2.5 months!

Time has truly flown, and oh how neglectful i've been to this blog. Nothing huge has been missed, I'm still in complete LOVE with my locs and they seem to change form weekly. I have some that have begun locking at the roots already, I'm excited! I keep saying I can't wait until they are all fully locked, but then I know when they are I'll be missing my curly ends. I think the whole journey in itself is just one of a great deal of anticipation and patience.

On the topic of curly ends, I was shopping a couple of weeks ago when I looked up to see a woman staring at me. Used to this by now, I suspect most people are trying to figure out what I have in my hair. Most ask, assuming they're tiny twists. Some decide for themselves, I heard a girl telling another "They're beautiful, but I couldn't sit that long just for some twists." *sigh*

Anyway, this woman in particular apologized for staring and then asked if they were SLs, when I told her yes she replied "Oh she's going to cut hers off, I know it." I asked if she knew someone with them, and she said "Yes, my mother." Her mother ended up coming over and had SLs that were 5 months old in a high ponytail. Something looked immediately different though, her ends were flat, not locked but all sticking up. She explained that her ends were curly like mine, but her "consultant" snipped them all off. She said she felt it was wrong and asked why she had done it and she replied "I thought you wanted them to look neat." WHAT?! You could also see that some of her locs were dramatically different in size. She said that since then she started going to a new consultant. It just amazes me that some of these certified locticians can learn a PATENTED technique and then through time and money spent on someone else's behalf, put their own little twist on things. And then the end result is a scorching mess at that! I'm ever grateful for my consultant, she's extremely professional, knowledgable and warm. I plan to take the class in a few more months, but as I told her I don't see myself finishing my head in one sitting with the XL size that it is LOL.

As for styles, I've still been rocking my pin-up, headbands with low ponytails and pompadour humps at the top, I've also used perm rods which are super easy and give a lovely look and last for about a week for me. I usually keep them tight and then comb them out more and more throughout the week. Bobby pins have been a girl's best friend!! I buy them by the pound! LOL Washings have been eventful but longer than I like with the braiding and banding. I experienced major slippage with my wash before my last retightening though, so I'll be sure from now on to be on point with the braiding and banding. I'm now on my way to 3 months and my babies are thickening up. I see growth already and as I said before some locking at the roots.

Right now I'm on a much needed vacation in Los Cabos. I've been here for a week tomorrow and today is actually my last full day. This is a gorgeous, serene place. Although it's known to be a party spot, you cn definitely get your tranquility on as well. And oh how i have! I have a spa appointment in a couple of hours that I want to prepare for so without further ado here are some photos of the last two months...and to think, I heard so many times "locs don't go with everything." or my favorite "locs won't compliment YOUR style!" Foolishness! I'm owning the same style-wise as before, if not BETTER.

...if anything I think my SLs have made me whole...

my babies have been born!

note: i started this entry on the 27th of april, and am finishing it on may 7th.


i laughed as i just typed that title because my lovely consultant, Ms. Claire Green, categorized me into her "crazy client" group when she heard me saying "hiii babies" to my locs while running my fingers through them yesterday before leaving. my install began on friday, april 24th and went until sunday the 26th for an estimated total time of 27 hrs. i wanted to update the day OF, but the week following was terrible for me with all of this pollen. i've been looking and feeling like the walking dead! anyway, overall, the time flew. it didn't feel nearly as long as it sounds. my babies are now two weeks old, and when i create a word to describe how deeply in love i am with them, i'll be using it in every post! the first picture is from the evening of the first day:

the second picture is from the sunday evening it was finished:

the end result was even more beautiful than i expected. i really expected it to be alot more scalpy, since my hair is fine in the crown area, but it thickened up in the first week, and has done so even more now in the second week. i have yet to freestyle, i've been spritzing with a water/peppermint oil spritz, fingercombing, and then pinning it up (taking care not to let the tips of the bobby pins puncture any of my locs.) takes all of FIVE minutes. how LOVELY it feels to feel the breeze through MY hair, to be able to run my fingers through it, shake it...i love it, i love it, i love it!!

they've gotten alot of attention, plenty of questions. "are those twists?" "how long did THAT take?!". i had a woman try and play the guessing game with me as far as price, even after i said " alot" two or three times. i feel like that a prying question. me saying "she starts at such and such price" should be more than sufficient. overall i've gotten nothing but positive feedback and get at least a compliment a day from strangers. i have had people recognize them as sisterlocks, and even had a woman on the train yesterday track me down after i had gotten off. hers were a week old and it was nice talking to someone else in the beginning stage. we talked and shared experiences for a minute. i have yet to wash it, i plan to do it this weekend. my head has been itching like crazy, but the peppermint spritz definitely works. *i need to spray some right now!* it got wet in the shower in the back the first couple of days, so two slipped out. but i go for my follow-up next week, so it'll be addressed. the following two pictures are the first week at work, the last is from this week. i'm so in love with my hair, and this is hands down the best decision i ever could have made. this is by far my favorite hairstyle. i'm free, complete, and beautiful! i LOVE my consultant and admire how meticulous she is, how fast she works, and her professionalism. three days is a long time to spend with someone, but every bit was enjoyable, and i was completely relaxed. there was another lady getting her sisterlocks for my last two days, they were being installed by my consultant's consultant who has waist length SLs. between laughs, movies, and talking, (and a little nodding off here and there!) again, the time flew. i love knowing i'll never have to sit that long again, but if i had to there'd be no hesitation.

my next update will be of my first wash if i can find my camera...until then...

i first stumbled across sisterlocks in 2004 while searching for natural styles [i was permed at the time and wanted to break free]. i wanted to see what options i would have once i had done so. i've always loved locks, but don't find larger ones to be as feminine as i would like for myself. so i clicked, and clicked, and clicked again...and came across the sisterlocks home page.

...the size, the variety of styles, the options! i was sold! ....or was i?

not quite.

it's taken five more years of yaky, needle and thread for me to mentally get to the point where i'm READY to embrace the natural me. i love my natural hair, the word "nappy" sends not one chill down my spine, and i've wanted to be free from sewing someone else's hair into my head for awhile now. the underlying issue however was, i suppose, laziness. i've always used the excuse that i wouldn't "know what to do with it" out. but in reality there were options. so i continued to 'track it up', which i can definitely account for the growth, but i will also admit to not pampering and caring for my hair in the way i should have these past few years while being a *track star*.

fast forwarding to december of 2008, when i finally found a wonderful consultant and scheduled a consultation. she showed me a book of her work, some sisterlock literature, and gave me a run down of the products, the installation process, and the visits following. her locks are gorgeous [she's had them for six years], and even though she couldn't schedule me before april of 09 *scream*, i decided to wait. i've seen her work, love it, and want no one else but her to install my locs.

this has been the hardest part thus far, the wait. during the consultation she installed two sample locs that are surprisingly to me, still intact. i've been rough while washing and i believe one has slipped a substantial amount. nevertheless they're still there and i can't wait for the other hundreds to be installed as well.

i've gotten a massive amount of support from loved ones, of course a few people not familiar have said "why can't you just get a press and curl"? "how much is it? what! that's entirely too much!" or "i'll have to see them to see how i feel." in the end, the only feeling about them that matters is mine, and i am verrrrrry ecstatic and highly anticipating the day.