Nappy Roots: 2 Month Loc Update

Le struggle from month one to month two has been real. I’ve had to re-twist my locs three times already. Allow me to explain. Y’all know I’m the ultimate DIY person when it comes to my own hair. I decided to do the re-twist on my own.

1^st Re-twist Fail

Words for the wise, YouTube can be deceiving. I wanted to transition away from using a ton of products on my locs so I sought out a more natural route. Aloe vera gel.

Seven Minerals Aloe Vera Gel came highly recommended on YouTube. I began my routine as usual with the Camille Rose Ginger Cleansing shampoo followed by the re-twisting process. The Seven Minerals Gel was super moisturizing and I was giddy to be using an all-natural hair product. I turned my bonnet dryer on and waited for my hair to dry. There was a day party to be attended and I needed my hair to be on POINT! YALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL. That mess flaked up so damn bad! I was LIVID! But I didn’t have time to wash it out so I pinned it as best I could to hide the damn flaking!

Between leaving the day party and coming home, my friends and I visited the hair store and I decided to just give the Talia Waajid Lock It Up Gel to do my re-twist.

Perfect……….until it started unraveling like hell. So instead of washing and re-twisting again, I just rocked it. I was half way between looking like the process was coming together and folks giving me the “I don’t know what’s going on but I know you’ll figure it out” look. Nonetheless I was anxious for the two weeks to go by so that I could wash it again.

Wash day was routine with the TW pre-shampoo and shampoo. This time for my re-twist I chose to do so using oil only.

Viola! Perfect re-twist! Little to no unravelling! I’m proud to say that I’m on week 3. I’m going to listen to my hair and continue my re-twists the same way!

Major milestone reached!

Giants

Spoiler alert. If you haven’t watched Giants, please stop here. If you claim to be a supporter of Issa Rae and haven’t seen it, I’m disappointed in you but still, stop here, go watch and donate.

Giants is a YouTube series created by James Bland, that follows a group of friends that are dealing with life’s pressures. The show is set in Los Angeles, California. The characters include Malachi, Journee and Ade. Malachi is a 29 year old black male struggling to pursue passions while trying to avoid a divine calling on his life that he hasn’t quite figured out yet. In Season 1, he finds himself becoming a male escort, getting evicted, moving in with his friend Ade and having the purpose of his dreams about running, drowning and being kidnapped revealed to him by a random stranger at the bus stop.

Journee is a 29 year old black female suffering from manic depression which has taken complete control of her life. The depression has caused her to lose her job and even spend days in bed crying and vomiting. She and Malachi were sharing living spaces prior to the eviction. She then moves in with her sister but the depression forces her sister to put her out, sending her to crash with Malachi and Ade. Journee meets a guy on Tinder but the relationship doesn’t last long as he and his ex patch things up, sending her into a deeper depression. Season 1 ends with Journee attempting suicide.

Ade is the friend of both Malachi and Journee. Currently a dance teacher, Ade struggles with accepting his own sexuality and the strained relationship that he has with his father because of it and his career choices. Ade allows Malachi and Journee to move in after they are evicted but quickly learns that there are boundaries that need to be established. Ade also has issues at work after showing interest in one of his female colleagues but accidentally invites her to a gay party.

Crazy right! But now that you are up to speed, let’s talk about Season 2.

Malachi expands his escort business with new employees and the employee gets arrested.

Journee gets a new job and robs the guy that robs Malachi.

Turns out Journee’s “Tinder bae” and his girlfriend live in her building.

Ade meets a guy- Kwasi but has to face the facts that he has feelings for Malachi.

Malachi does coke and puts everything he values on the line at his surprise birthday party.

The guy that Journee robbed to avenge Malachi kidnaps Journee.

And that ain’t even the half. But hey. Don’t just take my word for it. Click the link below to watch Seasons 1 and 2.