I'm Alive People...

So much has happened...the BIG CHOP...now have sisterlocks, no more gerrylocks...all in good time.
My BFF has started sisterlocks...she has the cutest locks ever...

OH YES...I have a professional maintaining my hair...BLISS...

Now, lemme dig up some pics and see where to start,,,,



XX

Long Overdue Update

I co-styled a friend for her wedding...this is a few hours before she got dressed and said I DO...what a beautiful ceremony!!

This stye was meant to be soft and curly..but the fibre she used to do her braids couldn't curl with heat, it burned...so we used pins. It came out pretty well.. can't wait to reproduce a similar effect on locks.

I've not been meaning to forsake my blog, life has just taken me a strange place..and I'm battling to stay afloat.. but I have many pics I took with the whole intention of updating my blog...let's hope I get to it sooner or later.

Miss you blogland..will check out your blogs soon and see what I've missed in these past couple of months.

Stay blessed
Gerrylocs

3 Year Lockversary

It's been a while, too long in fact. I'm still alive, and I'm back on the blogging world.

Time flies when you're having hair fun, 3 years and 1 month...and I'm still in love with my locks.

Nothing much has changed, just a bit more length, and shedding ends. I think I might need another trim, but I don't want to get rid of my goldie ends...we'll see.

More from me later...

Happy Wednesday, everybody

Microlocks Updo - no pins required :-)

This is a quick and easy updo, you don't need anything to do it.  Start by a bantu knot in the middle, wrap and tuck the rest of the hair around the knot in any pattern... I like crisscross...but you can sweep the hair to one side in a cone look...or whatever really. The beauty of this hairstyle is that it always comes out different each time you do it...you can do countless variations. Sometimes I twist the front in a cornrow look... I'm sure you get the idea... I added my blue clip...just because :D)...

Ps: my back has terrible buildup at the back, the white patches are after an ACV rinse (undiluted)??? I'm not sure what else to do except wear my hair down...as I don't use any heavy products..


Happy Styling...hope this inspires someone to create a lovely updo...

My New Fav Clips :)

I tend to overdo things.. I bought these clips (there's more colours) in a China City near my place.. and I always find an excuse to wear one. They are great for those careless hair-off-the-face days..the quick hairbuns...and of course the formal look.

I dress them up & down...ok, I just love these clips.

Please bear with me, until I get over my craze you'll see a LOT of these clips :)

Anyway, here's 2 pics of my casual styles with the clips...

Now friends with the WIND!!!

A windy day at the Camps Bay beach.. I love locks. I remember afro hair days and relaxer days when a step out in the vicious Cape Town wind would be THE END of a hairstyle :-)

On another note, my skin has cleared... no more rosacea for now.. very happy indeed. Skin problems are challenging, you get sensitive when a person stares at you..not to mention the ever ending advices even from complete strangers.. oh have you tried this or that?

I know most people mean well...

I'm seriously considering a colour change.. maybe a more solid black-ish colour..but I promised I would keep this for at least 3 years.. well.. in 5 months time it will be 2 years... not sure I can wait..

We'll see :-)

Traditional Dress

We recently attended a traditional wedding and of course you can can guess the dress code..:)
I'm wearing "umbhaco" (traditional dress for the Xhosa tribe), the one I'm wearing is for married women, but I'm not wearing the head gear that goes with it..
Next to me is her Royal Hotness, also sisterlocked and I do her re-ti's...she's wearing a pimped up version of "ijeremane"..also a traditional day-to-day wear for married women (I love her headgear!!)..
Next to her is the Bride of the Year..(she got married last spring and I blogged about her wedding..), she does not have locks yet but we live in hope :-)..oh yes, she 'colour-blocked' her somewhat traditional look and looked super fine.....
Next to her is ButtaPhly, I also blogged about her sometime..she started her locks with a twist and I maintain it with a nappylocks tool, her hair has grown sooooooo much and you can see how gorgeous her locks are..
Next to her is her aunt..Mrs Gee, I'm sure she'd kill me if she knew I posted her picture on the Internet, but I just couldn't resist, she's rocking the Zulu traditional outfit like a queen...oh and she has gorgeous dreadlocks...

There's nothing like African Queens in African wear rocking their own hair with the beautiful and colourful African beads...if you agree say "amen"..

A blessed new year to you all...

Locks DO Grow!

I found an old pic in one of my folders. I remember this day particularly well. I stood in front of that mirror for the longest time possible and toyed with the idea of cutting my locks..

See, as far as I could tell, they were JUST not growing! It seemed they remained that frustrating length for the longest time possible. I loved my locks, but I just couldn't wait to tie a pony..and guess what? I HAD to wait!!

Fortunately sanity prevailed and I didn't cut them.. this was my first set..but by the time I unlocked it to do microlocks..my hair had tripled in length.

If you're struggling with locks that seem like they are just not growing, hang on in there...and try to forget about your hair. I promise you, you DO wake up one day and realise they have grown...if you hang on long enough, I guarantee it.

Lock luv

Curls with Perm Rods...

I finally tried perm rods... stunning results. My curls survived almost 3 weeks and a few dashes of rain. I kept the rollers overnight(painful!) and I wasn't too consistant with the curling direction..but the curls were forgiving.

The spirals are not as tight as with the pipeclearners, and they are more bouncy, so I think I will alternate between the 2 methods from now on.

Wishing everyone happy holidays..

Trial: NO SHAMPOO for 6 Months

I have mentioned my struggle with a skin condition called rosacea. Basically my skin flares up in a red rash mainly on my forehead and cheeks.

I have been trying without lasting success to resort to natural methods..no more steroids or anything harsh...anyway, in my quest to discover why my skin is not responding positively even though I'm on low-fat vegan diet and drinking 3 litres of pure spring water which I fetch myself, etc etc...I noticed my skin usually calms down a bit but flares up again a few days after I shampoo. This was hard to figure out because my skin is just NEVER fully clear and smooth on any given day.

In my research to find out what I could be reacting to, I found a host shampoo ingredients that are far from ideal, I won't bore you with the details, I'm still struggling to pronounce these chemicals, nevermind their list of long and scary longterm effects - way beyond my skin problem. There's not a single shampoo I could find that does not contain a minimum of 2 of these harmful chemicals - so I have to take drastic measures.

I suppose there's no harm in trying; so for the next 6 months (or forever)I'm off any type of shampoo. I found a host of natural homemade shampoos, which I'm going to experiment with, but for now, this is my hair cleansing routine..

Dissolve about 3 tablespoon of baking soda in just enough water to make a paste. Apply this to your roots only; work it in and let it sit for a minute.

This will stimulate blood flow, clean your pores and get off built up grime, use your finger tips to scrub your scalp.
Next, pour about 6 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar into a plastic jug and add water. After you rinse the baking soda out, pour the apple cider vinegar over the ends of your locks, let it sit for a minute and then rinse it out. That’s all there is to it! Baking Soda & ACV!!!

I then use a combination of olive oil, hemp oil, and boiled mixture of rosemary, Chamomile Tea & Sage.

The hardest thing about this is to wash my hair & not see foam..but lets see how it goes :-)

Zulu (Masai) Hair Clips

I love these hair clips...they remind me of the traditional Zulu spear & shield, but I got them in Kenya in a Masai Market, so I can't exactly calll them Zulu Clips :-)

Anyways, I have found wonderful ways to hold my hair up for gym/casual styles using these clips...shown in these pics is my fav by far
tie the hair in a single braid as far back as possible..
braid halfway and flip the braid over torwards the top of your head
take 2 parts of the open braid, place the clip on top and fasten..
let the remaining 3rd part of the open braid hang loose in whatever direction...or tuck in, whatever..

There...you're good to go...

Ps: I tried to take pics as I went along but that proved to be mission impossible...hope you can sort of figure out instructions from the pics...I love the way Dewdrop makes all her how-to instructions idiot-proof, but I'm just not that gifted :-)

Spring Garden Wedding

Its been a while... a lot has happened! I had a birthday in August, and joined weight watchers, and went vegan...then almost raw...then I was preparing for a friend's Spring wedding...so yeah, a lot of time was spent googling recipes and testimonials to motivate myself..

I am back...here's a pic I took at the garden wedding (yes I wore a HUGE hat and loved it) :-)

The pleasures of having microlocks...I am not sure if I could have pulled this look with my previous dreadlocks

You'll hear from me soon... I promise..I'm busy googling ways to keep hair strong with drastic diet changes.. I want to health_reform but not at the expense of my hair... so I would like this transition to be as painfree as possible for my locks...if you have tips please share

So long...

Freestyle

I have been lazy again..I have about 6 weeks of growth and I have been retightening about 30 locks per day, not fast enough for my liking. Some month I just have the oomph and zeal to this hair in one day, other times..well...NOT

I went to Franschhoek, a small town off Cape Town with beautiful wine farms, vegetation and good food. It's one of the most attractive wedding destinations in Africa and people there thought I was American with those "other" locks :-)

I am glad people are becoming more aware of locks in general, even if they don't know the specific types...this country has come a long way in recognising and embracing locks.

I'm abusing the freestyle, for once I'm almost finishing a month without curling my hair. I just wake up and go..if only I could learn to be consistent with re-ti's..I'd be a happy woman indeed.

Gerrylocs-versary

Time flies when you're having loc-fun :-) The 29th of June is my locversary and a few days ago I celebrated one year with my beloved locs...

here's a very brief reflection with pictures...

• Locs have grown fuller (much fuller)
• longer too :-)
• the colour has 'settled in' to a more golden blondish colour
• the texture is now soft & feels natural
• I have a year's worth of love for my locs
• The ends (oh those ends!!!) have locked
• the locs are more fluffy  and the cylindrical pattern has diminished & therefore look truly natural

The journey has been worthwhile and I'm so glad I went this route...I love my locs...
PS: I'm tempted to colour (go really dark) my locs - I'm not sure I will keep my promise of at least 2 years with the multi-tones...but that's an entry for another day..

EZ Combs

I bought EZ combs, with the hope of trying the styles as displayed in the picture attached. They are quite easy to use with a reasonable stretch for locks. My problem, however, no matter how much I try to make sure the locks are not stressed and pulled...the combs still feel tight/funny and I can't keep the comb for more than 3 hours at any given time. My tolerance of any kind of tension on my head is pretty low and I'm prone to get a tension headache even from a ponytail, which is why I mostly wear my hair freestyle or with curls.

It looks like they don't poke holes in the locks (rounded ends), however I'm not too certain that kind of tension is good for locks. If you have tried/use EZ combs please let me know your experience with them.

Happy styling...

Pleas feel free to drop your opinion on these combs, even if its just theory and you haven't actually tried them on your locks.

Different Curling Methods - Personal Review

Bendable Curlers - I really liked these curls!!!
Advantages - gorgeous curls, spiral but bigger curls, great for an evening do, bouncy and easy to do front bangs...
Disadvantages - the curlers are really bulky, feels like you've tied a blanket around your head, hair doesn't dry easy as a result, which means curls don't last ..3 days max!

Braidout - my staple :-)
Advantages - love the wavy look, hair becomes nicer as the curls relax, easy get up and go, easy to make, don't need any gadgets - just have to know how to braid, can combine braids with Bantu knots and other curlers or tie hair in a bun..
Disadvantages - hair can become a bit unruly, especially with the Cape Town wind, hair can break off if made too tight..

Pipecleaner curls - these were just too wonderful, same look as bendable curlers but lasted longer (like 2 weeks!!!)
Advantages - easy to do, easy to pull out, curls last forever and become nicer each day, hair appears fuller, can layer the curls (if you're patient)
Disadvantages - can't think of any, sorry!! Oh, difficult to find the pipecleaners in South Africa :-)

On my TO TRY LIST

• Steam Rollers (there's some fancy one's Americans usually blog about)
• Perm Rollers (for the curly ends look)
• Bantu Knots ( without braids, I usually do individual braids first - I must try the other method!)

I'm not so keen to try the hot electric curlers - I really don't miss the smell of burning hair.

Gaps/Holes in Locks

Hi Everyone

OK, I'm stressed...remember the growth I complained about? Retightening it has brought me headaches.

I had to do 4 to 5 full rotations per lock to fully tighten each lock, and given that I have about 300 locks, this took longer than expected to do my hair. In frustration I taught a friend and asked her to do the back section. She seemed to doing it faster than I was doing it, so it was yay-ness for a while (until I discovered the holes in most of the locks at the back).

Basically, my hair is locked very tight to the scalp, for about 1/4 inch, then the rest of my previous growth is soft gaps/holes. I'm worried about the uniformity of my locks after this. I'm also worried that these unlocked bits will cause bulging problems and/or I will find myself with fragile & breaking locks in the parts that are soft and not locked.

I have been trying to fix the holes by passing the locks through the holes, but for my smaller locks, the extension part is straining my hair as the locks get stuck as I attempt to pull them through the gaps.

If you have any advice, or can direct me to anyone who has blogged about this, I will appreciate it. I'm kind of stressing and can't stop touching the holes in thorough frustration...

Help please! Anyone????!!!

Stylish Blogger Award

I've been nominated for a stylish blogger award by my blog shero, the informative DIYer of the century, dewdrop herself! My gratitude to her and all of you that read my blog.

1. Thank and link back to the person that awarded you this award

2. Share 7 things about yourself

3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers

4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award



7 Things about myself:

1. I tear easily, I cry at weddings, funerals, movies, and anything remotely sentimental or emotional.

2. Embarrassingly enough, I can't ride a bicycle.

3. I have a (selective) photographic memory.

4. I'm not approachable, but for some odd reason, friends and strangers alike find it easy to confide in me.

5. I love babies, and I fear this is an understatement.

6. I read and therefore suffer from insomnia, or the other way round.

7. God has the final Word in my life.



I would like to nominate:

Mrs Mac - I like the way you write, and you're very supportive, keep up the good work.

rmcandlelight - Your blog is REALLY stylish, and whenever you blog, its always a worthwhile read!

anthia-ofo -  I just like your blog, very encouraging and informative.

Uganda Trip

I just came back from a 2 week visit in Uganda (Kampala), very hot, great organic food, hair GREW from all that sweating, no Internet, riots, interesting culture, bad bad roads, beautiful scenery (especially at the source of the majestic Nile River in Jinja just outside of Kampala), million types of bananas, friendly people, sad reminders of the war, hectic education system, highest life expectancy I've seen in Africa so far....

In all, I had a memorable time, special thanks to Doreen, my friend, for inviting me to her native land.

that's my excuse for MIA for so long...

I have soooo much growth its not funny at all. its like my hair has not been retouched in 3 months...all from just 2 weeks of equatorial weather???  Maybe I should relocate :-)

I mean to say, I'm back to the blog land...

Curls with pipecleaners

 I have to admit, before I started blogging I had never heard of pipecleaners, and judging by the blank looks I got while searching for them in the shops, not many South Africans know what they are :-)

Anyways, many tobacco, art and craft shops later, I finally found them ( only sold in a multi-coloured pack!) and getting enough black ones meant I had to BEG the shop assistant to transfer black ones from other packs to mine :-)

I immediately went to work and I kept them for 2 nights and a full day in between...on that day I had to take a Ugandan friend for a Robin Island tour and both tourists and locals looked at my hair with curiosity but I really couldn't be bothered. PS: I took one one out just to see if it was worth running around with pipecleaners while I waited for my hair to set properly, don't know if you can see the undone one in the pic above.

This was the result when I finally took them out.

5 days later, my curls have dropped a bit but still look gorgeous, in fact I like them more now. I will post some more pics on how they look now as soon as I can take pics with a proper camera.

I think this is going to be my regular curl of choice. I have been using bendable curlers but the curls don't last as long and it is just not possible to go out in public with them, unlike pipecleaners, which I can keep on a relaxed day like Sunday and still manage casual visits and an trip to the shop.

I just hope they last at least a few sets before they get worn out.

More pic later and cheers for now...