skip to main |
skip to sidebar
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!
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.
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.
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.
I went with two Natural Hair friends.
