Sisterlocks in the sun

Me

My little lockettes. The one in the front has had her interlocks for 7.5 months. The other, just a couple of weeks. That's why she didn't get a close up, but hers are coming.

Weight Loss

I let myself get severely depressed and during this time, I became very sedentary and I was a bottomless pit when it came to eating food. This caused health problems for me. My back hurt a lot. I couldn't walk without breathing hard, i was having insulin resistance, and my cholesterol was high. These were all problems that I hadn't had before. I was not even 5 feet tall, yet just a few pounds shy of 200. I hated the way I looked, but didn't even know where to begin. I knew I had to lose at least 60 pounds to feel normal again. What finally motivated me to lose the weight was the doctor prescribing me medicine for cholesterol. I got the script filled, then read the paperwork that came along with it. I told myself, I wouldn't need the medicine if I would just lose weight. I threw the medicine away and began my diet. I did indeed lose 60 pounds and I feel great now. I can run/jog again, my cholesterol went from 291 to 172, my blood sugar is lower, and my self esteem is better. These before pictures are embarrassing to post, but maybe it will motivate someone else going through the same issues. I still need to lose a few more, but I am very pleased with my results thus far.

The first pair of pictures are from December.




The next picture is the difference in pants size from December to May. I lost 9 inches in my waist.



The next pair of pictures are from August. I reached this size in May. My goal from May to August was to maintain and tone up, which I have been doing. I will probably begin trying to lose again next month.

Newest "Lockette"

s of August 7, 2009, a new locked head was added to the family. Meet Deja. This child had 10-11 inches of hair. It is normally very dense/thick, but she had scalp ringworm a few months ago, and some of her hair fell out. Although she had that issue, there still aren't visible parts in the back. She has mainly small and medium locks, with some large or extra large due to the areas with thinned hair. Once her hair really starts to grow back, in the far future, I know that I will have to split some locks. It was very hard to make her parts because she has what I call a geographical head. It's very lumpy and uneven. Reminds me of a moon. These pictures are from about two weeks afterwards.

My first "lockette"

She was locked a week before me. She has already hit seven months.

Im dozing off at the computer, so that's my cue to go to sleep. I will post more tomorrow.

I've had my locks for 6 months!

And it has gone through some changes. It's like I just woke up one day with a different head of hair. I started this post a few weeks ago and my locks will actually be 7 months old on the 29th

From Day 1 to 2 months to 6 months. I am amazed at how much my hair has filled in.

I am not completely happy with things because I feel my consultant hasn't repaired many of the gaps in my locks that should have been repaired long ago. I have a bunch that I can stick one or two fingers through and they are very settled at the roots and ends. I am taking the retightening class soon and her reservation that the retightening class doesn't teach repairs. She started pointing at areas that needed repairs (after my retightening), and I was wondering why she hadn't already repaired them. There are also locks that had unravelled and were never fixed, some 3 inches worth. I braid some-the ones that were about 1 1/2 inches and interlocked the ones that had unravelled 2-4 inches until I had no more space. The rest of the lock was so settled, I didn't want to start the whole lock over. I had been trusting her with my hair and not examining every strand as I started off doing. Since she isn't repairing much, I feel I can take some of the knowledge I have gained from repairing my daughters interlocks and apply it to my own hair, take the class and become a DIYer

Besides the gaps and ignored unravelling, I am pretty content with how they are coming along. I do like my consultant even though I have a few complaints.

Pictures

This is my daughter and her microlocks. She has major shrinkage in the back. Her front is a little thin. She used to pull on her hair out when she got nervous, and in the process her got shorter. She is very pleased with her hair, even though children aren't very receptive toward it. Even before locking, they used to tell her all the time that she needed a perm. She usually wore two strand twists. The following pictures are me.

How do I wear my hair to eliminate the "five-head?"

Update (from yesterday)

The consultant I met with yesterday was wonderful. She answered all my questions and was very patient. The advice she gave was very different from that of my consultant. I found myself wishing that I had added her to my list of consultants to check out when I was searching for one. I would have chosen her. I tried to pay her for her time, but she wouldn't accept anything.

She said my consultant needed to slip the bunches ( the ones that have loops coming out of them) down to even the lock out. She told me I need to get the unraveled hair redone ASAP and the two that I took down that were too tight to bear. I think I would have taken the whole head down at that moment if it was possible because it hurt that bad.

She showed me a different way to band my hair and said I probably should shy away from braiding because my hair would continue to unravel as I am taking the braid loose. She told me to wash as little as possible. Also to manipulate my hair as little as possible and to handle my hair from the roots because my hair seems to easily unravel. Said hair should've begun as reverse 4, then changed to 4 instead of the other way around.

I think one big problem was that my consultant is not very accessible (since I work first shift and have classes 3 nights a week and I live about an hour away and she doesn't do weekends, which is not at all her fault). She did tell me during our last conversation that I come at night (usually 6pm), and she can't see my hair as well and that I need to come during the day. Also, it's hard to ask her questions without being cut off. She initially told me my hair would start locking around 5, 6 months. I now know that isn't true and it could take a year or even more.

The other consultant also told me a little more about my hair type that I wasn't aware of. After all the questions I asked, she asked me if I had a consultation before the install, which I did. It just wasn't as thorough as today's visit.

My impression of my hair type was nothing like what it actually is. I always described my hair as thin, coily, and very kinky, even nappy but have since learned that its fine, curly and soft.

As the other consultant put it, it's not messed up, it just needs a little troubleshooting.

I also know for comfort's sake, 2 full rotations at a nearly 5 week retightening doesn't work for me (which I guess that's what took so long). My hair doesn't grow quite that fast.

One more question just came to mind. My slc said as long as the tool could still fit between the lock and the scalp that it's okay to keep turning. Is that correct? And if so, is this a snug fit or a loose fit, or does it matter? I'm trying to understand why the retightening hurt so bad days after. It felt like someone was pulling me by the hair for about a week afterwards. If this is indicative of what I will feel every month, I don't know if I want to go back.

My hair is messed up

I was fine with the installation.

That's about all I can say I was fine with.

The follow up lasted about 30 minutes and all she did was just look through my hair and say it was alright, fix one that I took down and two that slipped. I thought the follow up consisted of a little more than that??

I went in for a re-tightening 4 1/2 weeks after installation on 3/6. It took over 6 hours. I didn't understand why it took so long. I have a small head and I have right at 400 locks.

The next day after the re-tightening, I had a headache that would not go away until that Wednesday. Tylenol and Ibuprofen did not help at all. I took a few at the hairline down because it felt like someone was pulling my hair there. I called her Thursday, 3/12 and expressed my concerns for my hair about how it was entirely too tight, how some of the locks had knots at the roots because of it, and I felt that the locks did not look right. They were entirely too bumpy and holey and do not feel uniform to the touch. I don't expect them to be perfect, but there was a lot of inconsistency in size within the lock itself. I told her I was not at all happy with her work. She gives me the spill about how long she has been doing this and nothing was wrong because my locks were installed by her. She told me I was overreacting. I also told her I felt shafted at the follow up because there were a few holes in my hair that I felt should have been corrected that day. She also told me (in so many words) I had been reading too many blogs, so my expectations were higher than any other person, and I was flipping out at the first thing that didn't seem right and that I need to give things time.

We made an appointment for 3/21. She cancelled because something came up. Now we have one for 4/3.

I have stressed and cried over my hair since the re-tightening. My hair is a little sore when separating my hair, but I am tenderheaded, so that could be why. I personally feel that the way my hair looks right now is a product of too much tension and overtightening. The new growth that was retightened feels very hard. It's really hard to explain. I am going to see another consultant on Tuesday, so I can have more than just her word to go by.

Here are pictures of different rows and areas of my hair. Some are a little out of focus, but you can still see the shape of my lock. My whole head is pretty much like that. How does one even begin to fix this mess?

Sisterlocks, finally

As you all can see, I decided not to color my hair. My installation took a total of 33 hours: 14 hours on Jan 29, 14 hours on Jan 30, and 5 hours on Jan 31. They are pretty thin and not quite as "spacy" as the picture seems to show. I do not know what took so long, but I am pleased with the results although there are about three in the back that seem to have uneven parting. I will get them redone on my next visit.

I am not really looking forward to any future visits. As she got 10 minutes into installing my hair, I was reminded how tenderheaded I was, which is one of the reasons I stopped getting my hair done. Some spots on my head are incredibly tender. I warned the consultant ahead of time. I just had to endure it.

Last of all, I finished one of my daughters' hair that same weekend. She has the same issues with being tenderheaded. She did really well though and did not complain at all. I interlocked her hair using a yarn needle. Her hair took over 30 hours as well. If I had to guess, I would say at least 36 hours. I didn't really keep an accurate track of time because I did it over the course of two weekends. I know my bad shoulder was aching during the whole process. I will post pictures of hers very soon. She is very pleased with the results. I wish I could have done my own, but it just wasn't happening. Now I have to figure out when I want to tackle my other daughter's 11-inches-plus head. To make matters worse, she has a big head and very thick hair!

I have anxiety......

but it's for a good reason. I can't wait for my installation dates (Jan. 29&30). My girls (ages 10 and 12) are excited about it too. They want theirs done also.

I'm thinking of interlocking their hair on my own using either the nappylocs tool, some bobby pins, or some other homemade tool. I'd do my own, but I feel like sitting back and letting someone else do it.

Currently, I have about 8 inches of hair, although I have been natural since 2001. I always got aggravated with my hair and ended up cutting it. I didn't like for it to get past that stage where I could wear my cute, high afro puff.

My consultant said that she would most likely use a 4pattern on me with medium in the back and small everywhere else. My hair is thin. I am a little worried about parts because of that, but I know eventually, they will disappear.

Some people think I'm crazy for spending $800+ on a hairdo, but I have not gotten my hair professionally done in over 10 years, so I am just spending a couple of years worth at one time.

Pictured above is me with the last double strand twists that I will do in my hair, unless for some reason I decide to try it with my sisterlocks. I may post pictures of myself from over the years, when I get a chance to dig them up.