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…..

For those who want a more detailed explanation of how I put the PCs in and took them out, continue reading….

I sectioned off 6 parts of my head first and took on 1 section at a time. I started off using 3 locs/1 pipecleaner, but after doing that I noticed they looked too small so I increased it to ~5 locs/2 pipecleaner for each “wrap”. I actually cut my pipecleaners in half and then folded the tip before applying to my hair for safety. If I was to do it again, I wouldn’t worry about cutting them and just fold them in half. I slept in them for 2 nights and it was ok for me, definitely more comfortable than sleeping with Bantu Knots if you ever had those. Although I was trying to wait until Christmas to show my folks my new do, I decided to take them down on the 3rd day (which was yesterday) because they started to become a nuisance. Also, I was anxious to see what my curls look like.

It was soooo easy for me to take out, I think mainly because I was cautious of how putting them in would affect taking them out. With the way I put them in, all I had to do was 1) unbend the top part of the pipecleaner closest to my root, 2) unbend the bottom part of the pipe cleaner at the tip, 3) hold the hair at my root while pulling the pipecleaner up and out. Only 2 out of my whole head gave me problems with some snagging and that’s because the bottom close to the tip was raveled in with the pipecleaner. I’ve been SL’d for over 1 year and my hair is not nearly what anyone would call mature so with my soft hair, I knew some snagging was bound to occur, but again, I planned for it very well. Altogether, I think it took me over 2 hours, but I’m not quite sure about the timing because I wasn’t really watching the clock. All know is that I got home form purchasing the rods, put my ACV rinse together, washed/rinsed my hair, got to work on wrapping the SLs, then I went to the club with my bf rocking the new look!

Overall, I like the look it gave, but I don’t see myself doing this very often because of how much time is involved.

It’s been a while, a looong while. So much has been happening over the past few months. I’m not sure if I’ll do a huge review post, but while I have the time, I did want to show off my latest hair style. Two weeks ago I shelled out $255, yes $255 for my last retight and had wrap-a-loc done on my sisterlocs. Why was it so much $$$$? Well, I have missed 2 retights, so they charged me double the usual amount for that = $170 + $10 (wash) + $75 (wrap-a-loc). To tell you that I walked out of there pissed off was an understatement. My hair was NOT all of that and to top it off the curls did not even last. I am beyond over going to my consultant for these retights spending all that money. I am determined to take the retight class and do this ish on my own starting in January. Anywho, since I love wearing my hair curly, I went on a net surfing rampage to find a DIY method. I like the look Bantu Knots give, but they don’t always turn out like I want. To make a long story short, I found out that many women with locs set them using pipe cleaners. Upon closer inspection, the pipe cleaners look VERY similar to the wrap-a-loc tools. The nerve some people have to “develop” something “new” and sell it for bookoo money! I purchased 100 black pipe cleaners from Michaels for $4.00 vs paying probably $80 or more for enough wrap-a-loc tools. Oh, and the $75 I paid my consultant did not come with the tools; they removed them prior to letting me leave of course. So, I washed my hair and rinsed it with Apple Cider Vinegar (I’ll do a post on that later). I set my hair with Lottabody and got to work. I did not sit under the drier because I did not plan to remove the tools right away. The great thing about this method is that while you’re waiting for your curls to set, you have a hairstyle within itself. It turned out way cute and I even went out on the town lastnight just like this. Here’s how it turned out!

Glam: … it looked nice

Me: No it doesn’t. What’s nice about fried and laid to the side??? lol

Glam: I like relaxed hair but like I said abt the cell phone companies earlier & I will repeat abt hair….DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS, u ain’t got to like it or agree.

Me: I personally don’t give a **** because who’s gonna be able to get the 99.5% of black women who alter their hair to change anything?

The next day, I discovered the video below on the net, “How-to-Do a Wet Set Without Using Roller”. I’m so glad that I found it because it taught me what I was doing wrong (thanks Natural Southern Girl!). I used Motions Light Styling Foam and spritzed very lightly with Motions Light Hold Working Spritz once all the knots were in…. Finally, I can get the curls that I won’t without breaking the bank buying wrap-a-loc or Soft Spikes!

Also check out Creyole’s Bantu Knots.

Hey readers! I would like to announce that at this very moment I am blogging from my new PC. It feels so great to finally have a computer that fits my needs! A lot has been going on, so I thought I’d write a post to summarize everything:

I had my 10th retight done yesterday. The next time I get my hair done, I’m going to have to travel 2 hours to get there (due to my upcoming move). For all of you constantly searching for Johadeni Nappi’s website, it is still under construction. As promised, I will continue to post their contact information (Address: 1638 9th St N, St Petersburg, FL 33704, Phone: (727) 823-9899).

• Over the weekend, I travelled to Gainesville, FL (where I’ll be moving to) for the 3rd time searching for an apartment. Thankfully, this time was successful and I’ve located my future place of residence! Next step is coordinating the actual move for the first week of August.

• Today is the first day of my last week at my current job and I am so ready to move on. An interesting situation has been brewing and let’s just say that I need to get my software copyrighted ASAP!

• I have more potential customers who are interested in my product. That means that I’m going to have to work at superspeed to get my business site, paperwork, pricing, etc. up and running. It’s going to be a LOT of work but I’m looking forward to it.

• I am going home to Miami, FL this upcoming weekend to drop off my puppy Chino (I’m not taking him with me when I move). Sure I’ll be sad but I think that’s the best I can do for him right now. When I move to Gainesville, I need to focus on getting situated with everything. Besides, my parents love him and they have a huge yard for him to run around in.

I think that’s about it. I’m trying to be quick because I do need to go off to work soon. TTYL!

I admit that I usually go to a salon to have my hair washed (not necessarily my SL consultant all the time because she is located ~30 miles from where I live). Besides the fact that I don’t like washing my own hair, my consultant told me that I shouldn’t wash my hair too often because my hair is not “water friendly”. I’m not sure what she meant by that, but she did tell me that because of my hair type and because it is taking so long to lock up, that washing it too much could make the hair unravel or disturb the “process”.

Today I found that it was about that time for a wash because my scalp felt extra dirty. So I was about to wash my hair when I realized that I did not have any SL shampoo; I didn’t have any shampoo for that matter. Instead of asking to borrow my roommate’s shampoo (for the 2nd time), I decided to make a trip to my local CVS. My SL recommended that I use any clarifying shampoo if I couldn’t get my hands on the SL shampoo. I decided to purchase Alberto VO5 Herbal Escapes Kiwi Lime Squeeze Clarifying Shampoo and it was only $0.99! I was told to skip the conditioner until my locks were more mature so I didn’t bother with that. I lathered and rinsed my hair twice and my hair/scalp felt clean; however, upon closer inspection, there was a lot of white beads of residue all over. There wasn’t much I could do about it at the time because I was in a rush, but I noted that I wouldn’t be purchasing this shampoo again. I followed up by spraying my scalp lightly with Jamaican Mango & Lime No More Itch Gro Spray, recommended by my SL loctician for my itch/dry scalp. I also lightly oiled the scalp using the Jamaican Mango & Lime Island Oil. I finished off by lightly spraying my tips with Hawaiian Silky Detangling Conditioner (I like the way it defines my curlies ). After all of that, at this moment my hair feels very coarse and dry (very frustrating).

I’m not sure if using all of these products is good for my SL’s or not, but I know that somewhere along this journey I will find the best products for my hair type. Until then I’ll enjoy trying different things!

Lesson Learned: Don’t be afraid to try something new (as long as it doesn’t cause any chemical reactions). After all, It’s just hair!

Lesson Learned: Sometimes you gotta just smile and keep walkin.

Lesson Learned: Patience is a virtue.

For my original BC, I decided to transition in 08/2003 and I had my relaxed ends cut about 3 months later. My decision to BC that quickly had to do with the fact that I had very little patience dealing with both the permed and natural hair on my head. My impatience = problems with the areas within my hair where the two textures met. This is called the line of demarcation, the weakest part of a hair strand with multiple textures that is a hot-spot for hair breakage (for more information on transitioning, see Transitioning How-To). Needless to say, once I was free of all permed ends I loved my hair of course. So my hair flourished and grew very quickly. I also think that doing the BC earlier on versus transitioning long term contributed to my hair growing quicker than it would have otherwise.

So everything was fine and dandy and then about a year and a few months later, I started getting an urge to see how long my hair would be if it were straight. Up until that time, I had not had my hair straightened at all. So I spoke with a few friends and searched the net about temporarily straightening the hair. Unfortunately for me, I did not to heed the warnings of my friends and the clear message of the article HEAT=DAMAGE. I decided to have my hair pressed at a local beauty salon. First she washed my hair, blow-dried it on an extremely hot setting (at that point, my hair was straight but very thick), then she went over the hair with a hot comb, and finally with a flat-iron and then bumped it with a hot-curling iron. When she was done, I felt like a celebrity. I could not believe that my hair so slick, shiny, and “shakeable” lol.

It was fun for about a week but I hated having to be careful not to get my hair wet in the shower and then having to spend upwards of an hour or more doing my hair before I stepped out for the day (had to make sure the curls were fresh everyday). After that week was up, I was looking forward to finally washing my hair and having my napps back in their full glory. The only problem is that the napps were no where to be found. I was confused because I thought that as soon as my hair was in contact with the slightest bit of water that it would “napp up”. But nevertheless I figured that maybe I needed to wash my hair again. So for the next few days I washed my hair at least once a day but to no avail. My hair was a MESS. It wasn’t the slick straight hair and it wasn’t my beloved napps either.

I knew that I needed to do something and I wasn’t quite ready to BC again, so I decided to have someone relax my hair for old times sake. For about a month, I had permed hair once again. It was cool and I received a lot of compliments, but it wasn’t for me. When it was about that time to get a touch-up, I couldn’t bear to do it to myself. So, I found someone to cut my hair off again, my 2nd BC. I have straightened my hair myself a few times since then, but I never experienced what I did back then. What that salon gave me is called a “hard press” and I am also convinced that the beautician put some type of chemical in my hair to release my napps as she was washing my hair (she denied it of course though). I did however lose a patch of hair in one corner in the back by pressing it myself (this was in late 2006/early 2007), so I stopped doing that altogether. All the hair has grown back beautifully thank God!

Lesson Learned: HEAT=DAMAGE!!!

Lesson Learned: Experimenting is a good thing!

Here’s a few close-ups. It’s been 8 months since I had my sisterlocks put in and as you can see my hair is no where near locked! I still haven’t found anyone with my hair texture yet (besides my dad, lol)…. By the way, there are no products on my hair. Just spritz with a little water, shake & go

Lesson Learned: Why use the Creamy Crack (relaxers/perms) when your hair can be this beautiful NAPPturally? All it does it weaken your hair and burn your scalp.

Childhood/Relaxed Hair/TWA/Wig

As you can clearly see, I have gone through many, many hairstyles. I began my undergraduate studies in 2003 and that’s when I decided that I no longer wanted to perm my hair. I could not stand running away from the rain, spending loads of money and TIME at the hairdresser just so that my hair would look flat/dull in just a few days (and long for the “fresh perm” look again in 4-6 weeks), and countless other reasons. I had always wondered what my natural hair looked/felt like and what was so bad about it that it needed to be covered up.

So I started researching and ended up finding nappturality.com. After visiting this site, I learned about how versatile my hair could be (despite being told that the only thing you could do with natural hair is wear dreads or go around wearing an afro 24/7). I was ecstatic! Soon, I did the Big Chop and started rocking sexy a TWA. It eventually grew out as you can see and YES, our hair does grow (especially without the Creamy Crack, lol). Occasionally, I would wear a wig over my natural hair when I wanted to change things up a little. But guess what? I was still HOT! I ended up shaving my hair off again in 2005 (I’ll explain some other time bc that’s a post in itself).

Sisterlock Beginnings

I always knew that the epitome of my napptural journey would be locking my hair. Once I discovered sisterlocks, it was a done deal. I had them put in September 2007 (it took 15 hours and they were done at Johadeni Nappi,�Address: 1638 9th St N, St Petersburg, FL 33704,�Phone: (727) 823-9899). These are photos of me taken not too long after they were put in. The length of my hair is from about 2 years worth of growth. I have a roller set in each of these photos.