What I Learned About Me, Surprised Me!

Yep, my mind was made up. At the time, I was wearing a short style, tapered really close in the back. This meant that I had to grow it out at least 2 inches, no longer get a perm (even though you can get Sisterlocks with a perm, I wanted to be "Oh Natur-el"). That was an easy decision; I knew what to do...get braids. I'd worn my hair braided before and enjoyed it, at least until it was time to take it down. No matter, that route sounded the most plausible and I was determined.

The braids were great! I wore them for more than a year. By that time, my permed hair could be cut off without any hesitation because I had plenty of new growth to work with. But by now, I'd also seen what Traditional Locs on several people and they looked wonderful. Seeing them, I forgot about Sisterlocks. A friend of mine had locked her husband's hair and done a fantastic job. I called her up and asked about doing mine. We set up the appointment and I had it done. It looked great and I left her chair "a happy camper." However, I had to sleep with a bonnet on and the next morning some of the ones in the back were a little frizzy. It wasn't too bad because they hadn't come loose. Soooo, I worked with them a little and no problem, it worked out.

That was ok for every now and then, but because of my professional position I needed my hair to look nice---daily. This wasn't turning out to be what I'd hoped because, each morning I had to "work with my hair" to get it to look nice (nice turned into "ok" about day 4, and by day 5, "ok" turned into "smh") and by the end of the 1st week I had to call my friend and get in her chair again. No, no, no! This was not what I wanted. I needed to have a natural style that looked good daily and with easy maintenance. That was my goal. That goal was named Sisterlocks and I had missed it!

Why did I change my mind in the first place? No doubt, because I forgot about my research on Sisterlocks. It also dawned on me that I hadn't done any research on getting or maintaining Traditional Locs. What was I thinking??? Oh, believe me I realized rather quickly that I wasn't thinking. I wasn't thinking about the goals I had for my hair (healthy, good looking quick and easy maintenance). Instead, I was going by what I saw on someone else. My bad!!!

But it wasn't too late. I went back to my original plan and sought out a Sisterlocks Consultant. I was sure Sisterlocks were right for me and... I was right. It was a cool sunny May day in 2004 and I arrived at 6 am to start the process. My consultant was informative and timely. She made sure I knew to bring my lunch, snacks and any reading material I wanted. She provided a comfortable chair and a large video collection for my entertainment.

I sat through the process eager to see the finished product. The day seemed to drag on, but finally after 12 hours, she was just about done. Just before she put in my last lock she handed me a comb and said, "here's a comb, comb your hair for the last time." I laughed and told her that wasn't necessary but she insisted. Then a few minutes later it was done! I had my baby locks. They were beautiful. She did something that I didn't know she was going to do; she sprayed my hair water at the shampoo bowl to wet my hair. It was beautiful. My hair took on it's natural curl pattern. Each lock, short and curly looking as beautiful as ever.

More later...

The Journey to Loving My Hair

There's a journey that every woman (and some men) take. I'm talking about the journey you take that leads you to loving your hair. Sometimes, that journey is long and arduous; sometimes, it's simple, easy and straight forward. Whatever the journey and wherever it takes you, the goal is to end up loving your hair. This blog is about how I arrived at "Loving My Hair".

My journey actually began more than 20 years ago. For the first 14 years, I was satisfied. But it didn't last long enough because I began searching for another way to wear my hair. I had worn a perm for most of my adult life but had grown tired of it. Don't get me wrong, my hair always looked nice but getting it that way was the issue for me. It meant hanging out in my wonderful friend's salon (longer than I wanted to) and because of my DNA, it meant doing it every 10 to 14 days...that is as long as I wasn't wearing it really short, in which case that meant hanging out in the salon every week (I had to keep it 'tight').

Like many women, I tried different styling techniques. As a girl who grew up in the 60's, I had only one option--a press and curl! My mom wouldn't have it any other way. Well, if I'd listened to my mom in the first place, this journey could've been a lot shorter and more straightforward. So much for that theory, though. After the press and curl days, I went away to college and got my 1st Perm! OMG, was I excited! Little did I know that I was creating a monster!!!

I wore that perm from the age of 18 to 30 something. It was in my 30's that I began to grow tired of my permed hair and look for "something" else. What was that something else? In my 20s I wore the peculiar style invented by Jheri Redding...the Jheri Curl. For me, it lasted 2 years too long. But I then went back to the perm and stayed there until my 40s when I started experimenting again with my hair. I wore weaves and braids but my hair still didn't feel free.

I met a woman whose hair was beautiful. It was beautifully styled... it was neat... and most of all it was NATURAL! I was curious, "what is that...in your hair", I asked. She replied...Sisterlocks. I asked questions and she gave answers. I did my research and was so excited to find out what I would be able to do with my hair wearing Sisterlocks. I had a rush and the more I learned, the more excited I became. I made up in my mind that I was going to get Sisterlocks. It took almost a year to grow my perm out but I was going to do this and there was no doubt in my mind. More later...