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!!!!

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 :)