Small Community

I went to a training class at work and I sat next to one of my black co-workers. This co-worker in question is from the Caribbean and actually sat next to me in a meeting on day one after my installation. The first day she said "wow, how long did that take". I gave the standard response for me at the time "15 hours, but its never coming out, and its going to lock so its worth it."

So back at this training class she kind of whimpered "are you locking your hair?" I responded, "yes". She said "when are you going to start locking it". Ugh...really!!! I'm like its already locking she was like "ohh......I was waiting for it to be twisted up like you know coils." She goes on to say "I thought they were braids, they are so tiny". You know the same comments we've heard a million time by this point.

What amazes me is that even in the black community people only know of one type of locks, and that's traditional. Although the blog community of SL's seem to be big but in the grand scheme of things SL's are basically unknown. The ironic thing is we have seen Sisterlocks on famous people year after year and have mistaken them for braids. Overall, sisterlocks need more exposure.

Newly Sisterlocked Interview #5

Gigglz: How long did you want sisterlocks before actually getting them installed? ~ I had never known of Sisterlocks before I went natural in July of 2009...One of my tenants (I'm a property manager) has sisterlocks and invited me to go to the website. I was smitten on day one and quickly decided that this is what I wanted. From awareness to installation it was about 6 weeks.

Gigglz:  How long were you natural before getting sisterlocks?
~ I began growing out my relaxed hair in May of 2009 and decided on July 21st, 2009 that I could no longer deal with the two textures. I did the Big Chop on July 19th 2009.

Gigglz:  How many consultations did you have before deciding on one, and did price play a part in your decision (honestly)?
~ I had gotten a bit frustrated with the whole process....I contacted at least 10 consultants from the website and I have YET to hear from 8 of them. I was getting a bit pissed, like, are these really business people who don't answer back? One consultant was really helpful and very friendly,spending a lot of time talking to me, but she wasn't accepting new clients. I then saw an ad for a trainee who was offering introductory specials and I contacted her. She was very prompt and professional, extremely accommodating and knowledgeable. Another consultant ended up contacting me before my scheduled install and I had an informal consultation with her, but decided that she wasn't the one for me. She boasted about her clients hair, but her own Sisterlocks were very unkempt and unruly. Price didn't play a factor, I set aside a certain amount from all the information I read before.

Gigglz:  What made you choose your consultant?
~ My consultant had a love for Sisterlocks. Having them herself, I knew she understood the process, and as a recent trainee, I also knew that she would be very meticulous and accurate with the grid, which is the most important thing. She answered all of my questions and I got a good vibe from her. Its not just about compentency when you choose a consultant...you'll spend a great deal of time with this person for your install....12+ hours are really long when its someone you can't talk to or vibe with!

Gigglz:  How many hours did it take?
25.5 hours over 5 days. (December 4th - 9th, 2009) (Size: Small, small/medium. About 500+ locks)

Gigglz:  What was your initial reaction to them?
~ I loved them. They were better than I thought...I imagined little twigs on my head since I started with about 3 inches of natural hair. It doesn't look as short as I thought and it is nicely curling on the ends.

Gigglz:  Do you see any disadvantages to sisterlocks?
~ The washing process is really time consuming (for a stress free hairstyle). I understand the logic behind it, but omg!

The only disadvantage I see now is the initial stage and the corporate world. Before your hair actually locks, there's the fuzziness and such and corporate America can sometimes be a bit uneasy.

Gigglz:  What products do you use and how often do you use them?
~I'm a newbie. I use water to bring life back into my hair every three days or so and I've been using ACV in my scalp with a q-tip for dandruff. I've washed with the Sisterlock shampoo and Suave Clarifying shampoo.

Gigglz:  What hair accessories do you wear?
~None...my hair doesn't have the length yet. I haven't even bought any curlers. I put the occasional bobby pin in the front to section it off.

Gigglz:  What do you wear to protect your hair at night?
~ Satin bonnet and a satin pillowcase (some nights I'm so tired I forget to put the bonnet on).

Gigglz:  How do you feel about your SL's today?
~ Today, I like them. Running late for work this morning, I was in love with the fact that I just had to fluff and go! I'll like them even more when I get a retightning!

Picture 1  Afro - before 
Picture 2  Red Sweatshirt - Day one
Picture 3  Purple top - Today 

Follow her journey here.

Blast from the Past

This picture was taken one year ago (January), before even making my final decision on SL's.  I mixed up a concoction of shea butter, aloe vera gel, and jojoba oil what a greasy mess. I pulled it through my hair and took my daughter to ballet lessons-thinking I was cute. I got home looked in the mirror to see that in the back I had yellow crap just hanging on to my hair strands. Yeah too much shea butter....certainly don't miss those days!!!

Its good to reflect on where you have been to understand how far you have come :-).

Not a Gigglz original-lol!

10 Months In

My 10 month anniversary has come and gone on the 18th and I did nothing special to celebrate.  10 months, not all that special just 2 months shy of a year.  I will harp more on that on my actual loc-a-versary!  Here I am at 10 months with a list of 10 issues and/or lessons learned:

1. Locks still not locked yet, budding yes, but not locked
2. Since I stopped B&B around month 7 I have experienced some bunching. To combat the bunching I have been pulling it loose, that led to a lose of a lock (BIG OOPSIE)!!!
3. I have woken up days telling myself like I'm tired of looking like this and want to cut it off!  To combat this I pull my hair into two ponytails and put on a headband, its working so far.
4. I do have to use a clarifying shampoo about once a month.  The lint from sweaters and any material is ANNOYING.
5. Overall I lost 3 locks, all my own doing.  1 was from trying to pull the bunching out and I popped it.  The other 2 were from retightenings.  1, I popped too much hair and it was hanging on for dear life, the other other I joined and tried to cut the budding of another one out and cut the joining (OOPSIE).
6. I don't have to retighten my whole head within 5 days.  I now retighten over the course of a week or two. 
7. I can't go longer than 4 weeks otherwise my hairline looks very untidy and my locks seem to shrink up. 
8. Although I don't suffer with dry scalp, I need to give my locks some moisture in this cold weather.
9. I don't feel the need to seperate my locks after a wash because after a wash I style either braid out of rolling so I'm manipulating my hair.
10. Sleeping with a satin cap and satin pillowcase is best. In case your cap comes off you still have the pillow. 

Retightening Tools...Try the Latch Hook

I've been swamped with work because its year end. Anyone in the financial industry understands that means the closing of the books, audits, financials, and tax work and I'm responsible for it all.  Needless to say the busy season has started and with a bang.  With all that going on my blogging has definitely suffered from the holiday season and now busy season so let me try and catch you up on some things.  Over the holidays I got curious, yeah I know whats new!!! Hehe!  I went to the local arts & crafts store and purchased the latch hook that so many DIY'ers talk about.  Before I give you my review on it recall that I purchased the NL tool about two weeks before taking the official sisterlock retightening class.  I then took the retightening class and received the official SL tool, at that point I fell in love with the official tool and ever since the class I've been only using it.  Now 4 months later I have purchased the latch hook.

See my pros/cons of the SL tool to the NL tool here.  Now that I have the latch hook here is my review:

HATED IT!!!!

I can't even do a review, seriously it is so cumbersome and doesn't exactly make retightening small locks easy.  Mind you I only tried one on my hairline and it was just really hard to manuever in comparision to the SL tool.  My clip wasn't flipping up and although it made my lock tighten closer to the root than the SL tool I actually see that as a con, because I could overtighten and weaken the root.  I will be leaving this tool in the drawer, hoping it will be easier to use down the line when my locks are longer.  I doubt it but I'm going to remain optimistic.

Disclaimer:  This is my opinion on the latch hook and I know many DIY'er swear by this.  I don't knock there opinion but for me this is a no go.

WHY???

I am really distraught about the situation in Haiti.  I am not of Haitian descent, but knowing the lives of some Caribbean people makes my heartache.  Both of my parents are from Trinidad & Tobago and I can only imagine if the earthquake happened there, calling for my family members, wondering if friends are ok and knowing that its going to be such a struggle for them to put there lives back together.  In addition, hearing that DR is not allowing some Haitians to cross the border unless they are in desperate need of medical attention...I can't even go on. Honestly, what is going on in this world.  These catastrophes only seem to hit areas where the people are already living in poverty or close to it.  First Hurricane Katrina and now an earthquake in Haiti.......

How old am I???

Here I am with 2 ponytails and a bang. This will only be good for working out. 9 months marker, can't wait to see where I am in this journey for 1 ponytail. Maybe then I can wear it fashionably!!

-Gigglz

Lock Loop Curls vs. Jherri Curl Rods

With the successful curls that turned out with the lock loops I decided that I should try different types of rollers to see what else worked. I went to the beauty supply store and picked up five packs of jherri curl rollers. I had recently washed my hair, so I wet my head under the shower and rolled probably 10 locks on each rod. The rods were not as easy to work with as I thought they would be. One issue was when I was trying to close them they would be too loose. To combat that I wrapped the elastic around it first then snapped it closed. Now the wrapping caused too much tension so the elastic would pop out the top. It took me about 10-15 minutes to get the hang of it and put in 3 rods, but once I got the hang of it then came the actual placement. I was trying to get a more spiral rod so set so the placement of each roller was key. Only product I used was my water bottle with my EO. I went to sleep with the rollers and yes as you can imagine it was definitely uncomfortable to sleep. On top of the fact I put on a satin scarf first to hold all the rollers, then I put on a satin cap. I'm not used to so much fabric or anything on my head so it was not a pleasurable experience. Luckily, I was tired and fell right asleep, but I don't think I will be sleeping with them again. Next time around its air dry time (daytime).

Well, with all the trouble the results were a more loose, bouncy, yet fluffier curl from the lock loops and the curls have last much longer and have what seemed like a longer way to fall out. These pictures were taken two days later

Mood For....

Admittedly so I have not been in the mood for blogging.  Don't ask me why, I think this New Year has me in a mood for something new, fresh, exciting.  New career? baby? marriage? home?  I'm going to settle for neither, and I think something like a nice vacation with some R&R will cure me of my new year blues. 

What has been going on is I've purchased a new product, Jane Carter Twist & Lock.  I purchased it at Whole Foods for who knows how much probably about $20 bucks.  I justify this since I don't spend money on my hair at all, it all balances out! In any event, I have tried it on wet hair, right after a fresh wash I put some on my scalp and also on my locks and used the lock loops.  The results you saw, the poodle look (smile), not bad huh!!  Now again this week I tried it after my curls starting to fall out. What I like about it so far is that it is lightweight gives a bit of a shine without having my locks feeling weighed down and greasy to the touch.  I run my fingers through my scalp and I have no residue on my fingers after.  I do like it and you don't have to use much product so although its costly it will go a long way so this is staying in the arsenal, well for now at least!

In addition, I must admit my lock appearance seems to be changing.  Over the weekend on more than one occassion someone has said "wow, your hair is really growing" I think they are well on there way to locking and appearing longer and not bunched up. I would say they have "dropped" i.e LOCKED enough to lose the natural curl.  As I have been walking, working out I feel locks falling in my eye and lots of bounce, I am really enjoying the progress.  I have started sleeping with my satin cap, (I've lost my sexy at night) but for good reason!! LOL!!!

Lint..

I have not had a huge issue with lint over the past nine months. I give large credit to sleeping on a satin pillowcase for the past six months, and if I don't sleep on the satin pillowcase I sleep with a satin bonnet. Its either one or the other. When I am just laying around, I probably put my satin bonnet on 50% of the time. When I have pinned up my hair over the past few weeks I noticed lint on my last row in the back, and two or three locks seem to have it randomly in the front. So a few changes are going to be put into place starting now.

First, I'm going to wear my bonnet 100% of the time when laying around. Secondly, I'm going to start using a black towel instead of white when drying my hair. Lastly, I'm going to use the VO5 clarifying shampoo for every other wash and then follow up with another shampoo.

I anticipate that over time the lint will dislodge itself and fall out ...hopefully!!

-Gigglz

Happy New Year!!!

Great start for Jan, Love for Feb, Peace for March, No worries for April, Fun for May, Joy for June to Nov, Happiness for Dec.

Have a lucky and wonderful New Year!!
-Gigglz