My New Hair Obsession: Loc Extensions

I don't ever do professionally done braids or twists.  As a matter of fact, I had some braids done about a little over a year ago for the first time and I am 100% sure I would never do that again. I have nothing against braids.  I do have something against women thinking that they have to have their braids or twists done tight so that they last.  I was even more disgusted that when I had my braids done, many of my friends were saying that the pain I felt was normal and offered some home remedies....NO HAIRSTYLE IS WORTH PAIN AND ANGUISH!  You should never allow a hairdresser to style your hair in a style that could cause damage and pain. This should be common sense but....it's not. 

I also decided to never allow someone to braid my hair (with extensions) because no matter how much I told the hairdresser to loosen up, she just claimed she knew what was best.  I can't stand this quality in a hairdresser which is why I hardly ever go to one and when I do, it is only one lady. 

So, I started to do some research on Pinterest and YouTube on protective styling as I wanted to give my hair a break for a while and my exercise routine was killing my hairstyles.  I soon decided on loc extensions. I always loved dread locs but maybe not the permanence of it all...Below are pictures of my first attempt of doing my own loc extensions.

So to begin this hairstyle, I started with Marley Twists completed with Marley braid hair.  The two brands I used were Freetress and Femi.  The brand does not matter though. I pre-wash the hair to get any residue off the hair and to soften the hair. I do this by allowing the hair to sit in a sink full of warm water and mild shampoo.  I then allow it to dry overnight.  Also you may have noticed that I have some red tips in some of the pictures.  This is because I used a red hair for the marley twists and allowed some of of the red hair to peek out.  The ladies I watched on YouTube were Alex Elle of the Good Hair Blog, Tammyluvslyfe, and Cassandra Becai.  Just search for them and you should be able to find these ladies. 

I plan on doing this style again very soon with some purple highlights...yes I said purple. I can't wait to see the results.  Also, I had some pretty rad styling on my locs. I promise to write a blog on styling them. I also received sooo many compliments on this hairstyle from other women and men.  Most times, I could not believe the attention I got with this hairstyle. 

The silver beads in my hair I purchased eons ago from a beauty supply store in the 90's when braids were really popular. For the life of me, I cannot find anything like them now and I recently lost one so I am down to just 3.

By the way...please follow me on Pinterest! Linking up is a beautiful thing! 
One luv,
e