Is my loc growth at a standstill?

*sigh* I've been taking pictures to track growth and doing everything I should be doing, but I feel like my locs aren't growing anymore. I have noticed that my locs have become much more firm. I think my locs are in that compacting stage where they look short. I know a lot is actually happening inside my locs, but I want to see growth! My locs have shrunken so much they do not look like they're growing. There's nothing I want more than long, healthy locs. A growth plateau is not the business. I think I'll be pinning my hair up a lot more often. That way, I can stop focusing so much on length. Y'all know how much length has always meant to me. Hopefully I'll get past this stage soon! After all, I am nine days away from my eight month locaversary! Anyway, I haven't shown you a retwist in a while. I'm due for my next retwist Saturday, so I'll be sure to post pictures.

Until next time!

Kindle Consideration

I've always been a physical book reader. I love seeing my progress as I flip the pages and holding a good book close. With soo many e-readers coming out, I swore I would never own one. My mother and grandmother both have Kindle Fires. They both still read physical books though. Somehow, I feel pulled to the side of the e-readers. I'm starting to realize the benefits to having an e-reader handy. Books are expensive for a college student! Textbooks alone run me hundreds of dollars. I rarely have money to purchase books for leisure. Also, I hate carrying leisure books in my bag with my textbooks and notebooks. They just become extra luggage. It would be so much easier to through an e-reader into my bag than a chunky book. My mom suggested that I purchase the original Kindle which is only $79. Thankfully, I am working for the summer, so I will certainly have the money to spare. I will still read physical books whenever I can, though! I refuse to fully surrender to technology! Two covers and pages will always be my preference, but a Kindle would be great too.

Until next time...

The Future Looks Sooo Bright!

I'm not sure how many people read this blog, so I won't disclose all of the information regarding my future here. I am, however, elated! My future is looking so bright. At the age of 7, I started my own business selling soap, lotion, etc. I found my love for entrepreneurship at this age. It is only right that I make my future being my own boss. I will not exactly say what my business will be, but it is a mix of both of my passions. A few minutes ago, literally, I made a business connection! I reconnected with a friend who can and is willing to help me in major ways regarding my business. As a recent college graduate, I believe helping me with my business will be great experience for him. It certainly won't hurt me! Anyway, I'll keep you all updated on my future.

Until next time...

Impromptu Loc Updo!

Today was a great loc day for me! I accidently styled a very creative updo all by myself in about five minutes! Everytime I get on the forums at CurlyNikki I read about some loc'er who does pin ups all the time. I never understood how they did them so quickly and they turned out so beautifully. Well, today I found out. I was rushing to work and didn't want to wear my curls out. Instead, I decided to quickly pin my hair up. I twisted the left side of my hair in pinned it, but that was taking too long. Flipping the locs back and twisting them around was all I had time for. I pinned the unruly ends, grabbed some big dangly earrings, and ran to the car. When I got to work, I received tons of compliments! I couldn't believe the style was all that cute, especially since I hadn't even seen the back! I saw how cute it actually was later on when my friend snapped a picture for me. I couldn't believe I did that so fast and by myself! I will definitely pin my hair up more often. My curls from yesterday gave the style more volume I think. Anyway, I love it.

Advice: Try something new and different! Don't be afraid to try different things with your locs! I never did any pin up styles as a loose natural, and I didn't even think my locs were long enough to do anything with. I proved myself wrong. I can come up with creative, quick styles that will probably prove useful when school starts back up.

What was your cutest impromptu style?

My First Loc'd Flexi Rod Set

Hello! I had my first successful flexi rod set the other day, and I figured I should share the great news! I wanted to see if my hair would curl with locs. Of course, I knew that locs could curl, but my locs are special (lol). I used Elasta QP Design Foam, flexi rods, and a spray bottle with water and a few drops of peppermint oil. Since I just got my locs retwisted a few days ago, I sprayed the water into my hands and rubbed it onto my locs. Then I did the same thing with the foam and rolled them up! I slept with them in so I didn't have to sit under the dryer, plus my locs were only damp anyway. I don't wear my hair curly often, so I wasn't sure that I liked it. I got compliments though so it must have looked decent. I even have pictures! (I've been doing so much better with that lately!)

Is Biotin Helping my Locs?

I'm not quite positive. As you all know, I'm taking the maximum dose of 10,000 mcg of Biotin everyday. I have been taking them for about a month now. I do not see too much of a difference in the growth rate of my hair. The major difference I have noticed is in my nails. Because I've always had short nails, I decided to grow my nails during the spring semester. I failed miserably. Once my nails reached a certain point, they just broke. The Biotin has definitely made my nails much stronger. I'm not sure if they are actually growing faster, but I'm retaining the length I have. They bend much less easily. I'm not used to these long nails, and I scratch myself some times. Only me, right? Well, that's what I'm seeing from my Biotin use so far.

Until next time...

Bye bye Yarn Braids, Hello (Almost) 7 month old Locs!

It's been a while since I spoke with you all. Have you missed me?! Well I've been studying and writing papers because it's finals week! It's officially the last week of the semester, and I'm super ready to go home. Anyway, aside from studying and papers, I haven't blogged because I haven't had much to say about my hair. Having yarn braids is pretty uneventful aftera while. I did some cool styles and what not but I had nothing to say about my hair. I wasn't planning on taking the yarn braids out until Thursday when I go home because I have an appointment with my loctitian on Friday. I took them out last night though for many reasons: I missed my hair, they were all kinds of crazy colors, and I missed almost my whole sixth month of loc'ing. You might be wondering why my hair was all kinds of crazy colors (lol). Find out why after the jump!