I know, I know.... I'm sorry

Yes, it has been a LONG time. I really did have very good intentions when I began this blog. But the end of the school year approaching, classes for an advanced certificate, boyfriend problems, and just feeling run down kind of took it's tool.

Well, I'm still locked. The itching has not really gotten better. My consultant says that my scalp looks a lot better. Actually I lie. My scalp has gotten better because now I only have to wash it once per week as opposed to washing it twice a week like I was before. Of course, much to the chagrin of my consultant, I experimented with some shampoos. The Sisterlocks Green Tea shampoo was really helping, but it was too conditioning and caused my locks to unravel a little in the back. It also made my hair appear more frizzy. I changed to the Aveda Scalp Benefits shampoo and it REALLY worked... as long as I accompanied with an ACV rinse. It wasn't very moisturizing and does not have SLS in it. But I'm realizing now that it doesn't work very well on it's own. I like the ACV rinse but I fear it may be too conditioning. My consultant recommended that I go back to using the starter shampoo and putting an anti-itch cream on my scalp (very small amounts) once a week. There is no slippage with this, but it is not as effective as the ACV wash. So, guess what? I'll take a little fuzziness as long as I can;t produce snow from my head. Really, the fuzziness is not considerably more than it should be. Actually, it could just be my hair in it's natural locking process, says my consultant, it's just fuzzier than most heads she's seen.

So, at five months locked here's a rundown of my routine -
Wash once a week to include an ACV rinse at the end of the wash.
Rinse mid-week with just water in between washes.
Fingerstyle daily using steam from shower.
Retightenings every 4 weeks.

And that about wraps up the hair update. Stay tuned for the skin update. I know I promised pictures. I don't have any close ups but I will try to get some for you this weekend. I have my ten year high school reunion! I can't believe it's been only ten years! Until then, here's one to hold you over. :-)

Product Junky...

Well, I'm almost at my one month loc-versary and I absolutely love my hair thus far! It seems though, for now anyway, this blog is becoming less about my hair and more about the itching and dandruff. But that's okay because at least this itching is not due to chemical burns and accompanied by the pain of relaxing my hair. After my follow-up at which there was A LOT of dandruff coming from my scalp I decided that I needed to do SOMETHING. And at this point a trip to the dermatologist is not an option due to time constraints.

Unfortunately, while I wasn't a product junkie before (well not obsessive anyway) I am one now as I go on my quest to find the right shampoo for me (since that is pretty much all I can do at this point.) hose of you who have know scalp issues during your journey, I envy you! But I'm glad your way has been smooth. Lucky, lucky me that I stumbled upon this shampoo that seems to be doing a great job. I only say seems because I only had one wash with it so far.

I bought two because I couldn't decide which one I wanted. Both on the inexpensive side of the shampoo spectrum. I found both at my local Bargain Center which was GREAT for my pocket (being a school teacher doesn't exactly leave me with a lot of funds for my hair, so I have to be selective). The first was Head and Shoulders Citrus Breeze for Fine/Oily hair. I thought this would be good because I realized that I don't think I have dry scalp AND it had pyrithione zinc. But I wasn't thrilled that is had sulfates in it so I kept looking. The second shampoo is Tea Tree Triple Treat Invigorating Shampoo by Giovanni and I think I'm in love. It's marked for all hair types clarifies and moisturizes (which was a concern because at this stage my only moisturizer really should just be water, right?), has no sulfates (Yay!) AND claimed to alleviate dry, flaking scalp with organic tea tree botanicals. After reading reviews of both products the Giovanni shampoo might be one to use less frequently since it clarifies and thus, may dry my hair out. So I may end up using the Head and Shoulders after all.

So I chose the second, more organic one to try out. And I love the way my hair feels. And my scalp is looking healthier. And best pf all, no itchies! Just the normal, occasional itch. However, I do have some dandruff, but not as much so I think that problem will be alleviated with a few more washes which I do once a week. I've also taken to spritzing my hair every other day or two with a water mixed with 15 drops of tea tree oil (to 8 oz water) and one drop of mint oil. I may change that since I started using it to control the itching before I found this new wonderful shampoo. :-D
I'll keep you posted. :)

P.S. Sorry there are no pictures. Not much has changed. But I'll try to have some next post, especially since I'll have had my mid-winter recess break!

Oopsies and Itchies

IT ITCHES!!!!! I'm only at week two and my scalp is driving me NUTS! I new this was going to be an issue because it has pretty much been an issue my entire life. But this is crazy!!! Which leads me to the oopsy of this post... I ABSOLUTELY had to rinse my hair last week. I had managed to hold off for a week and a half but the itching was driving me crazy and... I was not home where my rubber bands and starter shampoo were so I decided that I needed to rinse my head.. sans braiding and banding *gasp*. I know, I KNOW! Shame on me. But I couldn't help it. My options where risk a little slippage now and relieve some of the itch, or hold out and risk peeling off my scalp. I chose to go with the former. Luckily there wasn't any slippage at all and I got some much needed relief.

The next day I decided to tackle my first wash. And that was something of a disaster (making me wonder of course, whether I made the right decision. Of course, I know that I did, but this beginning stage is definitely something.) But I digress... So, I attempted to start braiding which was impossible given my length so I tried twisting which was difficult but I managed. Unfortunately, the rubber bands had to go out the window because the length of my hair made it impossible to twist fold under AND then band. So, my braid and band became a twist and snap (T-S). I utilized the endless supply of bow clips that are reserved for my daughter's hair, picking the ones that didn't have as many teeth (didn't want to snag anything).

The wash went well despite the 45 minutes it took me to T-S about 35-40 bundles (my hair is apparently that short although I didn't think it was before). And I decided to let my twists air dry overnight and take them out in the morning. Well, there went my second oopsy. The look did NOT come out the way I expected so I've settled that I'll just be free styling for a little while. Sorry, no pictures. That's how bad.

And we come back full circle to the itchies. I think I'm going to give the vinegar rinse a try. I NEED to give the vinegar rinse a try. I know that I'm not supposed to use anything but the SL starter shampoo and water in my hair but this is an emergency. Seriously. Not. Cute.

Wish me luck! And if there are any other suggestions, please, please, PLEASE leave a comment.

Free at last!!!

Of course I had to title this post that way since Thursday was MLK's birthday and we observe it this Monday. But that's definitely how I felt at 10:30 last night. So, so, SO very free! On a side note, I can't believe how far we have come as a nation in equality and how far in many ways we sill are. As I tell my pre-k students about Dr. King, it still boggles me what you can find in people's hearts both good and bad.

But back to hair! I LOVE it!!!! Even better, the whole process took 13 hours, which is especially great because my consultant wasn't sure if we would finish last night. But miraculously we did. It's amazing what a little prayer can do! LOL My hair is longer than I expected and fuller too so yay, yay, yay! Without further ado, introducing my babies born, officially on January 16th 2009.

Does anyone have some tips or tools, or accessories for styling these babies (other than soft spike curlers of course)? Comments and suggestions (and websites!) are definitely welcome. :-D

Oh by the way... I passed two of my NY certification exams!!! Yay!!! Now I have to schedule the third and final one. Good news all around!

Crazy Hair!!!

Well, someone congratulate me! I just got in after my first day of my installment. The front half of my head is almost done. My consultant estimates that I will have about 240 loc in that part alone. So far my installation time is 7 hours, and we hardly took any breaks!!!! Wow! I can't wait for tomorrow and I'm praying that we will finish it all then. Here's to another 7+ hours! Until tomorrow here are a couple of shots for your viewing pleasure. PS. This hat will become a favorite of mine over the next few days.

I'm So Excited and I Just Can't Hide It!!!

5 more days!!! I said FIVE MORE DAYS!!!! Until my installation that is. My consultant says that it should take her more than 12 hours to loc my hair and we're going to spread out over two days. I'm getting so antsy. Plus it's a little strange walking around with 4 test locks at the front of my head, even if it is reminiscent of a Superman curl. Yes, four test locks! Doesn't that already make me part of the family??? LOL 1 large, 2 medium and 1 small. I was proud that I was able to tell the difference. :-D So, of course, for your viewing pleasure I have three pictures of me sporting my four test locks surrounded by my just-woke-up-in-the-morning TWA. Please excuse the early morning look. :-) 

PS. Sorry for the sloppy layout. Still trying to figure out this whole blogging thing. 

Anticipation...

So, I'm continuing on my quest for as much information as possible about Sisterlocks before my installation. Two things that I have a lot of concerns about are itchiness and dandruff. I have a lot of that with my TWA so I'm really scared about when my scalp is more exposed and my hair doesn't conceal or trap as much. In my quest I have found three common remedies:

1) An apple-cider vinegar mix

2) Aveda Scalp Remedy

3) Water and olive oil mix.

Does anyone else have any suggestions or opinions on the matter? I want to be ready for the aftermath that will lead to GORGeous hair!

My Decision...

Well, people... I've decided to lock my hair. Method of choice? Sisterlocks. Why? Hmmmm.... Well, I've been natural, this time, for over six months now and for some reason, I just am not good at dealing with it in it's natural state. I've "gone natural", via the big chop, two other times before and it never stuck because I would get to this stage of frustration with dealing with it and go right back to the relaxer. I'm ashamed to admit this because I've seen women (my sister included) who have gone from TWA to a nicely sized afro, obviously able to deal with their own hair. In a way I feel like it's a testament to my "non-blackness" (no offense to ANYONE. I'm proud to be black, a black latina specifically. Just noting things that I've had issues with for years. I know some of you got the "Why do you try to talk "white" growing up.)

This last time that I did the big chop, I was REALLY tired of the relaxer and decided that I would not go back. EVER. So what would I do when it got to that crucial point? I actually tried traditional starter locs two weeks ago and I couldn't make it more than those two weeks. I NEED to be able to wash my hair. The dry shampoo thing was NOT working for my itchy scalp so here I am... three weeks later with four test locks in my hair and an appointment scheduled for one week from today for an installation. I'm SO nervous but really excited! So many pictures of so many beautiful women with such beautiful locs have given me the courage to keep with this decision. 

Wish me luck! :-) 

Greetings!

     After reading SO MANY blogs over the past few weeks, I decided to start my own in hopes that it will help someone else the same way all of the blogs I read helped me. These past two years have been such a roller coaster ride for me (between completing my masters, beginning a new career in education, my daughter, and a divorce, it was hard to tell which way was up). The primary focus of this blog is to document the installation and growth of my Sisterlocks. But included will be some commentary on my life in general. Enjoy! :-)