Celebrating my Third Loc-versary and Five Workouts!

High Five!!!!

1) I survived my 3rd year of Sisterlocks!!!  Self maintenance and all!

2) I completed Five workouts within the last seven days.  HerbaLife fitcamps plus walking!

3) Another Grade A Salon Inspection!

It has been a great week!  The Sandra Bland saga really consumed me, but I know that God knows what He is doing.  I will not join the "New Black Panther Party" yet.  Smile.  Rest in Peace Soror Sandra Bland.

Workout hairstyling: The Loc Bump!

I just entered an eight week weight loss contest with HerbaLife.  So I have been working out, and my roots are getting sweaty wet.   This moisture was causing my loc styling to deflate so I decided that I needed to start wearing a partial updo keep some style while working out.  

As I have mentioned on my blog in previous years, due to aging and some previous chemical damage, my hair is thinner in the top than it was a decade ago.  So when my locs were shorter, I would hide little clippies to create volume.  Now, I have plenty of loc length, but the lower density was making my partial updo awkward and unstable unless I had a lot of curls.  But I needed to be able to create an updo with straight locs which is when I started thinking maybe I could "bump-it."  I purchased these "knockoffs" from the Dollar Tree.

Then I decided that I was going to be annoyed trying to stabilize a plastic hump on top of my locs.  Then I said to myself "Why not braid up some of my locs and roll them down to create a bump?"  So that is what I did, and I massaged the rest of my locs around my own natural loc bump.  It worked brilliantly, and I secured the locs behind the bump with one of my leather hair accessories that the stick goes through.

I used this same barrette in one of my May 2014 articles about length compensating for density.  I used it when my hair was curly.

After getting stung/bite a few weeks ago while walking, I rely on Off! Active to repel insects!  My partial updo pictured here is all my locs with my own built-in "loc bump." No extra "bumpits" needed!

I am excited about getting some more weight off by 2016!

2014 Hair Options for Working Out in the Gym

 Master Personal Trainer Nicole Chaplin mentioned two options for hair in her New Growth Hair magazine interview.  (May 2014 issue)  Those two options are 1) "Wash and go" styling or 2) (hair) extensions.

For those who do not have "wash and go" type of hair nor the budget for hair extensions, then I wanted to piggyback on Nicole Chaplin's suggestions.  A third option from my client feedback is the flat twists option.

I took these pictures from the Design Essential Natural Textures Styling Brochure.

Essentially, before any "intense workout," flat twist your relaxed hair. Two strand or Three strand twists both work fine.  As your hair gets wet from the workout, it wet sets the whole head.  Let it dry and then undo the twist set to achieve wavy hair.

My clients that participate in Bikram yoga, hot yoga, and other intense workouts have found the flat twists the best long-term styling option for active workouts.  The final wavy look can be twisted into an updo or a ponytail with a textured look.

In regards to Nicole Chaplin's extensions suggestion as a workout hair option, please remember that according to Chris Rock's Good Hair movie, some guys view hair extensions as high maintenance and limiting as far as riding in a convertible as well as participating in outdoor activities.  Therefore the flat twists may look a little masculine for workout purposes, but they deliver a very feminine finish.