong, and moisturized. It is so easy to create your own treatment. I plan on using the following oils  for future treatments

Coconut Oil - Even though this oil may not be good for everyday use in Sisterlocks (it can build up and be harder to wash out) it is awesome for a Hot Oil Treatments. It penetrates the hair shaft so it is ultra moisturizing. Also, because of it's anti fungal/antibacterial properties, it is great for people having dandruff and other scalp issues.

Olive Oil - This oil is very nourishing, a great moisturizer for dry hair and scalp but is also very heavy. It strengthens and increases elasticity of the hair shaft.

Jojoba Oil - Is a lighter oil but still gives your hair a nice shine. It mimics the natural oils that we produce (sebum), and helps to distribute that oil so it can help some balance their oil production. This oil is good for people with oily hair.



How to do a homemade treatment: You can do your treatment before or after you wash.

1. Decide which oil/oils you would like to use.
2. Measure out 1/4 to 1/2 cup oil (depending on length of hair) and, if you desire, add a few drops of your favorite essential oils
3. Heat your oil in microwave or pan till warm, you do not want it to be hot BE CAREFUL
4. Add your warm oil to you locs by massaging your scalp and rubbing the oil from root to tip
5. Cover your locs with a plastic cap and either wrap it in a warm towel 30 min, or sit under the dryer for 15min
6. Rinse well with warm water and do a final few minutes with cool water for even more shine


Regimen and products:

Even though I like having a simple routine my only problem is the best shampoo for my locks, so far, has sulfates.  I have tried several natural organic shampoos and either they leave a residue or my ends loosen up. I also noticed that my locs were not as condensed and tight as I like them to be. Now, maybe it's just a coincidence and my hair was just going through a phase but as soon as I stopped using my natural shampoos, and went back to Suave and Dawn, my hair tightened right up. When I am fully locked I may revisit my natural shampoos or look or an even better one.



Shampoo every 2 weeks: At home Suave Daily Clarifying  :  At the salon Gabrel's Lemon Fluff

Hot Oil Treatment: will be every 6 weeks using coconut oil

Spritz- Just water or Seabreeze mix

NOW

Hair is tight and mostly sealed

31 Months

BEFORE
Example of  my ends looking loose and puffy

Side note : Recovering from Post partum Shedding YEAH!!!

Stay Blessed!

Lemon and Olive Oil Treatment

Both my youngest daughter, and I have been having scalp issues, and it is so frustrating. I really wanted to find her some relief  because she is so little, and I do not want her to have discomfort. So, when a fellow blogger/Facebooker mentioned using lemon juice to to solve her dandruff issues and scalp build up, I looked it up.

Lemons are a great cleanser, it has antibacterial properties, and is a very good astringent. Extra Virgin Olive oil can help reduce the production of dandruff, and works as a great moisturizer for dry scalp. So when you use both of these natural elements for scalp build up you can see results.

Mature locs/loose hair:
1. Warm 2 to 3 tablespoons of Olive oil and massage it in your scalp
2. Wrap your hair in a lint free towel (or use a plastic cap underneath) for 30 min
3. Wash your hair with a Clarifying Shampoo
4. Rinse your scalp with Lemon juice, from a fresh lemon, and a cup of warm distilled water
5. Do a final rinse to get the lemon out, using cool water that helps your hair look shiny

Baby locs: use steps 3 to 5 because Olive oil relaxes your curl and really softens your hair. I still only do steps 3-5 but used the full treatment on my daughter and saw the  benefits after one treatment!! It took 2-3 treatments of the lemon rinse to see the improvement on my scalp.

Good luck!

Stay Blessed

Clarifying Shampoo Review # 2

Clarifying Shampoos are great for removing product build up, and in my case dry scalp build up. They leave your hair feeling lighter, and looking shinier. It's a good idea to clarify your hair at least once a month to get rid of product and mineral deposits. So I have been looking for a good clarifying shampoo that doesn't dry my scalp too much. My last post I reviewed a V05 clarifying shampoo and now I am reviewing:

 Carol's Daughter Rosemary Mint Purifying Shampoo

It is Paraben-free, no petroleum, mineral oil or artificial color and it is SLS/SLES/Sulfate Free. Yeah!!

I loved using this shampoo it stimulated my scalp (great tingle), my hair was super clean when done, and it smells soo good. My scalp issues, mainly dry scalp, was manageable and it I will definitely be using this often. I bought my shampoo at the JC Penny's Sephora so with that I saved on shipping. But it can be purchased online on QVC and the Carol's Daughter website.

Cons: Pricey $12.50 for 8oz. seems steep esp compared to paying $1.25 but you get what you pay for. Really needs to be followed by a conditioner or ACV rinse. I tried to go without my rinse and my hair felt a little to dry. However, I think that might be the case with any clarifying shampoo you use.

Back to Basics with High Tech Banding!

Well it's probably safe to say that my slippage issues are due to my heavy hands (as my mother sais when I mead dough) and my loose braid & banding when shampooing my locks. I went to get my hair washed by my consultant and she showed me a different way to band my hair and she reminded me why I have to be gentle with my locks while washing. I think that I might have scrubbed  too hard previously because I panicked when I saw the build up in my locks as I discussed in my previous post here.

I have just recently started a You Tube Channel and I posted a video about my banding process. I think it is a good video for newbies and those who feel like they have to go back to basics to deal with their slippage issues. I will post the link below and please feel free to Subscribe and/or friend me if you are a fellow You Tuber.

But here are some pics of my hair after taking it out of the braids/twists and bands. I really like the curls and waves and they have lasted a LONG time.

Enjoy

The Woman Inside Channel

Stay Blessed

Dry scalp and Build up? Use the Blues!

As my hair inspiration, Blaqkofi, mentions in her blog to make sure you don't get build up rinse rinse rinse and stay away from products. When I went to see my consultant I had brutal build up, my hair was 3 weeks dirty, and there was a grey film on my hair. When she was done washing my hair, it was squeeky clean, the build up was gone!!! What did she use? Dawn dish soap!!! That along with my Sea Breeze spritz (see previous post below)has worked wonders on my dry flaky scalp. So my new best friends are the 2 blues Sea Breeze and Dawn.

I think I will alternate btw Dawn and the SL Starter shampoo. As long as I continue to still get these results.

No flakes I week later!! Usually after a retight my scalp would be itchy and flaky by now.

Sorry about the blur looks like we will need that new camera sooner then later :(

One more thing!! This week I have been drinking the Wheat Grass smoothie also and I am loving it, so I have a green friend too. Maybe the combo of all these things is helping to turn my scalp around.

Everything Old is New again

On the drive over to the salon, I girded my loins. LOL I had rehearsed my questions several times, I was so nervous. But as soon as I walked in and I saw her working on her current client’s hair, I felt tremendous relief. I just knew that everything was going to be alright. Not only did I love my new consultant’s hair more importantly, I had the chance to see her work first hand and it was awesome. Her client had the type of Sisterlocks that I saw the day I knew I had to have them. Beautiful. Now this is not to say that I lost all of my skepticism, my new Certified Consultant, Precious Stallworth (found on the Sisterlocks site here) claimed that she could retighten my hair in 2 hours, 3 tops. hmmmm Even so, I was willing to give her 4 hours the retighten alone before calling foul.

Let me tell y’all I got washed, retightened, had major repair and my kitchen newly installed in 4 hours!! When she said she was done I really couldn’t believe it, she stopped and I thought she just needed a minute to stretch. I'm SOLD!!

We are going to be a team working together to ensure that I have awesome uniform locks. She has rules though. I am not allowed to put any oils on my dry scalp….NONE, not even the occasional tea tree and jojoba oil. She wants my scalp to do what it is suppose to do without the influence of additional oils.

What I can and should use is a Sea Breeze spritz: 3 parts SB- 1 part water, ( make sure hair is rolled or braided while you spray only the scalp).

and I have to say that so far I am impressed with the results.

(So fresh and so clean clean)

Usually, right after a retightening, my scalp would look like Christmas and I would have to use jojoba oil to have it look and feel half decent. I am willing to give the no oil rule my best shot.

Precious sais my locks are coming along well

even so, she changed my locking pattern, combined a few locks and she is working on cleaning up some of my partings. As you know I really needed work back here:

well it got done!!

(My night scarf helped cause some wildlings in the middle there)

Considering that she accomplished all those things, I was able to stay within my hair budget. It looks like my goal of having my hair maintained by a consultant for at least a year is possible. Thank you, Precious the Universe named you well!

I would also like to thank you all for your guidance, support and advice. I was so scared that I would not be able to take care of my hair during my current financial situation and you all gave me hope.

2 weeks

These 2 weeks have been pretty neat. I feel and see a change in my hair already esp. because my locs are beginning to swell. I am so happy that I made this decision because I really enjoy waking up, spritzing my hair with water, and going. I feel great and to be honest apart of me wondered if I would still look sexy with short, scalp showing, baby locs but I have been getting mad stares from men so woot woot. Oh and of course that doesn't matter because more importantly the Hubby loves them ;) LOL Truly the most important thing of all is that I have never felt better. My hair, whether looking like a plucked chicken or not, really feels like ME! I am blessed.

Still trying to figure out how to deal with the dry scalp, you might be able to see it in the front of my hairline in these shots. But usually, before I go out, that would be taken care of!!

They are getting thicker!!

I did it!! I am Sisterlocked!!

After 3 days consisting of 35 hours of hard work by my consultant..... I am Sisterlocked!!!! I am not sure how many locks I have but I have several small, med and large locks. My consultant used pattern 4 and she did a fabulous job getting the itty bitties. Unfortunately my hairline is damaged and I am so impressed that she got in there and installed those puppies, we are hoping for the best.

I feel so free, I feel blessed and I feel like I made a great decision in getting SL. I am soo happy!! I do have one concern and that is my scalp. It is krazy dry. I am so embarrassed by it. I am using a spritz with a little jojoba, rosemary and tea tree and putting just a bit directly onto my scalp. I hope it helps.

Here are some pics:

Last twist out!!

Day 2