Sisterlocks update

Wow, time really does fly doesn't it. Tomorrow is June 1, 2010. That means in a months time, I will have had Sisterlocks for 2 years. I can't believe it's been that long.

Being a DIY'er has had its challenges.  I'm not always a diligent as I should be in doing my retightenings regularly.  Its so easy to let the time slip away but I always regret it as my hair is very curly and loves to reach out to fellow locks.  But I do love the freedom of doing my own hair on my schedule in the comfort of my own home.

It's growing faster now and it gets caught in the zipper in the back of my dresses so I always have to remember to cover the zip.  It tickles my ears and gets in the way when I'm tossing and turning in bed.  It takes longer to dry so I can't wash it late in the evening anymore because going to bed with a wet head is not pretty in the morning.  These are issues I never had to deal with before with really short hair but I love my locks and only wish I'd started growing them sooner.

Wow, 2 years!  Time does fly. :-)

A year and a half

I can't believe it's been 18 months already. Or at least it will be in 2 days. :-) I went on a cruise and loved the freedom from hair issues. It's the beginning of winter and I went from a week of 80 degree weather in tee shirt and shorts back to cold, snow and ice of the midwest without the slightest issue with my hair. I still love my Sisterlocks.

Doing my own re-tightenings has been interesting. I have a few unintentional combined locks but I still appreciate doing it on my own schedule and not spending money is even better.

Last time I combed by hair

It's been 1 year, 2 months, 3 weeks and 6 days since I last combed my hair. That's just crazy and I absolutely love it! I think it sunk in this weekend. I was very busy doing chores, running errands for both myself and my Mom. It was just one of those busy weekends and at one point I passed a mirror, stepped back and looked in. I paused just for a moment and thought my locks looked just fine. I think that was the first time all day I'd looked at my hair. So finally in this journey, I can really say I am not my hair. It was a very liberating feeling.

Confusion

One day a while back, I wore a Chicago Bears jersey to work with #93 Ogunleye on it. I was stopped more than once by people asking me if I was Nigerian. Where was that coming from? The Jersey, the name or my locks? Why couldn't I just be a fan of a Bears defensive end? I thought it was odd that people went there. I mean I know Ogunleye is from Nigeria but come on, this is Chicago and I was wearing a football jersey!! Any sports fan knows that just means you're a fan.

Ok I got over that. Then a few days ago at Dominicks, three women walked up to me and asked if I was Jamaican? What the frack? Again, where was that coming from? I was wearing jeans and a tee shirt so it couldn't have been the outfit. Was it the locks? It certainly isn't the sound of my voice. They seemed so disappointed when I said no. Me, I'm just confused.

When did I become so international?

Fun with Re-tightening

Ok, I've made a few mistakes, goofs, ooopsies, however you want to look at it AND I now fully understand the importance of separating your locks as well as clipping adjacent locks completely out of the way when you're re-tightening. :-)

So I've unintentionally combined a few (oops) as well as intentionally combined a few and now have some locks with two heads. Weird looking but what can you do?

I had one that didn't cooperate and wound up with a big knot in the middle. The more I tried to fix it, the worse it got. So what did I do??? I got the scissors out and did a little innocent snip, snip and half the lock fell out in my hand. Oh well, it's just hair. It will grow back, right?

Well that's not the worse part. When I washed my hair, the half lock I was left with completely slipped. So now I have a little patch of loose hair that I don't know what to do with. Fortunately it's seriously buried in the side of my head so no one can see it. But I know it's there and every time I put my hand in my hair, I feel the loose hairs.

I want to braid it, but it's so short that I can't quite get it braided. Maybe there's a way to combine what's there with adjacent locks. Of course I've already done enough damage. I don't know, I'll leave it be for now.

Hey, for what it's worth, my locks have lots of character now. :-)

Happy 1 Year Anniversary to Me!!!

Wow, I can't believe it's been a year already since my Sisterlocks were installed.  So much has changed but I have to start out saying I love my hair.  We are finally at peace with each other.  50 years of battle is over. :-)

I took the re-tightening class at the end of May and did my own hair for the first time.  Yeah me!  Let me tell you, I do not like the tool they gave me at the re-tightening class. It's hard to use, hurts my fingers and constantly gets caught in my hair. Sorry to say it, but I gave up and ordered  the Nappylocs tool.  After it came, I sailed through my hair.  It had taken me over a week to do half my head with  the Sisterlocks tool.  I finished the other half in one day with the Nappylocs tool. I'm sure there are plenty of who manage just fine with the Sisterlocks tools.  I'm just not one of them.

More and more people give me positive comments on my hair.  Most of them saying they'd like to grow locks too.  I actually had one lady ask me if they were Sisterlocks.  That was a first, usually I'm telling them they're Sisterlocks.  She said she wanted them but didn't like the price.  I said that was a personal choice but in my book they're worth every penny.

Sometimes I look in the mirror and think they haven't grown all that much.  But just when I say that, the ones in the back get caught in the zipper of my dress or they tickle my neck.  Or even better, I'm walking down the street and feel them bouncing around.  That always makes me laugh.  Of course when I look back at this picture, the difference is obvious.  I love my Sisterlocks.  They really are the best thing decision I ever made.  Happy Anniversary to me!

Michael Jackson

On a routine drive home from work, I heard the tragic news on the radio that Michael Jackson had died. I was so stunned, I don't even remember the drive home. Friends and family were calling me asking if I'd heard. Everyone was shocked and dumbfounded.

Now there's nothing new about celebrities dying tragically but not Michael Jackson. He was 50 yars old. I'm 52. That's too close. That's too personal. He was on a come back, he can't be dead. He had the world at his feet. How can this be? The world loves Michael Jackson, this just can't be.

It was all over the tv, the news, radio and tabloids. But while everyone is expressing shock and disbelief, all the news wants to focus on is how Michael changed over the years. The cosmetic surgery, the hair, the skin tone, the legal & financial woes. I don't want to think about any of that. I'm struggling with how much a part of my youth he was and how it's all behind me now. I'm struggling with why money couldn't buy him the youth he was denied. I'm struggling with the lost talent and possibilities of what could have been in his come back. I'm struggling not to feel old and vulnerable.

So I'm going to celebrate Michael by remembering him in better times. When he was that little boy with talent larger than his afro. On-demand and I will have a youth fest and cycle through all his videos. I'm going back to a time when dancing solved everything. When all the boys had those red pretend leather jackets and everyone did the moonwalk. I'm going to sing along, dance along (as much as I can) and pray that he finally found peace and Neverland.

Linda Jones said it much better than I did on her 'Nappy Hair Affair' website. Read her article titled: "The Michael that I choose to see, is resting naturally". It's so true. That article and on-demand will help me though this. Hopefully.

Annette