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.

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.