Hairstyles in the past

Here is another that I started and never finished. I'm posting it as is.





I haven't had any chemicals in my hair since 2000. This all happened as a fluke. I had some extensions in my hair, and my sister was helping me take them out. I told her where to cut, but she decided to cut where she wanted. I ended up with hair past my chin on one side and above my ear at another. I got my hair cut in a style. Then I started wearing microbraids. I didn't like the short hair. My intention was to grow my hair out and then get a relaxer. After about 7 months, I had a lot of new growth, and the thought of going natural popped into my mind. I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to do it. I started reading about natural hair and decided to put another set of microbraids in my hair, and after 6 weeks, either perm or chop it off. Well of course, I decided to chop it off. .




Natural hair styles of the past:....press and curl, two strand twists, afro, etc.

We had a good run, but now it's over. May they rest in peace...

Growth

I am bad about beginning a post and never finishing. This post is from 1/I3/2010.

I look at my daughter's hair and I'm saying, "Your hair has grown so much. Mine isn't growing." Of course this isn't true because I always have new growth and the days of slippage are over. For some reason, her hair hasn't swollen yet and her growth is very noticeable.

Then there is my hair. It has thickened up more than I thought it would. I still (and always will) have scalp showing. Yeah, I was pouting that  my hair was longer when I initially had the locks installed. I tell myself, "This is crazy!" I examine a lock that was combined on my second re-tightening. It's still two-headed, so I measure it. Exactly three inches. So I'm wondering why isn't my growth as noticeable as my daughter's?

Of  course I know we are different, have different hair textures, etc., but that didn't stop me from moping.

My hair seems farther along the locking process than hers which is surprising because I had slippage and unraveling an she didn't. Also, my hair is fine and soft. She didn't have the  curly-qs which she absolutely adored, but I hated. I do wash my hair more than I wash hers.


A collage of her. She has major shrinkage.

It took looking at pictures to realize how sillyI was being. First of all, those little curly-qs sometimes account for 1-1.5 inches of hair. Second, my hair is healthy. Third, my hair has made wonderful changes and has noticeable growth.

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.