Dying to Try It

Hello All!

I hope you are enjoying the arrival of November! Happy Fall. With the fall comes cooler weather. I'm always on the look out to create or try new products for moisture. My locs have been softening up. I do wonder if it's just me getting used to them or are they actually softening up. The new thing on my mind is dying my locs. I've seen some really interesting loced hair colors. I'm in a toss up between blonde and a red. I'm leaning more towards blonde. When I originally had my hair loced my loctician (April 12, 2011) put a few locs of a lighter brownish red color. It added something extra but I think I'm ready to go bolder. I've dyed my hair blonde before. Well not my whole head just streaks and the back bottom part. I liked the streaks. So I think I'm going to go for it. Not sure how many streaks I'll do though. I went to the store last night to see what hair colors were available for a good price. I can't remember what brand I used last time. The last time I had my hair dyed was in 2005. Dying the locs will be a new adventure to learn about. I've been doing research and I've read the big warning only have your loctician do this, and then I hear it's easy from the DIY'ers. I'm a DYI'er :). After deciding not to get any hair dye last night, this morning I decided to do a little Photoshop work to a photo to see what it might look like. You tell me, Go for it or No.


                                           Stay as is                        or                                  blonde streak?

Chignons & such

Hello Everyone!

I think it's time for a hair update :). I've recently had the baby. She is doing well, she's 4 weeks today! I think I'm getting back to my normal self. I definatly feel better. I'm 1/2 pound aways from my pre-pregnancy weight. Im not at the weight I wish to be but I'm happy to be back to square one in this situation.

So what's going on with the hair scene? I've been back and forth with my hair. I've had people ask me advice which is very flattering but I fell on the care for my own for a little while. I had some serious hair hatred during pregnancy too. I didn't want to make any hair decisons until after pregnancy. It might have just been the hormones ;).

I'm still on the quest to find out how to soften my locs. I've been using the Triple Moisture conditoner from Netrogena. I'll mix it with water and gycerine and use it as a daily spray. I tried and Apple Cider Vinegar rinse and it did remove build up. I was quite happy with it. My locs are frizzy but I'm getting used to it. I think I'm actually embracing them as they are...

A few days ago I tried a hairstyle that I saw in Whole Living Magazine. I took a picture of the page. It was really easy and quick to do.

Here is my result. I really like this style. I'll add my own twist on it and add curlies in the front or something.

I also did a braid out style that didn't last long, and a few other styles.

Ok that's about it. :) Need to go cuddle the kids now. Have a wonderful day/night.

Lock Loops

Hello all a great friend, Alyssa posted on the LoCs ‘N’ Dreads facebook group that she had purchased some Lock Loops. I looked up the site, www.lockloops.com and views a few youtube videos on them. I had seen the site and thought eh not now they look a little goofy. So I dismissed them until now.  My order was placed for 1 pack of 30 on July 20, 2011. I did receive a notice that they were on back order. That to me was a bummer but a good thing. It meant I had to wait but obviously they seem to be in demand. I got my lock loops on the 29th. I was excited to see them arrive.
I found a YouTube video by BigandLittleM on how to make your own leave in conditioner and setting lotion. I am still trying to soften my locs and decided to try her homemade recipe. It did seem to soften my hair. It’s a simple recipe so click and view her video! I surprised to read on the Lock Loops bag that it’s better to have damp hair and not completely wet hair. I just knew the hair needed to be saturated. I was glad that the hair didn’t have to be wet. I actually used the leave in conditioner recipe she gives in the video instead of the setting lotion. I haven’t made the setting lotion yet. Any how I sprayed my hair and put the lock loops in. I like these! I like these better than the flexi rods! They are soft foam and easy to sleep on.  Here goes the photos.

Here you can see a few of them being taken down. I used all 30 of the Lock Loops. There were any were from 2 locs to 4 locks on one Lock Loop.
Here they are all taken down. I had tighter curls with the Lock Loops than the flexi rods.
Here is a photo of the curls later on that night. Some of have dropped.
So I’m officially a Lock Loop fan! I may order another package so I can put fewer locs on them. Thanks Alyssa for letting me know how you liked the Lock Loops!

Pregnant and blah

Hello Everybody,
Well... I've not really done much with my hair. I've basically been wearing it up in a bun or a side bun.  I'm still trying to find a way to soften them. My hair is softer than the loc extension. I guess I'm hesitant to try much because I don't want to mess with the locking process. The loc extension feels scratchy. I've worn them up and off my neck and back. *sigh* any advice on this would be well appreciated :).

Besides my own locking issues, I've got some fantastic news to share! Pure Natural Blends was featured in an online video show review! I am so excited about the review, 2 new hair cremes and the new site layout and look! The video show can be seen here, just login as a guest. http://221588.myvideobroadcaster.com/playback/r/hwpM3NUB1Be3yphF

Visit PureNaturalBlends.com to see the changes and the two new products. We also added a blog to keep our wonderful customers up to date, Visit the blog here http://purenaturalblends.blogspot.com/


So here is a little picture for an update on the side ponytail hairstyle. My pregnant chubby face is coming along too lol!

Pinnin', Stalkin' and Locin'

Hello Everyone!
I hope all is well and safe with you. What's going on in your natural hair world? Any new accessories? Any new websites or products? Let me totally and shamelessly plug Pure Natural Blends.com here :). Leave me a comment and let me know how you all are and what you've found. I was recently connected to two ladies I want to mention. Have a look at Adorned by Lavinia on facebook and her accessory site adornedbylavinia.com her accessories are so cute. I can't wait to get mine! Also have a look at riavision1.com! This site has some great information on natural hair care.

Well I haven't done much with my locs other than wear it up in a bun most of the time. I've been on Pinterest.com pinning photos of locs I like. Check out the photos and follow my board there http://pinterest.com/tawanna/lovely-locs/  this board has caused me to do more of my loc stalking! I get inspiration from seeing others styles since I'm quite new to it. I admire mature locs and those who have had them for years.

I think it is time for me to have my hair retwisted! It's all fuzzy now. I joined a facebook group called ♥LoCs 'N' Dreads♥  I've been browsing about and I've got a few ideas on how to DIY. I've always been a DIYer with my hair. I'm sort of upset with myself for not doing my own locs but it was nice to have someone do them. I'm still tussling with the desire to have them thinner. Any how, I've decided to attempt to retwist two locs in the front with 100% Pure Aloe Gel. We shall see how it all works!

I did take some photos. Have a look and stay safe in this crazy spring weather!

Curly Do's

Hello Everyone,
I hope your hair adventures are going well. I was searching online on how to curl my locs. My locs are barely a month old so I'm trying not to mess things up too much. I looked on Youtube and I saw a few videos on how to use pipe cleaners to curl them but the pipe cleaners looked to produce tight spiral curls. I didn't

 want tight spiral curls I wanted loose ones. Here is what I decided to do. I used some flexi rods I got at the store for 2.99. 5 of these soft flexible rods came in a pack of 3/4 diameter rollers. I ended up using about 10 on my whole head. I counted I have 120 locs on my head. I dampened my locs, put a little oil mixture on my hands to rub on to the locs and then I wrapped them around the flexi rods. This was the first time I had slept with rollers in my hair in years! These weren't hard to sleep on though. I used these on my daughter's hair the next day and she said she had no problem sleeping on these soft rollers. This is what I looked like with all the rollers in my hair. Try not to laugh ;) I did find that having my hair damp was good enough. I didn't want to saturate my locs because I wanted them to dry by the morning. So as you can see, I put a group of locs on one roller to avoid tight curls. They did dry by the morning. I was excited to see if it actually worked. Here is what I got when I let them down. I got loose spiral curls! yay!  I separated the locs to style and ended up with the loose curls I like. A few of them did not curl much but overall I had nice curls.

 I tried an up do too.

 This is a day later. It sort of lasted... eh maybe I should have put the rollers back in.

I do like the loose curls and next time I might try to use more flexible rollers to insure that all of my locs get a curl.

Until then,

Still got em'

I've still got my locs! I'm going to confess, I'm sort of ok with them. The size and the texture are bothering me. The texture of them is sort of scratchy/hard. This is not my natural texture. How do I know? Well as these are loc extensions, I can feel some of my natural hair in there and it's really soft. I like that and it gives me hope for when I start to cut them as my natural hair grows. My stylist said not to do anything to them. I am hard headed but not too crazy. I went searching for ways to soften the locs extensions. I read to dip them in hot water. I did. It changed it a bit. They weren't so stiff afterwards but they aren't soft. Oh and yes she did use human kinky hair. Hmmm. Maybe I'll try my Huetiful Hair Steamer tomorrow on them. I saw a review that stated the hair steamer was good to soften locs too. I'm on a quest to soften these locs! Tonight I decided to see what they look like in pony tails. Eh I could do it.

I'm locked up for a while.

Well I had my appointment with Robin at Indigo 341 yesterday. We got started at 10am and she finished around 7pm. I brought her 3 pictures one to show the size, the color, and the ends that I wanted. I ended up with something like those photos. I didn't go with the color because I wasn't daring enough. lol I backed out of it. Instead she showed me an auburn color that she could use and did a few locks in that color. I'm not sure the size is like the photo. They seem a little thick but after thinking about maintaining them, eh it's ok. I like the look of the smaller locs but I'm not sure about how many I actually want to deal with on my head. She didn't leave the ends loose so I sort of loosened them when I got home. Over all, I'm happy with what she did. Robin was very nice and I like her personality. She made me feel comfortable and never insulted me. I find that the few times I've gone to a salon, all have insulted my hair in some way. Robin never did this. I was quite pleased. I'll be calling her to maintain my locs too. Oh and let me mention her prices are great! There are other salons in the area that I've read reviews about. The other salons do great work but their prices are high. I didn't get that at Indigo 341. She's fair and honest.  So if you are looking for a natural hair stylist in the St. Louis area visit Indigo 341!

Now for photo comparisons. These are the 3 photos I brought to show how I wanted my hair.

                                                                                                                          
This photo for size


This one for color

This photo for the ends.

I like the squiggly ends better than the blunt locked ends

Here is what it turned out like....

I'm getting used to them. They are quite hard right now but they are supposed to soften up. I don't know how long it takes them to soften up but I hope it's soon lol. Well I'm all locked up for a while. Sorry about the quality of my cell phone photos. :) I'll get some better pictures some time in the near future.

*sigh*...to be continued

Well, Hello all.
It's about 72 degrees outside and I'm getting that must get out and about feeling again. We are in while the kids are working on their school work. I'm going to find myself sitting out on the balcony again. I'm loving this weather.

Well if you read the last post I wrote about having a loc consultation. I had it. It went well. I've got my appointment for Tuesday. I'm still a bit nervous to see how I'd like the locs on me. I think I will. She quoted me a good price so we are set.

I tried the Huetiful Hair Steamer twice. The first time I used the Beautiful Curls Shampoo and Conditioner before I got under the hood. The assembly of the hair steamer is simple. I like the auto shut off and the simplicity of the hair steamer. After it does the auto shut off , it leaves a bit of water at the bottom of the container. I don't like the awkward way of emptying the remaining water out of the container. That's about the only complaint I have about the actual appliance. As far as the results... I really wish I could agree with the tons of youtube video reviews. I wasn't impressed the first time. My hair seemed a bit harder than had been before. I didn't experience the softer feel. Disappointment set in and I was determined to try it again. I did the next day. By the way let me say while I am pregnant I don't like the smell of the Beautiful Curls product. It didn't bother me before but I'm sure it's just pregnancy and not the product. So the second time I tried the hair steamer with just baby shampoo and Pantene conditioner. LOL I know I know! It's not to choice products for kinky/curly hair. My hair did a bit better. I wasn't wow'd by it. I'm going to give it a try on my girls hair before I conclude anything. I really want to like this product. The idea behind it makes sense so maybe I do need to get some better products. So I guess this situation is to be continued!

Out with the Old? In with the new??

Hello Everyone!
It's been a while! I've got a few updates. If you have read my Lovin Life blog then you probably already know that we are expecting our 5th baby in September. Along with the baby news I've decided to finally get locs some time this coming week but we will see where things take us. I've been a silent loc stalker (lol) since 2004. I was going to get sisterlocs but decided to wait. I've been doing a wash and go for weeks now. Today I made an oil mixture that included Lavender, Sweet Basil, Rosemary, and Lemon essential oils. It smells good!  I asked my daughter who is officially a teen I might add, to smell my hair. I wanted to know her thoughts and she and her twin sister won't hesitate lol and I do appreciate it. She said "Oooohh it smells good!" I thought, yay! I know the oils are good but I want to add scent with essential oils. I think it is a success! It doesn't bother my pregnant sense of smell either. Speaking of, I opted to use baby shampoo today because I now can't stand the smell of the other shampoo or conditioners I have. It wasn't so bad. After my wash and go my daughter asked me, "Mom is that the way your hair is naturally?" I answered, "Yep this is all me." I think she was surprised. I admit I am too. I like my little ringlets at the bottom.
This is a photo of the ends
I've got these neat little curlies I like. The roots are a bit of a tangled mess but the ends are neat lol!















Here is the photo of the length.

So I've got my first, well 2nd loc consultation coming up. I had the first one for sisterlocs back in 2004. I'm excited. See I have this fear of salons! I've never had a good experience with any salon and that made me a DIY hair styler. So far so good but I couldn't do the locs. I tried. I know my mistake but I'd like to get them professionally done. We will see if I want to fork out the money to do so or attempt again to DIY it. I am hoping this time will be different especially since I'm going to a natural hair care salon. They've got to be different right?? I'm going to Indigo -341 to see about her locing services. I've also been referred to Napps in U-City but I have been forewarned about their great service but high prices so I'm going to try the other first. I have an idea of how I want mine done. I've combined three photos. One for color, one for the ends, and one for size. I pray she can do them the way I am wanting them because I am ready for change. I'm quite tired of the wash and go. I guess we can call it the hair blahs and it coincides with the winter blahs. Blah blahhh do I hear spring is here? Yes and I'm looking forward to warmer weather! As the seasons change so do the air and the effects it has on our hair.

Oh one more thing... this is on my wish list! The Huetiful Hair Steamer! I've read loads of great reviews. I'm ready for one. It's good for locs too.

So what does spring bring for you? What's going on in your hair world?

New Products

New Products coming to Pure Natural Blends!
These are a new line of blend oils. They can be used for Hot Oil Treatments, Body Oils or Daily Use.
Currently you can design your own hair blends at Pure Natural Blends! Try it!