One Year Lockverssary!!!

Yeahhh Babyy...made it to the one year mark on December 5th!!! I can honestly say that I love my locs and definately do not regret getting them. if anything, I wish i had got them sooner. I really enjoy the freedom my hair gives me as well as the evolution process that comes with having locs. My DH loves my locs and plays with my hair often ( I love it). Now they appear to be thickening up and I am looking forward to year two progress. Pictures coming soon.

Growing.....

This is month 9 for me and if you remember where I begun, you will definately agree that there is much progress being made. I am very pleased with these beauties and enjoy the stress free hair as I continue to evolve and bloom with the locs. I am not all locked yet but its a process and its happening at its own pace. I love my hair and wear it with pride often asking myself why it took me so long to do this.

Loving this hair.

I just got another re-ti and I am almost at month 8. I am thrilled with the progress of my hair in general. I must admit that on some days, I wish I could just zap my hair to shoulder length and beyond but I realize that patience is a virtue. On the other hand, I am enjoying my hair evolution and the baby steps...basically, it depends on the day and my mood..(he..he). In the past month, I have been blessed to visit two tropical/exotic locations ( Puerto Rico and Hawaii) and I am so glad to say that I never had to worry about my hair when I contemplated various activities. It was just so liberating. last month, I noticed that the texture/look of my locs changed. Basically, they are starting to loc. Overall, my hair is filling in nicely and I have no complaints. Pictures coming soon...I have an awesome new camera.

Where does time go???

And it flies by so very fast. I am at the seven month mark already and its funny...I know my locs are growing but I have days when I am feeling a mess and just do not think they are growing at all (not to mention fast enough). I can see why people always say that you have to be patient with locs. At my last re-ti, my loctician was telling me that I still have areas that have not quite locked. I got a little discouraged as I was sure that I would be locked by now but alas, that is not the case. Its all good though and I still love having my sisterlocs. They are so right for me and I have no regrets about getting them. I will try to post some pics soon!

5 Months In....

All is well. I have great and not so great days with my locs but I am learning to handle them better and growing in grace with my hair ( if that makes sense). There is a great deal of growth and filling in going on and I am particularly happy about that. Like most other wearers, I ask myself why it took me so long to get here but then I realize that "when the student is ready, the teacher arrives". I couldn't be happier with my hair..:-).

I am thinking about studying using the nappy loc tool as I had some issues getting an appointment with my original consultant. I do not like being at the mercy of someone to groom my hair and then I am in a bind when they can't deliver. In the time being, I am transitioning to a consultant at my church. Her locs are gorgeous and her schedule is more in sync with mine.

New Headtie

I got this lovely headtie from Tomika's Twists at www.tomikastwists.com. The headties are lovely and unique and the customer service is wonderful.

3rd Retightening

The time is flying right along and I can't believe I am at month 4 already. My hair is progressing well and I am even happier now that I do not have to hide behind a wig. I feel so free!!! I am considering changing consultants only because my current consultant does not do retightenings on weekends so that means I have to take time of work to get my hair done. I am not a fan of that policy considering I am a single mom of two little girls and like to save my leave/time off for their needs (sick days) or vacations. There is a consultant at my church and I am leaning towards doing business with her. I am also considering taking a retightening class when I get to 6 months. I would like to learn how to maintain my own hair so that I can tidy up my hair in an emergency. I just do not like having to depend solely on another person to maintain my hair and I most certainly do not have to want to put on a wig as a back up plan. Any how, even if I take a class I will probably still choose to allow a consultant to handle my re-tis. It would not hurt to know how though....

I have been wearing my hair and accessorizing with cute little headbands. I am not sure what to do with it with it being short but the headbands are working well for now.

I am really excited this week as I am going on my first yoga retreat. I have only been practicing yoga for about 6 months and practice at home so I am thrilled about being in the company of more experienced practitioners and fine tuning my knowledge and practice. The retreat is from friday to sunday and it about 2 hours away from where I live so it's local. My goal is to go on retreats to more exotic locations as I grow in my practice. I love yoga....its such a wonderful gift to oneself. I will let you know how it goes.

Just a few more

I set my hair with water and flexirods and like the fact that my curls have lasted about 3 days now. Here are some top/back shots I took with my webcam.

Anyway you like it....

Pics for Month 4

Back Shots...there is progress

Coming Out

Even though I had my sisterlocs installed on December 5th, they were not actually "established, claimed, debuted" whatever you want to call it until recently. I was just uncomfortable with the shrivelled and wiry look of my locs initially that I could not bring myself to walk around with them until I was comfortable. My sides were thin and there was a great deal of spacing (due to the thinness of my hair) . Basically, there was no way, that I was ending the relationship with my short and sassy wig....not yet. I wore my locs aout when I would get home but continued to wear my wig whenever I was going out in public and I did this until recently. Last weekend I decided that I would wear my hair out for a day and ended up wearing it out for the entire weekend. I felt so free and empowered to wear out my own hair . It felt sooo great. Monday morning was a different thing....I convinced myself that I needed to wear the wig until I got my re-tightening within the next 2 weeks. By Tuesday, I realized that I seemed to have developed an allergic reaction to my wig . All of a sudden, I started breaking out around my hairline and the wig was just so itchy. It was driving me up the wall...lol. By Thursday, I was done and I walked into my office on Friday morning with my crowning "glory". Here is the kicker....I got so many compliments about how cute my hair was. Even from people who never say anything about my hair. It was quite an eye opener ( for me). Anyway, I am free now and feel great about coming out and making peace with my hair and with MYSELF. I love my locks and expect them to flourish even more now that I have fully embraced them all 418 of them ( I counted them last night).

The Lock is on!

So folks...I am approaching week 3 after my 2nd re-ti and have noticed that some of my locs are beginning to lock. Yeahhhh...they have a bud and you can tell that these locks feel differently than the locks that still have the coils on the end. My loctician had told me that because of my hair type, she expects me to lock within 3 to 6 months. I have also noticed that my hair is filling in nicely especially around my hairline and edges. I am particularly excited about this because my hairline was in shambles prior to sisterlocks. As you can imagine, at 3 months in, if that is the progress I am experiencing, I can only imagine how great I will look at my 12 month and beyond phases. Yeahhhh baby!!!!! I can't see what is going on at my nape and other areas so I can only hope that the growth is going on there too. My next re-ti is in about 2 weeks and I will be at my 4 month anniversary. I have my eyes on a great new nikon camera so look out for some pictures ( from all angles and up close).

Retightening Number 2

Here are some recent pics of my locs. This were from late January after my first re-ti. I had curled my locs with some flexirods and liked the results. In the other pic, I had just washed my locs. I love the fluffy look. So, I had my second re-ti and it took 4 hours this time versus the 3 hours for the first one. I think the extra 2 weeks of growth makes a difference. Anyway, I was pleased with my consultants work. She is always very meticulous and I leave her, loving my hair even more. I am heading to the 3 month mark on March 5. I am still on my vitamin schedule and can see a huge difference with my hair starting to fill in on the edges and other areas. Its great and inspiring to see hair sprouting in places where it wasn't before. Oh well, will keep you posted and will try to post more up close pics when I get my new camera.

First Re-Tightening

I had my first re-tight last week. It took 3 hours but I have to tell you, it flew by really quickly. My consultant and I always have alot to talk about and have great synergy so I guess that helps. Well, so far so great. My consultant said she was pleased with the condition of my locs/hair and can tell that I am taking care of them well. I was pleased and beaming ear to ear when she told me that she expects to see so much more improvement with my hair. I have been diligent with my vitamins, workout and recently my diet. I take a multivitamin and also the Andrew Lessman hair vitamins. I can definately see some results...my hairline is making its way back and I am just so pleased about that. My workout of choice is yoga....I love, love, absolutely love yoga and what it does for me. It keeps me calm, relaxes me, makes me feel more centered. Of course, I love the physical benefits of helping me stay in shape too but I have to tell you, it just helps me "pull everything " together in terms of my spiritual, physical and emotional well being. Its such a gift to me. I practice kundalini yoga a technique that focuses on breathing and I mainly work out at home. I have practicing yoga for about 4 months now. I have to tell you that before yoga, my stress level was crazy that I had muscle spasms in my neck/shoulder. I tried everything from acupunture, chiropractor and other forms of exercise. I even had trouble sleeping....Yoga wiped all that drama out. I am so grateful to God. So, I am due back at my loctician in about 6 weeks. I will keep you posted...looking forward to more growth and progress and one day, "whipping" my natural locs!

Happy New Year and Happy New Hair...:-)

I wish all of you the best as we embark on this New Year. God is Good!!!! As I approach month one of my new sisterlocks, I am just so thrilled that I made the decision to lock and went forward with it. My hair is doing well..I am still happy with my decision and the progress. I mentioned in previous posts that my hair was thin in certain areas as a result of poor style choices in my prior hair life . I have been taking my vitamins daily and so far, so good. I can definately see some progress even though it's like watching paint dry. I know it will take time and patience, nevertheless I am excited about growing some hair..lol! Well, I have a re-ti scheduled for next friday. I plan to wash my hair a day or two before. I will let you know how things go and will post some new pics.