TyteCurl is about the management, empowerment and education of natural hair which has not been chemically treated.  We are a group of young vibrant people who wish to encourage our community to love their virgin hair.  All the information on the site is put together by our members and freelance writers, who are sharing their experiences as being a part of the TyteCurl global community

Grooming and Loc Care Tips

Hair Products
Take a trip to your local hair shop there is an increasing choice of products aimed at natural hair wearers they aren’t however necessarily good, manufacturers are just taking a slice of the growing numbers of people abstaining from chemical hairstyles.
Natural hair care is simple; a good shampoo, conditioner, hair oil And natural styling gel are all you need. .


Hair gel should be alcohol free and clear coloured and good natural oils for hair and scalp are jojoba, sweet almond, olive, castor and coconut.

Good Product Brands
The following brands are ones I have used/ been used on me that work well with loc’ed hair:
· Nexus
· Fantasia IC
· Aveda
· Body Shop (Brazil Nut Shampoo & Conditioner)
· Aphogee

Treatments
Herbal Infusions
Herbal infusions are fantastic because they strengthen the hair ands are safe and easy to prepare. They should be use last as you would a leave in conditioner. Take two tablespoons of you favorite dried herb into a glass or stainless steel pot of boiling water (do not use aluminum as it will release harmful mineral deposits into the herbal rinse) let the herbs steep for an hour strain the herbs off and use the infusion after washing and conditioning.

Herbs suitable for Infusions
Herb Good For Rosemary Circulation, scalp problems, dandruff Rosehip An emollient, damaged hair Sage Strength, Is astringent & antibacterial Chamomile Brightens, highlights, provided sheen Horsetail Growth, dandruff Nettle Baldness, dandruff, Is antiseptic

Hot Oil Treatments
Hot oil treatments replace moisture they lightly coat each loc to lock in moisture and are excellent for dry hair. To give yourself a hot oil treatment apply enough oil to coat the loc’s but not so much that it is dripping, cover with a plastic shower cap and sit under a steam cap or hooded dryer for 20 – 30 minutes then rinse and style as usual.

General Tips
· Always sleep with a satin/silk headscarf
· Retwist new growth no more than every 3-4 weeks
· Avoid products which contain beeswax, petroleum and heavy greases these all create a heavy build up of residue which makes hair look dull
· Don’t stop with your hair – your body is your temple, nourish yourself from within with healthy foods and drinks.

Loc Styling
Loc’s can be styled into buns, coiled, curled, corn rowed and adorned with colour, beads and shells, the styling options are limitless.

Wavy Loc’s
Dampen the hair or after washing plait three or six loc’s together throughout your head, allow to dry and then undo. The end result will be wavy and will last around a week.

Give it Body
Gather loc’s into a loose ponytail on top of your head before stepping into the shower. Allow the steam and mists from the shower to moisten loc’s (do not get then wet). Allow hair to dry remove the ponytail and the hair will have lots of body.

Issues with Locs by Natasha Bailey

I have had locked hair for 5 years this August and I just recently realised I have issues with my locs. Now when I started my locs back in August 2002 I dreamt of a carefree hairstyle, no more unravelling my double stranded twists and spending the best part of the day retwisting it, all I would have to do is retwist the roots.

At first I maintained my locs myself – I experimented with different shampoos and conditioners made herbal rinses and oils, scrutinised products for those off limits ingredients for locs such as beeswax and petroleum.

It got a little time consuming so I started to go to a loctician once in a while – once in a while turned into every 4 weeks. This has been my routine for the past 2 years. In my eyes my hair looked lovely for the first 2 weeks after my salon trip but when those roots began to unravel and grow exposing my virgin hair I would think of it as messy – does this scenario sound familiar? Well it reminds me of when I used to relax my hair. I used to relax it every 6 weeks (it would break otherwise) and breathe a sigh of relief when my afro roots were straight and silky again now its phew when each loc is twisted down to the base. Am I alone? Does anyone else have this issue? Well I am now focusing on the loced hair and not the roots and for 2007 will be going to the loctician every 8 weeks which is going to be hard but as Marcus Garvey said ‘remove the kinks from your mind not your hair’ so I am going to embrace this hair care routine, stop fighting with my roots and let my locs be as nature intended them to be…………..

Contact Natasha here

Feedback:

I fully understand how you feel-- I have shoulder to below the neck
length locs- that I just love. I didn't realize they would need that
much maintenance either, but when my roots get fuzzy and I feel like
they need to be retwisted, that is when most people tend to notice them,
and start to ask me questions like who does my hair and how long I have
been growing them. So I say it is us who get into the routine of feeling
like our locs need to be done--the purpose of getting locs was so we
could stop all that right? C