My New Love For Soft Rollers

Well i finally bought some rollers (soft). They were 1.79 for a pack of 9 xl so i bought 3 packs and i think they are one of the best things i've done. I love the curl they give plus the fact that they last at 3 days. They also highlight the individual strands of locs as opposed to letting it hang freestyle (well in my case anyway). So the first time round i asked my mum to do it for me as i have never worn rollers in my life. Once that effect had worn off i gave it a try but instead of leaving them in over night i only had a couple of hours grace period and i didn't put the rollers as close to the scalp and it gave a really really nice looser hangin curl.. ( i just wish i had taken a couple of pics)

Here are the pics of my mums helping hand.....love ya mum

If i do not post anything for the rest of the year then i do wish all of you a

FANTASTIC START TO 2009

How to DIY

Okay peeps this is my simple instructions (hopefully) on how to DIY. So im gonna tell you the pattern needed only if your are pattern 3 or 4 (because that's all i know!) and how to make a quick and easy tool.

THE TOOL

All you need are a safety pin, masking tape, scissors (the sectioning clips and snips are for when your ready to get going through those luscious locs)

Firstly unwind the safety pin leaving one side bent

Then close in the loose end and tape around with the masking tape

Lastly cut of the excess and there you are your own TOOL!!!! ( now wasn't that easy)

THE PATTERN

Right i need you to look at a clock in your minds eye. Done that....Good!!! Now focus on the 12, 3 6 and 9 because these are the directions that you will be heading in

PATTERN 3

The structure for pattern 3 is 9, 6, 9, 12 So this is what you do.

• Place your loc through the tool
• Your gonna take your tool to the position of 3 o'clock and push it through to 9 o'clock
• Next take the tool to 12 o'clock and push it down to 6 o'clock
• Then we go back to 3 o'clock and push it through to 9
• Lastly we go from 6 o'clock up to 12
• Repeat until tightened

IMPORTANT INFO

When pushing the tool through make sure you pull it down towards your locs so that way you can ensure that the pattern you put in starts where the last one ended!!! Otherwise you end up with a hole.!!

PATTERN 4

• Follow the first to steps of pattern 3
• Then you go from 9 0'clock to 3 o'clock
• And then lastly from 6 to 12

TIPS

• Use the sectioning clips to seperate out what your going to be doing
• Ensure that the loc you are attempting to do is clear from any neighbouring hair
• Use the snips to free any caught locs or strands of hair (Trust me it will happen)

GET D.I.Ying

The Latest On My Loc Saga

Soooooo whats new well i have finally started on the retightening...well i started a few days ago and was sooo alarmed at the state of my hair. I'm telling u now ladies that is the very last time i allow myself to rely on someone else to care for my hair.......If you need something doing well its best to do it yourself huh!!! What's the big alarm...Check this out.............

Yes Ladies not one loc but 2 have fallen out of my head or should i say have broken off. Loc 1 was hanging on by a single hair and as for loc 2 i ran my hand through my head and there it was.

I feel the reason is there has been too big of a gap between the tightening sessions so take note!!!! I'm not really as pissed as i thought i would have been. There are still 445 to go so no big deal.......really!!

Any ho i am still retightening but am petrified of the hair line. Everytime i have my hair did within a couple of days the front is gone so there i am sitting done with tool in hand when my phone starts ringing. I'm thinking to myself i should ignore as i got so much to get through....(why are these locs so damn small???) i checkout the caller id and see its a loong distance call so i answer and its my ex from JA. Actually im friends with alot of my exes i know it sounds kinda stupid but we got on once upon a time, anyway think of the karma, he he. Anyway to cut a long story short i am telling him what i am doing and about the hairline, here is part of our convo that really got me thinking..

"Ah so u loc it up now"

"yep, its called Sisterlocks"

"Sistawho?"

"Sisterlocks"

"A wha dat?"

"Errr locs"

"Nah man a money makin ting dat"

"who said anything about money"

"it free?"

"No"

"how much"

"enough"

"Englan tun u fool ee gyal, u nah no locs is free"

so i went on to tell him about the price of installation and retightening and the problem with the hairline the response was something along the lines of

"u a ra@# edyat, u tun bumbac$#t fool a musee mad puss piss u a drink. Plait up de fu#$ing front and na budda wid dem fuc%ery, Do it your damn self, Jah nah gi u two han"

I soon began to realise why he is my ex but also why i was with him in the first place. He was not always the most supportive partner but he always told the truth!!

So that is what i am doing plaiting the front and once it needs retightening i will use the SL or should i say the Ezme method as i have not taken any classes!!!

hopefully because it is plaited it will stay alot longer than before. Fingers crossed !!!

For Better Or Worse

Ladies thank you all for your advice over the last two posts but l have done some serious thinking and have come to a conclusion. Knowing me this light bulb moment will only last a few days but its how im feelin right now so i'm gonna go with that

So, here is Ezmes masterplan... i'm gonna see Sabs on the 13th but before that i'm going to invest in one of the loc keys that Cammalocks are selling.

Can you see where this is going?????????????

Unlike most of you, for me each retightening has turned into some type of installation and i don't know if you have noticed from the pics of me but i have big eyes...huge in fact and those eyes have been watching the pattern that has been going on in my head.

What can i say ... it aint rocket science is it??

And if i can be on hand to catch the locs before they completely slip out then its a bonus for me. Soooooooooooo after the next retightening im gonna have a try of a bit of DIY hopefully and i do say hopefully sticking to the pattern that has already been started. (If not then there is alot of advice out there on youtube full of sistah doin it for themselves).

Does that mean i no longer have SL's????........

....... with my answer being.............

Do i really care, as long as my locs are healthy, growing and something that i am proud to have invested in!!!

If i can get the hang of this self retightening then its all good and i more than likely will pop back to see Sabs and have a touch up but if i can't get the hang of it then its off to a new consultant. Because come Jan i will be at my six months mark and i really cannot see the results that not only i think i should have but what all this money, travel and effort should have produced!!

She is Lovely

I just spoke to Marie from Cammalocks and unfortunately she has a long list for everything from consulting to retightening to installation......very busy + in demand = must be DAMN GOOD!!

Anyho what a lovely person to speak to. She simply sends such beautiful and calming sensations down the phone it is unbelievable. Why didn't i just hold on and have her do my hair...and the funny thing is that i was on her waiting list and the day she called me i was already half way through my installation.

All i know is i don't care how long i have to wait (she said something about March) i am gonna try and make this lady become my permanent loctition...for real!!!

Now guys the big question is do i go back to Sabs for the meantime or do i continue to look for someone new. Bearing in mind that i the season of good will is upon us...will there be and availability out there for me. My next session is booked for the 13th.

Maybe i'm gonna have to talk it out with Sabs...bwoy i better carry plenty of cammomile tea with me for that!!

The beginnings of Trainee v Trained

Hello again...long time no see, type or read!!
So what has been happening with Ezme over the last month and a half. Well i've had another retightening that can u believe it had to be broken up into 2 sesssions because it was taking too long. 9hrs in total and then she booked the next session for 6 weeks time instead of 4, making the front where the slippage is worst have to wait 8 weeks till its done. This whole hair saga is beginning to be the bain of my life. I'm starting to think that i need a second opinion. I don't like to think that i'm doubting my Sabs but f**k it i really am. I'm trying to take that she is still a trainee into consideration and i do have very soft hair, maybe she has given me the wrong pattern or maybe............... I'm just clutching at staws right now but i am sure that the retightening sessions are meant to take less time not to increase by each visit. I wonder if she's doing it like that because she is strapped for cash mmmmmmmmmmm I wonder.
Well maybe i'll have to go back to the original person i wanted to do my locks and that is Marie from Cammalocks. I think what i'm gonna do is book a retightening session or just maybe a consultation with her and see what she has to say about the matter, espeacailly as she has had years of expperiance. Like i said i don't like to doubt my loctician but something cannot be right here. What to you lot out there think??? I would post some pics of my locs but parts of it are starting to look like i'm wearing an afro!!! And i f i can't stand to look at it i don't see why you would!

My Computer is SICK!!!

Hey there all and how have u been doing??? I'm so sorry that i haven't holla'd at anyone but my computer is sick and is at the computer doctors as we speak...or should that be as i type.
So this is just a quick explanation of my disappearance and i will be back with all of you very soon...fingers crossed!!!
Wishing that you all Stay Blessed and Loc'd!! (mwah mwah)

Back to Uni

After taking almost 18mths out i am sooooooo happy and relieved to be going back. I met this random woman the other day and she approached me asking why i am not creating anymore. Bear in mind i have never seen this woman before in my life. She told me that i was wasting a talent and i should go back and finish what i was doing. When i questioned her a bit futher she explained that sometimes she had something to say to people for whatever reason and that if she didn't the thought would bug her until it comes out. If you've read my tagg then you know i can relate. Well i told her it was my every intention to go back and complete my degree. I'm not sure what i'm gonna do with my degree all i do understand is this wher my talent lies.

She also mentioned that i would get far on project catwalk........well.... i dont know about that.

My problem is i have always been a perfectionist and therefore never feel that anything that i have completed is good enough, there are always improvements and i am my worst critic. Anyway we will see....I think about it!!

(oh these are some garments that i designed and made a few years back)

Braid OUt!!!!!

Hey Everyone, can i first congratulate all those who have just loc'd up. Shout outs to N1 and Angel Locs... you have come along way ladies and the journey is just beginning....... Lovin your locs!!!

Back to the matter at hand. I've had a few requests to start styling espeacially from friends who know me and know i can almost turn my hand to anything creative but i have become stuck. The last time i went for retightening the majority had slipped right out except for the little balls at the end of each loc holding them together. (see one of the many balls below)

I'm not scared more like petrified. Like i said i can't really afford to keep on retightening and repairing a whole head. Anyho i did the braid out just to see what it would look like but Ladies and gents i didn't do anything more than that (trying to keep the hands outta the head!!!)

I plaited around 25 plaits to try and get a really kinky curl after i had washed and seperated, ensuring that the hair was damp.

Here are the results:

What a Difference

I wasn't planning to post anything more this week but i washed my hair and i cannot believe the difference. Look i'm smiling.....i hardly ever take a pic with a smile on my face and here i am beaming. Trust me my locs have never looked so straight and individual after being washing.

My hair looks GREAT...WOW!!!!

Even Shan has been compilmenting it and i could tell he was beginning to have his doubts due to the amount of slippage i had been experiancing.

How nice to have a man who shares his opinons (sometimes too often and too brutal but nonetheless... its shared!

Just for those of you who don't know what i'm talking about here are a few pics for you to compare.

Below are a couple of pics after my first ever SL wash, Some serious curls going on huh?

What a massive difference (maybe i am exaggerating a tiny bit but i'm excited so leave me to it! lol) in the space of a matter of months...from the beginning ofAugust to the end of September

Meet my boy

I thought it was about time that i posted afew pics of my son Nay Nay

I've Been Tagged Again by Angel Locs

The rules are below in 'I've been Tagged' so here goes

• I used to play compete in netball and badminton back in the day
• I am my mums only child and have 5 brothers and sisters on my dads side, with me being the eldest
• I am expecting my first niece or nephew in Feb 09
• I love the taste of white chocolate
• I used to model when i was younger (only catwalk....long legs)
• My real name isn't Ezme, thats short for my grannys name Esmerelda my name is ............ oh what a shame thats all my taggs taken up. See Ya xx

3rd Retightening

Hi there everyone, well i have been for my 3rd retightening and the credit crunch is starring to show its effects on me. I'm starting to wonder if i can SERIOUSLY afford to keep this up...of course i will find a way by hook or by crook, but living in one of the most expensive countries in the world is not helping matters. Especially if its gonna take the same amount of time it just has. 7 hrs and i really didn't think the slippage was as bad as the first time round costing £70 / $140.

Can i really continue this? .... at that price?.......every 4 weeks?

I'm gonna have to try my hardest or unfortunatley i'll have to go for an alternative and i really didn't wanna do that, Lets just hope that my locs lock quickly and i can start maintaining them myself!!!!

Or..... maybe the fact that it took so long is that Sabs was doing another clients hair the night before and was clearly tired when her hands were in mine. I did remind her that when you are tired you move alot slower whether your aware of it or not sooooo lets not try to take too long, but it still took the same length of time it did, but she did give me a small discount so can i really complain?.....

Yes...

at the end of the day it's a woman right!!!

So this time round that i took a good peek at her diary and made sure that there was no one before me. So far so good. She prefers doing hair on a Saturday but she was booked so i decided to go for theFriday, that way her Sat morning client can pay the extra....

Sorry love, but it won't be me this time round!

On the good side though she says that my hair is beginning to show signs of locking

• Little balls at the end of each loc
• Budding in the middle of some locs
• Shrinkage
• The tight natural ringlet curls are beginning to disappear so soon i should be able to put in curlers and do all those fancy styles i see everyone out there doing.

I've also gone out there now i bought some hair accesories. I didn't really see the need before...the hair was sooooo curly there was nothing i could do with it (all i could do is sit back and watch Euphoria's and the everyone else's pretty locks and styles and dream that soon i'll be able to do that!)

I'm loving my locks right now.. (apart from the uncoloured regrowth...will i really be able to last a whole year without adding colour to my roots, That alone is a test that i think i'm gonna fail!!). They are starting to become more versitile, obvioulsly once they have left the baby stage and begin to mature i will be trully satisfied but for now there really isn't any downsides to all this apart form the expense, but i'm gonna have to start looking at this as a treatment to myself...something like a reward for all the things that i have to do in a day. A special thank you to me!!!

"Thank You Ezme, for investing time, money, patience and love in the enhancement of beauty in your hair"

A mantra i'm gonna have to start chanting everytime i head to the ATM to pay Sabs!!

I've been TAGGED!!

Oh my God I've been tagged twice, I will try to come up with 6 or as its twice does that mean 12 things that I haven't told you already. There are a few rules to the tag that I have to post so here goes!!!
Link to the person that tagged you. Euphoria and Nubian1


Post the rules on your blog
Share 6 non-important/ habits/ quirks about yourself
Tag 6 random people by posting links to their blogs

1. I hate my complexion...I wish i was really dark, insted of constantly being confused as mixed race.



2. I'm a step mum to two teenage girls 15 & 16, bearing in mind i am only 29 myself!!



3. Keeping on the same track i am a step granny as well



4. No he is not a cradle snatcher he just started out like most men tooooooo damn young and is 11 years my senior, We were friends for 5 years and have been together for 3/4 so 8/9yrs in total. And no he is not rich so i aint no gold digger neither!!



5. As a child I used to pick my nose and rub random peoples ear lobes for comfort (not at the same time or with the same fingers)



6. My biggest fear has always been boredom



7. And moths...yes moths....They have no direction what so eva


8. My second toe is longer than my big toe, which appartntly means that i will rule my man (proven to be true so far!!!)


9. I would love to have one more child pref a girl...he's not that keen!... I say TOUGH!!


10. People who have just met me seems to think that i am some scary, tough, strong character, people who know me thinks i should be on stage doing stand up comedy..... Lesson 1 Neva judge a book by its cover


11. Since a child i have had the gift of foresight, i can hold an object and tell you about the person who it belongs to, i've predicted the deaths of two friends to disturbing accuracy and i've seen spirits and angels, it always has and will scare the s**t out of me.


12. Without music i would be a manic depressive

New Style

Well i thought that it was about time that i tried a few hairstyles...so here they are

They took a few seconds (yep.. i know it looks like it!, but it was quick and easy and that's all i need

1. Flat twist the front and cornrow the back
2. Take out the flat twists only at the centre (leave the sides twisted) so you end up with a mohawk.

Finally i'm fixed ....... YIPPEE!!

Yes finally my hair looks so decent. I decoded to reach Sabs house at 9 on the dot because i thought i might be there due to some SERIOUS BITCHY SLIPPAGE. Luckily for me it only took five and a half hours ...... not bad!!
We had a good gossip about men, the good, the bad and the oh so ugly, you know the ones that God, children and dogs don't like. We had alot of ugly to talk about...maybe one day i'll share! Then again you probably have your own tales to tell about the wotless, nah work, nah look after dem pickney, degenerates of society ... i might have to start a blog so we can all complain. Sabs was going through some drama and it made be reflect on crap men that i have had the lack of pleasure of.. Ok lets get back to the point, So it took less time than i thought but it was a lot more uncomfortable, and its still sore today. It didn't hurt as such, i think the lack of me combing and manipulating my hair just made my scalp more tender, but at least its done and i don't favor a scarecrow no mo'. Check out the comparison below and above and you'll see what im sayin.

First Retightening Tomorrow (Slippage is a b***h!!)

Like the title says it is my first retightening tomorrow and bwoy do i need it. I'm not gonna say anymore than that....just check out the pictures below and you can definatley see what i'm talking about. SLIPPAGE IS A B&%$H!!!!

Pride

As i child growing up in the 80's and watching the Olympics i always used to ask my dad where were the Jamaican athletes. There were the Carl Lewis's, the Ben Jonson's, Linford Christie but where were we???

My dad always used to say 'One day there will be a Jamaican athlete who will run faster than anyone, he will be the fastest in the WORLD!!'

2008 twenty plus years later and here he is.....I am sooooooPROUD!!

It Wasn't Bad After All (the first wash)

Well, all that fuss over the SL shampoo and you know what ..... it actually agrees with my hair but i can still relate to what everyone else has been saying.

I was so apprehensive doing it though. I plaited it up into sections, banded the ends and poured over the water. One thing i did notice different from all the other blogs is that my TC told me to pat the shampoo into my head instead of rubbing it in a circular motions all in the same direction... maybe its because my hair is soft and silky (baby hair). Anyho that shampoo stripped my hair from all traces of oil and that is great (for me) as my hair oils up pretty well by itself and i've never suffered from dry scalp in fact, as i think of it, i don't think apart from when i was a child and my mum used to do my hair i've ever greased my scalp..... just my hair!, good thing, bad thing, i'm not to sure but it worked for me!

I'm not a trained hairdresser and i dont pretend to be but i do suggest that if you suffer from dry scalp, an irritable scalp or dry breakable hair that you might want to invest in a backup shampoo..... JUST IN CASE. However if your hair matches the same description as mine : soft, silky, no dry scalp (baby hair) then SL shampoo is all good.

So just to sumarise it up for all of you....if you want your hair to lock quickly use the SL shampoo or a shampoo that contains sea salt or anything that dehydrates the hair; if you want your hair to shine, look healthy, not feel like velcro and you have the patience of waiting for your hair to lock use an alternative.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SLIPPAGE

WELL, I've had so much of it ... majority of the front, the sides at the front and 2 totally came out at the back, but not the back hairline (give thanks for small mercies) However my hair does look like i am transitioning as the roots are still SL'd but the ends APPEARS to be loose. Roll on August 23rd as that is the day of my first retightening and i've got a feeling that i will be there longer than 6 hours!!

Just as i finished writing that last sentence Shan flung my head forward and says

'Oh, you do know that a couple have come out'

'Yes babe i do'

'What by your neck piece'

'WHAT!!, WHERE??'

'Here' he says guiding my hand to the nape of my neck

'Oh s***!, well thats just friggin great innit. CHA!!'

What I Should Have Asked!!

I am such a typical impulsive Aries that there are questions that i should have asked my tc before, during or after the process of having these SL's installed.....maybe someone out there can give me some answers or suggestions

1. With all this spraying of water won't my hair start to smell damp?....
2. Or get mouldy?
3. How long do have to keep spraying H20 and isn't there an alternative?
4. Can i go swimming? will the chlorine damage the hair? or should i wait till they mature?
5. Can i be taught how to at least upkeep the front where most of slippage is?
6. How soon should i wash my hair noting the serious slippage?
7. I've heard bad reviews on the SL shampoo, what's an alternative?
8. Does anyone know where to get soft spikes or an alternative from in the UK?

1st Week Pics