The Joys of Being Naturally Me

As I venture out into the world, I find myself checking out everyone's hair. I've always done this, but now that I have Sisterlocks, I look at things differently. I once looked at other women, and admired their cute pixie cut or beautiful bouncy curls or straight bobs. Now, I don't really "admire" other's hair, I admire my own. I LOVE the fact that my hair does not look like everyone else's. I have a unique style of my own. I get compliments on my NATURAL hair, It's all me. Even though I'm still in the awkward short stage, but I'm enjoying the journey.

Sad day

I said goodbye to not only a co-worker, but a friend. Bert was my boss for the past five years. He passed away Monday, December 21 due to a 22 month battle with brain cancer. Today was his memorial service. He was a such a great family man, friend and boss. He leaves behind a wife, two young daughters and a host of family and friends. He will surely be missed.

Must Wash After Reti

After my reti on Sunday, my hair really flat. There wasn't much I could do "fluff" it up. On top of that, it itched like crazy. I had to break down and wash it. It feels so good when water hits my scalp! My hair is now back to it's fullness. (yea!!!)

I'm still using the SL starter shampoo, but when that little bottle is empty, I think I'm going to find a good clarifying shampoo. The SL shampoo leaves my hair feeling a little rough. I'm sure it's just doing what it's supposed to do so my hair can get to locking. It seems to be well on it's way.

A+ on My First Reti

I had my follow-up and first retightening yesterday. I had no slippage and no bunching. I was very pleased. My 450+ locks took just under 2 hours to retighten. I hope every reti is like that.

My consultant said I must be doing everything right, so I guess I should share what I do,(and don't do).

1. I'm trying to shampoo my hair only when I feel it really needs it. Since it is wintertime, I can hold out for two weeks.

2. I put some SL shampoo in a bottle with a nozzle and add warm water. After semi-loose braiding and banding, I apply my shampoo mixture to my roots and massage lightly. I then squeeze my braids to shampoo the locks. I rinse thoroughly. Because there's no product in my hair, I only shampoo once.

3. I separate my locks and re braid them tighter to achieve my braid out look. I leave braids in overnight, or cover with a satin cap and fashion hat until my crinkles are set.

4. Because I have relaxed ends, my crinkles loosen up from time to time. I just braid it back up with a spray mist of water to freshen up. I only have to do that maybe once a week. It also gives me an opportunity to give my hair a little moisture. I also take my shower cap off sometimes to moisturize my locks.

5. At night I use a satin pocket bonnet to protect my hair. I got it from Wal-Mart. It's like a bag, so as my locks grow, they will be fully protected and allowed to lay flat instead of bunched up in a regular bonnet.

That's it. I just run my fingers through my locks and go. I love that my hair takes less than one minute to style and I'm out the door!

These shots were taken right before my first reti:


This was taken right after my reti. It flattened out my crinkles!

Looking Back

I wish I would have gone natural long ago. I never really thought it was an option for me. Two comments from my former hair stylist (he hated being called a hairdresser) stuck with me. 1. I was the lightest person he knew with the nappiest hair. WTH? I know it was a joke, but it really wasn't funny. 2. "With your hair, you can never go natural." Again, WTH? So I never really thought I could or attempted to try.

Everytime I would get my relaxer, my hair was straight, sleek and flat. It only lasted 2 weeks before it would thicken up. To keep that look, I would have to get a touch-up every 4 weeks. That lead to overprocessed hair and breakage. In order to "grow" my relaxed hair, I would have to get touch-ups every 6 weeks, and not do anything to it... no heat and no heavy styling. I was confined to a wrap. It's comical because his assistant used to "beat" my hair into submission with the blowdryer and a brush, even after a relaxer. He was so rough!

I started thinking...because my straight hair only lasted 2-3 weeks, growing is not the problem. It's the chemicals that were the problem. So I set out to prove my hairdresser wrong. After getting microbraids, I was always excited to take them down so I could experience my natural hair texture. It was so thick and pretty! I decided to get Sisterlocks because I wanted an easily maintained style, and I wanted my hair to grow.

I haven't seen my former hairdresser, but I'm sure I will soon. His opinion doesn't matter anyway!

I am Sisterlocked!

I'm a little slow getting my blog going, but here it is. I got my Sisterlocks on November 11-12! It took about 15 hours. I have about 4 inches of natural hair. and about 4 inches of relaxed hair. My consultant flat ironed my ends. I kind of liked it from the front, but not the back, so I had to find a new style. I tried a braid out over the weekend and really liked the look. So the braid out is my signature look...for now.

After wearing OPH for the better part of the year, I really felt good getting back to wearing my own hair, and even better wearing it in its natural state. I know I still have the relaxed ends, but the braid out makes them less obvious.

Why I decided to go natural.

I really don't have any strong reasons for wanting to go natural. I ride motorcycles and I wanted a style where when I took off my helmet, my hair would not be flat. So I decided to wear braids all summer. I loved having the hair blow in the wind as I rode. Notice I called it "the" hair, not "my" hair. I never was one who was big on weaves, yet I tried that too...once. I enjoyed taking down my braids and discovering my natural hair. Because I wasn't sure if I wanted to relax it again, and I was afraid the braids were going to thin out my edges, I got a full head of weave with Indian Remy Hair. Well, in my opinion, the hair was too soft and fine, and I never felt comfortable with it. Plus I hated not being able to access my whole scalp. After 5 weeks I couldn't take it anymore! The itching was unbearable! It was at that point, I thought it was ridiculous for me to continue spending money on OPH (other people's hair) I decided to go natural.




At this point, half my hair was half natural and half relaxed. The two textures did not play nice together. I was trying to figure out how I was going to continue my transition. I found it difficult to create a style that worked. I knew I did not want to go back to microbraids, so I considered pressing it. I found that my hair is not the easiest to press. It reverted the very next day! Plus the smell of fried hair grease was not appealing. I bought a wig to buy myself some time to figure out my next move.

It was then I "rediscovered" Sisterlocks. I had stumbled across the website a few years ago. I thought they were cute. I wasn't ready to make that type of committment. This time was different. I knew I wanted to keep my hair natural, but my hair would have been too difficult to maintain on a daily basis. I wanted my hair to grow long, strong, and natural. I knew Sisterlocks would be my answer.