Toddler Rolls to Sides Up

Start by making a part I always use the far lateral part and I made 4 small rolls across the front of her head as shown below.

Then take the remaning hair on both sides and pull towards the middle of her head.  **Note** Include the hair from the 4 small rolls.

Below is the top view

Last we added ringlets with a flat iron.

You Asked...I Answered

This Q&A sessions excited me because both of the questions  below pertain to loc wearers and they both came in on the same day. A sign? Maybe :).  Let me make it clear that I am NOT AN EXPERT on loc care but I do care for my husbands locs so I have learned quite a lot with his journey. I hope the information below is helpful.

You Asked:

Need help,
I am in my early 50 and i am having problem with the top ofy my hair is very thin to be honest I am **** near bald at the top can you help me and please give me some advice I have been wearing locs for the past 4 years. help.


I answered: 
When it comes to hair loss there are quite a few factors that you may want to look at to see if you can determine what is causing the problem. The most obvious and probably the first recommendation would be to visit a dermatologist. However, when I got to the loc portion of your email the first thing I thought was: twisting to tight. How often are you re-twisting your hair and when you retwist are there fingernails involved? Does the twisting hurt? Is heat involved?
Re-twisting to often can cause excess stress on your roots and contribute to breakage, jagged fingernails can tear those tiny hair strands to shreds. If your roots are re-twisted too tightly that could potentially  lead to traction alopecia and if you are sitting under a dryer after re-twisting then it possible that you could be experiencing some heat damage at the roots that is contributing to the breakage. As you can see there are a number of things that can play a part in breakage in the crown area.


You Asked:
Tia i see you do a lot of different things with your hair but I am wondering what are some new styles for men with locs? I use virgin coconut oil on my hair now but i'm looking for something new. Hair doesn't seem as healthy as it should. HELP A BROTHER OUT!! 
I am really big on no longer using harmful chemicals in my hair. So this is what I shampoo my hair with Dr. Bronners tea tree oil shampoo or the peppermint. I use this product bc it's made with coconut oil, olive oil, hemp oil and it's light.
I mix pure Vitamin E with my coconut oil when i rub it in my hair and on my scalp. That's all I use. My hair is breaking so I started using this combo. I laid off the shea butter. I'm not sure if it's because I tie my hair up to have it out my face or just the hair isn't as healthy anymore....Thanks


I answered
In my opinion, finding the balance between protein and moisture is key in preventing breakage. There are quite a few natural products out there that can help you with reaching that balance. You mention that you are pulling your hair back to keep it out of your face, are you tying the locs together? Tying them together increases the potential that you will pull them too tight. Try wearing something like a loc soc to keep the hair out of your face. That will reduce the amount of strain that you put on each individual loc.
Some natural strengthening products you can use include black tea, coconut milk, henna (my fav), eggs, and many others.
As for styles - I hear the call and I will try my best to discover some new looks. Since my hubby has locs I may make this a regular feature on the blog. I have noticed a number of other ladies that have men with locs and we have to show them love too. :)

---

With both of these questions: If you have a signature look that requires you to manipulate the locs in the same way often, STOP. No matter your hair type (loc, straight, kinky, curly, etc) if you can constantly wearing your hair in the same way and tension is involved - breakage is likely to follow.




For more information pertaining to these question please check out the links below:

Vitamins For Your Hair
All Natural Strengthening Product - CurlyNikki Forum
How Dreadlock Wearers Combat Thinning Hair
Essential Oils Can Help Regrow Hair
Dreadlock Blogs

Got tips or advice pertaining to these question? Please comment below.

You Asked...I Answered

This Q&A sessions excited me because both of the questions  below pertain to loc wearers and they both came in on the same day. A sign? Maybe :).  Let me make it clear that I am NOT AN EXPERT on loc care but I do care for my husbands locs so I have learned quite a lot with his journey. I hope the information below is helpful.

You Asked:

Need help,
I am in my early 50 and i am having problem with the top ofy my hair is very thin to be honest I am **** near bald at the top can you help me and please give me some advice I have been wearing locs for the past 4 years. help.


I answered: 
When it comes to hair loss there are quite a few factors that you may want to look at to see if you can determine what is causing the problem. The most obvious and probably the first recommendation would be to visit a dermatologist. However, when I got to the loc portion of your email the first thing I thought was: twisting to tight. How often are you re-twisting your hair and when you retwist are there fingernails involved? Does the twisting hurt? Is heat involved?
Re-twisting to often can cause excess stress on your roots and contribute to breakage, jagged fingernails can tear those tiny hair strands to shreds. If your roots are re-twisted too tightly that could potentially  lead to traction alopecia and if you are sitting under a dryer after re-twisting then it possible that you could be experiencing some heat damage at the roots that is contributing to the breakage. As you can see there are a number of things that can play a part in breakage in the crown area.


You Asked:
Tia i see you do a lot of different things with your hair but I am wondering what are some new styles for men with locs? I use virgin coconut oil on my hair now but i'm looking for something new. Hair doesn't seem as healthy as it should. HELP A BROTHER OUT!! 
I am really big on no longer using harmful chemicals in my hair. So this is what I shampoo my hair with Dr. Bronners tea tree oil shampoo or the peppermint. I use this product bc it's made with coconut oil, olive oil, hemp oil and it's light.
I mix pure Vitamin E with my coconut oil when i rub it in my hair and on my scalp. That's all I use. My hair is breaking so I started using this combo. I laid off the shea butter. I'm not sure if it's because I tie my hair up to have it out my face or just the hair isn't as healthy anymore....Thanks


I answered
In my opinion, finding the balance between protein and moisture is key in preventing breakage. There are quite a few natural products out there that can help you with reaching that balance. You mention that you are pulling your hair back to keep it out of your face, are you tying the locs together? Tying them together increases the potential that you will pull them too tight. Try wearing something like a loc soc to keep the hair out of your face. That will reduce the amount of strain that you put on each individual loc.
Some natural strengthening products you can use include black tea, coconut milk, henna (my fav), eggs, and many others.
As for styles - I hear the call and I will try my best to discover some new looks. Since my hubby has locs I may make this a regular feature on the blog. I have noticed a number of other ladies that have men with locs and we have to show them love too. :)

---

With both of these questions: If you have a signature look that requires you to manipulate the locs in the same way often, STOP. No matter your hair type (loc, straight, kinky, curly, etc) if you can constantly wearing your hair in the same way and tension is involved - breakage is likely to follow.




For more information pertaining to these question please check out the links below:

Vitamins For Your Hair
All Natural Strengthening Product - CurlyNikki Forum
How Dreadlock Wearers Combat Thinning Hair
Essential Oils Can Help Regrow Hair
Dreadlock Blogs

Got tips or advice pertaining to these question? Please comment below.

Fall/Winter - Week 16

Sunday

I co-washed, deep conditioned, and twisted my hair into an updo.

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday

An updo is such easy maintenance that most of the care for the week consisted just keeping the hair moisturized.

Wednesday

I oiled my scalp with Castor oil and massaged as much as I could without causing too much frizz.

Friday

I took down the updo and washed my hair. I was so tired but so in need of a wash that simply shampooed and then went back to my old school technique of twisting my hair with Suave Tropical Coconut Conditioner.

Saturday

The weather was nice and I had some errands to run so I decided to have a little fun with my hair and wear it out:

The hair shot was perfect - facial expression not so much, LOL. I did this twist out using a method posted on YouTube by Naptural85. It was quick and easy.

Fall/Winter - Week 16

Sunday

I co-washed, deep conditioned, and twisted my hair into an updo.

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday

An updo is such easy maintenance that most of the care for the week consisted just keeping the hair moisturized.

Wednesday

I oiled my scalp with Castor oil and massaged as much as I could without causing too much frizz.

Friday

I took down the updo and washed my hair. I was so tired but so in need of a wash that simply shampooed and then went back to my old school technique of twisting my hair with Suave Tropical Coconut Conditioner.

Saturday

The weather was nice and I had some errands to run so I decided to have a little fun with my hair and wear it out:

The hair shot was perfect - facial expression not so much, LOL. I did this twist out using a method posted on YouTube by Naptural85. It was quick and easy.

Scrunched Braid

My daughter gets so many compliments on this simple style. 

You make a simple braid we did this to hold her bangs back out of her face.

Once the braid is in place hold on the center strand and pull the remaining hair up towards her head.

Then secure with an elastic.

Toddler Roll Headband

This is one of the fast and easy hairstyles.  Take her hair from one ear we started on the right side and rolled across the top of her head and secured the end with an elastic.

Then I made ringlets with the flat iron and added a flower for accessories.

How is Aloe Vera good for your hair?

Over the past year Aloe vera has become a staple in my hair care product arsenal. I use it as an ingredient in my leave-in conditioner and also the base for a moisturizing spray. A Google search of other blogs revealed that quite a number of bloggers have written about and also use aloe vera as a hair care product.

Research on the Aloe vera plant has revealed that it is a useful resource for humans because of the presence of polysaccharides, mannans, anthraquinones, and lectins. However, the scientific evidence for the cosmetic use of Aloe vera and can be contradicting at times. But, when you think about it - so many of the regimens/recipes in the natural hair world lack research.

As for hair use, Aloe vera is said to be preferred by vegans for the re-twisting of locs. Also, Aloe vera has been experimented with for the use as a base for a hair cleanser that does not strip natural oils from the hair. On eHow there are a few articles about the use of Aloe vera for treating hair loss and promoting hair growth.

Check out additional links to Aloe vera information below:
Use Aloe Vera to Promote Hair Growth
The Benefits of Aloe Vera Plant on the Hair
Aloe Vera
Free Aloe Vera Samples
Aloe Vera in the News

Are you using Aloe vera juice or gel? How so?

How is Aloe Vera good for your hair?

Over the past year Aloe vera has become a staple in my hair care product arsenal. I use it as an ingredient in my leave-in conditioner and also the base for a moisturizing spray. A Google search of other blogs revealed that quite a number of bloggers have written about and also use aloe vera as a hair care product.

Research on the Aloe vera plant has revealed that it is a useful resource for humans because of the presence of polysaccharides, mannans, anthraquinones, and lectins. However, the scientific evidence for the cosmetic use of Aloe vera and can be contradicting at times. But, when you think about it - so many of the regimens/recipes in the natural hair world lack research.

As for hair use, Aloe vera is said to be preferred by vegans for the re-twisting of locs. Also, Aloe vera has been experimented with for the use as a base for a hair cleanser that does not strip natural oils from the hair. On eHow there are a few articles about the use of Aloe vera for treating hair loss and promoting hair growth.

Check out additional links to Aloe vera information below:
Use Aloe Vera to Promote Hair Growth
The Benefits of Aloe Vera Plant on the Hair
Aloe Vera
Free Aloe Vera Samples
Aloe Vera in the News

Are you using Aloe vera juice or gel? How so?

PJ-ism, a growing epidemic?

Epidemic
1. (esp of a disease) attacking or affecting many persons simultaneously in a community or area
2. a widespread occurrence of a disease: an influenza epidemic
3. a rapid development, spread, or growth of something, espsomething unpleasant: an epidemic of strikes


Product bandwagons and growth aid fads are some aspects of the natural/healthy hair journey hair world that never sat right with me. This feeling primarily came from some bad experiences with some regimen fads and money wasted on products that did not yield desirable results. There is nothing worse in your hair care journey than the feeling of a major setback. I fell victim to a few fades and feared that all my time and effort toward healthy hair was ruined. Thankfully, none of the perceived damage was permanent.

Recently, I read a post on Natural Urbanista that perfectly put my feelings about these trends into words. In my opinion it's an interesting read, check it out here:
Are Bloggers and Hair Sites Contributing to Your Growing PJ-ism?

I do feel that in a way PJ-ism is an epidemic in the natural/healthy healthy hair journey world. Some days you can bounce from blog-to-blog and site-to-site and see the same products or tools raved about (or bashed). This has even rolled over onto YouTube and it is not outside of the norm to see vloggers reviewing and posting tutorials about the same products within a close time period.

Do you think blogs/vlogs/sites are contributing to PJ-ism? What are your thoughts on this?

PJ-ism, a growing epidemic?

Epidemic
1. (esp of a disease) attacking or affecting many persons simultaneously in a community or area
2. a widespread occurrence of a disease: an influenza epidemic
3. a rapid development, spread, or growth of something, espsomething unpleasant: an epidemic of strikes


Product bandwagons and growth aid fads are some aspects of the natural/healthy hair journey hair world that never sat right with me. This feeling primarily came from some bad experiences with some regimen fads and money wasted on products that did not yield desirable results. There is nothing worse in your hair care journey than the feeling of a major setback. I fell victim to a few fades and feared that all my time and effort toward healthy hair was ruined. Thankfully, none of the perceived damage was permanent.

Recently, I read a post on Natural Urbanista that perfectly put my feelings about these trends into words. In my opinion it's an interesting read, check it out here:
Are Bloggers and Hair Sites Contributing to Your Growing PJ-ism?

I do feel that in a way PJ-ism is an epidemic in the natural/healthy healthy hair journey world. Some days you can bounce from blog-to-blog and site-to-site and see the same products or tools raved about (or bashed). This has even rolled over onto YouTube and it is not outside of the norm to see vloggers reviewing and posting tutorials about the same products within a close time period.

Do you think blogs/vlogs/sites are contributing to PJ-ism? What are your thoughts on this?

Fall/Winter - Week 15

Sunday
After the braid-out, I felt like I desperately needed a thorough cleanse because I had product on top of product. I followed this routine: Wash Day and then put my hair into two strand twists

Monday & Tuesday
Moisturized my hair each morning and night with aloe gro.

Wednesday
Massaged my scalp with Castor oil and then steamed my hair with the Huetiful Steamer.

Thursday & Friday
Moisturized my hair each morning and night with aloe gro.

Saturday
Took apart my twist strand twists but did not fluff. I left them as they were for a more defined look and clipped my hair up into a semi-updo.
Saturday night - I wanted to shampoo and DC but...it was late, I cleaned the entire house today, and I was just tired. No wash for me.

Saturday's 'do

Saturday's 'do

Fall/Winter - Week 15

Sunday
After the braid-out, I felt like I desperately needed a thorough cleanse because I had product on top of product. I followed this routine: Wash Day and then put my hair into two strand twists

Monday & Tuesday
Moisturized my hair each morning and night with aloe gro.

Wednesday
Massaged my scalp with Castor oil and then steamed my hair with the Huetiful Steamer.

Thursday & Friday
Moisturized my hair each morning and night with aloe gro.

Saturday
Took apart my twist strand twists but did not fluff. I left them as they were for a more defined look and clipped my hair up into a semi-updo.
Saturday night - I wanted to shampoo and DC but...it was late, I cleaned the entire house today, and I was just tired. No wash for me.

Saturday's 'do

Saturday's 'do

Twists - Twistout - Updo

Twists - Twistout - Updo

I'm thinking about color

Color is not something that intimidates me because I have been doing my own color for years now. A few months ago I dyed my hair blue black because it had been such a long time since I had seen myself in dark hair. Well, now I am bored with it, I have a ton of gray hairs popping up, and I want to do something fresh for my 29th birthday (Mar 5). Yep {sigh} my last year in my 20s.

So the following color pattern ideas (not the colors) have popped in my head:

Utilizing 1 - 2 of the following colors:

At this point I am still undecided. I may not end up doing anything at all but I have bought a box of black dye. If I don't do anything with color there is a 100% chance that I will make an attempt to get rid of these pesky gray hairs. 

Have you dyed your hair recently? Thinking about it? 

Please share your experience.

I'm thinking about color

Color is not something that intimidates me because I have been doing my own color for years now. A few months ago I dyed my hair blue black because it had been such a long time since I had seen myself in dark hair. Well, now I am bored with it, I have a ton of gray hairs popping up, and I want to do something fresh for my 29th birthday (Mar 5). Yep {sigh} my last year in my 20s.

So the following color pattern ideas (not the colors) have popped in my head:

Utilizing 1 - 2 of the following colors:

At this point I am still undecided. I may not end up doing anything at all but I have bought a box of black dye. If I don't do anything with color there is a 100% chance that I will make an attempt to get rid of these pesky gray hairs. 

Have you dyed your hair recently? Thinking about it? 

Please share your experience.

Sunday Style: Braid-out

To achieve this look I did seven individual braids with SheaMoisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie.  Three braids from the crown to the nape and four on each side. I did not curl the ends I just twisted the end of each braid after braiding, put on my satin bonnet, and called it a night. In the morning I took the braids out and fluffed until it was well blended.

Sunday's message
Extravagant Love
John 12:1-3
The action of Mary in this verse was her way of showing love to Jesus - because she used such a costly perfume it was considered significant. Immediately following her actions they were questioned by Judas Iscariot. The message explains the significance of Mary's extravagant display of love.
Extravagant love is:
1. Precious to us - an offering that honors the Lord must be dear to us
2. Pleasant to others - your work will speak for itself
3. Perplexing to some - people have a hard time understanding your actions; many times the people that are perplexed are usually selfish people
4. Pleasing to Christ - His is the voice that matters

Sunday Style: Braid-out

To achieve this look I did seven individual braids with SheaMoisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie.  Three braids from the crown to the nape and four on each side. I did not curl the ends I just twisted the end of each braid after braiding, put on my satin bonnet, and called it a night. In the morning I took the braids out and fluffed until it was well blended.

Sunday's message
Extravagant Love
John 12:1-3
The action of Mary in this verse was her way of showing love to Jesus - because she used such a costly perfume it was considered significant. Immediately following her actions they were questioned by Judas Iscariot. The message explains the significance of Mary's extravagant display of love.
Extravagant love is:
1. Precious to us - an offering that honors the Lord must be dear to us
2. Pleasant to others - your work will speak for itself
3. Perplexing to some - people have a hard time understanding your actions; many times the people that are perplexed are usually selfish people
4. Pleasing to Christ - His is the voice that matters

Moisture, Massages, and Maintenance

As a result of having the yarn braids in for about a month and moisturizing my scalp regularly I realized something. I experience less itchy scalp in the winter if I keep my hair and scalp properly moisturized. Properly for me is applying some form of moisture to my hair and scalp almost daily. The Huetiful Hair steamer is also great for those days I want moisture but I am too lazy.

Incorporating a midweek co-wash has done wonders but my hair is telling me it can be better. So along with the mid-week co-washes I am also going to add in nightly scalp massages. I plan to try this for one month to determine if I get any additional benefits from the massages. Hopefully, nightly massages will not be too much for my hair - I will assess daily.

Wash Day

Moisture, Massages, and Maintenance

As a result of having the yarn braids in for about a month and moisturizing my scalp regularly I realized something. I experience less itchy scalp in the winter if I keep my hair and scalp properly moisturized. Properly for me is applying some form of moisture to my hair and scalp almost daily. The Huetiful Hair steamer is also great for those days I want moisture but I am too lazy.

Incorporating a midweek co-wash has done wonders but my hair is telling me it can be better. So along with the mid-week co-washes I am also going to add in nightly scalp massages. I plan to try this for one month to determine if I get any additional benefits from the massages. Hopefully, nightly massages will not be too much for my hair - I will assess daily.

Wash Day

Poof, Braids and Ponytail

Start by making a poof in the front of her head. I used 2 small bobbie pins crossing each other to give it a little bit bigger poof.

Take the right side hair as shown below and make a braid.

Make the same braid on the left side and secure both braids and the remaining hair into a ponytail.

I took a small amount of hair and wrapped around the ponytail and secure.

Wash Day

Sunday night - I needed a wash bad! This was after a moisturized and super sealed bun and then a braid out done on dirty hair. My strands were feeling quite icky. I even pulled out the shampoo for this one.

The steps I followed were:
1. Shampooed once with Dudu-Osun Natural Shampoo
2. Did a Black Tea Rinse with Coconut Oil Formula Deep Conditioning Protein Pack (review coming)
3. Rinsed thoroughly and then applied a leave-in conditioner
4. Style: Two Strand twists done with Shea Butter

Clean Hair

Wash Day

Sunday night - I needed a wash bad! This was after a moisturized and super sealed bun and then a braid out done on dirty hair. My strands were feeling quite icky. I even pulled out the shampoo for this one.

The steps I followed were:
1. Shampooed once with Dudu-Osun Natural Shampoo
2. Did a Black Tea Rinse with Coconut Oil Formula Deep Conditioning Protein Pack (review coming)
3. Rinsed thoroughly and then applied a leave-in conditioner
4. Style: Two Strand twists done with Shea Butter

Clean Hair

Fall/Winter 2010 - Week 14

Sunday

Deep conditioned and did a black tea rinse with Giovanni SAS. Rinsed with cold water, applied a leave-in conditioner and did two strand twists with Shea Moisture curl enhancing smoothie.

Monday

Spritz my scalp and length with Aloe Gro and then applied coconut oil to seal.

Tuesday

Repeat of Monday.

Wednesday

Wednesday morning the twists were removed for a twist-out. In the evening co-washed with HE HH and put my hair into a wet bun. Before bunning I applied a leave-in conditioner and sealed with shea butter.

Thursday & Friday

No maintenance needed. Buns make life so easy. The only thing that I did was loosen the elastic band, that held my hair in place, on Friday night

Saturday

We had dinner plans so I just released the bun completely for a bun-out. When we returned that night I did a few individual braids for a braid out on Sunday. Braid-outs with individual braids are quick and easy but I am not a fan of them. I never like the outcome.

Two-strand Twists

Bun-out

Fall/Winter 2010 - Week 14

Sunday

Deep conditioned and did a black tea rinse with Giovanni SAS. Rinsed with cold water, applied a leave-in conditioner and did two strand twists with Shea Moisture curl enhancing smoothie.

Monday

Spritz my scalp and length with Aloe Gro and then applied coconut oil to seal.

Tuesday

Repeat of Monday.

Wednesday

Wednesday morning the twists were removed for a twist-out. In the evening co-washed with HE HH and put my hair into a wet bun. Before bunning I applied a leave-in conditioner and sealed with shea butter.

Thursday & Friday

No maintenance needed. Buns make life so easy. The only thing that I did was loosen the elastic band, that held my hair in place, on Friday night

Saturday

We had dinner plans so I just released the bun completely for a bun-out. When we returned that night I did a few individual braids for a braid out on Sunday. Braid-outs with individual braids are quick and easy but I am not a fan of them. I never like the outcome.

Two-strand Twists

Bun-out

Heart Rolls

This idea was taken from Angela's cute posts on Facebook. 

Start by making a down the center part.  At the back of the part make a roll going back towards the front of her head.  Continue the roll around towards the ear and back to the center of her head. As shown below.  (I hope this makes sense if not please ask questions.) 

 Do a 2nd roll on the other side of her head.  Attach both rolls with an elastic down low and into a V shape.