Thursday, February 5, 2009

Hair Maintenance



Every once in a while, someone will ask me about my hair care routine. So here it is in a nutshell:
I always wear a satin scarf when I am sleeping, lying down or cleaning. It keeps a lot of dirt and lint out of my locks. I keep my scalp and hair moisturized by using African Pride Oil. I wash my hair with Dark and Lovely Peppermint Shampoo, and use IC liquid conditioner. For twisting new growth, I use ‘Organic Loc and Twist gel’. I make sure to stay away from any products that are heavy or sticky to the touch. It helps to do some research to find out what products to avoid and what will work best for you. I keep my scalp moisturized by oiling it once or twice a week. I only wash it every two weeks to keep it from drying out. And I try not to twist my hair at the scalp to much because that can cause breakage. I use the palm roll method when I twist my new growth. I have gotten wiser with time and try not to obsess about my hair-line looking perfect. At first I would twist my loc’s (at my hair line) almost every day. And they were starting to get really thin, so I am trying to control the urge to make them look perfect every day. It causes too much damage.

When I do re-twist my loc’s in between washing my hair (to keep them looking neat), I try to always spray my scalp with an oil & water mix first. It helps to cut down on breakage if I style or twist my hair when it’s a little bit moist. I have read that it’s good to switch the brands of products you use every 6 months also to cut down on product buildup. I have not done that yet, but plan to in the near future. Overall, I am very happy with my routine. But I am always looking for new information on how to improve what I am doing. If you have tips or suggestions, please leave a comment.

Thanks!

10 comments:

  1. Your locks are beautiful and the various photos displaying locked heads are truly an inspiration as well. How do you dry your locks after each wash? I use a micro fiber towel because it's quick to soak up the water from your locks and it doesn't shed or cause lint.

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  2. Hi Dewdrop,

    I actually want to try the fiber towels. I have heard good things about them so far. Usually I will just let me locs air dry. But that isn't always convenient. Thank you for reminding me that there are other options out there. And thank you for the great compliment.

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  3. Hi Karen! Your hair is lovely! How many dreadlocks do you have?

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  4. Hi Sherine,

    128 loc's. Thanks for asking... :-)

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  5. No problem :) I love, love, love dreadlocks. After years of trying to prep my parents for the idea (traditional Jamaicans who aren't fond of the style), starting and crochet loc'ing many of my friends' dreadlocks, and researching and admiring and getting all giddy inside at the thought of having beautiful, elegant, regal, empowering locks of my own, I'm finally starting my journey (I'm 20). I'm so excited! I've decided to start and maintain them myself (I'm a college student, so I definitely need to save money). I came across your blog through my research, and you have THE healthiest and most gorgeous dreadlocks I have seen to date. God bless you! This blog is great and has soooo much beneficial information. I'd love to keep in touch with you as I start and maintain the process :)

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  6. That would be wonderful Sherine! Keep us informed on the highs and lows. And if you want to send pics of your transition from fro to loc's, I could share your stages from start to 'finish' it with the readers. Good luck with the whole journey. I hope that you will love evey part of it. And thank you for the wonderful compliment! Very kind of you to say... :-).

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  7. Hi Karen,
    I started my locs back in August, and so far they're coming along ok...here's my question, the locks themselves are frizzy, is this normal? Oh and maybe I should mention, I don't retwist my locs I use the latch hook method to tighten them.

    Thanks for any advice you can give. ;-)

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  8. Hi Naturally27,

    Absolultely normal!! Everyone that loc's their hair will expereince the fuzzys at some point. A lot of times people start to embrace and appreciate that phase of their hair locing - because it's like your hair is getting use to the process of doing something different. It will not always be like that. Once you hair starts to mature (anywhere from a 2 to 3 years, if not sooner) you will notice a more uniform look. Try not to worry about it to much. I had to get past that desire for my hair to look perfect at all times. Now I try to appreciate it one however it looks at any given time. Best of luck. Karen

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  9. I have had my locs sense 2008, and what I found out just recently is that when I sweat, which is a lot my locs smell afterwards, is has been extremely warm 95-100 degrees here in the midwest.Should I go ahead and re shampoo my locs each week. This really just started sense my they are just past my shoulders. Please help

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  10. Hi Anonymous! I don't recommend washing your hair every week. Our hair needs the valuable oils it produces to have healthy loc's. From experience and from what I have heard from others, washing hair ever two (to three) weeks is best. Some of the things you can do to cut down on the smell, is to dab your roots with witch hazel, which will clean your roots. And you can use yummy smelling oils, like lavender, peppermint and more (look for oils made for natural hair or made for loc's.) Please try this first or research more on the internet before resorting to washing your hair once a week. I think washing your hair once a week may dry your hair out, which will be damaging to the health of your loc's.

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