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
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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