G's Latest Style - Simple Big Cornrows ALSO Link to a Boy's Locs Post

We were just having a conversation on the Yahoo Hair and Skin Care group about Locs....to Loc or not to Loc, that was the question. :)

As I mentioned in a previous post in G's Story, I never did many cornrows on her before her locs. I do regret it now. They cramped my hand but I think I just needed to relax a little and practice more, and wait for her hair to grow out more in the back. Once we did locs I reveled in putting in lots of easy ponytails and letting her wear her hair down or with just a head band.

But now, I find I really CAN cornrow, and I can still cornrow the locs! As I also mentioned previously, G's hair is not super dense and thick. So when they are freshly tightened her locs can show a lot of scalp. When her hair is hanging down this doesn't show so much. I really have been wanting to "STYLE" her hair more even with the locs. Starting this website and seeing so many of the inspiration sites has...inspired me! I have even been inspired to start braiding my hair just for fun (I had been using sunglasses as a head band at work for a number of months...LOL...I don't spend any time on my own hair, really.) I think I might even grow it out and turn bohemian and just start braiding it all over the place!

It's looking pretty spiffy with those three colors in there....growin' out light blonde, natural color dark blonde, and "i-turned-40-and-here-comes-the-gray" gray! Can you see it there sprouting at my temples? Fun!

So, back to G. It's actually a lot easier to cornrow locs because you don't have to separate all the curly hair sections. You just grab locs and go!

I probably could have made this much more intricate but we seem to be always pressed for time, or I've been doing her hair and it's way beyond bedtime.

What is really fun about cornrowing locs is that they are so FAT! Even thought her locs are not so fat, all together they make the 'rows really chunky.

She told me she got compliments on her fatty 'rows at day care yesterday :)

I am also really enjoying the sun-and-pool bleached tips her locs have. Check this out!

Before anyone worries, we do rinse and condition WELL and her locs are healthy! It's just a little lightening. Her sister in France has naturally lighter pigmentation in her hair, always has, so there may be a genetic factor. I am thinking that this is lightening above the norm for sun and swimming?!

So don't be afraid of locs if you love to style...there is PLENTY you can do! If you are new to our site, watch Katie's "Loc Styles" Video for excellent inspiration! And of course as the kids get older, there is lots of loc jewelry you can get...Phyllis the Video Locktician makes loc jewelry which is really cute.

For tons of info on loc care, watch Katie's series of  videos here. Also, an EXCELLENT post on locs for boys is by another adoptive mom with identical twins from Haiti. They have moved their blog and it's now private, but here's a post from 2007 when the boys were maybe 4 or 5? It is a very comprehensive post.

TTYL!