To Dye or Not to Dye?

So, like many women with Sisterlocks I've "seen" online, I'm starting to get the color itch......that is, I am considering dyeing my Sisterlocks.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this process? I am still in the research phase, but it is obvious that there are people who agree and disagree with dyeing Sisterlocks. Some women say they will never dye their Sisterlocks again. Yet, there are others, most I encounter in person, who absolutely love their colored Sisterlocks.

Uh, what to do. Again, I am still in the research phase.

First Braid Out

Call it a hair funk, reality after the honeymoon, whatever. Since getting Sisterlocks in November 2008, I've been happy with wearing my hair as is: straight, no products, no styling. Now I am reaching a phase where I want to see more from my hair.

I shook off the old do' and am trying new things.

The day before yesterday I did a braid out. I washed my hair, shirt-dried it, applied diluted Sisterlocks moisture treatment, sectioned my Sisterlocks in two parts horizontally, and then braided each part into 6 or 7 cornrows going back. I sprayed each cornrow lightly with Lotta Body as I braided. I used rubber bands to secure some of the ends. I wore my hair in that style 2 days. I took the braids out this morning, and the pictures show the end result.

Front view of braid out

I think my hair turned out okay. Although it makes my locks look a little shorter, I like the "crinkled" look and the volume of the locks. The only thing that bothers me about this look is that some of the ends of my locks, especially in the back, did not curl right due to the bulbs growing at the end of the locks. When you look at my hair, there are stray bulbs sticking out everywhere. Next time I may use my perm rods on the ends of my hair so the bulbs are less obvious.

I hear that to maintain this look for a few days you just need to braid your hair in bigger sections each night and then undo them in the morning. I intend to do this and see how long I can wear this style.

No one ever told me....

Yes, it's all common sense, but when you don't know (as with most newbie wearers who do little research and/or were not told by consultants/trainees), you don't know. Here's to being empowered....


1. Sisterlocks provides videos for clients to watch before they have Sisterlocks installed. I've never seen them and only found out they existed through reading other blogs. I don't know if the information in the video is helpful or just a friendly, general introduction to wearing Sisterlocks, but I would have liked to have seen them before my installation. (For that matter, is all the information I list below mentioned in the videos?)

2. Separate locks. Whether you choose to do it everyday, every time you wash/condition your Sisterlocks, or as needed, you should do so to keep stray hair of each Sisterlock from growing with stray hairs of other Sisterlocks and thus combining them.


3. Locks attract and hold lint, so dry Sisterlocks with lint-free clothing/cloths. I have used both hair towels (you can purchase them online or in stores like Sephora) and old t-shirts.


4. Dilute (just about) everything. Locks also hold heavy, creamy substances and hair products (which is why new Sisterlock wearers are advised against using cream-based shampoos and conditioners). The substances can be very hard to rinse out. Diluting whatever you put on your hair will make it that much easier to rinse out.  


5. Don't skip retightenings (at least in the beginning). A funny thing happens when you skip retightenings: your Sisterlocks thin out, and in my case, because I have so many, thin out to only a few strands of hair. A funnier thing happens when you do finally get that needed retightening: you can tell in the Sisterlock itself when those missed retightenings happened. From the root, the Sisterlock starts out thick, and at some point it thins out, and then toward the end of the lock it is thick again...keep up with retightenings. If you are not financially able, save up/invest to take the Sisterlock retightening training class and then do the retightenings yourself.

Sabbatical

Since my last post, I've moved cities. I had forgotten how much effort it takes to move, and I've had no time to post, look at blogs, read up on hair, or even keep up with my own.

I did get my last retightening last Monday, and it was a wonderful experience, as usual. My consultant is wonderful, and she did a great job this time. She said my scalp was clean this time, but that the shampoo I used was too creamy, even though I diluted it. I used Design Essentials. I know, I know, why the heck would I use that ? Well, I was moving, and somehow my Sisterlock shampoo ended up in a box on a U-Haul miles away from where I was the week of the retightening. I had a choice: go to my consultant with dirty hair, or wash it. I diluted the Design Essentials A LOT, but apparently it still wasn't enough. BUT my scalp was clean. Ha!

This week I have been trying to get settled in, and I am still living out of boxes, but I will try to get back to my posts by next week.

I will make sure to post a picture of a new hairstyle I've been wearing. In Texas it is like 90 degrees outside (but "feels like" 200 degrees), so what I do to my Sisterlocks is put them in 3 ponytails. I put one ponytail at the top, one in the middle, and sometimes one in the back (sometimes I leave it be). I try to spike my hair as much as possible to make it look full. I've been told before that it looks similar to a Mohawk. I like it, no matter what comments I get. It keeps the Sisterlocks off of my face, and it keeps me cooler.

And at 200 degrees outside....I will do anything to keep cool!

Healthy hair is knowing the difference between shampoo and conditioner

After my mishap with temporary color and recurring problems with dry and unhealthy (my opinion) hair, I have taken time to learn more about what healthy hair is.


Books (especially the library) have been a wonderful resource.


I lost a lock last week, I think due to the long period of time I went without having my Sisterlocks retightened at the end of last year/beginning of this year. As other Sisterlock wearers have observed, when you miss a retightening, the lock thins out from the root (opposite the end of the hair) and, depending on how long you wait to get your next retightening, this thinning ends up appearing right in the middle of the lock. Lesson learned: don't skip retightenings...at least not within the first year of having Sisterlocks. (I will post a picture of this soon.)


So, what have I learned about what makes healthy hair?....that I need to know the difference between shampoo, conditioner, and their functions.


Shampoo is used to clean the scalp and conditioner is intended for the hair.


This seems simple enough, and other ladies may say they already knew this, but I did not, and knowing it changed my entire product line-up and routine.


Shampoo has detergent, and clarifying shampoo has a very high level of detergent, intended to cleanse the scalp of products that someone may use a lot. I don't use products on my hair...just water. So, when I shampoo with clarifying shampoo EVERY week, wow!....my hair should be (and has been) very, very, very, very, very dry. Lessons learned: 1. Don't wash your hair every week; if you do, do not do it with a clarifying shampoo and 2. Use a shampoo for the state my hair is in...one that is gentle and intended for dry hair......


As far as conditioner goes, the lesson learned is: Use it! From what I've read, you shouldn't skip conditioning your hair in some way after shampooing. I skip it a lot. Consultants correctly advise newbie Sisterlock wearers not to use heavy, cream-based products, so to be safe, using the Sisterlock brand moisturizing treatment has been a good for me. But, if you just wear natural hair, be liberal and condition! condition!


I will post more information I learn as I learn it. There is no reason we all have to each experience the same problems just because no one is willing to share their good and bad experiences.

Slump

Slumps.

Every now and again we all fall into one, right?

I fell into one by accident, really. At my retightening, my consultant commented that my hair seemed unnaturally dull; that is, although African-American hair doesn't naturally shine as much as other hair types, I still was missing even the little bit of shine that my hair should have.

I've heard this before, so I wasn't surprised. (I may need to stop shampooing it as much.) My consultant then suggested that I put a rinse on my hair, just to even out the color (my hair is a little bit of a lot of colors), and bring some "pop" and shine to the hair and/or at least deep condition my hair. I thought I would try both suggestions, but I was especially excited about the rinse because I am always admiring women with Sisterlocks that have beautiful colors (my consultant has some beautiful ones herself!).

Now, I should say that I have never, ever colored my hair. Ever. Not even when my hair was relaxed. That being said, I did the rinse, not expecting it to come out some dramatically light color because 1. I did research and knew a rinse was not as strong, and if you want "real" color, you have to actually color your hair for that and 2. I had read up on others who have colored their hair and knew the color on the box would probably be 10 shades LIGHTER than what my hair would actually come out to by the time it was all finished.

It did take.....

a little.

Well, very little. It looks like the tips MAY have lightened....a little. (See the pictures.) It is hardly enough for anyone who knows me to stop and say, "Did you do something to your hair?" I didn't even bother to probe people by asking, "I put a rinse on my hair. Can you tell?" I just didn't want to see the disappointment in their eyes when they would probably have told me, "You did? I can't tell."

But the disappointment lasted only a few seconds. I wanted color, but I didn't get it. No biggie. BUT, what I didn't expect, which completely irritated me, was the dry hair. My hair was SO dry, I almost couldn't believe it. If my hair was going to be that dry, the color could have at LEAST taken, right? Instead, I ended up with no color and dry hair. How does that happen?


I actually skipped a week's washing (I normally wash every Saturday) just because I thought my hair was so dry that shampoo would only strip it even more. I was trying to give my sebum time to build up again. This was May 6.


Now, today, my hair isn't as dry, but still not to my liking. I can't pinpoint it, but somehow I just think that my hair was better before the rinse.


And that's how I ended up in the slump I'm in. I wasn't even thinking about color, and then when it was brought to my attention, I wanted it, and now I don't have it. And the past few months have been rough for me because I feel like it is one thing after another. First, I had a hard time finding a consultant. When I found one, I found out I hadn't been rinsing my scalp well, and I am still, right now, having issues trying to get shampoo completely out of my hair and keeping my scalp dandruff-free. And now I get to add dry, dull hair to all of that.


However, I am still optimistic. I've decided to take it all the way back to what I know works: healthy eating and healthy living. I think this is something a lot of us, me included, miss because we are hoping some product will "fix" the "problem." Products target symptoms, but they don't cure anything. Instead of focusing on the symptoms, I am going to work on focusing on the root of the problems, and then working to heal those.

This and That

I may start writing more than once a week, because so much happens, and when I sit down to write a blog entry, I have too much to say. This leads to either long posts, which I can guess many don't read, or I leave some things out, and who wants that, right?

RETI
I got my second retightening with my consultant in Houston on this past Thursday. It took her only 3.5 hours. There was no complaining....only positiveness. I am thankful I found someone who appreciates that I have smaller-than-normal Sisterlocks and who is skilled and fair in price. When I thought about it, the money I gave one person in town to retighten my hair was MORE than it cost me to put gas in my car to drive round-trip to Houston, pay the lady, give an optional tip for services, AND eat on the way and back. Wow! I thought it would be a hassle to drive 2 hours just for a reti, but it isn't bad at all. The drive is easy, a straight shot, and my sanity and confidence are intact. I do still plan to take the retightening class offered in Dallas in Septbember by Sisterlocks.com. I intend to alternate between doing my own retightenings and getting them done in Houston.

COMPLIMENTS
I have made a conscious effort to notice women's hair and compliment them when I think their hair looks great....especially when they are wearing a natural style. We do so much fighting and back and forth with our natural hair, and our individual journeys are each a struggle in their own ways, and in some ways initially it may take a lot of adjustment to go from wearing relaxers to wearing natural hair....and not to mention that there are those who make negative comments about natural hair.....and us women deserve to be complimented and encouraged when we look nice! Just the other day, I complimented a woman wearing a short afro in Wal-mart. She was so surprised and yet she started smiling. Let's encourage each other, ladies!

HOW DO OTHERS SEE MY HAIR?
When I first got Sisterlocks, I could not walk a block without getting a compliment on my hair. I couldn't believe it. Everywhere I turned someone was asking about my Sisterlocks, and I was always referring them to my consultant in DC for consultations (I lived in DC at the time). At some point, the compliments stopped, which is fine :)  My ego is intact because I can appreciate my hair even when no one else does or says so. But just the other day, someone I know who wears natural stopped me to explain that they have been trying to get their natural hair to come out like mine because it is so beautiful, and they can never get the curls that I have. She said she just concluded that I had a texturizer and gave up trying to get the style. She and I both laughed when I told her I had Sisterlocks. She said "No wonder I could never get it right!" I went ahead and told her about Sisterlocks since she kept the compliments coming. Later, when I thought about the situation again, she made me wonder, do women even know I have Sisterlocks? Or do the women I see think I have some sort of mousse in my hair or texturizer? I have even been asked at times whether I have braids. I wonder have other women with Sisterlocks had this same experience.

Hair truth or myth?

I thought it would be interesting to explore some of the challenges that women with Sisterlocks who live in the South have. I do not know whether this is a permanent change to my blog or just a topic I will focus on until the next new topic comes along...

Q. Is it true that Texas has hard water?

I've heard Texas has hard water, especially when I went to college in West Texas. At the time I and my friends wore relaxers. Showering and putting on box perms in our dorm rooms were both horrible experiences we thought were related to the water. It wasn't so much the roughness of the water or the realization that we used massive amounts of soap or shampoo just to lather. It was more that we all started looking at each other's hair, noticing that we all had the same texture: very, very rough, and coming to the conclusion that it must be something in the water. (In fact, I lost significant inches of my hair within a few semesters of living in that specific area. I moved to that area with hair that was growing and regularly maintained by my hairstylist.)

A. Yes. Most parts of Texas do have moderate hard to hard water. (In fact, according to my research, hardest waters were measured in streams in Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, Arizona, and southern California.) I looked at water quality reports specifically for Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Angelo, and San Antonio. (You can too. Every city is required to make public their water quality reports annually.) So...what the heck am I talking about, and why should you, a natural hair wearer or Sisterlock wearer, care?

What am I talking about?

As I explain this, please note that hardness of water does not mean the water contains harmful chemicals that should not be consumed by humans or that the water itself is unsafe to drink. Water is hardened by naturally occuring elements, which experts say are harmless as far as consumption is concerned.

Hard water is water with a high dissolved mineral content, while soft water has a relatively low concentrated of dissolved minerals. Hard water contains high levels of calcium, magnesium and iron. I have found that the general guidelines for classification of waters range from soft, slightly hard, moderately hard, hard, and very hard.

Who cares?

You, my natural hair wearer, should.

Greater amounts of soap and shampoo are needed to clean, and hard water doesn't rinse as well as soft water. Calcium, magnesium and iron coat your hair (and the follicles). This buildup makes your hair dull, unmanageable and very dry. Soap residues also remain, leaving hair less shiny. This is in addition to the natural hair type you have being less shiny on its own and tending to be dry. This is in addition to Sisterlocks wanting to hold on to everything....like lint and shampoo....on its own and already needing to rinse Sisterlocks many more times in areas with soft water. This is in addition to shampoo drying out your hair. How much more difficult do these issues become when you live in an area with hard water?

According to my research, moderately hard, hard, and very hard water contain minerals in sufficient amounts to make water softening a viable option.

What can you do to combat the fact that you live in an area with hard water?

To get rid of hard water, either you alter your water or perform extra treatments to your hair to counteract the state of your water. If your water is too hard, you can purchase a water softener. Otherwise, you can use an extra clarifying shampoo and nourishing and moisturizing conditioner to restore health to your scalp and life to your hair. (Remedy information from Livestrong.com). If you are a newbie with Sisterlocks, you know that for now a nourishing creamy conditioner is not the answer until you are farther along in the locked process. At the natural hair event earlier this month, Miss Jessie's briefly spoke about hard water, suggesting that women who live in the Texas area get a water softener or, at the very least, use distilled water to wash and spray their hair.

In conclusion, let me give you an example of how the water hardness numbers read. Very hard water has a general classification starting at 180 parts per million. Right now in San Angelo, Texas, the water is 477 parts per million. 477 parts per million. I guess my college friends and I weren't far off the mark years ago when we said that it must be something in the water!

Natural Ladies Everywhere!

Today NaturallyCurly held their Miss Jessie's Natural Hair Celebration event in Austin, Texas.

I went with two Natural Hair friends.

First, let me say how surprised I was that this event was sold out and the line out the door when we got there....and how surprised I (my friends too) was to see so many ladies with Natural Hair in Austin, Texas.

After a little chatter, we found out not all the ladies lived in Austin....they were just there for the event...but it was still good to see not one relaxer in sight for miles. There were so many different styles....afros, fades, twist outs, braids, french braids, I-don't-knows (that's how some ladies described what their hair did this morning).

Titi and Niko of Miss Jessie's (in picture too) did a wonderful job explaining the joys and woes of Natural Hair and answered so many questions! I took notes in my phone, and was able to get some great information to pass on to all my Natural Hair friends and sisters.

They did not address locks or Sisterlocks, which  I expected because it was "Natural Hair Celebration" and not "Sisterlock Celebration" but they did mention that locks (in general) take a commitment some women may not want to make. I laughed to myself when I heard this, of course, because....well....you can read my post Free Your Hair for my take on why I was laughing....but as a side note, doesn't it take a commitment to wear a relaxer? (You commit to getting them regularly, right? And to free yourself of a relaxer, you, too, have to grow your hair out and eventually cut out the relaxed hair, right? You can't just change relaxer hair to natural hair. Is that not a commitment???)

I was the only one I saw with Sisterlocks, and no one asked about them.

I am still happy to go to the event, though, because it was just down right inspiring to see so many women making the choice to wear natural hair and embrace their natural beauty. Again,  I am not pointing a judgmental finger at anyone without natural hair....I just like natural hair, is all.

I will have to post another writing for all the wonderful things I learned, but I will say this for now:

So many women are looking for a product or "routine" to "fix" their hair to make it look "acceptable" or "good" or "like hers..." Just a thought: products can't fix everything. You see....no matter how much Miss Jessie's products you put on your hair (or anyone else's products for that matter), it will only do so much repairing, maintenance, moisturizing, etc. YOU, my Lady, control the rest. Yep, YOU, and Yep, I said it. What you put into your body affects what grows out of it. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm......Yea, reread that if necessary. You can't feed yourself junk, never exercise, have a deep aversion to water, and then throw on a bunch of natural hair products and expect your hair to look it's best. So...let's get it together. Let's all not neglect the choices we make for our lifestyles.

Phew...alright, I'm done rambling for now. I'm still excited from the event earlier today so I am no doubt rambling.

I will post an update this week that will be more succinct and informative and less opinion-y and rambling.

Phew!

A Day Late

I just thought I would post a picture of how my hair came out after my last attempt to wash, condition, Lotta body, and Soft Spike.

 

As you can see, my hair has a little volume. The curls are not as defined as they were the first time I used the Soft Spike curlers for two reasons: my hair wasn't completely dry when I had to take them out and the picture was taken a day late.

The next time I set my hair, I am going to sit under the dryer, so I make sure my hair is completely dry.


I should also mention here that this time I washed my hair with Suave Daily Clarifying and Sisterlocks starter shampoo each (both diluted) and then the ACV rinse. I then diluted the Sisterlocks moisturizer and applied it to my hair before I separated my locks and rolled and set my hair. You all know how I feel about the Sisterlocks shampoo, but using it wasn't so bad when used before/after the Suave and ACV rinse. I do like the Sisterlock moisturizer. It really hydrated my Sisterlocks, and I was pleased with how my scalp and Sisterlocks looked before I rolled them.

Cool, I think

I thought I'd post a cool pic of my Sisterlocks.


The original picture was a professional picture I took the other week with my family. I have cropped everyone out to show my hair.

There is nothing fancy about the picture, I just like the way my Sisterlocks look from the side like that.

Natural Hair event

OH, is anyone in Austin, Texas going to the Natural hair event on April 23 out North near Burnet? I RSVP'ed, and I would love to meet some other women in the area with Sisterlocks.

Shampoo shampoo Rinse Rinse Soft Spike Curl...repeat

Uh, yeah, nailing down a good hair regime is just down right frustrating. I don't know about anyone else, but it seems that every product many women with Sisterlocks "swear works wonders on Sisterlocks" does the EXACT opposite on my hair.

SO...I do like the Suave Daily Clarifying Shampoo. I diluted it (don't we all dilute everything, including water??? ha!) with 2 parts water because it was still a little too much shampoo-ey for me with half and half. The ACV rinse (apple cider vinegar) worked great, as far as I can tell. My scalp looked clean and felt great. There was no itching after I finished. Now....the Gregg Juice. It works WONDERS on my son's hair...mine, not so much. It really didn't seem to moisturize my Sisterlocks, and it itched. I've tried it more than once on different days....on wet Sisterlocks, dry Sisterlocks....still not a lot of moisturizing and more itching. Am I doing something wrong here?....Lottabody. In fairness, I've used it once. And I probably used it wrong. So I will have to start over and give it a try and see. My first experience with it wasn't all that great though. I think my hair wasn't completely dry when I took out the Soft Spike curlers, but the curls didn't hold. I had them in overnight. My hair looked crinkly...not curled. I had a better curl without using any holding agent...but the problem with that is that the curls lasted like 2 hours. I am going to dilute (here we go again with that word) it next time, put it in a spray bottle, and sit under the dryer and see if I get a better set. I have seen pictures of women who used both Soft Spike curlers and Lottabody....and their Sisterlocks look great, so it must be me.

I did break down and buy the Sisterlock shampoo...again...because after 15 months my hair is not even close to locking in the front. I don't care for the Sisterlock shampoo, but maybe it will speed up the locking process. I also bought the Sisterlock moisturizer. I need moisture ladies!!! So I will keep experimenting until I find something that works for me.

I know this is a lot of hair product talk....but I bring myself back to Earth by reminding myself that one reason I got Sisterlocks was to let my hair do what it wanted to do. ((Products won't make my hair "look like" the woman's Sisterlocks I saw before I got mine.)) I didn't get Sisterlocks to only dump a bunch of products on my hair and "tame it" or make it look like your set of Sisterlocks....So I aim to let my natural hair come through and to use products that maintain the health of my hair.

Healthy hair: that's the goal.

FREE YOUR HAIR

Few people understand real freedom exists in commitment.

Today I heard a woman say, as I have heard many other women say from time to time, that she could "never go natural." Most ladies then add, "You are so brave for going natural. I couldn't do it." (And if I hear one more lady say that they can't go natural because they work in a professional environment where "afros" are not appropriate?! Really?)

Ladies, ladies.

Before we discuss natural hair, let's think of real freedom in commitment in its broadest sense. When people truly love for the sake of what love is (and not lust and not selfishness...what are you going to give me), they are free; that is, they are not bound by expectations, or depending on someone else to make them happy, or adverse circumstances. They aren't controlled or forced. They are free to CHOOSE to love. When one gives his life over to his Savior, a true giving, he feels free; that is, free to obey and serve and be what he feels he was meant to be (and is happy about it).

Committing to maintain natural hair is a similar experience to these. When you decide to not alter your hair with chemicals, or wear your hair in a way that society will accept, or...even further....to wear your hair in locks (Sisterlocks! Yah!), you are FREE....not bound. You are free of society's expectations, free of whatever burdens were placed on you in terms of hair, free of conforming. Your hair is FREE to be what it wants: kinky, tightly coiled, and having a riot on top of your head or soft, wavy, and going every which way. You are FREE to be who you want, and forget what everyone else thinks.

(And the reason for this freedom is because when you do what you were made to do, this makes you most happy. When you allow your hair to remain the way it was made, unaltered, your HAIR is most happy...and healthy and growing.)

....And if all else fails, if you have locks, and you don't like them, you can shave your head, and watch a new full head of hair quickly grow back. Or you can grow your locks out I suppose and start out with new growth. It isn't the end of the world if you change your mind about locks.

Let me speak for me....I FEEL FREE. FREER than any day I wore a relaxer.

So for anyone debating whether to "go natural," consider your freedom. Come join all of us ladies who know what that freedom feels like and are enjoying it!! (And YES an afro can be appropriate in a professional environment, it just depends on how you wear it! I am an editor, worked in the heart of Washington, DC, and I had no problem being taken seriously with an afro on my head!)

FOR WOMEN WHO WEAR RELAXERS: This is not an attempt to bash you for wearing a relaxer. If you choose to wear a relaxer, I just hope this is a conscious choice and NOT a choice someone else chose for you or a choice you feel is your only choice!

I digress.

Miscellaneous

I am trying to be more consistent in blogging about my Sisterlocks. Although it seems unimportant now to rant about random things, later I may be able to look back at these posts and note my progress.

I am going to try a new clean hair routine. Up until a month ago, I faithfully used the Sisterlock starter shampoo to wash my Sisterlocks (and braid and banding). But, to be honest, I hate the way the shampoo feels on my hair. I know it is specifically designed for locking hair, which is why I kept using it despite my unhappiness, but now I'm a bit more irritated with how it leaves my hair feeling. I do wonder, has anyone else with Sisterlocks not liked using the Sisterlock shampoo? I also have a dandruff and "white bulb" problem. "White bulb" is not the correct term, but I am too sleepy right now to remember what it is called. Basically, where strands of hair have come out from the scalp but are still within the Sisterlock itself, there are little white bulbs. They drive me nuts. And then there is the dandruff...

I've been researching. According to other women with Sisterlocks, apple cider vinegar (diluted with water, half and half) works to clean the scalp and help dandruff disapper. On the LockItUP group, I also saw under a "shampoo" search that many women seemed to like the Suave Clarifying shampoo. I would have never thought to use Suave. Honestly, I am of the opinion that you get what you pay for. I always thought that because Suave was only 99 cents (here in Austin, TX) that it couldn't do as good a job as other shampoos. BUT, I will try it and see. (To that end, about a month ago I did buy a $9 bottle of clarifying shampoo that worked horribly on my Sisterlocks, so maybe Suave will work.)

I am buying the ACV and shampoo tomorrow and will wash my hair and post pics of the outcome.

I am anxious to see how these new products will work because I exercise regularly, and so I often need to clean my scalp (wash away all the sweat!). One consultant a while ago told me to wash it when it's dirty...be it every other day or every other week. I shouldn't be afraid and think that because I have Sisterlocks I have to wait two weeks to wash my hair. Another told me spray my hair with water every other day and rinse my scalp out after exercise if I don't have time to wash it. With my routine I can't wait two weeks to wash my hair.

I have had my Sisterlocks almost 15 months. The Sisterlocks in the back of my head are locking (or "encasing" as they call it). EVERY OTHER STRAND on my head is UNlocked. The ends are free. I guess I will be one of those people who has to wait a few years before my hair completely locks. Bummer! I wonder if it has to do with the texture of your hair. I have very dense, very thick hair. I thought for sure it would lock within a few months :) based off of how I used to have to handle it when I wore it natural.

Ahhhh....I am done rambling for tonight.

WOW! Where do I start?

First, I got my retightening....finally! Two very capable women with fast hands worked their magic on my hair and only a few hours later my hair was flawless and polished. They didn't complain about how small my Sisterlocks were. I repeat: they did NOT complain about how small my Sisterlocks were. I LOVE the end result, and from here on out I plan to use them as my regular consultants (well, just one of them. Two of them did my Sisterlocks this time around just to cut down on the time in the chair since it had been so long since my last retightening). Here are pictures of my Sisterlocks after the retightening. Keep in mind that a few on both sides (front) of my hair were weak and I think 3 or 4 fell out, so that is why they are short in that area.








Second, I joined LockItUP, a Yahoo! group for everything Sisterlocks. Apparently I am the only Sisterlocked woman on the planet who is NOT in this group. Where I have I been??? I LOVE the group. There are so many informative posts, and I have already learned a thing or two or three.

Third, I just found out that I can purchase all my favorite natural hair care products right here in AUSTIN, TEXAS. Yes, Austinites!, I said Austin, Texas....the place where they NEVER EVER have what we need for our hair (and we end up driving to Houston or Dallas for it). Naturallycurly.com (curlmart.com) sells tons of natural hair care products for all women with curls. They are reasonably priced and the shipping is faster than ordering the products directly from the individual product sites. In my case, when ordering some Greg Juice (LOVE it!), I found out that they are based in Austin and I can pay online and then go pick the product up. This saved me $$$ in shipping. BUT that is NOT the best part. The best part....the part where I then KNEW I was having an absolutely fabulous hair day....was when I realized they were located ONE BLOCK from where I live. ONE. BLOCK. As in, I can WALK there from home. All my natural hair care needs are not even 2 minutes away from me!!!

Sure, this was a fun post, but I also learned a serious lesson from all of this. I AM NOT ALONE. When I isolate myself, it is easy to feel like I am the only person who has missed a retightening session, the only person who has had trouble finding a consultant in a new area, the only person who doesn't know what the heck to use on her Sisterlocks from time to time. This is why isolation is never the answer when you are going through something. When I reached outside of myself and outside of my circle (friends and family who don't have Sisterlocks), and started to explore blogs and groups and Google and even YouTube, I found a sisterhood of Sisterlocked Sisters who had been through what I had and knew exactly what to say and I found solutions to problems I had related to Sisterlocks.

I have always loved my Sisterlocks, and knew no matter what anyone else thought that Sisterlocks was the best hair decision I have EVER EVER made, but it is so comforting to know there are other sisters with Sisterlocks, and we are all supporting each other.

WOW!

Somethin' Different

A Sisterlock stylist down here recommended I try Soft Spike curlers on my Sisterlocks. He said they work great in curling and styling Sisterlocks. I ordered them (reasonably priced) a while ago but had not used them until a few weeks ago. Here are the results of my first time using Soft Spiker curlers:




I gain nothing by promoting these curlers, and I do not have a vested interest in them. I mention them only to "pass the word on" to other sisters with Sisterlocks. They are soft (...it IS in the name, after all), so they are easy to lay on at night, and they do work. I used them with NO gel and no curling papers (which they recommend that you DO use), so, as you can see, they turned out nice even without those things. I imagine if I use some sort of holding agent or gel, the curls would be much more defined and last longer.



I like to try different hairstyles (part of the reason I got Sisterlocks instead of traditional locs, after all), so this was something new and fun for me. It lasted 2 days, I think.

How many is too many?

Is ~700 Sisterlocks too many to have in one's head?

This is the dilemma I have faced since moving from Washington, DC, back to my hometown Austin, Texas.

The consultants I have spoke to in the Austin area have all complained, or at least made obvious mention, to how "small" (they think) my Sisterlocks are. [See my previous entry "Journey to Sisterlocks" or my profile picture to see what my Sisterlocks look like.] They have even been called "almost obnoxious." All consultants here have suggested I combine locks, some even said combine EVERY lock so that every three locks will become one lock.

(In my opinion) Wearing natural hair sort of puts the world on notice that a woman with natural hair doesn't care about what the world thinks of her and is proud of her hair in its natural state. And I am.

But I do pose this question because it is causing me significant problems. I can't find a consultant here (at least not yet) who isn't afraid of "small" (according to them) Sisterlocks. At retightenings, I have to sit and listen to complaints about my hair and then....hours later....many more hours than most women...(the shortest time I have had my hair retightened here in Texas is a little over 4 hours)...I pay a hefty price. My consultant in Maryland retightened my hair in 3.5 hours tops (most times 3), and, surprisingly, she was CHEAPER than some of the consultants here. Consultants in Austin who charged me less took many, many more hours (a whole day, 10+ hours) to retighten my hair. At one point I felt like I was sitting at my Installation again. I have even went home crying.

I have been told that Sisterlocks done in the South are much bigger than those done on the East Coast and other places like Jamaica. Is this true?

If I had the money, I would be on the first flight back to my consultant in Maryland so that she can retighten my hair, but I don't have it. What am I supposed to do?

Journey to Sisterlocks

It all started in the summer of 2005, when I attended a graduation party.

The graduate and his family (there were a lot of them) were from Trinidad. As I walked around unconfidently wearing a relaxer, I started to notice all of the beautiful, natural hairstyles all of the women of the family had. There were locks, twists, wraps....you name the hairstyle, a woman there had it. No matter what the style, though, they were all natural. In short, I fell in love. I knew that day that one day I would go natural. I left the party telling myself that I wanted my hair to look just like theirs.

In October 2006, I did it.

After a year of without a relaxer and only braids and various styles, I had a hairstylist chop all remaining relaxer off. My "natural" afro (with straight ends!) was at least 6 inches, long enough to also tie back and twist.

On November 6, 2008, I started my Sisterlock journey.

After 25 months of enjoying natural hair, and eight months into my pregnancy (hence the puffy face), I decided to Sisterlock. My consultant in Maryland did a great job with my hair. In only 11.5 hours she managed to transform my afro into ~700 locks. She did no styling. The "bob" look is a result of my natural hair cut at the time.

Now I live in (my hometown) Texas (since April).

My Sisterlocks have been retightened 3 times since I have been back. I lost a couple along the way; a few were combined.
At last count, I have 669 (if you count the ones that are combined as one lock instead of two or three combined to one).

I decided to start a blog, as I have seen many of my Sisterlocked sisters do, to document my journey.

I absolutely love my Sisterlocks, and although there are ups and downs and adjustments, I do not regret getting Sisterlocks.