Category: Hair & Beauty

Odor Control – Keeping Your Locs Smelling Fresh

Having beautiful, fresh smelling locs requires some basic maintenance, which you can do at home, using some simple haircare techniques. I have my locs now for 15 months, and have learned a lot about taking care of them. I am excited to pass on some of the great information that I learned along the way. Here are a few of the tips that I use to keep my hair smelling clean, and free from mildew or mold.

Drying Your Locs Properly

When you are just beginning your starter locs, you will find that it dries very quickly after washing it. This is most likely because your hair is not yet locked. During the baby stages of locking your hair, the strands are not yet intertwined, therefore, air can easily pass through them. However, as your locs starts to mature and grow, it will need more time to dry out all the water that has accumulated.

Always make sure that you dry your dreads thoroughly using a clean lint-free towel or hair dryer. Gently squeeze a few locs, especially the ones that are in the middle or the back, to make sure there is no excess water. You should never tie your hair when it is still wet, as this will cause a build-up of mold or mildew.

Once this happen, you may end up having a hard time getting rid of it, or even more worse, may have to cut your hair. We all know how much hard work we locs lovers have to put in to get it to the beautiful stage that it is, so this would be the last thing we would want to happen.

Get Rid of Odor From Locs

Do you want to know my secret for keeping my locs smelling fresh all the time? I bet you do. I simply just add a few drops of my favorite essential oil in a spray bottle with some water. I don’t know if you know this already, but locs love water, so adding some oils to water and spraying your hair with it daily, is the perfect solution. This helps to keep your hair smelling fresh and looking soft and beautiful.

Well, my favorite oil is peppermint. Sometimes I add a few more oils to it as well. I love the smell of it and the tingling sensation in my scalp. There is also an added benefit when you use peppermint essential oil to massage your scalp. It helps to stimulate the hair follicles and promote hair growth.

I noticed that after spraying my locs with a mixture or peppermint oil and water, it eliminates odor and keeps my hair smelling fresh for the day.  Check out my other blog posts to see my loc journey, and stay tuned for more great tips!

Almost a Month Wearing Locs – My New Retwist Hairstyle

I am so loving my new locs. They are almost looking like real dreads. Each time I wash my hair and retwist it, they look more like locs and less frizzy. Now that my hair is starting to lock, I am trying to do new hairstyles that will help to change up my looks. Yes! I am feeling much more confident in styling my hair. I just did my second wash yesterday and retwisted my locs. My hairstyle may not be perfect, but it’s a start. You can see the finished style below in the images. Follow along with me on my exciting loc journey. I hope you are enjoying the transition as I am.

Remember not to be scared to wash your locs, as this will help them lock faster. I can see some of mine are ‘budding,’ as they call it. It’s like each strand of loc takes on their own unique form during the locking process. Most people recommend not to retwist your hair too often, but I guess if you are doing the twist really tight, that’s when you can damage your hair. I try not to twist the roots too tight.

I notice that they eventually start locking even when I twist them loosely. If you think about people who do freeform dreadlocks, they don’t do much to their hair except for washing it, and their hair still lock fast on it’s own. It’s amazing! I don’t have perfect parts, not that it matters because only the front of my hair shows the part, and that is only usually when I freshly retwist my hair. Also, remember that the roots of your hair will always be loose because your hair will constantly have new growth.

Second Wash & Retwist – Locs Are Almost a Month Old

Getting Locs – Am I Really Ready for This Big Hair Change

I wrote a blog post about going back to my natural hair last year. Right now I’ve decided to get locs/dreads. I think I am ready for the big change. On December 28th 2013, I palm rolled my hair, but unlike the last time I did it, I decided to just leave them and let them lock.

Last week after reading anything I could find on the internet about washing baby locs, I finally washed my hair. At first I was scared that my locs would unravel, but they didn’t. They were looking frizzy after the wash, but I eventually got rid of that after I re-twisted my hair.

I used the Jamaican Mango and Lime Resistant Formula Locking Gel to do my re-twist. It smelled good and didn’t leave any flakes in my hair. I read somewhere that washing your new dreads are actually beneficial, contrary to what some people may think.

I am getting ready for another wash soon now that I know that my hair won’t unravel. I like to smell the fresh scent of the shampoo after washing. Someone recommended Suave shampoo, so I tried the Suave Shea Butter and Almond. Even five days after washing my hair with it, I still smell the heavenly smell.

At first when you get new dreads, you will have to go through different phases such as frizziness, but after your hair is locked, it should get way better. I am going to stick it out and not get discouraged. When locs are matured I think they look so beautiful. It’s time to embrace my beautiful hair and wear it with pride.