My Idea for Womanist Ink

I just had an epiphany! I'm pretty positive that I want this to be my womanist tattoo! Okay, it's a little difficult to imagine so just bear with me. To the right, is the feminist symbol. This was my boring idea of a tattoo to assert my feminist identity. As you all know from this post, I have been searching for a better idea. I have learned that I identify more the the ideals of womanism than feminism. I want a tattoo to show that I am a womanist, not a feminist. Soooo behold, my brilliant idea!

Alright, imagine the body of a curvy black woman, all in black. Her right fist is raised with the woman symbol around it. Basically, the arm from the feminist symbol (which is actually the Black Power Symbol) is connected to a black woman. This woman also has her head down and to the side. I think that this is an excellent portryal of myself as a womanist. The only thing I wonder about is the hair. Should she have a fro or locs? After all, I have locs, and the tattoo is a representation of myself and my identity.

Anyway, what do y'all think?

Ashamed of my Short Locs? Me?

Lately, I've been hearing from fellow loc'd friends that I am ashamed of  my short locs. As you all know, I've had two sets of yarn braids since I started loc'ing including the set I have in now. I love seeing myself with long hair, especially long hair that resembles locs. My scalp is itching like crazy even though I keep my yarn braids clean and moisturized. I was thinking about taking them out, but I'm not sure how my locs will look. What will I do with them? *sigh* I love my locs, but I want them to be long. I know it's my hair and my journey, but I want long hair! Missing my own hair might make me sacrifice my long hair (yarn braids).

Has anyone else had similar problems?

UMBC and GWST

As I've mentioned, I'm a junior Gender and Women's Studies student at UMBC. The GWST Department is kicking my butt this semester! I'm taking three GWST classes currently. Two of them have ten page papers as finals while the other requires a 20-25 page paper. Thankfully, I have planned my time and papers out pretty successfully. I have noticed, though, that the GWST Department at UMBC is different from most similar departments at other schools. Many of the black feminists and womanists I follow on Tumblr are pretty much always upset about the way their classes are taught. Of course, black women aren't at the forefront of most of my GWST classes, but I definitely feel like black women's experiences are taken into account at UMBC. Maybe because our school is so diverse, we are more open to the experiences of others? Anyway, if I ever feel like the Black experience is left out, I always feel free to express my opinion on the matter and offer some insight. I never speak for the entire Black community, but as a minority in such classes, I feel that it is my responsibility to speak up. Whenever I am allowed to choose my own topic for research, it always reflects current issues in the Black community. I am happy that the GWST Department at UMBC makes me feel comfortable with doing so. I never have to answer any questions based on beliefs that do not match my own. I am free to say how I feel and what I think. I appreciate that! I do wish that the GWST Department had greater pull on the campus' Black community. There are very few cross-listed classes between the GWST and Africana Studies Departments, but I guess that is liable to change at any time. It would be excellent if there was a womanist class offered! Maybe that could be my future career? Who knows!

Until next time...

Now seeking a womanist career...

So I'm sitting here on a Friday night reevaluating my life and thinking about the future. This time next year, I will be graduating from college. Life is confronting me quickly. I need a job, a career! As you know, I will be applying to both the Peace Corps and Teach for America, but those are not careers. I want start something that's mine and change the world. I want equality, for everyone, especially Black women! I'm an opinionated, educated Black woman looking for a career outside of corporate America. What am I do to?

Locaversary, Yarn Braids, and Biotin: An Update

Hey! I'm two days away from my six month locaversary and my hair is in yarn braids! I did this completely by accident. I didn't realize while I was putting them in that my locaversary was so darn close. *sigh* I won't get to actually see my locs on this special day. I've had the yarn braids in for less than a week, so there's no way I will be taking them out so soon. Oh well! I will be learning patience while I wait to see my babies again.

Anyway, my yarn braids are very thick this time. I mentioned this in my video, but I think that this is due to the growing thickness of my locs. I always try to match the thickness of the braid to the thickness of the loc. This time, I required a lot more yarn to braid my babies. I love how thick they are! It gives me an entirely different look. We'll see how my actual locs turn out.

I know I haven't talked much about a regimen of any kind for my locs. That's because I do not have one! I am terrible at regimens for my body besides brushing my teeth and taking showers, to be honest. I even suck at vitamins. Even though this is true, I bought some biotin vitamins from Amazon.com today. They were only $8 and I have an Amazon gift card, so I figured they would be worth it even if I fell off the regimen. I will be taking 10000mgc pills everyday as often as I remember. My friend told me that they have been excellent. She says that she has noticed her hair becoming stronger and having less pimples. I have awful acne scars, but not so many breakouts anymore. I've heard some say that the vitamins have helped their skin while others say the exact opposite. I will definitely let you all know what happens! I'll also post the exact brand I bought in the next post.

Until next time!

Update 4/26/12
I got my Biotin pills in the mail today! The brand is Natrol, and they contain 10,000 mgcs of biotin. This is the maximum strength. I took one today and became slightly nauseous. I was at fault though, not the pills! I was supposed to take it with a meal and I didn't. I know better next time. 

New Video and New Yarn Braids

I made a new video tonight! I figured I should put one up about how I install my yarn braids over my locs. As you can see in this video, my yarn braids are a lot thicker this time. I had to make them thicker because my locs are thickening up quickly. They're fat and I love them! Go check out the video!

Loc Style: Flat Twists with Loc Headband

Dyeing my hair left my hair in a huuuge poof. I had about an inch of unloc'ed hair that just curled into individual poofs. Today, I wore my wrap around. People kept asking if it was all my hair; that really confused me. Anyway, I needed to figure out how I would wear my locs for tomorrow. I decided to flat twist the front and make them into a headband. The back is out and full. This turned out to be a great style for when I wash my hair and decided not to retwist. Pictures after the jump. Enjoy!

A New Take on Loc Jewelry: A Crown!

Well maybe it's not technically a crown, but it looks regal and beautiful. I was on the Thick Loc'd Crew page on Facebook when I came across a picture of someone's hairstyle for Resurrection Sunday. It was magnificent. She had a loc bun with side bangs and a beautiful gold crown made from wire. I don't want to steal her picture, but I wish y'all coulda seen it! I will definitely be trying it tonight!

In other news, I need some styles that accomodate my fluffy, I-just-washed-them-and-didn't-retwist-them locs. I'll be working on that as well.

Until next time!

Edit: She let me steal her picture! Here it is!!!

Beautiful, right?

Bad Energy and my Locs

*sigh* I'm in a very weird place right now. I've recently decided that I'm not meant to be in any meaningful, in love type relationships with guys. I've become numb to all feelings of infatuation. I doubt that I am even capable of loving anyone in that way. Unfortunately, my feelings towards everyone are getting worse and worse. I want to be alone more often, and everyone is just straight annoying. I know that I've changed since coming to college. An agreeing, calm, chill attitude has replaced my once argumentative, stand-your-ground attitude. At first, I thought this change was good. Life is a lot easier when you're not angry. The only problem is that, when I do get angry, I don't know how to display it anymore. I pretty much just walk away instead of letting my feelings out. Maybe all of this is making me want to be alone more.

Anyway, the recent mishap with dyeing my locs has me even more on edge. I have a terrible urge to get rid of them. Of course, I love my babies; but, now I see why people say that there is so much energy wrapped up in locs. People who have had multiple sets of locs often state an emotional bout as the reason why they cut their locs. I'm going to let this awkward time ride out. Maybe it's just a phase. Maybe I'll call my mommy and see what she thinks.

Until next time...

First Time Dyeing my Locs! Part 2

 As I rinsed the dye out of my hair, I knew that absolutely nothing had happened. There was no change in my hair color in the slightest. Maybe the back of my hair has a tiny red tint, but it's virtually undetectable. I probably should've used HiRez, Textures N' Tones, or Dark and Lovely. I think my fascination with dyeing my hair is gone now after this mishap. Oh well. At least I got it out of my system right? My texture loosened a little bit because my longest layer is reaching the base of my neck without me stretching it. None of my locs unraveled, which is a good thing. Before and after pics after the jump...

First Time Dyeing my Locs! Part 1

For about three weeks now I've been holding on to some dye for my locs. Horror stories with bleach in the past kept replaying in my mind. I've only had one, and it took a long time to damage my hair, but I've been scared to dye again nonetheless. My locs are very, very special to me, and I don't want to do anything to hurt them. They are still young, almost six months old. I know many people who dye around this time or even earlier. Their locs come out fine. Today, I will take the plunge and dye my babies.

Open for Business! Layci the Little Loctitian!

I've officially converted my love for others' locs into money! The guy from this post is paying me to retwist his locs this weekend, and I'm very excited. I recently deep cleansed (using ACV and Baking Soda) and retwisted a friend's locs. I loved the experience. Strangely enough, I was super nervous before I started. I felt responsible for the well being of his locs. He and all of my friends said that they turned out great. His water from the deep cleanse was super murky. He's had locs for six years and has never tried anything like the cleanse before. Anyway, I love doing other people's hair! (I did my friend's yarn braids the same night, yes, one night.) Being able to turn a hobby like hair into a tiny business would be excellent for my college, no-meal-plan-havin' self. I've definitely told all my loc'd buddies that I would love to retwist their locs. We'll see what happens. I'll post pictures of my "client" for y'all and everything!

Until next time!

Locs: To Wash Or Not To Wash

I think one of the biggest stereotypes around locs/loc'ing is that one is not allowed to wash their hair. Of course, that is ridiculously incorrect. Hair of any kind, state, texture, whatever needs to be clean. Locs are no different. As a loose natural, I loooooved washing my hair. Loc'ing and washing has proved to be a challenge for me, though. Before My First Trip to the Loctitian, I washed my hair whenever I wanted. I was naive to how professionally retwisted locs felt and looked. I am now a semi-frequent client at a professional natural salon. I literally JUST got my locs retwisted two and a half weeks ago, and I'm ready to wash my hair. My roots are still pretty fresh, but my scalp is itching so badly. I find myself going back and forth, trying to decide whether or not I should wash my hair.


To take the edge of, I sprayed my locs with a water and peppermint oil mixture I made. It felt amazing! I want more! I need to wash my hair!!! Should I sacrifice how fresh my locs look though? *sigh* Decisions, decisions. Maybe I'll just wash my hair, wear it under scarf or the style from this post until my next self or professional retwist? I'll sleep on it and sort everything out. 

Until next time!

Loc Style: Wrap Around

I know that I'm not the queen of styles or anything like that, but I'm trying to beef up my style repertoire. A couple of days ago, I randomly came across this style that I thought was pretty cute. I simply started with my bangs and rolled/flat-twisted my locs in a complete circle around my head. Check out the little flower on the side! I got it from Claire's a while ago and decided to actually wear it for once. I really like this style! It's great for my layered locs. Some of my locs are that awkward length between long and short while others are shoulder length. This style incorporated all of those lengths nicely. I think this is a great style for anyone with short to medium length locs. I saw this video on Youtube, and will be trying it out tomorrow probably. If I do, I'll post pictures. Until next time!

A Piece of Advice: Take Pictures!!!

There are plenty of pieces of advice out there for new loc'ers: cover your hair at night, ACV rinses are great for cleansing, don't overtwist, etc. I believe that one piece of advice rarely shared is how great pictures are for documenting progress. I started taking pictures right after starting my locs, and I haven't stopped. I even have a Facebook photo album so friends can see my journey progress. Why is taking pictures so important?

What Do Your Locs Feel Like?

Lately, my hair has been going through some definite changes. I read this post on CurlyNikki Forums, and I could definitely understand where these loc'd ladies were coming from. My hair has certainly transformed over the past five months. I think the most drastic transformation occurred within the past two or three months.