"What you think, you create. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you become."

LOCSPIRATION

                 

 If any of the pictures w/o a name belong to you and you would like it removed, please let me know in the comments section and I will gladly do so. :)

I just came to say hello...

I decided it was time to breathe some life back into this blog after a short hiatus. I've recently had to switch jobs so now I feel a bit more settled in and am making much more hours every week which is great :-)

I got my nose pierced!!! 

I love it. I was really scared of what it would feel like but after many years of contemplation I bit the bullet and did it. In all honesty, piercing my ears hurt worst. I wish I would have done it sooner lol...


My hair is a different post :( My locs have been super dry lately due to washing them all the time in hard water. Summer makes my scalp feel horrible so I've been washing 2-3 times a week which causes my SD to flare and then I just keep washing with Tgel. It's such a nasty cycle that I can't seem to break. I'm not noticing any major growth at all and it's been shedding a lot. Some need to be combined in the back because they are starting to thin out. In short: MY HAIR IS A HOT MESS. I am going to make time very soon to go to a salon and get it repaired.


Does anyone know of any good loc salons in NC??

Internal VS External Hair Care

This post has been on my mind for about 3 days now. I have come to the realization that so many women don't recognize the correlation between what they put into their bodies and the health of their hair. I was on Nappturality the other day and I skimmed through so many questions that read something like "...my hair is so brittle and dry, I use a moisturizer and ___________ shampoo and conditioner....what am I doing wrong?" and then I scroll down to look at the answers and nearly every response was something like "Girl use ________ shampoo and _______ moisturizer and then tie your hair up at night..." etc, etc. Not one response mentioned anything diet related. No one seemed to notice the relationship between interior and exterior health. I was the same way a few years back when all I drank was soda and ate junk food and then wondered why my hair was so unhealthy and my skin was breaking out, but then I learned that it takes much more than a good hair regime or x shampoo and x conditioner to keep it healthy.

I am not at all saying that external hair care is obsolete and one should only focus on diet because without proper maintenance, the hair would not flourish no matter how great your diet is. Internal hair care and external hair care go hand in hand. I wanted to address this because I want more women to start paying attention to their DIET. If your hair is breaking off no matter how well you care for it, then it's most likely your diet that needs improvement. I am not perfect but everyday I strive to be more mindful of my body as a whole from the inside out. I hope that one person will benefit from this post and may we all have beautiful, healthy growing hair from this point on! :-)

Product Review: Suave Almond & Shea Butter

A few weeks ago, I picked up a new shampoo and conditioner from Suave called Almond and Shea Butter...

I didn't go to the store with the intention of purchasing this specific line but it was inexpensive and I knew that almond and shea butter are both very good for the hair. The first time I used it, I wasn't super impressed but I did like that the shampoo didn't strip the hair and make it feel dry. You can lather with this shampoo 3x in a row and it won't make the hair feel squeaky and stripped of moisture at all. The conditioner wasn't very thick and creamy like I had hoped it would be but it got the job done. I noticed that the longer I leave it on, the softer my hair feels so instead of leaving it on for 2 minutes as directed on the bottle, I put it in my hair and leave a shower cap on for the duration of my shower. This conditioner also works very well in a  co-wash. I wasn't too pleased with the scent because it smells fake. It has a subtle hint of almond but it smells like candy and I prefer more natural and true-to-the-name scents....For example, if it's coconut then I want the scent to be pure coconut :-) Overall, I liked it and thought that it delivered for the price (Under $3!!!) so I will continue to use this shampoo and conditioner until the bottles are emtpy. I give it 3 / 5 stars.

I have hard water and since I can't afford to buy a shower filter at the moment, I brought a clarifying shampoo from Suave which I have not used yet. Will do a review on this shampoo in the next few days. I am currently taking Biotin Supplements specifically for my nails but since it is intended to grow hair as well, I will update you guys on my experience with Biotin soon!

My Length : 6/29

My hair when wet after being washed. I will do length check ins more often after shampooing my hair because I rarely show you guys the actual length progression...It will be a new feature here on my blog! :-)

:-)

Life & Diet Update! + Today's Hair

Beans for my Vegetarian Chili simmering in the kitchen next to me....Mmmm. The veggie life is goood, ya'll need to get into this :-P !  My life has been going 100 mph lately and I haven't had a chance to stop until this weekend. I finally had Saturday and today off to relax but I still had so many errands to run that it feels like I'm still working! I'm currently in the training phase for my new job so I have to study from the handbook they gave me :-( So much to do, so little time...

Today I got a chance to go grocery shopping at Whole Foods....Let me tell you guys, I LOVE where I live....It's such a prime location, I can literally walk everywhere. I have grocery stores, a bank, a post office, restaurants, clothing stores, a university, bars, public transportation....all within walking distance!

Anywhoo, here is a photo of my tiny haul:

Check out the coke in the back....Don't look at me like that! Nobody is perfect! :-P It's hard to see, but I got peaches, nectarines, organic bananas, quinoa, whole wheat pita bread, black eyed peas(to put in veggie chili!), almond milk (lactose intolerant..wahh), organic chili seasoning packet, twizzlers (not shown, lol) and english muffins (walmart). This food along with previously brought onions, peppers, avocados and brown rice will make up  my meals for the rest of this week hopefully. I have to spend consciously or else I will end up going overboard because I always do! 

Vegetarian Chili (It was delicious...Organic red peppers are surprisingly sweet.)

I've been eating pretty healthy and exercising lately. I eat avocados almost everyday...they are good for you and contain healthy oils + the perfect amount of healthy fats. About a cup of avocado gives you 3g of protein as well. I don't eat it plain but i put it on top of brown rice and i also eat it in sandwiches; It's  so creamy and delicious....Mmmm :-) Being a Veg has not been difficult at all. I know that my diet is nowhere near perfect and I have a loooooonnnggggg way to go but I realize how food affects my body and when I put good things in, I see good results. So many people don't see the correlation between how they feel/look and what they eat....not how much they eat, but WHAT they eat. A few years ago, I thought that eating low calorie foods or adding tomatoes to my hamburgers was essential to a great diet and I was so proud of myself too, Lol. I've come a long way in my food journey.

As far as my hair, It seems to have hit a plateau in growth. I haven't noticed any dramatic growth at all lately and honestly I have been neglecting it because I feel I have no control over it at the moment. I work all the time and when I'm not working, I'm sleeping or I'm out running errands. When I do get free time, I haven't been spending it on my hair. I wash it and I let it free or plat it into a neat style for work. I just let the roots grow out and I occasionally separate or 'pop' them so that the roots don't merge.  Here is how my hair looks today:

For anyone with adult locs, is this a common phase to not be as interested in maintaining your hair once you get past a year?