Baby Locs

I always like to try new things and have been researching locs for a while.  I was going to do sister locs but decided against it for various reasons, I will discuss this in future posts.  In the end I decided to start with small locs using the comb coil method.  I do my hair at a natural hair salon in Brixton and they are very very good and work with a spirit of excellence which is hard to find in many hair dressing shops today.  I can't fault their service and expertise and I am glad that I have started the locs process with them..  They actually issued me with a certificate for the start of my journey.  

The Natural Way

Two Strand Twists, a style I did a lot after the big cut.  I twisted my hair once a week using Eco styler gel and Phytospecific cream moisturiser mixed together.  I expected to see white bits in my hair but this was not the case, my hair looked shiny and soft, not crunchy and hard.  I liked it the day after as my scarf flattened it giving it a really interesting look, I got so many good comments on my hair like this.

Wedding hair style

The 2nd July 2009 was the last time that I retouched my hair.  I got married on the 4th July and was determined not to perm my hair again after this.  I have kept to my word.

This picture was taken before my make up was applied.  I loved my hair like this, it was a variation of a style that I had seen on Sanaa Lathan and Beyonce.

The permed look

This is me with a perm in my hair on my hen night.  I just had my make up done and was ready to step out.  I did like my hair like this but the stress of all the chemicals and the condition of my hair was not worth the hassle. 

Natural Hair Beginnings

My first curly perm /Jheri curl was at the grand old age of 14, yes, 14 years old, an age where most had already experienced years of chemically processing their hair. I had to beg my Mum to perm my hair when I was in school.  She didn't allow me to put any chemicals on my hair until I was 14 years old, and even then she only gave in because I asked my Auntie to persuade her.   My Mum was right but when everyone was rocking a curly perm and Jheri Curl I felt foolish with an Afro puff and cornrows. After the curly perm it was the relaxer, then I cut my hair and put in a texturiser and after that went back to the relaxer.  I remember the super strength Revlon tub, very popular in those days, oh what a burn!

Fast forward a few years........ I decided to go natural  in 2004,  I walked into a hairdressers and asked them to cut off my shoulder length perm to my 1 inch of new, rich, natural growth.  The other customers gasped, which I thought was quite funny, I loved the freedom of natural hair and learning how to care for it and style it.  Unfortunately, I once again got caught up in the straight hair look and permed my hair in 2008. 

In November 2009 I was heavily pregnant and my hair was 4 months overdue for a relaxer.  I made a final decision to cut off the perm and stay natural.   Although my hair had thickness and length even with a relaxer, it was constantly brittle, breaking and extremely dry.  I needed a strong relaxer but have always had a sensitive scalp, so you can imagine the type of burns I experienced. The constant battle with sensitive scalp and thick hair made me tired of subjecting myself to this process and I confidently made the decision to go natural and stay natural.  I am now on a locks  journey that started on 22nd April 2010.  I will post regular updates on my journey with pictures.

Tightening the budget!

Being newly married with one child I have been anticipating the emergency budget and its impact on my family.  My first impressions are that Osborne is hitting hard with this one, with VAT at 20% from January 2011 this will hurt.   How can this be fair for the poorest people in society.  I agree the deficit has to come down but does it have to be so harsh and so fast. 

As for freezing child benefit for three years and removing the health in pregnancy grant, it really testifies to the fact that the coalition Government don't know how much a box of baby milk costs.  If the costs of baby goods were not so high maybe people would not have to apply for child benefit and tax credits to top up their income.  The lesson in all this is that we can't depend on welfare, after all this is the Tory ethos so what can we expect. 

There are good things about the budget, e.g. housing benefit reforms, Bank Levy's, state pensions being linked to earnings and child tax credits reduced for families on 40,000+ (only fair).

I have already tightened my budget being on maternity leave, but with this killer VAT rise it might be easier to do this as I am loathe to pay 20% in tax for my goods.

It's all in the name!

I love the rich meanings behind many names, particularly African names.  Nkiruka is my middle name from the Igbo tribe in Nigeria; It means 'What is in front is bigger.' My mother gave me this name because I am the first born of five children.  I prefer to add my own interpretation to the name so that it also means 'a great future is ahead' or 'the best is yet to come.'

What is the meaning behind your name? Does it inspire you? Does it even matter if your name has a meaning.  Share your views!