Pics

Okay, no matter how hard I tried the pictures ended up looking kind of goofy so grant me a pardon this time. The first two just give you a sense of what others see. It's not like my hair is standing on end, but somehow my hair is still really offensive to some. LOL I have to admit that this journey is really interesting to me, because I am learning so much about how to do nothing. Sometimes I wish that I had twice as much hair so that they could be bigger, bushier, and fuller. Anyway, the second set of pictures just show how my hair is doing up close. My hair is weird, because the front will go straight if I wear a headwrap even if it's not tight. It seems that my perimeter is a crinkle and not a coil. My hair seems to change into a coil as you move toward the middle of my head. Go figure.

OCM/PMS

So this is my first cycle since I started cleaning my face with oil. My face is clear with no blemishes at all. This is exciting because it never happens. That mark is even gone from my cheek. I am so excited. I feel wonderful and my skin is getting better and better. That's all just wanted to let you all know how things are going, because the method is so different than what we are normally taught. It's working. I feel fabu!

Freeform Pro and Cons

So far I have noticed some pros and cons to freeforming that I feel inclined to share with you all.
Pros

1. I don't have to do a thing but shampoo and go (maybe a little dryer time, but not much).
2. I love the look.
3. I love the feel mentally.
4. I am learning to not to be moved by the opinions of others about "the way locks should look".

Cons

1. Because I suffer with HIHD I still want to twist every now and again.
2. I notice shedding sometimes and I am not used to seeing that. It makes sense though because my roots will behave more like Afro hair as they are not in a *protective hairstyle.
3. People always have something to say.

*A protective hairstyle is one that keeps your hair safe from the cold in winter (or other harsh environmental issues to include heating systems or extreme dryness). If you have an Afro for example, I would suggest that you keep your hair in 2 strands, braids, or plaits through the winter months. These style help to maintain moisture and keep you from combing your hair. Obviously I am not combing my hair, but the moisture is being zapped. To add insult to injury my steamer broke. That made me just a little angry to say the least.

All that to say that I am wondering about twisting in the winter months and leaving it be in the other 9 months. I just can't seem to control the dryness and that is my main issue. Let me know what you think.

Skin before and after...so far

Here are some before and after pics of my skin. On the first one (hair down) you will notice lots of little break outs. That was the constant state of my skin, so that's why I used that pic. I have only been doing this for maybe a week (I have no sense of time, sorry), and there is already an improvement. I am a "picker" hence the scar on my neck and cheek. I am actively breaking that habit.

OCM

Just wanted to share something that I found to be interesting. OCM stands for oil cleansing method. It is a method of cleaning your face with oil. The blend that I made was jojoba (50%), grapeseed (25%), castor (25%), and tea tree (20 drops).

First I rubbed/massaged my face with the oil mixture. I wet a wash clothe with water as hot as I could stand it and put it on my face. Once it cooled a bit I wiped my face with it. I rewet it and wiped it again. After that I applied a couple of drops of jojoba oil.This morning a bump that was on my face last night had gone down dramatically. Who'da thunk it? Anyway, just thought I would give you the tip. You can find vids on youtube if you just search OCM.

Natural Hair Products

I participate in an online forum called lovinlocs. It is a really great forum with wonderfully informative discussions. Once we talked about natural hair products vs. not so natural (but good) products. Now one of the locticians talked about the chemical makeup of certain products and why they work, and why all natural products will not always give you the best result. All of what she said was true. So why, you ask, do I prefer to use natural products. Well, my reasons have to do with my health and the health of my clients. People don't realize in this day and age there are more pollutants than we care to think about. We are exposed to them on a daily basis. Most people don't do cleanses, vegetarian diets, drink clean water, and exercise. All of these things help you detoxify. These steps help you rid your body of the daily buildup of pollutants in your system. Even wearing natural deodorant that allows you to sweat, but not stink will help. Anyway, my main reason is that I want to live and help my body do what it is supposed to do.

My hair is important to me as I have expressed in other blogs, but not more important than my health. Now let me say this. My hair isn't unhealthy, it means that sometimes I have to work harder and accept somethings about my hair that others don't want to deal with. I don't use conditioner, because I don't care about my hair being super soft. I just want it to be moisturized. I use spritzes, oils, shea butter and, combinations of those products. The shampoo that I use is castile soap and it works wonderfully to remove the heavier products that I use. I take hempseed oil (pill form) to keep my hair from drying out in the winter. I know that it works because when I ran out, my hair screamed bloody murder. I drink almost solely water this helps you to keep your weight down and get toxins out. I also exercise.

All this to say that there are certain chemicals that I can't or won't give up like bleach, but I will be safer where I can. My toiletries is a good area to start. A lot of products have a cumulative affect that our government simply doesn't care about. I put this link here so that you can search some of your favorite products and see how hazardous they are and why. You don't have to give up everything, but make improvements where you can.

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/index.php?nothanks=1

If it ain't one thing...

Well, I got past the thoughts of what other people thought about my freeform mane. Now is the problem of my lifelong issue with HIHD. I just feel the need to do something to my hair. It is not driving me crazy, it is just one of those things. Oh, and now that it is not twisted I have all these "showy" gray hairs. I can tell by the length that they have been there for a while, but they weren't all out in public before. Anyway, such is life at 31.
Sidebar. I have a new nephew. He was born on the day after Thanksgiving. He is so cute. He and his sister are 13 months apart. We will be babysitting him too. That should prove to be interesting. I have found that I am a better mother in my 30's than I ever was in my 20's.
Back on task. Most of my clients are accepting of the new locking process while others act as if I have stopped bathing. I just really find it strange that as soon as locking went mainstream there became a certain "way" to "do" them. I just find them to be beautiful. My only requirement is cleanliness, and I shampoo more than most.