One step closer to locking!

Saturday was my sisterlock consultation. I drove to Baltimore and met my consultant for the first time. We watched the sisterlocks video, and I asked alot of questions about what to expect, the average locking time, whether or not I should color my hair before locking (she advised against it...noooo!), looked at her portfolio, etc. I really liked my consultant she seems like a very nice lady and is very knowledgeable about sisterlocks. She put about 6 test locs in my hair, three in the front and three in the back. They are sooo tiny!

Pics of my test locks:

I scheduled my locking session for Feb. 10th and 11th...woo hoo! My consultant is a very busy lady! Her calendar was full for the whole month of February (with the exception of the 10th and 11th) as well as March. I might have to schedule out my retightenings for the rest of the year at this rate! I'm soooo excited!

Loc Adversity

So...I've been getting alot of flack from my friends and my fiance` about getting locs. It seems like no one really wants me to get them except for me and my family. Everytime I mention getting locks someone gives me that look like "why you wanna do that?" I'm starting to get a little bit annoyed, but not discouraged. I tried to explain to my fiance about sisterlocks and I showed him some pictures. He says they look nice and he trusts my judgement but he is still a little uneasy. It has helped alot for me to read the other sisterlocks blogs out there that talk about how they handle their loc adversity. Thanks for the encouragement. I'm still a little scared though...

Now you see the hair...now you don't!

Through my research of sisterlocks, I learned about how these tiny locs could look so great and be styled so many different ways. But I also learned about the hefty price tag! Being that I had about 12 inches of thick hair I could only imagine how much it would cost. Thats when I decided to make the big chop! Some of you might think that I am being really cheap but I would rather cut my hair and save $300. This is because:
1) I have cut my hair off before, I already know how I look so it should be no big shocker
2) My hair grows pretty fast so it will come back
3) It is so much easier to comb and wash my short hair. I might as well enjoy these last times before the locs. With longer hair, it took me about 2 hours to wash and comb out my hair. With my short do, it takes about 30 min.

Although I did not mind cutting my hair, unfortunately my fiance`, friends and family did not feel the same way. I guess no one likes to see long hair go, so no one wanted me to cut it. But you know what, all of those people that complained did not have to help me comb my long thick mane and would not be compensating me with the extra $300 it would cost to keep it. So I made the cut. Here are some before and after pics:

Before the cut:





After the cut:


My hair is now exactly 6 inches. Not so bad... We'll see how it looks when the locks are put in!

My Hairstory

I have been natural for about 7 years now. I made this decision after some convincing from my mom (who went natural 1 year before me) and my personal feelings of being fed up with my relaxer.

From the beginning...Well I was born with a head full of extremely thick hair. When I was a little girl my mother and I used to literally fight over combing my hair. Everytime I saw the comb I would run. Because we were not educated on how to care for natural hair, my hair was always dry, tangled and unmanageable. For this reason, my mother put a relaxer in my hair when I was just 6 years old.

When I got my first relaxer, I thought I was all that. I would sit in front of the mirror and shake my hair like a white girl. Unfortunately, my hair began to break off because my hairdresser at the time was not the best. I went to another hair dresser and she started taking care of my relaxed hair. It finally began to grow back. Because my hair was so thick, I had to use a Super Relaxer in order to get it really straight. When I left the hairdresser, my hair would be bone straight up until the time that I washed it, then it would just look like a bad press. I had to get a relaxer very often because my hair grew very fast and I couldn't let those roots get nappy or show them "nigga naps" (as the kids called it) in my kitchen. This process continued until after my first year of college when I finally had enough.

When I graduated from high school, my hair was pretty long and healthy thanks to my hair dresser at the time. However, when I got to college, I could not find someone good to do my hair. My hair started breaking again. My mother encouraged me to go natural. When I got back home for summer break, I decided that I would cut off all of my permed hair. I had never had short hair, let alone, short natural hair before so I was very scared. My mother and my friends encouraged me and I finally made the big cut. It was probably alot easier to mentally transition into natural hair since I attended a HBCU where there were many natural sistas around.

I continued to grow my hair over the past 7 years. Even though I had better learned to care for my hair it was still extremely thick and difficult to comb especially since it was so long. I continuously wore my hair in two strand twists, washed it and combed it out, and it was back in two strand twists. I loved it when my hair was twisted; I didn't have to comb it or do much of anything to it in the morning. I would just get up and go. I eventually decided that I really would not mind combing my hair ever again. My mom told me that I should probably consider locs. I researched the different types and decided that sisterlocks would be the best for me.

Permed Hair Pic: