Natural head Family

I went to visit my 2 nieces yesterday. They both stayed with the same friend. My sis's daughter N came from the U.S. She's married to a lovelyAA man and has a little tot.

This is the tiny tot S with her natural coily curls in all it's glory. She's just too cute...

This is my U.S niece's hair. She's ALL natural and has been for years. And yes this is ALL her own hair...Flat ironed. I ran my fingers through it and it was silky and soft! It's actually a lot thicker than in the pic. I won't go near heat myself, but if straight is your look, doing it without chemicals is the way to go. I don't slate anyone using heat bc hey my 2nd daughter, (chemical- free...erm if you don't count dye), has curly/wavy hair- all natural and is best friends with her hair straightener. So let's not split hairs about natural, napptural etc I'm just glad we can all look at relaxers/perms with the side-eye Lol.

This is my France niece N who lives in...Nice hehehe. My brother's daughter. She's married to a french'broni' and has a 5yr old daughter M. N has locs. Her hair is simply amazing. The thickness, the texture....She's had a variety of styles from twists,locs,closecrop,afro,now locs again. It's clear she's heading for a lion's mane!

This is the sideview of N's locs. Nice eh.

Me and N. I can't believe these kids now have kids of their own. I mean it was just yesterday I was changing their nappies , combing and plaiting their hair.....

i guess we must have done something right somewhere,somehow, along the way cos both my daughters, and ALL my nieces shun relaxers/perms and are natural.

Apple cider vinegar or other vinegars?

How to make a vinegar hair rinse using Apple Cider Vinegar and essential oils.
Put 2 cups ACV or other vinegar in a glass jar(with lid)
Add essential oils. I added peppermint, clary sage,lavender, orange,thyme,rosemary about 6 drops each.
Mix it well. Cover and allow it to sit for a day or 2 to blend well.
To use: mix 1/2 tbs with 1 cup water. use these proportions and use as a last rinse. Massage well into the scalp.


I used an old salsa jar.

Making sure it is well mixed. Leave it to sit somewhere for 1-2 days. The EOs enhance the conditioning properties of vinegar and stimulate the scalp as well as masking the smell (if you're one of those that hate the odour)

People often wonder if ACV(apple cider vinegar) is the only vinegar that can be used as a hair rinse. You can really use ANY kind of vinegar. You can use different types of vinegars such as white wine vinegar,even distilled white vinegar can be used. All vinegars share similar acidic properties and will clean your scalp and restore ph balance to normal. However ACV, especially organic RAW ACV with the'mother of vinegar' in it has peculiar properties of it's own. It has minerals and chemicals that make it particularly good for taking internally. It detoxifies, has potassium to help prevent brittle teeth and hair loss, pectin to lower cholesterol,malic acid-anti viral anti bacterial & anti fungal,Calcium to promote strong bones,Ash, which helps your body maintain proper Ph levels,Acetic acid which slows digestion and can help lower glucose levels, to name a few benefits. Many refined vinegars will have most (not all) of the nutrient value stripped, even refined ACV, but there is still great benefit in using (refined)vinegar as a hair rinse and conditioner. So if all you have is white wine vinegar or rice vinegar, go ahead and give it a go. (dilute it!) It will remove scaly build-up,give you a truly clean scalp, make the hair cuticle smoother, get rid of dandruff. Generally, it's great for keeping your locs and your scalp happy&healthy!

Home-made shampoo&Shea-coco-Aloe

I'm mixing stuff again. I got a request to make my shea butter mix for someone. This is my sheaCocoAloe which contains raw shea butter, raw cocoa butter, organic extra virgin coconut oil, hempseed oil amongst other yummy ingredients. Very nourishing for dry skin.

Black soap shampoo: You know the drill.....put small chunks of black soap into a bottle and add filtered water. I also added organic aloe vera Juice,organic extra virgin coconut oil, clarysage,thyme,frankincense,orange,peppermint,cinammon,teatree essential ols. This time I added fragrance. Cinammon and nutmeg and almond milk fragrance oils. Fragrance oils are man-made chemicals so may not suit everyone. I suggest you limit it to a tiny amount if adding these to you home-made shampoo.

Achimota School dinner/dance

Back view of crinkled hair. For some reason, my hair does better holding crinkles than it does curls. These crinkles will last until I next wash my hair.

(pls ignore the busy-ness in the background. I was in my husband's studio)

I went with my friends Anne and Lorraine to the Achimotans fund raising dinner/dance yesterday. Anne was exhibiting some Art work too, so I helped set up. I am wearing a KENTE cloth in a simple classic style. I crinkled my locs and put a matching flower in the side of it. Black shoes,black clutch-bag, black wrap(not in the pic)

Coconut oil

This Extra virgin coconut oil is excellent. It smells & tastes delicious. It goes on my sclap in my spritz and in some of my cooking. I got this from iherb.

This is a cheaper coconut oil. It has no smell. You can find it in some of the asian shops here UK. Holland and Barrat and some health shops have coconut oil but it's waaaay overpriced..

Coconut oil or better still, Extra virgin coconut oil is one of my favourite oils. The oil can nourish each strand and penetrate into the hair shaft. It softens the hair, prevents breakage and dryness. It has anti-fungal & anti-bacterial properties and adds strength and vitality to hair. It's an excellent emmollient, a rich source of fatty acids. Coconut oil can help stimulate the growth of new hair in some people. It can be used to conditon the hair. Try not to overuse as it's a heavy oil and might be solid even at room temperature. Put a little on your fingertips and massage into the scalp and down your locs. Use sparingly on the scalp. You want to nourish, not clog your scalp.

Cous-cous Jollof

This is an alternative to the usual Jollof made with rice. I used wholemeal couscous. As usual. I took some shortcuts..... I got 2 chicken breasts and chopped them. I spiced them with season-all, garlic and a little black pepper. I sliced 1 medium onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 scotch bonnet(chilli). Heated a little veg oil and put the chopped chicken in. When it was nearly 'pink-free', I put in the rest of the ingredients and fried them all together until onions looked translucent.
I added a can of chopped tomatoes. Actually I blended it first cos my kids don't like lumps. I squeezed in some tomato paste and stirred it all up. I put in 2 knorr chicken stock cubes. I let it all simmer for a bit.(10 min?)

I emptied a can of sweetcorn into it. I put in some chopped sweet peppers. I adjusted seasonings adding more black pepper, salt etc. Let it simmer some more until it tasted right.

I put in about 400g couscous and stirred it all. I allowed it to remain on very low heat for about 5 min. DONE! Sprinkle some chopped corriander on top. I hardly ever really cook with precise measurements. Just go by gut instinct!

KELEWELE-spicy ripe plantain

'Chopped and spiced uncooked ripe plantain'

This is spicy ripe plantain Called Kelewele. A popular snack in Ghana. It's sold after 6p.m in the evenings by the roadside, at junctions, near bars or wherever people congregate. Often accompanied by fried or roast peanuts. The kelewele woman will deep fry large amounts and you stand in a queue and get yours in a banana leaf or newspaper. My bro who's been addicted to this since he was a kid, bought us some nearly every evening in Ghana.(Actually he loves plantain in every form, mashed, boiled, fried, roasted, frittered, doughballed...) My kids are hooked. This is my version:

Get a nice soft ripe plantain.

Chop into small pieces.

Blend a little onion, garlic, scotch bonnet(or chilli) ginger.

Add some coconut oil(vegetable oil is ok) and mix.

Oil a foil covered tray.

Spread it out on the tray.

Bake in the oven.

It works just like you deep fried it. I cheated on this one and used powdered onion,garlic,chilli and ginger. The fresh stuff does give it that extra- more authentic taste

CREATING BEAUTIFUL LOCKS ON A DIME. Get the book!!!

This is a must- have book. If you can only afford 1 loc book, then let it be this one. Written by Michele George as part of the KNOTTY TRUTH series,it aims to empower the woman who wants to grow locs, help her embrace the beauty of her crown thereby free-ing her from hair slavery. It focuses on and contains everything you ever wanted to know about locs. How to start, how to maintain, how to take them down. All your questions are answered in detail. This is a How- To manual covering every type of loc in existence today. The book begins by giving you the background and history of locs. The author's holistic approach is evident throughout the book, and it's packed with natural recipes and the like. For those of you with a scientific mind - you won't be disappointed because you get the get the chemistry, the biology and the physics.(I wasn't suprised when I found out that the author is the holder of multiple science degrees!) Detailed diagrams break it all down for you. The research was thorough. What's more, the reader is treated to lovely before and after photos.Ordinary women who started their locs with various methods. Many of them DIY-ing. It even includes interviews with some of them, an absolute delight! Michele has taken the mystery out of locking. There's even a section on how to take down - with photos, if you ever want to cross that bridge. Like a breastfeeding mum who digests the food before feeding her babe, she has done all the hard work by revealing, analysing, uncovering,setting forth and getting down to brass tacks everything you want to know about locking and made it available to you- need I say more?

It's available on Amazon, or from http://cheleski.blogspot.com/.

Cosmetologists,stylists, natural hair consultants will be using this comprehensive guide in their shops/classrooms. Get yours while it's available.

Personally I was amazed at how much information there was contained in this book. I've been locking my hair since 2005 (except for 4 months when I unlocked) yet I learned a great deal reading it. I've already began to implement some of what I discovered and my locs are well on their way to being healthier than ever before.

What! More hair pictures? It's a hair blog afterall

Just back from church where there was a (Ghanaian)baby dedication. We wore'white' cloth to support the family. White can be all white, black&white,blue&white,or other pale colour with lots of white background.
Anyway, I took some shots of my hair to show the latest failed attempt at curls. I know you wonderful ppl gave me sound advice to use some setting lotion. I was a bit scurred of putting it in my hair so I used aloe vera juice instead. whilst that was very healthy for my hair, it could not hold the curls.

I'm not one for styling much and will go months without. So curling in the space of 2 weeks is really something. The thing with locs is, it still manages to look'done' even when the curls fail. Basically you're the only one who knows the truth. Everyone else think your hair's great.

I wasn't posing, the wind blew my hair into my eye at the opportune moment.

Happy ever after?.....I sincerely hope so

For the fairytale princess....my thoughts and prayers with the couple in their new ife together.

But,Spare a thought for what "they" (not the couple)did to the lovely Di

Stylish blogger award

Thanks Bajan for giving me the stylish blogger award. I can't say my blog is actually stylish but er...heheee(bashful)

The reason for my award? DIY rules!! and my various herby concoctions experiments and hairpieces LOL.

The rules:
Thank and link back to the person that gave you the award
Share 7 things about yourself.
Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers
Contact these bloggers and tell them about it.


7 things about myself?




I'm a homeschooling mum. I've homeschooled for 9 yrs. It all started when my oldest was in secondary school and I got fed up with the rubbish that went on. I pulled her out and took her to boarding school in Ghana. I tried to get my 2nd daughter into a different school. After a head to head confrontation with the powers that be..I chose the lonely homeschool road. And I haven't regretted it one bit.




I was born and raised in Ghana. I love my people even though I find certain Ghanaians(esp some in the motherland) super frustrating. Sometimes a word, some aroma takes me right back to the endless visits to each other's homes,snacking on roast plantain/peanuts, chewing coconut corn and nuts(special mix) The pounding of fufu in the evenings. the smell of nkate nkwan(palmnut soup) Chickens boldly walking around. The dog feeding the kitten(INSERT-we had a dog that lost all it's puppies and a kitten whose mum was run over so the dog adopted it and breast fed it)...Oh and the goat that was always tied to the tree waiting to get the chop for Christmas dinner.





I was a single parent(Loooong story of a marriage that lasted all of 8mths. This why I can sympathise with some single parents-bc you never know their story) when I met my husband(white man) in church in the UK. We married after 6weeks and are still together after riding several storms together. We had another 4 kids(making 5). Our eldest daughter recently got married.





I am an Artist. I have a degree in Graphic design but never worked as a graphic designer. Instead I used to have exhibitions of my batik wall hangings. I also do encaustic art(wax painting) when time permits.





Back when I was in Uni, there was a famine in the land(Ghana). We didn't know how we would get through our final year. My friend and I walked into KLM offices and offered to do some adverts for them. They were so shocked they accepted and we were given a huge project to cover several public transport vehicles with their slogan. We recruited others to help....but the money I made saw both my brother and I through our final year.





I'm convinced I hold the world record for the most times anyone has done the bc. I started trying to go natural when I was 18yrs old. Right from when I got my 1st perm. I had it in me but just couldn't sustain it. Sometimes I'd be natural for 3mths,6mths even up to a year. In 2004 I finally waved goodbye to the LYE only because I eventually made that all important mental transition.




I became a christian in the early 80s whilst I was still in uni in a very dramatic way. After a year I drifted away from God, but he never left me. One day in 1987, a broke single mum, God spoke to me very clearly. It was time to rise up. I re-dedicated my life to Jesus. Our relationship has gone from strength to strength. He speaks to me often. Sometimes through his word, dreams or visions. It's pretty startling when God shows me something about a person I'm praying for. Usually it's something the person has been asking God for. I don't always share things God shows/tells me. Sometimes it's just too weighty or too precious ....




So there you have it. Some my fav bloggers have already been tagged:




So I tag naturally beautiful cos her blog IS stylish and she always has really cool natural/loc styles on there plus unique jewelry and interesting bits of info.




Locs revisited cos she's very brave. She isn't afraid to trim her locs or go gray.




Loc rocker cos she features different locked heads and events on her blog. And her loc styles look so good!




Kittylocs cos I enjoy reading about her latest trip and how her lovely locs held up in the sun lol.



Ok there are actually a lot more I'd like to tag. So if you're reading this post, consider yourself tagged. That means you Euphoria, Mile high SLS,Queenlocks,Naturally unique,Kalia dewdrop,DaTruththatisKnotty, to name a few, for your valuable contributions to the locking world.

Loc intergration cont'd

Comparison photos. (Above) with the piece(below) without the piece.

My locs are very full in the back,but it's the crown/ top I like to add more locs to give body. The idea behind the loc-link is this: sometimes I want my locs in a ponytail or updo. In that case the link or any loc piece will be a hindrance. But when I wear my hair down, it adds to the fullness. So being able to put in or take it out easily is a real bonus. The pic above shows what was left after the curl flop. Curling,crinkling,braiding,2st twisting locs gives dramatic volume.

Putting the loc link in. Just secure it by twisting with a real loc. I will experiment with making smaller links e.g 2-4 in a row to 'fill in' small areas where someone might need locs e.g temples, hairline etc. It's a work in progress. My biggest problem at the moment is getting the right kind of hair. I'm so busy right now with home-schooling and helping my boys get through GCSEs that I don't have time to scout around shops to get some. Buying Online is rubbish cos you can't feel or see the hair. But I can play around with what I have and when the opportunity comes I can go get some Heeerrrr.

Roasted Ripe Plantain

Rice, boiled egg, lamb stew,roasted plantain with carrots and broccoli. That was dinner.

I roasted the plantain under the grill. I roasted a bit of yam too(the white piece). Anyway you can have ripe plantain boiled, grilled, fried, spicy fried called kelewele, in fritters, loaves,plantain cakes with palm oil...the list is endless. This is a simple,quick delicious way to enjoy it.

A loc bridge intergrated into sisterlocks

I've tried to enhance the pics so you can see the piece in my locs.

For some reason, the white bits are highlighted with the flash on camera. In real life it's in keeping with the rest of my locs and shows up as just a sprinkling of grey.

This is the actual loc link. As you can see it looks dark brown, not really grey.

So I added the loc bridge/link to my locs. (It's a length of thin yarn, maybe 10in, with locs hanging from it.)This is the result. You can see coloured and greyish locs intermingled with dark brown locs. They are part of the bridge. It has 25 -30 locs on it. It's very easy to put in. It goes from temple to temple in a semi circle across the crown and has 3 points where you can attach by twisting your own loc with a loc on the link. I'm testing it out. So far it seems to be staying put. I've tried to find a solution that will add fullness to locs that can easily be put in or taken out. I very happy with this bc it means I can use it whenever I want and just leave it out other days and I can do it myself without waiting for someone to thread my locs through. ( a bit like an instant weave thingy). In conclusion, for those who want or need more locs, this is one of many options for you. After the Chris Rock movie, human hair is erm a little repulsive, so I used synthetic hair and yarn. We gotta move with the times eh.

How many sisterlocks/locs do you have?

This topic rolls around regularly. I'm writing about it only because I was reminded of the loc number saga on LIU when someone with traditional locs posed a question(unrelated to loc number) and some of the answers focused on loc number. This post isn't about that thread . I'm merely stating that it brought back memories of my own struggles with 'the loc number' when I first got SLS. It's been the bane of many a locers life. Loc number was never important until I got SLS-ed. (Yes I knew (approx) how many locs were on my head when I had TLS.) That was just for knowing sake and proved nothing. But with SLS it became a different ball game. It was one of the means by which you could tell if yours were real or fake, whether you consultant had cheated you out of 400+ locs or not, whether you belonged or didn't etc etc. It's a terrible rollercoaster once you get on it. Folks with perfectly healthy/beautiful locs have taken them down to restart them based on this. Granted some people did actually receive bad installs from someone who didn't know what they were doing. I was chatting with my friend Seiwa about this last year and the impression that something was somewhat lacking if one didn't have at least 400. It made me realise how we can stress about something that's not really important. At the end of the day, many factors are going to influence the number of locs you have. Size of loc, size of head, density of hair, texture of hair, amongst other variables such as thinning hair/hair loss and of course personal preference. I know a popular Sisterlock saying is'...no 2 heads are alike'. This is true. And yet folks are comparing heads all the time. It's as if our eyes lighted upon the number 400+ in SL literature and that was IT. I'm sure this is not what Dr C meant it to be. It was a general guideline rather than writing in stone. I feel for consultants who may be accused and harassed over this. How can you create up to 400+ locs on a peanut head? I've seen a few photos of 800+ locs on people. Usually it's down to the fact that their hair is very thick/dense, and some have a coconut, not peanut head. There's also the lengthy retite sessions to consider, the $$, the fact that maintenance will be a lot higher. I do think they are beautiful when styled. But hanging straight,a full head of thread-thin locs just doesn't grab me. I think I'm probably in the in-between camp. I like small locs, but not too small if you see what I mean. All this to say Your locs are individual to You. No one has the same as you. The number, the size, the texture, the density can never be replicated exactly on another head. The things to pay attention to is loc health, keeping it strong, moisturised and growing.

Kakum National Park -Capecoast.

We visited kakum national park on our recent trip to Ghana. It's deep in the rainforest and habours all sorts of wild animals like elephants,hyenas ,birds,monkeys,gorillas,etc. There are 7 suspended bridges/canopies, each deeper than the one before, 12 storeys high. You get a birdseye view of the forest. It truly is a walk of faith. You must believe that the narrow swinging rope bridge will hold your weight. It's like stepping into thin air. Drinking Fresh coconut from the trees near the forest. This Forest is only about 20km from the coast. The nearest coastal city is called Capecoast. That's cocoa fruit straight from the forest, and raw honey. We bought some. The cocoa is juicy and sweet. The seeds are dried and cocoa butter/powder extracted from them.

On the steps that leads to the canopies. It's a very steep climb.

On the canopy with my 4 kids and my brother.

My daughter on the canopies with a school party behind her. There was 1 guide in front of our party and 1 behind. This pic gives you an idea of the length of the bridges. They are suspended between huge trees several storey high. They swing as you walk on them. You have rope on the sides to hang onto!! Below is nothing but rainforest with loads of birds/forest creatures/insects/ crickets all singing their tunes. Many of the creatures live in the trees and never touch the forest floor. There was a tropical storm after our walk. The heat was oppressive and the rain burst through and came down like sheets! The storm was confined to the park.

This park is 20 km away from my high school(which is a boarding school). Infact, the road leading to it passes right in front of my old school.

Yarn for loc repairs.

I thought I'd share this. I've been using yarn for repairs and strengthening weak locs. Why? Because it's incredibly light weight and when your locs are thin, the last thing you want is extra weight on them. It works quite well. I wrap it round a loc as if I'm threading the hair, just as you would using fake hair. I leave a little overhanging the end of a loc in case I want to pull it off later. I see it as a temporary fix rather than a permanent one.

The story of the collapsing curls

The collapsed curls. The result of all my hard work the night before. I don't think my hair was wet enough. Perhaps it needs some mousse or setting lotion.

Looked nice when I first took out the soft spikes.

my locs rolled on soft spikes yesterday. It took over 1hr!!! How do others do it? I can't be spending so long rolling my hair, aint got the time.

The joy on my face when I finally finished. Little did I know the curls would collapse the very next day.