Locs, Sweat and Heels- My Sisterlocks Journey

Goodbye, 2015 and dirty hair! Hello, 2016 and curls! Bundles - cornrowed my edges - made approximately 10 individual bundles, plus the 2 cornrows for my edges - used silicone bands to secure my tucked ends Shampoo - sisterlocks starter shampoo diluted 1:4 ratio (focused on scalp) - suave clarifying shampoo diluted 1:8 ratio (focused on length of my hair) *I did confess to Superman that went off menu LOL if you want to know why, just ask in the comment section - sisterlocks starter shampoo diluted 1:4 ratio (focused on both scalp and hair) Drying -Turbie Twist towel for 5-8 minutes Styling - satin-covered foam rollers - air dried for about 6 hours - hooded dryer for about 20 minutes; I removed the rollers so as to get the ends dry (I was on a timeline otherwise I would have continued to air dry)

I have been faithfully cornrowing my edges during exercise sessions. I think I had one failed braid-out attempt as a loose natural, but the braid-outs with my sisterlocks have been doing great! Click this link to view the video I am going to go for 6 weeks between my reties and since my hair is a bit prone to slippage, I have been limiting my shampoos. It really isn't any different for me than when I would go 3 weeks (or more...feel free to insert judgement riiiiight here) when I wore crochet weave styles, kinky twists or yarn braids. I have even gone...clutch your pearls... 5 WEEKS without shampooing if I had a protective style. I typically opted to use a "dry shampoo" instead. I will probably aim for every 10-14 days as my hair progresses; but for now, I will see how 3 weeks works in the immediate future. All in all, I am overwhelmingly pleased with the decision to wear sisterlocks. The ease into which they fit my active lifestyle has revilutionized my hair j

We have had rain in my area which is bringing in cooler temperatures. Despite the misty mornings, my Sisterlocks have been delivering lots of style without much fuss.

No, not my wedding. My dear, sweet mother is living her happily ever after with her new husband. I am so happy for them and wish them years and years of happiness. The wedding was also the debut of my hair for the vast majority of my family. Of course, the attention was on the bride and groom- but I still wanted to look nice. I am not sure if ANYONE recognized my hair as Sisterlocks (or locs in general), but I did get general compliments on my dress and makeup. I also had the privilege of being the makeup artist for my Mom. And she received a litany of compliments! Here's what I wore. And my hair! I love how the curls are so oingy-boingy! (Is that a word?!

Here is how I have been wearing my hair during exercise. I originally planned to wear a wider headband, but my hair is longer than I realised.

I had my first retightening session on 12/10/2015. My consultant had the following comments/remarks about my hair (click here for the video ): Post-Shampoo  Maintenance I have not been properly separating my new growth at the base of my locs. I am a bit tender-headed, so it hurt a little as she separated my locs- it wasn't unbearable. My consultant re-educated me with a hands-on demonstration of what I should do as part of my post-shampoo and to a lesser extent "daily" maintenance. Avoiding Exercise-induced Slippage My consultant advised me to cornrow my edges before shampooing and exercising. Presently, I am exercising EVERY day (my burpee challenge ends on 12/31/2015), so the thought of cornrowing my edges daily is a bit disappointing. I will definitely cornrow before shampooing, and  will make a sincere effort on the daily cornrowing  (braid out anyone?) Future Retie Schedule Every 6 weeks. My hair is ultra frizzy, but my consultant says if I

NB: I PROMISE I have more than one dress LOL, this just so happens to be one of my favorites! After an intense workout today (I wore my hair in a loose bun with a headband), my Sisterlocks were all over the place. I decided to attempt a satin roller set on ever so slightly dampened locs. Unfortunately,  they were not going to be dry in time, so I used my blowdryer to help them along. I think Caruso Steam rollers would have made things go smoother (no blow dryer, quick results, etc).

I recorded this experience to make into a video for my youtube channel, but my tablet is being less than cooperative and I am having fits getting the videos compiled. As such, I will record shampoo number 3 (shampoo number 2 will be performed by my consultant at her salon). I shampooed my hair at slightly less than 2 weeks since 2 weeks would have been the day after Thanksgiving. Instead, I shampooed my Sisterlocks the day before Thanksgiving. Braiding and Bundling - I  put my hair into 12 two-strand twisted bundles and used silicone elastics to band my hair. Shampoo - 7 oz of water diluted with 1 oz of the Sisterlocks Starter Shampoo Shampoo #1 - focused on my scalp, not much lather, rinsed Shampoo #2 - focused on my scalp and then squeezed the solution into the length of my locs, more lather, rinsed about 4 times Drying - used my Turbie Twist to dry my hair for about 15 minutes Styling - roller set using approximately 20 satin-covered rollers Slippage and Unraveling -

My months of research and reading blogs turned up several Loc Rock Stars, one of whom is MizzNette100. She has a well-documented Sisterlocks journey on both youtube and her blog. She has been so kind and welcoming in answering my questions via comments and email.  I contacted her about a month ago and asked if she would be so kind as to be a guest blogger on Locs, Sweat and Heels and she said yes! Left: 4 Months; Right: 2 years Source: locslovelife.com What made you decide to wear Sisterlocks? I have a couple of friends with Sisterlocks. I would always admire how great their locks looked and how well they styled their hair. I immediately fell in love with the idea of them but never pursued it. When I finally did it was a daunting processing but I am happy I followed through.  Best advice for newbie loc-rockers Don’t get caught up in other Sisterlock wearers' locks. Try not to compare your locks with theirs. Every one’s journey will be different and you have to learn wha

I am thankful for so many things and I like to think that I take time on a daily basis to thank The Lord for His cornucopia of blessings. Thanksgiving Day marked the first time that my Mother and soon-to-be "Heart Dad" (commonly known as Step Father) saw my hair. My Mom's Wedding/Bridal Shower was the day after Thanksgiving, so my Sisterlocks had their "grand" debut!  Thanksgiving Day Smiles- T with a Bantu Knot out, Bea with Sisterlocks and S rocking a tapered fro  Here are just a few of the many, many things for which I am thankful: My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ A strong, growing and fun marriage The love of my family and friends Health (physical, emotional, mental and spiritual) Personal Freedom (voting, educational pursuits, civil rights, etc) Creature Comforts (vehicles, safe home, clothing, food, etc) The newfound hair freedom afforded by my Sisterlocks, and the informative and generous natural hair community on Youtube and the Bl

Superman surprised me with tickets to the theatre! To make things even better, we were on a double date with T and her hubby (he also surprised her). I wore this huggy Kenneth Cole dress, Jessica Simpson heels. For a live view, check out my Youtube Video . About my hair: I refreshed my satin roller set for about 90 minutes (I did NOT dampen my hair) to get a little extra bounce in my sisterlocks. My hair was awesome if I do say so myself!

The Official Sisterlocks Starter Kit should be included as part of the 3 part package per the Sisterlocks Website . My consultant gave me mine at the end of my establishment.  

Start Date/Time:  Thursday, November 12, 2015 12:00pm End Date/Time: Friday, November 13, 2015 12:25am Total Time: 12 hours 25 minutes Hair Length: 7 inches (all natural) Locking Pattern: Reverse 4 Loc Count: pending Sizes: traditional...small in front, medium in back Interesting notes: I have a small-sized head! My consultants had to strategize their positioning to have room for both of them to work. Click this link to see the youtube video of my Sisterlocks reveal! FAQs Did the establishment hurt? No- it felt as if my hair was being gently detangled. I am tender-headed and towards the end, my scalp felt "tight." This feeling was similar to after having micro braids installed, but not as severe. What did I do the entire time? I interviewed my consultants and fellow clients. I was quite enamored with each of their stories and backgrounds. Prior to my establishment, I had only seen 2 other women in person with Sisterlocks (my consultant during my consult

I will give an imaginary gold star to the first person to correctly identify that movie quote! Random, I've never even seen the actual movie, but that's pop culture for you LOL! I digress... My Sisterlocks (aka My Locs) are born! I'll write more in a separate post, but for now, enjoy these photos of the process.  Sisterlocks Birth Date: November 12 and 13, 2015 This will be my official length check shirt. Crown Area Grid Right Side Grid Back of Head Grid

I am a DIY'er on most things hair and small craft related; having made earrings and necklaces in the past. I saw several etsy stores and blogs featuring loc ties. I thought to myself...I can make one of those! Lo and behold, I ended up making three! I followed directions from Kreyola's blog and this Youtube Video . What do you think? Note: I still have my test locs in. My hair is in two atrand twists. For more info on how I twist my hair, refer to this video . 2nd Note: I have taken apart the white, squared loc tie to re-fashion it. I learned a few ways to make them better and plan to do so. My first three loc ties!

I have always been someone who covers her hair at night. I think I began the habit in high school. I own 3 satin pillow cases, along with a plethora of satin scarves and bonnets. Recently, I became aware of loc socs, dread socks and other products- night coverings specifically for loc rockers. I decided that I could probably DIY a loc covering and I did! Here are pictures and a video. Let me know if you try it! these pants are one size fits all

My consultation was GREAT! My consultant is so knowledgeable and extremely professional! The entire salon experience was relaxing and in alignment with the investment I am making with my hair. I could get used to some pampering! Overall, I am really excited and am so glad that I have been documenting the pre-journey of this experience. I hope that anyone who is considering Sisterlocks will find something useful in this blog.   Following are a list of things we discussed/accomplished: ways to wear my hair during exercise hands-on demonstration of bundling and banding my locs hands-on demonstration of how to shampoo recommendations if my scalp is itchy causes of bunching and how to prevent bunching causes of slippage and how to prevent slippage curl pattern analysis: medium length, deep width curls; average hair density If anyone is interested in knowing more about this, just leave a comment and I will share what my consultant shared with me regarding these terms/defi

Here are the top 5 things I am looking forward to experiencing once I have locs... #5 Loc Stereotypes and Ignorant Questions/Comments I've been wearing my hair relaxer free for several years. However, I have only had a handful of rude, truly ignorant comments/questions. For example,  when a woman informs me that, "My man doesn't like natural hair." I offer a polite, "Oh." What I really want to say is, "Well, since I am married to MY man- why do I care what YOUR man likes?" I imagine that some people will offer some random commentary about my locs, but I am not going to spend the next few weeks preparing myself with tart responses to imagined insults. #4 Driving a distance to my consultant of choice This is really only a half "not looking forward to experiencing" item. I invested a lot of time and prayer in choosing my consultant. I feel comfortable with her level of experience and professionalism. In short, she is worth the dri

Following is how I plan to prepare my hair for both my Sisterlocks consultation and establishment appointments.   15 days until establishment Remove last weave-based protective style Shampoo and Deep Condition Hair Style: two flat twists   12 days until establishment Shampoo with Protein Treatment Hair Style: 2 flat twists 10 days until establishment Shampoo ONLY Consultation and Test Loc Establishment Day Post-Test Loc Hair Style: 2 flat twists two strand twists 4 days until establishment Shampoo, Protein Treatment* and Deep Condition Hair Style: 2 flat twists   0 days until establishment Shampoo ONLY *I am still debating on this 2nd Protein Treatment

Spin Pin Lux $0.75 Twist Scarf in Polka Dot $0.75 Twist Scarf in Leopard/Cheetah Print $0.75 Barrette $0.75   That's right- $3 for 4 Goody Brand hair accessories! I realise I may have to hold off on the barrette, and the spin pin is definitely off limits; but the two scarves each have a bendable wire running through them. This would allow me to wear them as a headbands or ponytail holders (eventually) without much pulling.

Here are the top 5 things I am looking forward to experiencing once I have locs. If I could sum these points into one word it would be FREEDOM ! #5 Being done with protective styles that include weaves Don't get me wrong- I have enjoyed my weave-based protective styles, but I am just over the installation and take-down process of it all. #4 Simpler hair maintenance routine My routine is already pretty basic. I jokingly say that my hair is in witness protection, but I am looking forward to an even simpler routine. Along the same note, I am excited that said maintenance will be performed by someone else! #3 Exercise friendly hair I sweat...a great deal. I am not a cute exerciser. To be able to take my headband off and shampoo/rinse my hair at will (eventually). Yes- sign me up for that action! #2 Wake up and go hair Need I say more? #1 Wearing my hair "out" more often When my hair was super long, I never wore it out. I didn't want to pineapple, re-twist,

I saw a meme that read, "Sweat is your fat crying." Well, my fat cries itself to sleep every night LOL! I feel like I sweat past what would be considered normal, but I also exercise past what is considered "normal."   I posed the question to the Yahoo! Lock It Up group members to glean any tips and tricks that fellow loc-rockers are using to avoid 2 things: slippage and smelly hair. It's been close to 4 weeks and no one has responded. From what I can tell, the list-serv isn't as active as it once was, that being said- I was still expecting some type of response. Oh, well.   Following are a list of things (in no particular order) I plan to do, not do, wear, not wear, etc to avoid slippage and smelly hair. Blow my hair dry on cool- just makes sense to me and I don't see how cool air could hurt anything. (When I went back and re-watched the video in item 3, I noticed that this was also a tip from Chescalocs .) NOT put my hair into ponytails. This

I put all the high needs, high wants, low needs, low wants into a table, weighted each category and then selected the consultant that met my criterion. It is a well known FACT- that the following table is full of MY OPINIONS. HIGHLY IMPORTANT items are listed in PINK IMPORTANT items are listed in BLUE OTHER items are listed in BLACK My ideal responses are in GREEN Consultant A Consultant B Consultant C Consultant D Located in a traditional Salon? Yes Yes No, home salon No, home salon Certified Consultant? Yes, also Certified Teaching Associate and R-Certified Yes, trained by Consultant A No, Sisterlocks Practitioner/Trainee Yes Shampoo included in retightening service? Yes No, but shampoo services are available Not sure, but shampoo services are available * No, and not sure if shampoo services available Quality of work for ESTABLISHMENTS(pictu