Update on Protein treatment

Thandi, in answer to your question, the protein treatment IMO has really helped my hair. It feels stronger and it left it soft& sheeny. I did condition with a moisturising condish afterwards. Hair needs the right balance between protein and moisture. Too much protein will leave it hard and brittle, while over conditioning will leave it limp , lifeless mushy. Personally I think our hair type is rarely over-conditioned. Still, striking the right balance between protein and moisture can be tricky. As a rule, too many protein treatments will lead to hard hair, At the same time you need them to strengthen your hair. So I suggest 1xmth at the most ,and always follow with a moisturising conditioner to be on the safe side. This of course, is a generalization and may vary from person to person. Adding a *moisturising*conditioner+humectants like honey,oils like jojoba,coconut& olive oils will help prevent "overproteinizing" your hair and don't forget finishing off with an ACV rinse!


Having said all the above, eggs, vinegar and oil are all great at helping retain moisture, provide volume and hydration. Each ingredient can be used alone but obviously a combination (as found in mayonnaise) increases the condish properties. The protein in the egg fill in the gaps and nicks in the hair shaft when it's dry or damaged, giving a fuller sheenier appearance promoting strong strands and growth.

Protein treatment

I did a protein treatment after i read about the benefits. I followed dewdrops instructions. I added a little jojoba oil, 1 tbs aubrey's honeysuckle condish, 1 tbs sisterlock reconstructor to the mayo and egg. Mixed it all and put it on my roots.

UPDATE:

I put on shower cap and left it on for 3hrs. Then washed it with cold water.(I'm not sure about this treatment in winter). I made sure to use a moisturising shampoo -organix coconut and aubrey organics honeysuckle shampoo, both for the lovely coconutty&honecuckle fragrance and moisture. Followed by aubrey organics honeysuckle condish, (my ends only), then rinse rinse rinse with cool water tempered with some cider vinegar to cut the hardness in our UK water. I am pleased with the results. This is worth doing on a monthly basis. Also it's good for my scalp!

How cool is this athlete?

Joseph Christian and Joshi at the endofera party.
I cant believe how my babies have grown and Christian looking so
Cool.

Here he is competing at the english schools athletics.

Its hard to accept this!

A few days ago, my pastor friend from back -in- the- day sent me the devastating message that my friend Wendy had passed away. We used to be very close when Ara was a Tot, going to prayer meetings/church together, praying for each other and our families. She lived in Luton and we'd spoken on the phone and planned to meet-up sometime...only it never happened. Instead she's gone leaving behind a husband and 3 children the youngest,9yrs. Whilst I was reeling from the shock of this, the phone rang. It was my sis from Ghana.'Are you sitting down?' I said'what!?!' Then she gives me another blow! This, within 15 minutes of the 1st blow. My friend Jennifer also from back- in- the- day has died! We met up when I went to Ghana(she always comes to spend time with me) and was planning to visit her twin in the US. Jennifer was my flatmate when Ara was a toddler. It was she who introduced me to KTchurch. We all belonged to a group called AL and shared many happy memories together. I couldn't even cry. I was just numb, tears stinging my eyes.

To Wendy: I never knew you were so ill. I'm so sorry you went through so much. I spoke of calling weeks ago, to see if we could finally make it happen. The meeting that never took place. I'm grateful to God that I knew you. Always smiling and babying me. Re-arranging my wardrobe when it was a total mess! Now Heaven is your reality. I'm sad that you died so young, but happy that you're no longer dealing with pain. RIP my sister, till we meet again.

And Jennifer: What can I say? I could barely comprehend the fact that you'd gone. So soon? I remember us standing near El wak,(Ghana) encouraging each other in the Lord. You were telling me about your plans...Ei! How did this happen? Aakor, so pretty, so sweet. A gentle and quiet spirit. Dyou remember Ara's 1st words when she tried to say Aakor? It was Krkor? She's devasted.. But I know how much you Loved God. You were a saint if ever there was one. Enjoy your rest from your labours. I will miss you, my dear. Until that great day....girls I'll do my best by his grace to represent on this side of eternity.



In 1989, we went to portugal to attend a crusade and made it a holiday. We all stayed in a lovely hotel. Wendy&I shared a room with little Arashia. DD and Jennifer(Aakor) shared another room. Dd died in 2004. It was a hard one to get over Cos we used to spend so much time on the phone putting the world to rights. I was the one that told Jennifer and Wendy. Then last year Elizabeth died. She was in AL too. I broke the news to Jennifer. Now this........ God is my rock and my strength, an ever present help in the time of trouble. I will rest in you, the lifter up of my head. God is faithful, whether I understand this or not, He is FAITHFUL.

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints."

washed and deep conditioned with.....

Sisterlock reconstructor and aubrey organics honeysuckle & rose conditioner. I washed my hair with the clarifying shampoo followed by 2nd wash honeysuckle &rose shampoo. I left the condish on for 1hr. Apparently you can leave it in overnight but... nah. Maybe next time. Then it was rinse rinse rinse!

Seriously, my hair looks very full in the back. As if I have gazillion locs. It's the top I want looking fuller. That's why you don't see pics of the top of my head. I don't like locs looking flat on top, it's got to have some body. My kids say it doesnt look bad. I certainly pray so. My loc count is hovering around 370. Anyway, I'm really pleased with the way my locs have progressed and thankful to God too,

Locs are definitely the best hair choice I ever made.

re-Ti -ing 1000 locs....or so it seemed

Ara and I went on friday to reTi my friend Seiwa's hair. Her locs were started with tiny twists in Ghana(which probably cost £5.00 ?). Some had unravelled entirely and needed to be re-installed. She is unofficially client number 3. Her hair is coily, wooly and dense in the back and it seemed she had 1000 locs! I attempted a loc count, but I'm guesstimating over 500 locs. Some may well have to be combined later. We had a fun girly time eating sweet cheries from her tree, but Arashia was so knackered she couldn't even muster a smile in that pic. She'd been up the day before re-Ting another client and up 3 days before that making a prom dress for someone.

crinkle to get BIG hair!

look the long loc down my back....just like bajans. I tell you, they got special fertilizer!

loc detail

I'm speaking at a Christian conference this weekend and thought I should do something to my locs. So I washed and braided and here you have the results....

folks, if your locs doesn't have much body to it or if you have some thin spots, work it with a braid-out. It gives the illusion of thick, dense hair, plus it's a simple but eye-catching style.

wool needle-another loc tool

this is a photo of the tool I've found. its a wool needle. It's a plastic thingy with a point and a flexible loop at the end. It costs £1.89 at the sewing shop. I tried hard to get a clear pic but hey, you get the idea.

aubrey organics sulphate-free shampoos

GREEN TEA CLARIFYING SHAMPOO: This is def a keeper. I've searched high&l low for a clarifying shampoo without sulphates, and I've found it. 100% natural ingredients. No sulphates, parabens or petrochemicals.
IT CONTAINS: organic green tea,nettle extract,organic aloe, almond protein. I couldn't be happier with the resultsThorough cleaning without stripping. How cool is that? and a lovely smell to boot. This shampoo is pricey, but I got it at 20% discount so I'm not complaining.

HONEYSUCKLE ROSE moisturising SHAMPOO: Another keeper! Oh my! If you want a moisturising shampoo that's sulphate-free, try this. again, 100% natural. no sulphates,parabens petrochemicals.

IT CONTAINS:orgainc rosa mosqueta oil, organic aloe, honeysuckle oil, rose hip,fennel hops balm mint,mistletoe, yarrow, gingko,ginseng angelica,chrysanthemum,magnolia, horsetail,coltsfoot,forsythia,sweet almond oil,macademia nut oil, vitaminF, vitamin A,C,E,organic sage and rosemary oils.

I LOVE the smell and how soft&moisturised it leaves my hair. This was also 20% off so I got them both. Full price would be about£9.00 each. I think they are well worth it though. I have the honeysuckle conditioner from when my hair was loose. It smells heavenly and is silicone-free. I might try it diluted cos the smell is heavenly,

some pics of my dark brown locs with grey!

As you can see, my grey hairline has disappeared.....for now. Not bad eh. And I discovered a new tool. Oops I forgot to take a pic. I shall do so asap.

HERTS Schools gold medallist!

Today is the day Christian(my son) won the gold in the Herts schools athetics in Hemel. He was the only home -educated competitor. Just before the race, he and I prayed together and thanked God for helping him do his best and giving him an edge. And that's exactly what happened. He was neck and neck with an older boy. Christian was slightly behind...until the final hurdle, when he pushed through to victory! He beat the boy by a fraction of a second! Glory to God.

YIKES!!! I was wrong!?!

7 or 8 posts back, I did a post on my coffee rinse. Actually it was a mixture of herbs including coffee and food colour. A week later I did a STRONG coffee rinse. All seemed to be well, my locs even felt very soft(coffee has a conditioning effect). However I noticed a tinge of strange smell in my locs!!! Red alerts went off in my brain. What!?! Thankfully, in my quest for sulphate-free shampoos, I had ordered Aubrey organics Green Tea clarifying shampoo and Honeysuckle Rose moisturising shampoo and They had arrived. I went to work with the clarifying shampoo. I let it sit in my locs for several minutes before rinsing. I washed twice with the clarifier and once with the moisturising shampoo. PHEW! Now I can breathe cos my locs smell fresh again.
The lesson? Dont use coffee on your locs. I Believe it will work on loose hair. But locs is another matter. Back when I had Bradelocz, I used Tea as a rinse without any trouble. But I think coffee might just leave some residue so please give it a miss. So it's back to a semi-permanent colour.

Smoothie disaster!!!

This is what happened when I stepped out to post a letter. Yes, it looks as though somebody committed murder. Paul decided to make a smoothie with pineapple and frozen berries. He left the top off the blender and the smoothie whizzed everywhere! Fortunately he managed to save me some, but there was quite a bit of cleaning to do. Just as well I have a sense of humour. His purple smoothie stained shirt is now in the washing machine and he went and had a shower to get the purple smoothie off his face/hair/arms. What's he like eh?

I DON'T BELIEVE IN SICKNESS!!!

Some awful cold/flu virus has tried to get me down. I utterly refuse to submit to this rubbish! This body is the temple of the holy spirit, and I'm not just going to lay down and take it. I'm furious, that it's interrupted my retightening. I found myself sleeping or laying down most of yesterday. Yes I felt like death, every muscle aching, nose bunged, coughing and spluttering everywhere - I've been through 2 rolls of tissue. It started like a sore throat,moved up my sinuses and now trying to get into my chest. I stood up today still feeling dizzy, struggling to breathe and said enough is enough! Gal3:13 Christ has redeemed me from the curse of the law(which includes sickness). Psalm103:3 He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. I started praising and thanking God that I'm forgiven AND healed and I received it in my body. Well... I'M HEALED praise God. I just couldn't see myself being out for the next 10 days or however long it takes flu to run it's course. What's more I know I've been given the power and authority to heal and cure diseases, so why was I allowing this to continue? Sorry, no pictures. I don't want you guys to see how awful I looked LOL Guys, until you get fed up with something, you tolerate and live with it.If you don't resist it with all you've got spiritually ,mentally, emotionally and physically, it will continue...and yes I AM a fanatic. It works for me and my family, cos we can chase off these cursed things when they rear their ugly heads up by God's grace!!!

Does hair grow faster on parts of your head?

Oh my! Re tightening the back of my head is a different story. I have about 1inch of new growth( which doesn't seem like a lot), but it needs 3+ rotations. What's more some are sticking together. This area is the fastest growing, most dense, strongest of my hair. On my scalp,I have 1/4in new growth some places,1/2inch other places and 1inch right in the back area between the nape and crown. I think on the whole, my hair grows about 1/4inch per month with variations of course. I managed to separate 2 locs that I inadvisedly joined. There's another 2 or 3 to split.

Retightening, nearly 3 months since the last.

Has anyone who has sisterlocks/microlocs gone 3 months before retightening? What was your experience? My last R/T was in the 1st week in march, so it's been nearly 3 mths. To be precise, it's 11 weeks. I have started doing handfuls of locs here and there. As you may know, I don't do my whole head in one sitting. And I no longer do it in 2 or 3 evenings as I used to. I now take a rather relaxed approach, doing handfuls of locs whilst I'm reading or watching something. I don't worry about misssing some days cos I'll always have time another day to continue. If going 3 mths is not detrimental to my locs, then I might do just that. I remember QueenLi mentioning something about Retightening once every 3mths. She has microlocs and it seems to be working okay for her. Queen if you're reading this, please confirm if I'm right or wrong. I'm also glad to report that my ex-thin area is doing well. As a result I haven't used my loc piece in a while. I must say life is much better without one, but if you need it, don't feel bad. Only you know what you're having to deal with. And very often hair can and will grow back given time and the right conditions.
PS: I'm averaging 2 &1/2 rotations per loc.

attending a naming ceremony

close up of my locks. I just swept it all to one side and added a red rose.

I was attending a naming ceremony. In Ghanaian culture, the proper attire for this is white,black&white (with more white than black), blue&white etc. As long as the white in your cloth is the dominant colour, you're fine. White signifies new birth, Joy, Hope, Thanksgiving. So I wore my 'whitish' cloth, and added some red shoes/ accessories to complete the look. This cloth I am wearing is older than I am. It belonged to my GREAT uncle. My dad gave it to me when I was in Ghana, saying 'this belonged to Papa Boahene'. I was really excited, that I'd got a piece of history. I had it made into 2 outfits. (Arashia's got the identical outfit LOL). My mum told me the name of the cloth(but, I forgot it). Every African print in Ghana means something as do many colours. It's from waaay back in the day and they dont make them like this anymore. Suprisingly, it in pristine condition.

The parents of the child wore white kente. I'll post pics of them as soon as I get it. What I loved about this naming ceremony was that it was christian through and through. Instead of calling on ancestors, and pouring libation to dead spirits,we called on God. The name of a person is very important and this baby's name was prayerfully recieved from God. We pronounced blessing on him that he may be brought up in nuture and admonishing of the Lord, that his name would be written in the lambs book of life, that he would be the source of great joy to his parents and a blessing to all around him and a credit to God our father.

Ruben, the Miracle boy

The world's been rivetted by the Libyan plane crash horror and the little boy who was the sole survivor. I've prayed for the little fella every day since that day. I could barely comprehend how an adult can survive something as terrifying as a plane crash,let alone a kid. The overwhelming joy I felt that he was alive was tempered by the sad fact that he was now alone in this world. I followed the story moment by moment, wondering how God managed to save him and what it is he is meant to do in this life. His survival is nothing short of a miracle, and I pray that God places him in the right hands to nuture and bring him up to his full potential. No one except the hardest of hearts can fail to be moved by this story. Each day I rushed to the internet to find out how little Ruben was doing, my tears mixed with laughter cos 'he's out of danger'. I don't know this boy, yet I feel as if he's mine.
Ruben I thank God for your survival, even though it must be bewildering to be without your parents and brother. God will keep you. The whole world knows you now. You have (unknown to you) become part of our lives. And we, who had never heard of you before this, now pray for you and wish you a speedy recovery.

Twist-Locs at 3yr+/splitting still in progress

You can see how far Ara's locs have come. she has a dozen or so short baby locs (the result of loc splitting)hidden in that bush. One day in the distant future, she might want to wear a huge afro, but for now, it's locs all the way!!!

FOOD COLOUR rinse and CONDITIONING with herbs

My friend who has long traditional locs, colours with food colour. I wanted to try it, with a slight twist, whilst conditioning my locs at the same time.
I assembled the ingredients.......

I decided to dye or rather, do a colour RINSE with coffee and food colour. I wanted to condition my hair too, and thought why not do it all-in-one? So, Put a large scoop of dried Nettles, and dried chamomile flowers and let it simmer in some boiling water. I added several large tbs of powdered coffee(the instant type). I let it cool down and strained it. I added the food colour at this stage. Red, green, yellow - about 5:2:1.

Method:

I washed my hair with my herby black soap and rinsed well,ie dunked my head in a bucket of water several times. (This is what I do instead of a strong shower cos I haven't got one.) I rinsed with diluted ACV. Then I dunked my head in my coffee/food colour solution. I poured it through my locs with a scoop repeatedly. Finally I rinsed it with some water and wrapped it in a towel.

I got a nice tint to my locs even though my greys are still grinning at me. Next time, I'll make a stronger solution with the coffee, (maybe use ground coffee in a filter), add dried SAGE, green tea and food colour, put it in those colouring applicator bottles and apply it that way. The addition of green tea will further moisturise and Sage will darken the greys better.

Conditioning!

Although I put the nettles and chamomile in with the other ingredients, I think it would be better to condition first, let it semi-dry and then colour. That way I'll get more vibrant colour. But my locs have never felt more conditioned than they do now. I can hardly believe the way they feel. Soft and pliable.

Note the reddish/brown tint in my hair. For those looking for a natural way to colour, this could be an option. And coffee moisturises as well,so it's all good stuff. It can be repeated weekly to maintain colour.