Loc Lessons On Hair Care

Peace, family welcome to another unlock lesson live. I am so grateful for your presence if well, not, even if, especially, if you're joining me live, but if you're watching a replay, it's all good too so grateful for you being here check in with me in the comments. Let me get a hashtag live or hashtag replay, wherever you're tuning in from, and i would also like to know what you've heard about heat caps today we're going to be discussing heat caps, the benefits the pros, comparing it to hair steamers. As we've spoken about last week, but i first want to get to know about get to know a little bit about what you know about heat caps or where have you heard so check in live hashtag replay? And let me know what you've heard about heat caps. All right after you check in i'm acknowledging you. Of course, i want you to also go grab a glass of water, all right as your digital loctition. I strive to cultivate spaces for healthy holistic hair care for locks and that hair care is going to start inside of you, and so, during our time together, we try to you know, try to get those moments in those things that escape us, like drinking water, resting Being present, we do all that here together, so get your water check in, and i'm gon na acknowledge the folks that that's here, peace kim, i see you majesty unicorn, yes, love the name so grateful for you joining. Is this anyone's first time in the lock lesson? If this is your first time joining live press the one if you've been here, you know you've been present since when it was called q, a with the lactation. Let me get a two in the comments. I see you carolyn. Thank you so much for joining, hey, nay and you're new to the journey. So glad that you are joining me. You know it's it's good to get on the ground floor to start in the beginning, with healthy hair care for your locs. So i'm so grateful for you being here robin's joining from the inland empire, okay, uh nina's, here dakota, i see you celeste is here in dc, i'm based in maryland, so you're right down the street carol you're north carolina gina is in texas. Thank you for joining newbies in windsor mill. Oh lynette is your first time joining. Welcome. Welcome! Welcome alexis one of my day ones. One of my cultivator crew is here so glad that you're here loco. I am grateful for you coming back all right. Last week i was not live, i am in yoga teacher training and so it's it's winding down y'all. This has been the most transformative nine months of my life well i'll, say seven months, but i had two months left uh, but at thursday, one thursday out of the month. I'M not live because i'm in yoga teacher training for the next two months and it's changing my life, and so i appreciate the grace with missing the lessons um every so often, but we're bringing it back. Jessie'S here heart is here robin in atlanta. Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! Pamela nashville jacqueline in detroit, so grateful for your presence so i'll see you. I see that a few people have heard about heat caps have maybe used them um, but today we're going to talk all about them. So what i one of the things that i saw, where was it uh dakota says that it helps people with low porosity hair, i'm gon na go ahead and pin that one we're gon na come back to that. For sure i saw somebody else. Jacqueline said that uh, you used the key cap several years ago when i wore loose hair, and he did not know folks used them of locks. Yes see. One of the things you know is is funny right with locks. A lot of people don't know what to do. How do we care for our locs? What what's happening here, uh with having hair that is no longer loose, that you can detangle, that you can put all types of products in and everything is marketed towards them? What do you do when your hair becomes locked for the month of may? My goal, of course, is to focus in on conditioning conditioning is one of those gray areas, those gray spaces with your locs, and so we're going to spend tonight's conversation focusing on heat caps? If you've never seen a heat cap, this is an example of one or this is mine, uh, that i use one of the ones that i love dearly. This is my booth um, so we're gon na we're gon na talk all about using these things um before we do that, we first got ta, come up with a word for tonight, um. Any suggestions for the word - and i say the word because remember that glass of water you're supposed to have you're supposed to be drinking. We pick a word that we're going to uh. You know whenever we hear that word or see that, where we're going to take a sip, so any suggestions for the word for tonight. Peace, nikki so glad that you're here yes, charmaine, come on in reggie, says bonnet. Okay, i can see that one coming up - everyone that says he cap do y'all want to be going to bathroom all night, but i see a lot of people commenting for heat. So that's what you want. That'S that's! That'S that's what we want to go with all right, so, every time you hear the right heat, which is probably going to be often since we're talking about heat caps, go ahead. Take a sip that'll, be our word for tonight. Right so challenge yourself to remain present during the broadcast and if you see the word heat you hear the word heat make sure you take it to the water okay, see if you can complete or finish your glass of water before the end of the broadcast. Remember don't rush, it's really important, as we are caring for our hair and our bodies holistically, that we're being mindful of our water intake being mindful means that we're taking sips we're enjoying the water we're not guzzling it. We'Re not just trying to down and just to quickly get the water in. We want to take it in in steps so that our body, so that our cells, so that our hair can benefit from that water all right. So just challenge yourself to be a little bit more present during the live than you've, been probably throughout the day, all right yep we got, we got the heat, i need to say: i'm gon na need a better, bigger glass me too, all right. So let me put on the chat comments so that way we can all see each other's comments, hey y'all and let's go ahead and get into um tonight's topic. What i do want to say just as far as the agenda goes: uh we're going to discuss the cats, do a little q, a um i'll share some announcements, gentle announcements, gentle reminders with you and that'll - be our time together. So it's not going to be long. It'S going to just be, you know a good time all right so earlier. I remember dakota saying that heat caps are for low porosity hair. Does everyone know what porosity is? If you are comfortable, you know a porosity is pressed to three. If you are not sure what porosity is press a four all right, so, let's just make sure we're all. On the same page frida, you already drank 72 ounces of water today, mvp, okay mvp. I know i was nowhere near there today, but i'm getting closer with my glass of water right now. So i see a lot of threes also see some force and so class. Let'S help people who may not know what porosity is, if you could, if you press the three in your own words, how would you describe porosity and porosity in relation to the hair and clue right dakota said that they heard a heat cap, that's going to help People that have low porosity hair, so if you had to describe to somebody what porosity is, how would you describe that? How would you put it in layman's terms, if you will, you know, of course, i'ma share my definition. We might also grab the cosmetology textbook like we did last session um, but i want to see how you would define it. Um love that, straight to the points antoinette says how quickly or slowly hair absorbs water. I see. Reggie is along the same lines saying that hair hairs, absorption rate of moisture, okay and dakota says porosity is how the cuticle sits on your hair shaft. That'S one way to put it: okay and newbie says how easily it absorbs water hair does not absorb water. Charmaine says: hair the capacity to hold and retain moisture. Thank you class. Thank you community for sharing uh, though that definition of porosity um, and you can, if you just pop it in you, have your definition, definitely put it in the comments. So we're on the same page porosity is in relation to how um how much your hair absorbs and retains substances. So it doesn't just need to be water all right, so it doesn't just have to be water, so that's any product, any um conditioner any moisturizer, any water that your hair comes in contact with. How can your hair retain that? And i want to be really clear that it's not just water, because when you are putting on your hair, if you're leaving conditioner, maybe even putting into your hair some oil or something your hair receiving, that is dependent on your porosity or one of the things. It depends on. Is your porosity all right, so if someone has high porosity, would they easily absorb their moisturizer press a5? If you say yes, it's easily absorbed versus six. If you feel like now, it's gon na take a minute for somebody that has high porosity to absorb their moisturizer. If someone has high porosity and they are applying moisturizer, it's going to be easy for it to absorb, or it's going to take a minute like it's. It'S not gon na absorb as quickly five they're easily gon na absorb it six. If this won't take a minute, they have high porosity all right. I see the five i see the the valedictorians the class standing up. Yes, so if someone has a high porosity hair and they apply a moisturizer, the hairs want to say suck it up immediately, but then a few moments later it's going to let it go because a high porosity means the layer on the hair that would open and Close to help you retain moisture substances is constantly just high, it's constantly just open, so someone has high porosity hair things easily come in, but they also easily come out all right. So if you have high porosity hair, you may find yourself like, i am putting moisturizer on my hair and it feels good. Oh yes, yes, yes and then later in the day, maybe a couple of hours later you're just like dang, it feels like. I did nothing to my hair like it's, it's just it's dry, it's back to just feeling brittle like what's happening. That is often a sign of high porosity. Now with that being said, let's think about people that have a low porosity hair. What does that look like? So if someone has low porosity hair and they put a moisturizer to the hair, do you feel like that moisturizer is going to just sit on top or it's going to penetrate great question gigi. So if someone has low porosity hair press a7, if you feel like it's going to go in there gradually or press it eight, if you feel like nah, it's not going in there at all, someone has low porosity with their moisturizer they put in their hair. Would it just go in there gradually or would it not get in there at all seven if it's gon na go in there, eight, if it's not getting in there at all and gigi brought up a great question, let me see gigi says: is there a medium Porosity, yes, there is it's average or medium porosity, so i see a mix of seven eighths. I feel like i threw that curve all in there when we figured out what high porosity is understanding. What low porosity looks like can be different. I see this is why i could not use oil. They would make my hair look even finer than it was we'll get into oil after we discuss the seed cap all right. So if somebody has low porosity hair this, the hair shaft or the part on the outside of the hair, that regulates how much moisture how much substances are received and how much they come out, that thing is tight. It'S shut! It'S like you ain't getting in here. I don't care if you benefit my hair or not. No, no. No shut is closed, so low porosity hair does not let a lot of things in so even when you're putting your moisturizer on you spray it. Let me see if they say i'm supposed to put my moisturizer in the morning. You spray your friend and it's like, i don't feel like it did nothing, my hair, just it feel the same, and it just or just it just didn't do anything. I don't really like this product. My hair ain't changed a bit. That'S that low porosity, hair or you say, i'm getting in the shower to wash my hair dang. I put some shampoo on my hair and it's not even lathering. My hair is not it's not even doing anything, because your hair is not receiving that water that you're wetting your hair with the porosity is low. It'S shut, it's not letting anything happen all right, so understanding your porosity is really important. When you're discussing the health of your hair, people that often have high porosity hair um tend to have fine hair, they also have colored their hair. You see my hair is green or over processed their hair, specifically like they've colored, their hair like they went green and they went blue. Then they went orange and they went brown or they bleached their hair. Over and over again, those things are um characteristics of somebody who have high porosity hair, meaning they can put something in their hair. But then it's just gon na come out immediately. People that have a low porosity hair tend to have thicker hair strands. To have really coarse hair tend to have really shiny hair. Like you just look the hairs like dang, your hair is just shiny. Yeah, you put no type of oil on it. Your hair just shiny, so that that outside layer is just closed, it's smooth it's reflecting the light that low porosity now, people that have medium or average porosity. That is the goal. That is where you want to be. You want to be in a space where you can apply a product to your hair. Your hair will receive it and then gradually over time it comes out, and that is why, with recommendations with your regimen, you are reapplying your moisturizer. You are washing your hair again. You'Re doing things in a regimen in a routine to replenish because it should gradually come out. You shouldn't just put something in your hair and it stayed forever right. Our hair would be it'll, be clogged up cause. I'M sure everybody in this live use that grease that blue grease, not gon na, say the name of it, but use that at a time right. So if you have that in your hair and your hair held onto that forever, it would be a problem. You want things to come out gradually, but you don't want them to come out immediately and you don't have an issue with them receiving what you're trying to do to the hair. Does that make sense press a nine if that makes sense, press a zero if you're like okay, i'm just lost what you're talking about the porosity um, as you are um figuring out where you, where you fit there answering into the next question, can porosity chains? Yes, it can absolutely change um, it can change with the weather. It can change with your diet. It can change with how you are treating your hair. So, like again, like i said bleaching your hair too much color. Those things can change your porosity all right. So i see a lot of nines see a few zeros. If this is zero, stick with me, hopefully this will make sense as we get deeper into the low heat cap here all right. So i really appreciated that uh dakota and sharing what they've heard about he caps mentioned that they've heard that they help people that have low porosity hair right and they absolutely do. One of the things that heat caps are used for is generating heat. A concentrated amount of heat, unlike direct heat, where you're using a blow dryer or you're sitting under the dryer with um your hair, a heat cap, helps to just generate even heat all around the head and if you're somebody who has low porosity, hair, meaning the outside Layer of your hair is like you not getting here. It'S closed tight, not letting it nope. No, no, no, no heat is one of the things. If you think about people that get like heat damage and stuff, he is one of the things that, even if you have low proxy hairs, really tight put enough heat will make the outside of your hair all right, i guess i'll open. I guess i'll. Let you in okay, so it opens the it's called the cuticle, the outside layer of the hair, the cuticle. It opens it up to allow the hair the inside of the hair, the cortex, where everything where the strength of your hair comes from. It allows that area to be exposed right. So if you have low porosity, hair you're having difficulty with uh, moisture retention, you're having difficulty with your hair, um feeling strong, utilizing or adding a heat cap into your regimen will help, because it's going to tell your hair all right, open it up. Let this product come in and then your hair is going to say all right. The heat cap is cooled down now close it back up, but what you put on the hair has now been it penetrates. It gets inside all right. So yes to dakota's point a heat cap will help absolutely help someone that has high low proxy hair. Now, let me ask you with that being said: do you think a heat cap would help somebody that has high porosity hair press a1? If you think it would help person two if you're like nah, you got high frosty hair, do not use a heat cap, so one if you feel like it, would help a heat cap or two. If you feel like nope, don't do it dj says crazy. When i shampoo my locs, i can soak them under the shower for 10 minutes, and would you say, and my shampoo still doesn't suds up ooh. Let me pin that one, because that's a good one to come back to yes, dakota says low. Porosity, hair literally has to warm up to products. Yeah it ain't, it ain't a cheap date. Low frosty is not a cheat day. You got got ta, whine and dying that little frosty, hair, okay, so alexis you know me well, but no seriously, um utilizing a heat cap. Let me take a sip because we don't say the word heat about 10 times. So if y'all haven't been drinking now is your chance drink some water tonight's word is heat. So whenever you hear the word, heat got to take a sip of water all right. So if you have high porosity hair, meaning your hair is going to receive whatever you put on it, but it's going to fall out. It'S going to be like oh forget it. I don't want it anymore, nope not for me. Should you be using a heat cap, and i see some ones and i see some tubes, he cap it can be helpful, but that's not going to be your go-to. If you have high peroxide hair, you have high porosity hair. The heat cap will, of course, help things to gently open up and you can apply things like protein to help balance um your high porosity hair with the heat cap on to let the really silk penetrate deeper into the hair. But then remember the high porosity hairs will be like. I don't want to sew it out. So when you have high proxy hair and you're using a key cap, it's not going to be enough for you just to apply your leave-in or your moisturizer you're. Using a heat cap, you have high frosty hair with a treatment all right, so that treatment can penetrate deeper. So it is a trick. Question lexus like it's a yes, yes and no or a yes and yes, you could use it, but you have to do it properly. If you use it um incorrectly, you can make the hair more porous right and then that just defeats the whole purpose so got ta. Know your porosity using a heat cap, but not just with porosity. Does the heat cap have benefits? It'S also really really good for your scalp. Anybody here have scalp concerns, maybe scalp issues, maybe flaking dandruff excess, itching lots of sweat press a three. If you have some scalp concerns, scalp issues um with your regimen right now, while you're checking in. I think this is a great question. Um melissa says: would a shower cap do the same thing. I saw it there, it is yeah um. Would a shower cap do the same as the key cap? No shower cap is not the same thing as a heat cap. Um this heat cap that i have here um is one of the natural natural heat caps. So inside of it i don't know if you probably can't hear it, but inside of it it's filled with flax seeds, and so the flax seeds help to retain the heat and give you the heat treatment for an extended a period of time. Just wash your hair with hot water, putting a shower cap on with just your body heat is not going to give you the same benefits as a concentrated heat cap, all right um. I wanted to first explain to you the benefit of a heat cap and then we're going to talk about how we use it and what it looks like to incorporate it into your regimen, all right um. So i do see some some some uh some family got some scalp concerns. There'S no shame in this face all right. I want you to know that if you have concerns with your scalp uh heat cap can support your scalp healing because being under the heat cap is going to draw blood, will not that sound bad. Your scalp's not going to be bleeding it's going to stimulate the scalp so that more blood comes into the area so that your scalp can receive more nutrients all right to heal. That'S what i mean it's not going to drop, not going to draw blood to your scalp, so with a heat cap. If you have any scalp concerns, dandruff itching flaking sitting under the heat cap is going to benefit nourishing your scalp um, allowing the scalp to be moisturized because we're not most times if you have scalp concerned not putting a lot of oils to the scalp. You want to heal it naturally all right inside out water things like that using heat cap, it's a great addition to your regimen um. If i had to prioritize it, i would first say steam, like we talked about two weeks ago, and if you can't get access to a steamer, because it's pretty pricey getting a steamer, a heat cap is a better budget option. Um would be good for the scalp as well. It'S also really good if you are trying to stimulate hair growth, like for people, that um feel that their hair is growing a little bit slower and they're not doing their scalp massages like you're supposed to be doing. If you have not been doing that, um putting a heat cap in your regimen can also benefit you with the stimulation of the blood flow to the scalp same thing. Massaging would do the heat cap gives you those benefits as well um. Let me pin your questions. So we can get to that later. I see a few comments depends so now that we know the benefits how we're applying, if you have high frosty hair, low porosity, hair, um, scalp concerns or hair growth, some of the benefits with using the heat cap. Let'S talk about how to use it, so this heat cap in order to get it hot, because, right now, it's not hot like if i have it, it just feels cool feels like a little bean bag right to heat it up, and this is a this - is A natural one, so you heat it up, keep the flax seeds in the microwave. You put this in the microwave for a minute and a half turn it inside out and inside. This will answer your question. Just gon na take a look here because i'm asking guys a question so hopefully you're taking a look following up. You put it in for a minute and a half. This way turn it back the other way and put it in for another minute half. So it's about uh. What is that about four minutes? Four and a half minutes, or so that the cap is in the microwave heating up and then it goes on the head. Now, here's the question press a where we at i think we're at five press. A six, if you think once this is heated, you put it directly on your hair press a 7. If you feel like there needs to be something on your hair before you put this on so process six, if this immediately goes in your hair after it's heated or press a seven, if something has to go on your hair before you put this on, to go To this seven, with like five estimation marks, what do you think needs to go on first, my sevens, i don't see any success i feel like. I gave y'all a clue, so you are correct if you press the seven, you do not want to put this directly on the hair um as soon as it's heated all right as soon as it comes from out of the microwave. However, you're heating it they recommend putting it on putting in the microwave to heat it before you put this on, you have to put on a shower cap all right or a conditioning cap. I prefer conditioning cap, but if you don't have one of those you can do a shower cap. Yes, of course, in the hair, you do have to do your treatments for sure um, but directly putting this on your hair, because it's a cloth can y'all see this. This this texture here you know i'm allergic to lint, and i hope y'all are allergic to lip too. This will put so much light in the hair. Definitely have to put a shower cap on first shower. Cap is also um going to help your hair retain the moisture because your hair is wet. The shower cap will retain the moisture and then you're putting on top of it the heat cap. So it's giving you that heated moisturizing effect there for loose hair. This key cap is placed on without a shower cap if you wanted to dry the hair right. So that's how these caps are typically recommended. The thermal heat caps they're meant for gently drying the hair with locks we're using it for a treatment to condition the hair. That is the difference. Okay, because you're not putting a heat cap on directly on the hair because of the material um possibilities of lint. All right - and we also with locks, do not want to cover our hair when it's wet all right, because we know that can produce mildew. We don't want our hair smelling like that. So heat caps with locks are used for conditioning key caps. Thermal caps with loose natural hair could be used for conditioning, but they're also used for gently drying the hair all right. I say that to say make sure if you're, using one you're putting a cap on in between your hair and the heat cap, all right does that make sense during the sense that i literally don't own a microwave. If you don't have a microwave there's other ways that you can keep this, you can do a double boiling method, which means you're heating, a bowl or heating, a pan of water boiling that pan of water and then placing the cap inside of another pan. That has no water in it. So that way, the outside water is heating that pan that has this in it just so that the flax seeds can, you know, get the heat transfer, because you're really just trying to warm this up, you don't have to use a microwave. I get it and i know this because if i could convince my husband, we wouldn't have a microwave either, but you know balance got ta pick and choose your battles all right. So does that make sense um for how you could incorporate or how you use the heat cap in your regimen press, the eight, if that makes sense, press a nine if you're still a little bit confused, um gina says: how often should you use the cap? These are great questions. Um, the usage of the heat cap is going to depend on your hair. Depending on what your intentions are. We began with um learning the different types of porosities um. So, first you need to know your porosity and then determine how the cap would be best used in your regimen. If you're not really focused on your hair, you're, more so trying to treat your scalp, you can use the cap once a week or as often as you're washing your hair. I would not encourage you to use a heat cap without washing. So it's not like you. Just go heat this cap up and then put your hair under it. It'S best served for conditioning as a conditioning treatment. When the hair has been cleansed, it is fully damp. Do your locks have to be mature? No, of course not with conditioning hair is hair, so hair needs to be cared for. Um, like we talked about with steam. Same thing applies with your heat caps. There are people that have starter locks that have bleached hair. Your bleach hair may result in having high porosity hair and you have to treat that keep to keep it healthy because no fun having beautifully vibrant locks, that's thinning and breaking off all right so know your locks do not have to be mature to use a heat Cap, this is a very gentle method, um for your hair for your scalp uh lynnette. Another really good question: are you placing all your locs under the cap? Um you try to slip me up there because you're placing all your hair in the shower cap or the conditioning cap first and then placing the heat cap over that see what you did there um. I think there was another really good question um. So after you're doing this treatment, do you recommend sitting under the dryer after a shampoo? So whenever your short answer is yes, i'm not someone. That'S going to show you the air dry if you're a part of the community, we do at least 30 minutes under the dryer all right. We are not trying to have any type of mildew, any type of smells in our hair. We'Re also making sure that we are drying the core of our locs, so yes get under the dryer after you, shampoo for at minimum 30 minutes and hopefully that voice my voice will echo in your head after you wash your hair and you like i'm about to Go air dry, you hear me saying sit under the dryer for at least 30 minutes. It'S important it's the least that you can do uh. How many times can you use the cap over and over again um? I did not manufacture it. So i don't know i've known that i've been using this cap for the past three years or so two three years see it's 20, 20, 22 yeah, i'm say like three years um and i use it at least, once a month i haven't had any issues um With the heating up and retaining the flax seeds seem to be doing pretty well um, but i do imagine it may have a shelf life. I would say - maybe a couple years, maybe like four or five years, if i had to take a guess, um but you're again, you're not doing it every other day right so once or twice a month. Um for a couple years should give you a good use of your cap. Um. Do i recommend a particular heat cap? I don't um. If you are interested in which cap i have make sure you're in the digital text club text me and i'll, send you the link to the cap that i have um, but they have. They make many many many heat caps out here. Um i like the flaxseed one. They do have some that are thermal that you just plug in um. I find that this one just it lasts me for about good 20 minutes, feels amazing and once the flax seeds are done, you know i just let it dry out the cap dry out because you know can get a little wet around the edges has no smells. Has no odors and i just hold on to it until the next um next treatment so yeah. If you're not in the digital text club, you can join by going to digitaloptician.com backslash club. The link is also in the description box below the video okay. So in the digital text club we can, we could talk about things that are like you know, offline conversations can't just be broadcasting to everybody. Thank you kim. I truly appreciate the purchase of the super sticker. Your support is greatly appreciated, um how y'all doing on your water. I have just a little bit left if you're not finish your water, let's go ahead and finish get that heat and if you have any questions or concerns that i can help, you with um definitely feel free to post them. In the comments section and i'll do my best to answer, i did see a question from fam and says: i'm six months into my locks. Do you think it's a good idea to braid my hair um? Did anyone hear when they were starting their locs style them? Pretty early in the journey press, a two if you styled your hair in the beginning press, a three. If you didn't know styling with your new locks, i would say for like the first year so person two. If you styled your hair within the first year, impressive. Three, if you didn't, do any styling to your hair the first year. Yes, everyone said i'm wearing god, we say heat so many times interesting. So i see a lot of people did not style their hair in the beginning, um and some people did so. What i'll say and what i encourage my guests at the salon in the first year so or as your hair is moving through the locking stages and pretty rapidly in the beginning stages, once your hair gets mature kind of get like a lull um to the locking Process and kind of you kind of just stay in that adult stage, but in the beginning your hair is moving through these stages and it's very pliable, so it can take on the shapes that you put in your hair. So if you are going to be styling within the first year or early in your loc journey, i would encourage you to do styles that support the locks so that they are um more cylindrical as an example, bantu knots, great starter, lock, style braids. On the other hand, like twists are considered compression styles, meaning they're, going to push the hair into the lock. So, at six months in doing braids during twists, you may notice that your locs can develop like little notches or little loops or indentations that they take on from the styles. If that is of no concern to you, you don't care how the shaft of your locks look like you're, just maybe trying to control frizz go for it, but if your goal is to get your locks to be um consistent along the shaft and also allow your Hair to be more full, your locks will be more full. I would not encourage you to do styles that are more compressive like braids all right. So really it's you know you could do it, but just understand what may happen if you do do it um. I saw another question um right before we got on live um anissa was asking about luxury. I don't think i'm able to pull it up on the screen, but i thought it was a really good question um. Should you change your black jewelry and um and they were asking this question because they noticed that their jewelry is changing colors if you're putting jewelry in your hair? It'S really important in this jewelry. Sorry, it's um, not semi-permanent, but a temporary, so you can take it in and out of your hair. I would highly encourage you to take it out whenever you wash your hair, because most jewelries can tarnish and they can tarnish your locks, like you know how you wear get a ring from like a we used to have those little things at the store where you Put the quarter in what are those called? I forget, but you get a ring from there. You wear it on your finger. Your finger turns green. That can happen to your lock, so you can start getting tarnishing in your locks in addition to it, just choke holding um places in your locks. So definitely, i would say, take it out um every time you wash dry, your hair then put it back in. If you have semi-permanent loc, jewelry um like like this, like these wraps, where um it's in there, it's tied in my hair, you would want to take it out after, like two to three washes all right. So i would not encourage you to keep it in longer than two to three shampoos, all right, because then you can start taking on the indentations of these um the wraps, if you have things like lot, sprinkles, which are woven through the hair um, if they're done Properly, you should have no problems, but if they start choking the inside of your locks, you'll start to notice the bunching over time. And if you do start to notice the bunching just go ahead and take it down all right. Um yeah it locks yeah uh frida says: do you have the sprinkles on the ends? They never tarnished. She had sprinkles they're um. What do you call it? They'Re crystals, so they're not gon na tarnish when i'm speaking about tarnishing jewelry, i'm thinking about like gold, copper, silver, metals, metal, jewelry, tarnishes um, and you said you have a few bumps from ponytails. Ponytails can definitely cause bumps and indentations. It'S important to switch up, the ponytail is always up top, maybe put it on the side. Maybe wear low things on the other side or when your locks get longer. It'S a whole other situation. Oh dakota says when starting locks with two strand twists. Should you twist the hair, tight or loose when starting locks with two strand twists? Should you twist the hair, tight or loose um, i'm not really sure what you mean if you're striving you're doing twists. You just do twists like it doesn't need to be, don't make it too tight like braided or anything. Could you clarify uh jacqueline says the heating guide i've used years ago was a plug-in type and i used a conditioning cap over my hair, never use the type you're holding on now. Yeah um. You know it's just a preference right, so you can use the thermo they're called thermal caps. I believe, if you, if they're plugged in um the heat caps, are the ones that you're supposed to like heat up. Oh wait. No wait! Is this this the same question. My hair looks the same so i started in january and i want to braid it up for a week, um braid it like put braids over top of it or just like braid it down, and you just you, you just started it's gon na. Look the same. It ain't not gon na be much length that you're gon na be getting in the beginning um, because everything is happening on the outside and then it has to happen on the inside and then you start to see length so yeah um don't cover it just embrace It definitely don't braid over it. No don't do that. Please don't do that. Please, please don't do that um. What are your thoughts on retwisting, the new growth only versus retwisting, the shaft as well um, i believe if you are striving to cultivate locks, you are retwisting. The entire thing, if you're, just trying to twist the hair you'll just do roots so cultivation, is the entire lock um, but just retwisting the roots. You are not tending to the shaft of the hair unless it's mature, unless your locks are mature. You can get away with that. But if you have new locks you need, i would encourage you to cultivate them um. But again you know it's it's a personal journey like if you just want your hair to just do whatever just only retwist. The new growth you know gives it shape, but if you're going for a specific aesthetic cultivation is the way to go. Um god says i was concerned that twisting the hair loosely could impact the locking process. Um, i'm not see, i think, i'm missing what you mean by loose like with your twists um, if you've twisted the hair. If you started your locks with twists, that is just to get the hair to stay together. If you started with twists or coils, the locks are going to end up the exact same. But if you you're, starting with twitch, just to give it more strength, foundation, um genus, says to keep up with new growth. Can i interlock more frequently than six to eight weeks a four and a half months spray locks, no um like four weeks is that is fast. Um six weeks is usually the soonest, but let's say you started with like 600 locks and maybe your hair grows faster than you're expecting um try to stagger it, so one section is going to be at four weeks. Another section is going to be at five weeks. Another section is gon na be in six weeks, so you can keep up with it in sections versus trying to do everything at uh early time like four weeks. You know because that's too early um and if you're, having like on average you're only having half an inch of new growth if you're having anything more than that, it's likely slippage. And so you want to address it with your um, not grooming, with what you're doing like on a day-to-day basis. Um, that's a really good question. Um fan says: how do you overcome ignorant negativities about your locks from family members or in the workplace? Can we all and it's a bunch of people here, can we all share how we react or if you've had to grow through an experience like this um in the comments section, just any any words of advice you would have. I see teresa already said just ignore them. Sorry, you almost to flee around my nose because my um my nose ring, i lost my ball and my captive beat and the thing came out. It'S not that like push it's my nose. It'S all a little irritated but anyway dakota says call hr if it's in the workplace, um with the hr situation being mindful that the crown act is still slowly passing through in the united states. I'M not sure where you are, but there are still places where you do not have protection for people speaking about your hair or um, disregarding you because of your hair, if that crown act has not been enacted, so be mindful about that, i would say for me: I had this experience. I'Ve been locking for 12 years at this point and when i first started my locs all my family was like: why? What are you doing to your hair? Why would you do that then, just napping just always having comments and things to say about my hair and they often would be negative, or why you? Why would you do that? You have good hair things like that um i had to learn really quickly and what i would highly encourage you to do is internalize. Why you're locking your hair, what it means for you and if someone is coming at you um, and they are worth an explanation because in my opinion, you know it might not even be worth it it's just like. I don't appreciate you commenting about my hair, my body, so don't it could be as simple as that, but if you feel like they're worth educating or informing sharing your reasoning sharing your, why, like i'm locking my hair to be better connected with how my hair grows Out of my hair, naturally, i'm locking my hair because i want to try something new or i'm locking my hair, because i want to your comments and your opinions are not welcome here, create your boundary and stand on that. Um do not allow them to interfere with your journey because you're taking this journey, because for whatever reason that you have and it's not their place, to try to take you off the path that you're on. I love how people in the comments are sharing that it's really important for you to love on. You remember why you locked your hair and understand people can be ignorant, and so they don't know any better. Um dakota says my dad once told me. A woman's hair is her entire image and i need to go to salon. I cuss them out exactly right, it's not a proud moment, but it had to happen. It'S real, and so if you know that you're not the only one, it happens, you know more often than you think, and so the fact that you are trying to figure out how to navigate it means it matters to you, but i'd say boundary cross. It i mean draw it and don't let anyone cross it um journey understand. My mom saw me on facetime, but i was hiding my hair from people back home because i didn't want to hear negativity. I wanted to embrace this stage. Um kim says your luck to your business. Ignore them because educating them is futile. It can be again, so i say figure out they're worth it, because some people are just not worth it. Um siobhan said my mom called them worms. I got a tough skin and ignore my family, yeah um. I think wearing locks come from how you feel within i wear locks with pride, um yeah, it's it's. You just said just love yourself. It'S it's really. It comes almost kind of comes with the territory. I hate to say, but um enjoy your journey, all right, don't they're negativity, don't welcome it all right, because i i do believe hair holds energy. No frida do not do that. Can you trim off the side of a lump on your locks? No! No! No! Do we need, i think class, do we need to have another microscopic view of locks? Oh yes, the poem. I shall read that that was a great poem. Let me see i'm on my blog right now, digitaloptician.com one of the fairly recent posts there. It says um a poem about locks um. This is by sharon leonard goodman. It says some people stop stand back and stare. Since i decided to let mother nature style, my hair with her magnificent and powerful hands. She styled it in tune with the motherland natural nappy knots dripping down long like mighty kings and queens. Majestic and strong. No more running from the rain drops flow free. Why even ancient winds don't phase me? I jump into the shower lather rinse then shake my head. Like towering magical mountains, still locked dread, no more burning, lye or slippery slick, gel no more smoking hot comb with that burnt ear yell. I remember that no more hard pink roller or durags soaked in grease no more electric curlers, my hair has found peace. Some people stop stand back and stare since i decided to let mother nature style, my hair, i wear my locks, proud, natural and free the sign of a powerful people. My locks is me and on that, oh my gosh. How can like my drop, i can't really say anything else after that uh small announcement, though i will say small little announcement um and i'm gon na hang up as soon as i say this, i'm thinking about cutting my hair. After all that, i'm thinking about cutting it um but we'll see tbd um. I want to ask you with that being said: how do you feel about vlogs um? You know i make videos with tips and tricks and we have these conversations uh, but i feel like when i had sister locks. I used to just just chat and just have like vlogs about things. So how do you feel about vlogs? Would you like to see vlogs, like kind of just a recap of how i'm feeling um, let me get a three if that's a yes or press a four, if you prefer more structured videos, um, yes, gina, i will. I will share why i will share why an upcoming video, i'm not gon na, do it today, but just just a thought: that's been, you know running through my head recently, um so yeah, so that that was that was the question slash announcement um. I also want to let you know that next week we're going to be continuing our conversations about conditioning um with discussing herbal rinses for the hair. Y'All know that's really important, so i want to discuss that with you all for conditioning, and i think we have. One is that last um, that's the last thursday, so yeah we'll talk about rinses and we'll also touch on creamy conditioners um. Thank you for that feedback. I truly appreciate that. Um i've been thinking about doing vlogs, so it's good to know that they will be received. If you currently are not a part of the digital text, club make sure you join going to digitaloptician.com backslash club is how you get in there you're watching on youtube. Please, like the video, if you enjoyed tonight's conversation, hit subscribe of course, so we can grow together and excuse me, and i look forward to continuing our loc lessons with conditioning this month and next month. You'Re in for a big treat i'll just say that leave that there all right make sure your water's done, as i finish, mine, uh, be gentle with yourself and uh prioritize. Your wellness super super important, not just for your hair, but for your peace, all right and, as always, i am wishing you peace, love and good vibes.