Progress Month 3 vs month 10

Month 10

Here are some updated pics of length and texture at month 10. This is my first time blogging from my iPhone using an app called blogwriter. Whoo hoo no excuses nows.

Slide show of my progress

Here is a slide show of my hair progression thus far...Not seeing to much change actually, or am i just being picky?

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Color At Nine Months

Ok I straight up lied and said two post ago, my next post would be about me coloring my hair when my happy behind wasn't supposed to be coloring it. So here it is lol

DISCLAIMER: JUST BECAUSE I WAS HARD HEADED AND COLORED MY HAIR W SUCCESS AT MONTH FOUR DOES NOT ENDORSE OR PROMOTE THE ACT OF DOING SO.

After checking in to my hotel one night and passing by a mirror with overhead lighting and seeing a smattering of grey hair and those lovely hair follicles that look like I'm nasty and don't wash my hair, I ran straight to the beauty supply store and got me some color.

Shopping list

Miss Clariol 203RR
Miss Clariol 70R
40 Volume Developer
Color Mixing Bowl
Color Application Blush
Secret Weapon (I can't tell ya'll which one, cuz my mama shared it w me on the condition I don't share but am allowed to mix it for peeps lol)
Shower Cap
and out of habit, a few packets of ION reconstructor lol

I mixed 2 oz of 203RR 1 oz of 70R w 2 ounces of developer and 1 oz of the secret weapon. I applied it starting with the grey first using the application brush, then to the rest of my hair. I didn't mash the color into the lock, just brushed it over my hair root to tip. I covered my hair w a shower cap, let it work its magic for 45 min, checking every 15 for brittleness.

Since I wasn't planning to condition unless I had to and the only shampoo I was using at the time was Dr. Bronners, which can be really stripping, I just rinsed my hair in the shower for about 20 min. It only took about 10 before the water ran clear, but I wanted to make sure all the color was out since I wasn't using a shampoo.

Color was done, hair felt a wee bit dry so i distributed a quarter sized amount of coconut oil through my hair and sat under the dryer on low heat.

I didn't have a lot of slipping. A bit around my crown area, but that is somewhat standard for me when ever I would wash my hair because its so soft in front.

DISCLAIMER: JUST BECAUSE I WAS HARD HEADED AND COLORED MY HAIR W SUCCESS AT MONTH FOUR DOES NOT ENDORSE OR PROMOTE THE ACT OF DOING SO.

The pic I posted is a few months after the color job, but you can kind of see the results. I'm thinking about coloring before or after the new year, so will try to be diligent and make a vid or something.

Month Nine/Organix Shampoo Review

Hello blog land. Here I am in month 9 of my sisterlocks and not much exciting to report. Doesn't seem like I have had much happen as far as growth or any definitive locking. I am getting more and more white bulbs as well as greys and really itching to throw some color on these bad girls, but know I should wait until I am fully locked.

I have did try a new shampoo. Organix Pomegranate and Green Tea. It is not completely natural so I was very hesitant to try it due to my pet peeve of pseudo organic or natural products trying to pass. But this smelled so good, I had to try it. My hair actually liked it. Nice and full after my wash and my scalp wasn't dry.

It's priced right too. At $6.99 a bottle you can find it at your neighborhood Walgreens. They are even clearing out the White Tea Grapeseed formula, so you can pick it up for $3.99, but in the store only.

Here are some after shampoo pics after I twisted the front down. I didn't use the conditioner, but will review it if I do.

Long Time, No See

WOW, I have really been slacking, out having fun swimming, dancing, jet skiing, doing everything BUT worrying about my hair. Not worrying about getting it wet, trying to be cute on the houseboat with a super fro or having to hit the pool in the early hours of the day so I could spend the afternoon washing, detangling, deep conditioning etc etc etc.

But with all this free time, been neglecting my sisterlocked cyber fam and for that I apologize. Here it is now almost month 7, my hair isn't locking yet but I am getting the buds on the ends and they seem to be thickening up even more..I think they are only thickening because I did a no-no. I dyed my hair at month 4 *gasp* I know, I know, I'm a naughty girl but I had all kinds of grey poking out all over my head like defiant children in church. Details on my dye job in my next blog.

Between month 5 and 6, my loctician went on maternity leave so I contacted a trainee by the name of Chesara'e (chez are ray) Fletcher. I first came in contact with Mrs. Fletcher when I was beginning my sisterlock journey and true to my word, contacted her for a retightening. I made my appointment four weeks in advance and once again, Chesara'e proved to be the consummate professional. Since she stated she was new and a bit slower, she quoted me a very reasonable per hour price. Even though it took her about 4 hours and it takes my normal consultant 2, the price was about the same. Chesara'e does work from her home but the environment is very professional and inviting.

My 6th month retightening took the same 2 hour time frame even though I was about 6 weeks out. There is some growth but not as much as I was expecting. I think its still shrinking. I will post some pics hopefully within the next few days. I have been experimenting with more styles and updo's. It must be looking good, as I am getting complements such as "Wow, your hair looks good," and "I wasn't sure about your hair at first, but I like it now," and the still ever popular, "Are those braids or locks?"

More Pics

Here are some more pics. Still a little scalpy at the crown. But lookit my lil babies, trying to get grown and swollen

Month Three w pics

Hello Blogland. It's been a while and I apologize for that, but school has been whipping my royal foxy behind. The school I attend operates on a quarter system and since I have a propensity to be a slacker as the school session rolls on, I opted to take 1 full term course and 2 mini 5 week courses. One at the beginning of the semester and one at the end.

Which means that no only is one entire semester of work crammed into a quarter, its condensed into five weeks!! Is there any wonder I am finding gray hairs in places I shouldn't be finding gray hairs? But that's another post entirely.

Anywho, I am on month three, yippie!!! My last retightening was on April 30, was about five weeks from my last appointment and took a little under two hours. I have about three locks on the right side of my kitchen that constantly slip. I don't know if this is because I sleep on this side and my sleep bonnet rubs against it when I turn, but the other side is locking up just fine.

A few days ago I woke up and looked in the mirror and was like, dang I gotta leave the lock loops alone until my hair gets longer. Then I remembered, hey, I haven't set my hair in over a month. Good old shrinkage. My hair has constricted to about half its install length. The ends are swelling and budding, OMG, wait, I'm in the next stage of locking!!! Cool. I actually like it a bit better, I can truly freestyle and not have my head looking confusing. Now, if I can just keep my mother from yanking at the "knots in yo head," all would be well.

Photos to Come, but busy packing for Vegas, Phantom, here I come!!!

Is it Just Me?

It is just me, or does it seem like there are a lot of people cutting or combing out their locks. It started with Golden and then, when I received an alert that Fauryn another loc idol of mine had loaded a new Youtube video, I was shocked and heartbroken to see that she had also combed out her beautiful locks. She is still gorgeous, but I just chalked it up to, well maybe it was time for her. THEN while watching Sunday Best on BET, I see that Latice Crawford one of the top five has also big chopped her shiny locs.

I know these ladies probably feel the same way I did about the concern that people have with their hair. I used to HATE IT when people would comment about me cutting off "all my long pretty hair." I am by no means knocking these beauties at all, they all look great with their new do's and are all still keeping it natural. I am just curious how many sisters in blogland and cyberspace have considered cutting or combing out their locks and the reason behind it. As a newbie on my loc journey, it's interesting to see that maybe women do get tired of having the same hairstyle and want something different.

I guess that I thought of my locs as the cure all for hair woes, but it is just hair. Those with short hair want long hair and when they get it, they grow bored with it. Same with women with long hair who want short hair. I don't know why I got it in my head that these issues would be resolved once I started locking. But I'm going to wrap this up because I am starting to ramble, but am very interested in your thoughts.

2nd Retightening

Will edit this post later, but remembered I promised I would post some lock mohawk pics so here they are..

My First Video Blog

Here it is my first month anniversary lock video blog. I feel a little silly now, celebrating one month anniversaries like you did when you were dating in high school..But I am in love with my hair, so here it is...

First Retightening

Had my first retightening yesterday. Took a total of about 3 hours including retightening (actually that part took about an hour,) shampooing and sitting under the dryer. Being as it was only two weeks, there wasn't much new growth, but enough.

Shannon (my consultant) tightened first and then washed. It felt soooooo good to have someone else shampoo my hair. I missed that luxury since I stopped going to the shop. I used to have my hair professionally shampooed every few months as a treat because I love it so much, but most beauticians would try to talk me into some perm or under a pressing comb, so I just said forget it.

I actually packed my own shampoo (Dr. Bronners mix of peppermint, eucalyptus and lavendar shampoos with some water,) just in case she was going to use the Sisterlocks shampoo. Nothing against Dr. C, but I don't want ANY chemicals on my scalp period. As a matter of fact, when I DO get the green light to color, I more than likely will only color the tips of my hair, not the root. But I digress.

Shannon does use Dr. Bronners for the same reason I do its natural, affordable and does the trick. After shampooing, she put a light oil on my scalp and a bit of shea butter conditioner and set me under the dryer.

At first, I was disappointed because I was like, man everyone else gets rollers before they get under the dryer, why didn't I? Well when I was done I saw, my hair has a natural crinkle and GASP, my ends have started developing curly-q's whooo hooo..

So my next retightening appt is March 17, which is a little shy from three weeks. More info to come.

Lock Loops

Ok, so I was a bit bummed out about the state of the ends of my hair, so I went on a mini shopping spree. Ordered myself some Lock Loops and a few Loc Socks . Still waiting on the loc socks, but my lock loops did arrive (rather quickly I may add.) I used about 13 locks per curler and got super tight curls...Too tight. I think I would like it if I wasn't having a bad lupus flare which made my face super puffy... Will post more as the days go on.

I Did it!!!

Sisterlocks all installed whooo hoooo. A total of 26 hours totalling 404 micro and small sized sisterlocks. The install, while long, was worth it knowing I never have to sit for that long again!! My loctician Shannon Scott, was awesome and patient for putting up with all this hair, standing on her feet for that many hours five months pregenant. She never sacraficed or took short cuts. The parting is impeccible and the tension and sizes of the locks consistant. She rents space in at Doubletake Salon at 21st and Broadway in Sacramento. Shannon now has 51 Sisterlock clients as well as many traditional locked clients. I chose Shannon not only because she comes highly recommended by locked sisters in the Sacramento area, but because she believes in all aspects of organic and natural care. Her styling products are all created by a local african american esty using organic ingredients. Having lupus, it was important to me that my loctician understand that I favored a more holistic lifestyle in general.

I also chose her due to her care of her clients. For the first 6 months, she likes to see her new clients every two to three weeks to monitor their progress. The biweekly visits include washing, styling, retightening and overall assessments of lock progress. Talk about full service, I don't have to braid and band because she will do it for me!!!! AWESOME.
But enough about Shannon, I will share more about her as well as pics of her beautiful, healthy traditional locks after my next retightening.

As far as the look, well it doesn't look quite as I expected. I thought that it would be much fuller, but I know that Sisterlocks are very chameleon like and will shape shift quite a bit throughout this journey. I will make it a priority to post updated pics at least biweekly after my salon visits for the first 6 months. I know that some changes can be subtle and I don't want to miss any phases.

My scalp is a bit dry and itchy, which is common for me after braiding. I just applied a bit of rosehip oil mixed with clove and peppermint oil, which seemed to solve the issue so far. I did make a spritz of spring water that I heated and seeped with nettle, chamomile, flax seed, horsetail, rose, calendula, clove and lavender in a cheese cloth. I then added some sweet orange, rosemary and GSE to preserve it. I was considering adding some veggie glycerine, but it can make hair hard and brittle in the cold months, so I decided against it. I did make another smaller spritz bottle with the same solution but added a bit of jojoba oil (20%) mixed with rosehip (50%) and sweet almond oil (30%) for those dry scalp days. I chose a majority of rosehip oil as it absorbs into the scalp almost immediately, so no build up.

Here is the one pic of the final outcome, more pics of the parting etc to come, I am just still really drained.

It Feels LIke Christmas Eve!!!

Tomorrow is day one of my install. I am so excited, I can hardly sleep... I know it is going to take a long time, lots of sitting, sore butts and all. I packed my lunch like its the first day of school. The macbook is charged, I have a few dvd's and my school books ready to go for the morning. Pics to come!!!!

Lock Stats

Loctician: Shannon Creal
Location: Sacramento, Ca
Size:
DOB
Length of Labor
Number:

Pics of me with a blow out

Here are some pics of me with my hair blown out using the Conair Infinity Blow dryer Its a pretty awesome blow dryer actually, has a two row tourmaline ceramic straightening comb as well as a. Worked fairly well and the attachments remove with just a push button, so its possible to switch between attachments when the dryer is hot. detangler

Two Weeks and Counting

I received a call today from my consultant confirming my appointment. She must have known I was getting ready to give her a jingle to make sure that we are still on for Tuesday, Feb 10th. I was so excited. I have been doing more Sisterlock nesting, stocking up on Dr. Bronners (btw Vitamin Shoppe is having a killer sale on Dr. Bronners soaps,) a metal spray bottle that I can put in the shower to warm up while bathing to ensure that my EO's are mixed with the distilled water for spritzing and a host of other items. I even ordered new thank you notecards from designhergals.com. I was so impressed that they had locked hair as an option as well as different types of fro's.

I'm actually considering having a lock coming out party, but after spending a nice chunk of change on my install and my contemplating purchasing a motorcycle, I think that I will have a cyber celebration, or a nice dinner with g/f's instead. I was also shopping for motorcycle helmets that will accommodate my SL's. Are their any locked sisters who ride out there? Would love to hear from you all!!!

I am also boxing up all of my excess hair care products for distribution to my friends and family. I have read blogs of women happily dumping their troves into the trash, but with the amount of money I spent on that stuff, I just can't bear to just chuck it. I am terribly embarrassed looking at this big old bin. Did I really need six shampoos, eight leave in conditioners and five reconstructors/deep conditioners? I really hope no one asks me why I have several braid sprays either. There is so much room in my product drawer and under the bathroom sink.

WOW, thats a damn shame..I should go pull all my atm/credit card transactions for the last five years and see how much money I have spent at the beauty supply on one head. Between products and hair for braids, wigs and weaves, I'm sure its a small fortune. Maybe that will be my next blog..I will compare one year of being unlocked cost to another while having SL's..I have a feeling I will come out ahead :)

Lupus and Sisterlocks

I was recently diagnosed with lupus, an autoimmune diesese that affects an alarming percentage of women with African ancestry. A side effect of this disease is unexplainable hair loss during lupus flares.

I am molting hair at an alarming rate. My combs are filled with hair and my edges, which were shot anyway, are almost non existent. I am concerned with losing locks once they are installed (SL b day in 21 days.)

Is there anyone in cyberland with Sisterlocks fighting lupus that can offer advice or pearls of wisdom?

Black Soap, part deux

Ok, so this is day 20 of my using black soap as my sole skin care product. I haven't had an increase in breakouts and my skin feels very smooth. As far as my enlarged pores, they are still there as are the congested pores on my nose. The millia between my mouth and chin or still there as well.

Should I give it a bit more time, or go back to my Ziana/BP regimen?

Black Soap..Hot or Not??

Being as I am attempting to go as natural as possible, I decided to go back to nature for my adult acne and hyperpigmentation. I have tried chemical peels, retin a, ziana, adoxa, aha and bha treatments, everything, nothing can A) stop the break outs, or B) lighten up the hyperpigmentation.

After reading about Black Soap while searching for all natural shampoos, I kept coming across info that said it was good for acne, hyperpigmentation and was a natural, non drying exfoliant. 

So, about a week ago, I start to use it. Seemed to get rid of the coat of war paint I had on my face.  As I was rinsing, my face actually felt squeeky clean.

Well, about 2 days ago, my skin began to break out quite a bit. I don't know if it is from stress, or from the soap actually doing what it is touted to do and cleaning all the crap from deep in my pores...My skin that isn't broken out is softer and feels smoother. I haven't used any other products such as toners or lotions as I want to give an accurate review. 

Will try it out another two weeks and give you all an update then.

Set Back in my Journey

Ok NYE on my mini casino vacation, while sitting at the pai gow table, I get a call from my consultant. Being as my appointment is on January 6 and 7, I figured it was just my confirmation call. It started out that way when I heard my consultants sweet voice asking if I still wanted my SL's done and I eagerly stated yes as I am super excited to get started. Then she dropped a bombshell.  She stated that her schedule was much too busy to hold out 2 days just for one client next week and she would be booked until the second week in Feb.

Oh, my little nappy heart sank, I looked so distraught, people at the poker table that I had stepped away from to take the call asked me if I was ok. I waved them off and choked back tears. I had made this appointment on December 1st, it was supposed to be my milestone b-day present to myself. A 10 year journey to my next milestone b-day. My appointment is 10 weeks after my b day. Then as I was making the appointment date, all I could think was, what if she calls 3 days before my appointment and reschedules again? I am getting installed 3 days before Valentine's Day, which means I'm going to have that plucked chicken look, but I guess that is the least of my worries. 

My consultant is the only certified consultant in the Sacramento Area. So, I went the trainee route, only 3 were listed, left a message for one, one stated she would call me back this am (its now noon, I love CPT, but not when it comes to my hair,) and the others number was disconnected. 

So, back to the certified consultant list I go...The closest certified consultant to me is in Oakland California. With as much hair as I have, I KNOW its gonna take at LEAST 24-30 hrs to twist me up, which means a hotel room, gas money, breakfast, lunch AND dinner in another city overnight. 

After a night of uneasiness, I contacted my consultant to see if she could refer me to anyone else. She stated well, it depended on what type of atmosphere I wanted as all the people she knew, worked out of their home. Being as I really prefer a shop environment after getting my hair braided with Kings of Comedy or Young and the Restless blaring on the TV while trying to keep children out of my pocketbook, from using me as a climbing post and endless breaks to get the baby something to eat, answer the phone, door, run to the store, pick up my husband from work etc, etc, those were a turn off. *DISCLAIMER not saying any of the SL consultants or trainees in the Sacramento area run this kind of ship in any way, just has been my experience more oft than not while getting my hair braided.*

She then sweetly asked "You don't want to wait, I am really excited to do your hair as I haven't locked a full heard of long natural hair before, only transitioning hair." to which I replied "I am really eager to get started and I really don't want to have another month go by and end up with my appointment pushed back again. I don't want to be waiting on my SL's until June!!"

She then explained, which would have actually set my mind at ease if she had stated this in the beginning, "With the holidays being during the week this year, I wasn't able to see a lot of my clients on a regular basis and got overbooked and neglected SL's mean more work in the long run."

Makes more sense, I was still butt hurt, diva's don't like being put on the back burner, but at least I have some time to cover up this resistant grey hair at my temples that I laughed at my last dye job.