So Frustrated
As you may know from reading my previous posts, the cost of maintaining my sisterlocks is overwhelming for me as a grad student. When I had originally saved up and invested a couple hundred dollars to have my sisterlocks installed for the first time, I had no idea that I would have to continuously shell out the amount of money every month that it takes to maintain them. They say sisterlocks is freedom for our hair? Definitely not freedom from the chokehold of the salon! The worst part of it is that I cannot just forgo getting my hair retightened or space them out further, because as you saw in a previous post, it still ends up biting me in the butt. I really believe that as a black woman with natural hair, I am taken advantage of in many ways. Case in point, about a year ago I wanted a simple wash and roller set with my locs. I went into a random salon in the hood and they wanted to charge me $75 vs. $40 that they would charge someone with the creamy crack. Now keep in mind that they weren’t doing any retightening or anything, just simply washing and setting my hair on rollers. I would think that my hair would be less time consuming since there’s at the VERY LEAST no comb/parting necessary. GEEEEZZ! Am I the only person in the world that thinks that was absurd?
Back to the sisterlock retights. So transporting every month to Johadeni Nappi has been taking its toll on me and it’s about time to make a change. I had already made up my mind to pay the $250 to have the master trainer teach me how to retighten my own hair. However, I recently had renewed hope in finding someone up here in Gainesville to do them for me. One of my professors actually has a daughter who is a sisterlock trainee. Thinking that a sista might get a break on the pocketbook and a convenient alternative to travelling over 100 miles to Johadeni Nappi each month, I was excited to call her. However, to my disappointment, she charges MORE $$$ than the certified consultants at Johadeni Nappi! There was also another woman in Gainesville who isn’t even trained in the SL method but swore up and down that she could use interlocking to retighten my hair each month for the great price of over $200. Do I look like a frigging idiot???
Ok, I’m sick of all this consultant biz. One of the main reasons that I went natural in the first place was to reclaim the freedom to style my own hair without the requirement of a stylists’ services at least once a month. I do wish I would’ve discovered NappyLocs before I even got the SLs but that’s a whole entire post on its own. The NappyLocs would’ve started me out as a DIYer (Do It Yourself) from the beginning. I’ll get it together one day….soon…..
February 9th, 2009 at 11:38 PM
Hi, I came across your blog as I searched for Sisterlocks. I was thinking of getting them installed in March. AND NO you’re not the only one who thinks this whole hair biz thing is just outrageous. My hair is all natural as well, and I went to a salon for a wash, blow dry & curl, and ended up paying $50. That’s perm prices!! Prices are ridiculous for haircare period, now days. And as for the Sisterlocks, I really want them. The only thing I do despise about the whole process, is that one they make it as if its such a big secret, and you have to pay to learn how to maintain your hair once its fully locked. $250 for retightening class?? Ridiculous. The consultant I spoke with, whom was very down to earth, and not just after my money, said that when she first got her locks, it was only $75 to learn how to retighten. I’ve heard and seen a lot of women, purchase the Nappyloc tool for maintenance instead. My consultant, purchased it as well, but she said that it doesn’t keep the hair as tight as the Sisterlock tool. Long story short, I do plan to take the class once I get my locks. Only cause, then I can do my own hair, on my own time. And if I want to be pampered, go out then a get a retightening done.
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:25 PM
You can retight your sisterlocks with a $.99 latch-hook. You get a better result. I started my locks with sisterlocks but got sick of spending all this money to get them retightened. My locks are tighter with the latch-hook than with the sisterlock tool because it’s skinnier, so you can get under short new growth very well. I’ve been retightening my own locks with this tool for the past 5 years and I love it.
You can purchase the latchlooking video on Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Latchlocking-Training-Video/dp/B002L6HAWM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1251950441&sr=8-1
December 11th, 2009 at 6:08 PM
Stunning, really awesome subject. I’m goin to blog about it likewise!!