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.