Close Up

Bajan Lily asked and she shall receive; here is a  close-up of my locks tonight.  Little more difficult than I thought to take a detailed picture myself, more to come this weekend.  Even with my coloring "experiment"  I think that my locks are doing very well and at the end of the week it will be 7 months so they definitely should be showing large signs of locking.  Your take??

Finally Locking, Maybe?

I always talk hair with one of my natural co-workers and today she said those magic words "your hair is locking"!!!! Say what, now I don't have a clue, but she has a friend who has worn sisterlocks for 7 years and she has seen them progress. With that I'm inclined to think she knows what she is talking about. And yes, the look of my locks are changing they are fuller and softer and most have buds on the end so I'm very satisfied at this point. My co-worker went on to say, the darker color is a much better look for me which of course I agree.

So looks like two for two! What else could a girl want.

Here is a picture from Sunday as my hair was air drying, it looks nice and full but where is the length!?!?!!?

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Sisterlock Pattern Change Working!

If you've been following my blog you know that I was initially a pattern 4 and after going to the retightening class I changed to pattern 3 as of August 26th. I've been saying that my hair is much fuller and fluffier and I attributed this to the satin pillow case. Now in thinking back this is actually largly in part due to the pattern change and not the satin pillowcase. I've done two retightenings using the 3 pattern and I see a huge difference in body and volume of my locks, which I'm absolutely loving. With the 4, my locks felt strangled and they weren't allowed to breathe so I'm happy that I did change and I expect to see a lot more changes to come in terms of volume! Quite possibly I may not have to use my lock loops because they will curl on there own to give its own distinct styling, left to be seen. This is a picture from the lock loops that totally dropped because of the humidity but look at how full it still looks (please excuse the poor quality and the facial expression).

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A Better Look

Saturday was so humid outside that I lost alot of my curls and ended up with just having a lot of my hair revert to a freestyle with a bend.  This wasn't too bad, hey as long as I don't have to do much with it lately after a roller set I'm good to go.  I'm getting really lazy lately about styling I don't even bother trying.  After my wash on Friday, my hair is not feeling as bunched as it did when I initally colored it so hopefully over the course of the next few weeks washing my locks with the SL starter shampoo will help my locks revert back to what they were prior to coloring (thats my hope).  I started feeling through my locks and more than I thought have sealed ends and it seems like alot more are well on there way to sealing and giving me some more length (yes, I'm obsessed with length).  I don't have much going on today, but wanted to show a better picture of my hair color; as you can see not a huge difference but in the right light I can see the dark red tint on the ends, and that probably took because my ends were lighter.  

I Colored It...

On Sunday, I threw caution to the wind and colored my hair. Kittylocks gave me the courage to say the heck with it. I did some research on dyes I've heard about from loose naturals that have worked called Naturtint and Herbatint, so I went to Whole Foods because they sell both of them. Coincidentally, there was a traditional dread who was assisting people in the beauty/health dept and so I asked for her assistance. Granted her locks were far from appealing to me, but she was my only resource. In any event I purchased Naturtint for $18-this might seem expensive but since I spend no other money on my hair besides my product addiction I bought it, a matter of fact I bought two.

The two I bought were dark brown (not black because the associate said the jet black is more unnatural looking like shoe polish) and also mahogany chestnut to get a dark red tint in the light.  So I went ahead and used my "Handy Manny" lock and did a strand test on it.  I mixed about 60% mahogany chestnut and 40% dark brown and let it sit for 20 minutes.  I didn't see a difference, so I just threw the color on and sat for 20 minutes.  I jumped in the shower and washed it out with VO5, SL shampoo, and the conditioner provided in the box...hmm....

I had to wash my hair numerous times, like 5 to see the water run clear and then I washed again just to be sure.  Although the water ran clear, when I put the towel on my head (I used a white one) I still saw a very, very light tint of red.  So I washed again, with all these washing and no B&B I got a little nervous.  My hair felt hard (really hard) you know the feeling you got when you had a perm and used the neutralizing shampoo, yeah that feeling.  So I used the SL moisture treatment that I got when I went to the retightening class and let that sit for about 5 minutes.  Oh boy, did that have my hair feeling nice and soft.  Ugh, not good!!!

With all that, you know what hair my color turned out..BLACK!!!!!  Now I know that natural hair doesn't take color as well, but brown and mahogany = black!  Well thats what I get trying to get all experimental when I only color my hair black.

So now the ramifications of coloring---I do have some bunching but it only seems to be in the back bottom of my head at my line of demarcation ... 100% natural hair and the processed hair (with a silkener from Miss Jessie's...like a texturizer).  In addition, the ends seem a bit looser, but I like it.  Yesterday my hair felt a little too soft so I B&B and washed with the SL shampoo.  I let it air dry and my hair was literally all over my head this morning.  The one thing is that my hair feels much thicker as well..it may be because I now desperately need to retighten or the color and shampooing have swelled my locks...

A better picture later to come, to see uhm yeah more black!!!

Length Check

So don't ask me what made me want to measure my hair but the idea popped into my head today. Now when I got my SL's installed I paid for 6 ", because that was the longest that was measured at the crown. I had 4" around my edges but of course I had to pay for the longest portion of my hair regardless of what the rest measured at. With my "man down" lock I decided to measure it and it came to (see for yourself)....

Now what in the world is this.

So I moved on to the front of my head which is 4". I know with locking my hair I lost a few inches, but its been six months how is it possible I'm just getting back to where I started on March 18th?!?!? I'm not "that" hung up on the length, but its very interesting, isn't it?

Damn my face is oily...LMAO!!!

VO5 Conclusion

If you have been following my blog you know that I tried a new shampoo yesterday hoping to get rid of the white bulbs of my hair showing (see previous post).  Yesterday I left the lock loops in until I had to run out but my hair didn't completely dry so this is what I ended up. Since my hair didn't completely dry I can't blame the lack of curls on VO5, but I wasn't too pleased originally and I planned to wash my hair again with the sisterlock starter shampoo last night, however I fell asleep.  When I woke up this morning I was much happier with the feeling and look of my locks.  All in all ,VO5 has some pros and cons and I will keep it in my arsenal for future use because it also has a great smell.

 

Pros:

• The white flakes are not showing (big relief...biggups to A sista who locked)
• My hair is very soft
• Locks feel squeaky clean
• Scalp is clean (needed after all these months)

Cons:

• Curly Q ends have lost curl and are BUSHY (like the 1st day after installation)
• Hair may soften too much and slow down the locking process

The pros outweigh the cons 2:1 so I will use it once a month to make sure I get a good clarifying shampoo and the other three washes I will continue to use the sisterlock starter shampoo

VO5 Shampoo...could it be the solution to the white balls???

In deep discussion with A Sista Who Locked, she recommended that I use VO5 to get rid of the white balls showing in my locks, I am truly fed up with them so I figured its worth a try, so I ran to the grocery store on lunch yesterday to buy a bottle and I could not believe my eyes for two reasons. 

First reason the price was .77, yes you read correct thats .77 cents!!!
Second reason, I flipped it over to read the ingredients and what was staring me in my face as the 3rd ingredient.  You guessed it SLS, and the second was Sodium Laureth Sulfate. 


For the price why should I expect that it wouldn't be one of the ingredients.  So I purchased the bottle which specifically notes that it is clarifying and this is how I defend purchasing it (defend it like I'm on trial, lol).  SLS is known to remove buildup and dry out your locks/hair.  Well right now, I obviously have some type of buildup that needs to be removed and if I'm not using it as my main shampoo then I should be ok.  Basically the past six months my hair has not had a good cleansing so why not try it?!?!? RIGHT!! LOL!

Well I tried the shampoo today and although I loved the way it felt like I got a good cleansing I wasn't too pleased with how my ends came out, see for yourself and I did bundle.

Right now the lock loops are in and I'm waiting to see the final outcome.  But, can you imagine if my locks actually still feel soft and the residue is removed?  All these years I’ve been spending so much money on hair products---why!!  I guess, because my hair was in an unnatural state and the products needed to have all these extra additives in order for my hair to stay half way healthy!! Absolute insanity when you think about it!

Update to come...

Lock Looping Again

So I washed my hair on Friday night and used the Lock loops again.  I'm really enjoying the look now that my hair has more length.  Here I am on Monday, my curls still intact but yet a bit looser.  Today is Thursday, the curls are still here but not so much, which I think is great, because I got a good week out of the curls.  In addition, I rolled my bang going straight back so I had the 70's wind blown look once the curls dropped. I loved it :-).  And as you can see the Oyin's Juices and Berries didn't weigh my hair down -- Oh yeah I'm loving it all right now! 

Comparison for Month 6

Looking back into my pictures for the first month I noticed I don't have to many, give or take 5 as opposed to the gazillions I take now.  The one thing that stood out is the first few pictures after my installation I was not smiling so much, and in retrospect its because I was a little unsure of my look and if I made the right decision especially since its permanent. However, as the pictures go on my smile gets brighter and wider; my confidence came back and I was certain that I made the right decision for my hair. Oh, what a shame that even when you're confident in yourself and have no more self-esteem issues that actually inhibit your thoughts that you can still have one thing define your happiness!!! I'm so over it, and I know that I made the best decision for me!!!

So here are comparisons from May 19th --- yeah my 2nd month to the 6th month.  Around May is when I really stepped it up on my blogging skills and realized I should be taking shots from all types of angles...LOL!!!! Enjoy....but I'm so proud of my bang that its made it thus far.  The back shot I realized that I bent my head back in May, but you can still see that my locks have grown well.  And do you also notice the difference in width.  Ok, ok....enough, here you go and my disclaimer -- (I look a little crazy today lol)

Oyin's Juice's and Berries

Update:

Oyin's is RECOMMENDED.  This morning, my hair is not sticky, my curls are still extremely bouncy and tight which means that it did not weigh my hair down.  Although, I cannot smell the aroma personally I'm sure it smells much better than what my hair has been smelling like!  Go out and get it ladies!! Its a keeper for the arsenal!  It states its a moisturizer so I will be using this 3x a week and continue washing weekly.  I'm also hoping this will solve my issue of seeing white bulbs in the front.

Ok, so I'm going on a tangent, but using the SL starter shampoo has brought out more white bulbs in the front, but I'm positive that once my hair has sealed in the middle that this will no longer be an issue.  However, I'm going to try and combat the issue with a deep conditioning moisturizer that I received from the retightening class.  I'm going to use this after shampooing and let it sit for about 15 minutes with a cap and hopefully that will help..and of course I will let you know how it goes (smile). 



My Oyin Juices and Berries (see previous post discussing this) finally arrived today, I ordered on 9/2 and viola 17 days later I got it. Luckily they warn you when you order that it will take no less than 2 weeks to receive the product because they are specially made to order. The spritz could not have arrived with better timing because I washed my hair last night and put some lock loops in and I curled them really tight and this is what I have.

I spritzed some of the Juices & Berries a few minutes ago and I'm hoping that it won't weigh my curls down or be greasy to the touch later tonight. As I stare at this picture, look at the dirty ashy look of my ends, YUCK!  I may have to try dying or at least rinsing my hair sooner than later, this looks pretty bad to me. 

6 MONTHS SISTERLOCKED!!!!!!

Oh my, oh my, I can't believe today marks six months exactly.   March 18th I was locked and I have absolutely no regrets; as I was on my cruise I was feeling so good, because I didn't have to worry about my weave tracks showing, my braids falling out, or even worrying about my hair in the slightest.  Although these six months felt long, it felt long in terms that I can't even remember how much work I used to put into my hair to make it look a certain way, in retrospect I was trying to make it look real, big, curly with all those extra packs of hair types I tried and I have that look now almost effortlessly!

Six Lessons Learned in 6 months

1. My hair still shrinks after washing
2. The less products I use the better for my locks which also includes spritzing with water
3. When my locks are dirty they don't hold curls (just like permed hair hah)
4. Since buying a satin pillow case, I have more body & bounce when I wake up
5. My hair isn't as coarse as I thought it was, but its much thicker than I knew
6. I love that I can look different every day.
7. And a bonus :-) although, I'm thrilled about how much my hair has grown, I'm still obsessed with having my hair touch my collarbone :-)

Comparison pictures will be coming shortly!