Bling, Nape, & Repairs

The title of these 1^st few entries will be very “random” since I’m trying to recap my 1^st year with SLs.  

Bling: I’ve enclosed a closeup shot of my “nourished” locs just to show a lil’ bling that my otherwise, thirsty-dirty-dishwater-brown hair is currently rocking.    I believe this bling is credited to my glycerin water mix and the Honey/Vitamin E Oil rinse I did a 2 days ago.



Nape loc'd at 10 months



Loose haired Nape.  Longest length

Nape:  The point of this is to show that “retention” is very important to seeing length and determining growth results.  I’ve always hated my nape.  It looks like a Z drawn by a blind 4year-old (not neat at all).  The 1^st nape shot is from my nape when my hair was “loose” and about 2yrs into my babying this area by applying the perm last, and texlaxing(underprocessing) all at the same time, this was about as much length as I ever held on to.    The 2nd nape shot is of the same area with a 10month old Sisterlock install. 





Repairs:  I’m slowly interlocking the back of hair from the nape up.   My “endstate” should be locs that are tighter and less frizzy. 

Mentioned earlier: I started twisting (instead of latching) sometime in October.    

Perhaps I should also mention that:  At some time during my journey  (April-June) I began interlocking the relaxed portion of my SLs, this was a very-very-very- tedious process but I wanted all of my hair done, so I started this DIY project.   The process was never completely finished because I had a lot going on during this timeframe. 

With that said starting from the nape up, I’m now going through loc – by – loc and repairing.  Tip-to-Middle and Root-to-Middle as needed.  The picture here shows the newgrowth & the repaired “compacted” area of the loc.   I hope to be done with this phase before spring .  (I’m in no rushing)  

Repair for: unraveling
 permed ends & flyaways

I HOPE TO GET BETTER WITH PICTURE PLACEMENT, LOL

Can’t We All Just Get Along?

The flyaways pre-extensions,
 OMG the controversy!

 (after all we've all walked away from the "relaxer")




What an honor, the Dr's is in!
She visited our training class

  

Bottom line up front:  I have been surprised to find that in the Black hair communities strongly biased attitudes are rampant (Natural, Loc’d, Relaxed, Mixed or whateva).  

A few weeks into my locking journey I sat in a room full of varied hairstyles (who were all there to learn become Certified SisterLock ™ trainees).  The list below includes several of the comment I received because “I” chose to alter my SLs by “adding” length to the shorter ones in my crown/bang area (and Yes, I did this myself before I knew this was taboo).

ü  “You can’t do that to SLs they aren’t SLs anymore”.

o     (My thoughts: Ummm, I paid $400+ for this “install” and I’ll damn well do with them what I please.  Besides if your loc’ snapped off you’d tried to “attach” it back…..)

ü  Just cut those “dead” ends off!!!!

o    (Coming from a someone with a lovely head full of someone else’s hair with an agreement nod, from a relaxed sistah)

ü  “Long-hair is a crutch”, “It’s just hair, it will grow back”

ü  “You can’t manage two hair textures”

ü  “Why would you flat-iron your “locs”?

ü  “Whyyyyy would you do that to your hair?”

ü  “How long are you going to keep that style?”

ü  “Loc’s are dirty"

o    (this from a SL’er referring to the usual types of Locs)

RANDOM COMMENTS FROM OTHER RANDOM FOLKS:

Ø  “Cultivated locs are not real locs, they are a fashion statement... My locs are “real” or …”Those are SLs? I have “real” locs”

Ø  “That’s why Madame CJ Walker invented the Straightening Comb”

o    (from “permies”) … ugh the irony!

Ø  Strange stares followed by…..“When are you going to comb you hair.”

o    Notice I did not put this down as a question, I know this was a statement about what I need to do with my hair, LOL.

Ø  “I can’t be looking crazy, that’s why I wear my…….. “

o    (from wig/weaver)…”

Ø  I have been totally amused when on more than one occasion I’ve seen a weave wearer sit amongst a group of non-black’s and diss another sister’s hair

o    ….Talking about “s-t-u-p-i-d”.   Child please! Acting like “you” have overcome…..

In closing, I'd just like to pray that we in the natural or (tightly coiled) community rid ourselves of the Negative Energy, Comments, Vocabulary, and Perceptions.    Heck if "We" don't then "They" never will. 
 

A few members of my training class.  We're now Certified SisteLock Trainee's! 
I'm om the end rocking a briad-out.  6weeks in to the Journey

A Loc Delayed Is Not a Loc Denied,....

(I am Installed, Loc'in & Luv'in it!)

     First off I should point out that  I'm starting this blog about a year into my journey with SisterLocks.  Secondly, it has took me 3 years to start my lock journey.  I did a lot of researching, had 2 consultations, and then of course a lot of researching.     

     I have fine and what some would call thinly populated hair all throughout the crown of my head.  Though my first consultation was "very discouraging” it’s fair to say I did not give up "completely" I used the time during this “setback” to decide whether I wanted to even "try" this or not. 

My Stats: 

• SisterLock Install date:            02/07/2010
• Install time:                              18 hours
• Loc size:                                 small & medium
• Starting length:                        about 3" of new-growth with at least 6" of relaxed hair
• Pattern:                                  4 point
• Number of locs *to start:         436   (I've since increased the count to 470)
• Sisterlocks Consultant:            Rita. faithfulness70@yahoo.com

     Regarding my consultations, understand that I have n-e-v-e-r had short hair, and my 1st consultant offered up some great suggestions regarding the thinness of my hair at the crown.  HOWEVER, he also suggested that I cut my hair down to 3” (new-growth only) and then comeback for a very expensive install.   < IT DIDN’T HAPPEN>. 

     I waited 3 year transitioning from perming my hair every 4 weeks to “under-processing my hair, to braids & twists; all the while massaging, and trying to coax life back into my underperforming follicles.  <NO LUCK!> 

 I tried the two-stranded twists for about 3 weeks; when this didn’t work I decided once again to find a consultant who would lock my hair as it was.  < IT HAPPENED, .........."Thank you" Rita!>. 

      

The above picture shows the "combover" style that I felt most comfortable with due to my "scalpyness".

Stay tuned, there's more to come later.....