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.

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.

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 :)