Just Checking In
Hi All! We’ve been so busy around here it sort of slipped under the radar but we are going to take a little time to talk about it in today’s post. For some of you this is old news but for the newbies we just …
Month: April 2015
Mo’ Hair Gro’ Hair
From our founder: This morning my mind wandered a bit… I was sitting in the back of a small car as we, with our faces plastered against the windows, drove through town. I probably looked like a small town country girl on her first visit …
You Choose
Here at Nappylocs, we feel that being able to do your own hair is freedom. I can retighten my hair whenever and wherever I feel like it. I also don’t have to budget to go and get my hair done. So we started thinking, what if we invested that money every month instead of getting it relaxed or braided? Being the nerd that I am, I got out a spreadsheet to do the math.
Assuming I spent $50 a month, I would have invested over $3,000 in the last 5 years. Believe me, $50 a month is low estimate; some places where I’ve lived it’s more than $100 a month. So here’s the deal, let’s say instead of going to a salon, I invested that $50 in Microsoft stock. Then it gets even more interesting.
| Spent on your hair | In your account |
Return on investment |
|
| 2005-2015 | 6050 | 9132 |
51% |
| 2010-2015 | 3025 | 4191 |
39% |
If I had taken that 50 bucks and invested it starting five years ago I would have had a 39% return on my investment. If I started investing in 2005, I would have made 51%. If I start now and get similar returns over the next 10 years, I could take that $6050 and turn it into $8852. Now I do on occasion visit salons for special pampering, after all they are professionals. A good quality cut, color, or facial should be done by professionals. If you are unable to install your own locs by all means enlist their help or that of a family member or friend. (My mom has installed mine twice)
But for me, a young mother with small kids my time and my funds are more focused on my kids. Nappylocs allows me the freedom of doing my own hair during nap time, kids movies, and in between soccer classes.
Disclaimer: We are not financial professionals, this is not intended as financial advice, and we are not endorsing Microsoft specifically. Please seek a financial adviser for investment information.
My Kili Trip
We set up the blog to provide tips about what we do with our hair and our products but it can become quite boring for you to read and for us to write if that’s all we discuss. So please bear with us as we …
Samurai Bun
We want to start documenting more quick dreadlock styles that we wear as we are out and about. Owner and founder, Debra is always picking up supplies and shipping orders, but when the weather is nice you can always find her at the local park, …
My Re-tightening Routine
A lot has been said about loc maintenance and interlocking. Too much even. When retightening your new growth, some people use dread wax or cocoa butter. Others say you should never put anything on your locs or else you’ll never, ever, ever be able to wash it out. Well after 15 years of loving my locs, I can tell you what works for me. I always start with a good clarifying shampoo like Baby Locs, that way my hair is wet, and my locs are soft.
After drying them with a towel, I put just a little liquid oil on the ends to seal in the moisture while it’s still wet.My favorite is Sunshine Oil, its light, smells great, and it’s all natural.
I try to remember to start re-tightening in the back. With two toddlers and another still in diapers it’s guaranteed that I’ll have to stop and make a sandwich or run an errand. If I go too long without doing the back those locs can get weak from wearing my hair down most of the time.
When I get back to retightening the front and sides a day or two will have passed. The first thing I do then is spray my locs with the Dew Moisture Spray, and now we have even more options (favorite fragrance is the Crisp). I always want to retighten my hair while it’s damp. If it’s dry I end up snapping hairs, my loops don’t get stacked evenly, and I’ll end up needing to take an Advil when I’m done. Speaking of being tender headed, I try not to retighten all the way down to the scalp. I know some people like to be able to see their scalp after a fresh retightening session, but I find that if it’s too tight, after a while the stress will cause the hairs to shed, and I’ll end up being able to see all the tiny white hair follicles. It makes your locs look dirty and the only solution I’ve found for that is hair color.
Since my hair will be damp when I’m finished, I try and do some quick pipe cleaner curls to change it up a bit. It’s funny I get just as many complements on the “style” with the pipe cleaners in as I do after I take them down.
How do you re-tighten your locs? Are there other tips or techniques that have worked for you over the years? Let us know in the comments!
We’re Doing Something New
We’re shaking things up here at NappyLocs. First we have a fresh new look with some new pictures and content and we are going to keep it going with new tutorials, products, and features. Check back soon for new updates! Don’t forget to visit the …