HOORAY FOR SISTERLOCKS(TM)!!!!!!!

HOORAY FOR SISTERLOCKS(TM)!!!!!!!

Today I feel like bursting into song because I did my first curl! I haven't tried anything yet because I didn't want to do anything to my baby SLs that would keep them from locking. Now that I'm used to my SL's I figured that they would survive some cold rolling and I was just curious to see what would happen. Anyway, I was bored, doing my New Year's ritual of organizing my house, bills, etc..., so I decided to curl my hair while I filed and threw away old bills. It took a while because I didn't have enough rollers for my whole head so I had to rotate them. I just dampened my hair with my rosemary water (I add 1 drop of this EO to a misting bottle) and then rolled my hair with some velcro rollers (medium and semi-large sizes) that I've had for a while. I know that sponge rollers aren't good to put directly on SL's (they dry out your hair) but I wasn't sure about velcro so I gave it a try. After my hair dried, I removed the rollers (they stuck to my hair so I think I'm going to find a different kind) and after a lot of finger combing my hair was curled and styled! I couldn't believe it, my hair is in an actual style! Hooray for Sisterlocks (TM)! I can do my hair now (: Ok, I know I'm overeacting but is this how everyone else felt after realizing that this is an actual, low maintenance hairstyle that makes you look stylish? I know what I read but I never really experienced it. I'm just so happy because I feel like a large weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I FEEL beautiful and I didn't have to use any Un-natural products to do it. I'm able to feel beautiful with what God gave me and I feel so blessed. I understand now why "SL Sistahs" love their hair so much. SL's allow our inner beauty to come to the surface--cool! Alright, enough gushing stay tuned. . .

Three weeks down, 5 months and one week to go!

Well here I am at week three. My parents have seen my hair and haven't passed out. I know they aren't happy with it but I'm not surprised. Nigerians just don't lock up. Locks have a social stigma that is associated with people who were social outcasts. This happened a long time ago (before colonialism). Families that were considered outcasts are supposed to be a welcome part of society now but if you read, "Things Fall Apart" and "No Longer At Ease" by Chinua Achebe, you'll find that stigmas aren't dropped that easily.

I'm at my parents' home, eating my mothers' beloved cooking. For Christmas we had goat meat stew, jollof rice, plaintains, Fufu with egusi soup and it was Tha Bomb! I'm still smackin' my lips! Throughout this weekend I kept thinking, "Is Christmas really for children?" When kids aren't around, what brings the Christmas spirit? I can see why people get depressed when the holidays come around. If you're alone, it's hard to feel cheerful if you aren't the source of cheer. At first I was a little down but luckily, I'm here with my parents, my brothers, my best friend is down the street and I've sent everyone in my cell phone phone book a text message with good cheer (:

At week three, I noticed that when I wash my hair (left), it shrinks up after its dry (right). I think I like it both ways, what do you think? At this point, my edges are gone but my hair is holdin' up. Good thing I'm seeing Diana for a retightening on Thursday (:

Hey check it out, I'm sporting my two week-old SL's at the Relationship Gap Holiday party (see link for details). How do I look? (I've been watching that show all weekend, it's growin' on me).

Well, although belated, I wanna wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah and Happy Kwanza, and for my muslim friends a very belated Eid Mubarak! I'm out! Peace!

The beginning of my SL "Hair-story"

I was just reading Brunsli's blog. I have to say it's very entertaining, check it out when you get a chance. She did a quick survey that described how Sisterlocked (SL'd) tend to date/marry outside of their race. Now that I have SL's does that mean that I'm gonna catch me a white guy too? Just kidding, I think that SL'd people may be more open to. . .life I guess. Once you've decided to get 'em you've pretty much decided to care only about your inner and outer beauty without worrying about what society or my mother thinks (How did that get there! Sorry Mom!).

Here are some pictures of my SL journey. I had my SL's installed on December 4, 2005. It took 2.5 days. We did 12 hour stints at a time and I was sitting in a comfy chair (thanks Diana!). The total time was 30-31 hours. My Sisterlock consultant, Diana McNeal was very careful. She made my head feel like a work of art! But she did a great job, I feel like I got her for a steal (@$500). And you know that kind of money isn't easy to come by for a grad student in the sciences.

The pics below show my 'fro and the pic above shows me with double strand twists. That was the usual puff that I sported day in and day out. One day I got tired of looking like 18 instead of 28. I was on the fence with my hair. Either I cut it off or lock it up. Being natural for 6 years (since 1999) has been great for me. I really enjoyed feeling my actual hair that was growing free from the roots. I learned love the different textures of my head and came to love the coils that my hair formed. BUT, unless I left in twists for up to 3 weeks (which took 8-10 hours to put in--who has that kind of time!), I really couldn't do much else. Cornrows looked wrong on my head and getting braids was out of the question--Who wants to sit for a week and take someone else's hair out of your head!--and let me tell you, when I did sit for that week, taking out all that hair, resisting the urge to just cut the braid and my hair off and be done with it, I vowed to never get braids again.

When I first saw SL's, I was like, "Man that is too expensive, I am not tryin' to spend money that I don't have!" Then a few months later, my friend Johanne installed her's and the seed was planted. Could SL's give me freedom from natural-hair-prison? Can I really have long flowing tresses without a weave or braids? Next thing I know, I'm looking at photos, visualizing myself with curled locks. I looked at every photo that I could find, then I looked for as many SL blogs that I could find. The more I looked, the more I convinced myself that this is the look that I've been longing for. And I mean longing for since 6th grade when you just wanna have easy hair like the white kids. Yes, I said it. Before I moved to Chicago, I grew up in a white bread town in central Illinois. It was hard to be the only or one of the few black kids in school. You're constantly looking for acceptance and falling short. But I digress.

Four days before SL installation and I choke. I'm still reading as much as possible and now I'm having second thoughts. These things are permanent! Before, I told myself, "Don't worry, if you don't like them you can cut them off and sport a short 'fro" Yeah right, not for $500. I went to see Diana. And she helped me realize that yes, SL's are a lifestyle but its just hair! And all though they aren't maintenance free, they are low maintenance. In the end, I decided to put 'em in . What the hey! It's time I experimented with my hair and take a chance. So I took a chance and loved it!

Here I am after the first wash (one week) I don't think that I can go more than a week before my head starts itchin' and starts to feel "not-so-fresh". At this point, and after my SL installation, I started freakin' out because my ends felt dry and I couldn't oil them! Oh hair oil, I didn't know how much I loved you! Before I used a light hair oil with an almond oil base combined with rosemary extract (stimulates growth, good for preventing dandruff and giving hair shine) and Jojoba oil (another conditioning oil that's good for a dry scalp). Now I couldn't use anything?!?! Luckily, Diana let me know the essential oils oxygenate so its ok to use water and EO's together. I was glad because I had already put some rosemary extract in water to sooth my "No more oil blues". Since rosemary extract has such a strong scent, I stopped using it and took Diana's advice on spraying with lavender water daily and using an apple cider vinegar (ACV) rinse after washing. Lavender essential oil is good for moisturizing and can be used as aromatherapy for keeping babies calm or helping them sleep. An ACV removes scalp build up and can help with dandruff. Make sure you wash that stuff out though 'cuz it stinks! Here are my recipies:

Lavender water from Pioneerthinking.com (http://www.pioneerthinking.com/rht36.html):
Hair Tips - BY VIOLETA G
From a book about hair I learned that Lavender Mist is a great way to moisturize the hair and make it smell good . This is the recipe and the other necessary information:

"Lavender has cleansing properties, so this quick mist not only makes your hair smell like a lavender field in Provence, it's also indispensable for cleansing and reviving your curls. Make it in large quantities; keep a large spray bottle in your shower and smaller travel-size bottles in your purse, desk, and car.

1/2 gallon water
5 drops pure (not synthetic) lavender essential oil
3 empty spray bottles (available at most drugstores)

1. Fill a large pot with a half gallon of water.
2. Cover, bring to a boil, and simmer for an hour to get rid of impurities. (Check occasionally to make sure water isn't boiling away.)
3. Remove from heat, add lavender oil, stir, and replace lid.
4. Let steep until cool, then pour into empty spritz bottles.

Lavender mist makes a wonderful gift for friends, whether or not they are for curly girls. Once you get hooked on the spray, you'll find lots of other uses for it. Some of my clients have told me that their husbands sprayed it on them in the delivery room, for a very calming effect. "

ACV rinse Ingredients: 1 ounce apple cider vinegar 1 quart of distilled water Directions: Combine the apple cider with the water, stir. Pour through hair to get rid of buildup and soften hair at the same time. Rinse with water.

You can also check out this website for recipies that use ACV to remove dandruff: http://www.pioneerthinking.com/af_dandruff.html



Well here I am at week two (second wash). My hair is coming along. I love how it's curling up at the ends! I think I've figured out how my hair is going to lock (being a scientist-in-training I can't stay in the dark for too long). My hair is coiling up at the ends, which causes my SL's to kind of expand and coil up too. Next my hair coils will tighten and form locks! Ok, its not rocket science but for weeks I've been wondering how these ridiculously small twist/braid-like creations were going to turn into a lock. I think I can tell how big/round my locks will be. Its like looking into to future (: There is one thing that I'll miss though--those curly ends! I love my little coils! But right now I have them and I'm going to enjoy them while I can. I have a serious case of "Handinthehairitis".

What's up people. I'm the new kid on the blog scene.

I was originally inspired to start a blog after reading so many great sisterlock blogs. Now that I've had a chance to check out the blogs of others I've decided to let you become privy to my private (well maybe, only if you're nice) thoughts. So sit back, relax and let me get my blog on!