Lovin' it Nappy: My Sisterlocks Journey

2009-02-15T00:07:00.005-05:00

These are some pictures of my cousin and I during the weekend of the inauguration. My cousin has had Sl's for many years and recently had done two cuts as her locks had grown down to her waist. The picture on the top was as we were preparing to go to an "unofficial inaugural ball." We had a great time. I introduced her to soft spike curlers and the loc sock. I was surprised she hadn't heard of Soft spikes being as she is from CA. She loved them and as you can see she had a fantastic set and resulting updo. Imagine "I" was able to help her put her hair up and even do mine own. I really had fun and appreciate having the extra length to make updo's a little less taxing. At the ball I saw quite a few women with SL's and they all had such beautiful styles. Being in the Metro DC area was so refreshing. SL's are very common, yet early women has her own unique style. I'm really diggin' my locks now and find that almost everyday I get compliments from friends and strangers alike.

2008-10-25T23:21:00.003-05:00

Well, I haven't been on regularly, but had a few minutes and thought I'd check in and say hi. I am still considering color for my locks and will probably have it done professionally. One of the students at my campus has beautiful locks and wonderful color. I obtained the name of her colorist and will probably do this next month. I'm really loving my locks and trying to help a few other women come to grips with their own natural hair. I know we all had to come to that point on our own, but we are so often steeped in the "tradition" of having bone straight hair that we can't imagine ourselves with "kinks and all" and still looking good!! I must say I really go a day where someone doesn't comment on how they like my locks. I have been freestyling a lot lately, but I do love the look of them rolled or a braid out.

One of my colleagues just had her SL's installed about a month ago and she is rockin' them. Welcome to the family, B. This sister has made such a transformation in the last year. First of all she has accepted Christ as her personal Savior. Secondly, she has lost a lot of weight and lastly she joined the family. I have included her picture in this post. I used to think she hated the look of my hair, but apparently she was just admiring it and taking it all in as she prepared to go natural.

The other pictures are from my husbands 50th Birthday. I can't believe it. We met when he was 16!!! We've been married 28 years next month. I put my hair up in an up do for the party and was really happy with the way it came out.

Lastly, Get out and Barack the vote!!!! This man has electrified the nation like none other since JFK and I am too young to remember that. So, do whatever you must but VOTE!!

2008-05-18T21:40:00.003-05:00

Well, I know I have been absent for awhile. Work and family have kept me extremely busy. Both my mom and mother-in-law have had health problems. We have had a death in the family, our dear Aunt Emily, who was 93 years old and as sharp as a whip!! On the positive side, our son has graduated from his law school program at Ohio State University (see photo).

We are planning our first vacation in about 5 years. We are going to Scottsdale, AZ. I know it will be hot, but I just can't wait to get away. Our daughter will be joining us. We are planning to get full body massages, go horse back riding and just sit at the pool with a book. Oh yeah, I plan to take a nap or two in the middle of the day.

Well since this is a blog about hair, let me talk about that for a minute. I am sooooo happy with my hair. It is the hair that I used to see on others and admire. I have length, body and the right amount of fullness. I have been getting so many compliments and I am loving it!!!! I sort of want color, but my last experience was not positive. My hair became hard and brittle. I have been using a rinse, but want something with a little more pizazz. My only compliant about my hair is that several locks have lint embedded and this is discouraging. I tie my hair up about 90% of the time. I wonder if clothing, ie necklines don't also contribute. Any hints for getting the lint out? I have heard of folks talking about the use of markers to cover the lint. I did try teasing it out, but was instead interrupting the integrity of the lock. But once again, I must say, "I love my locks!!!"

2008-02-15T00:00:00.002-05:00

My lastest updo!! My daughter once again helped me create a fabulous style. I love this look but don't usually have the patience to do it myself. I am so excited that I am coming up on my two year lock anniversary!! I am constantly getting compliments and have had so many people recently recognize that I indeed have Sister Locks. Several women have stated that they are ready for SL's and I have passed on my consultant's name. One thing I must admit though is I hate having my locks tightened. It usually takes about 5 hours for either of my two consultants to do my head. I don't know if I have an unusally big head or lots of locks. I've never bothered to count them. After about 3 hours, my butt hurts (I don't know why I have lots of padding) and my neck starts to get stiff. The process itself even hurts my scalp. I think that since I don't do a lot of manipulation of my hair on a daily basis that I have become "tender headed". I don't know exactly what it is but besides the good company and the luxury of having someone shampoo and condition my hair, I don't look forward to the process. Is this true for anyone else?

Well, I've been tagged and its been awhile so here goes:

1. I teach nursing at both the graduate and undergraduate level at Case Western Reserve University.

2. I love to work out, but this wasn't always true.

3. While I think beauty comes in all sizes, I certainly was not healthy when I was a size 22. I am only 5'2" and that was tough on my joints not to mention I was short of breath with most any activity. I lost 50 lbs about 8 years ago. I have kept most of it off, but trying to lose about 15 more lbs in the next several months.

4. I am a romantic and love weddings. I have coordinated a few and done flowers for many.

5. I have a red Turbo charged, 6 speed Audi. I didn't set out to get a red car, but it suits me well in my mid life.

6. Last but not least I am contemplating returning to school as the student to persue my doctorate degree. I am praying and seeking the Lord's guidance on this one folks.

I know I have to tag 6 others and I will do that on my next post. It is late and my hubby is snoring next to me. Good night and God bless

2007-11-22T00:18:00.000-05:00

I am Not My Hair...or am I?

Talkin' about a good time with my sisters!!! We had our "I am not my hair party II" this past Saturday night. There were about 12 women in attendance and a good time was had by all!! Our youngest attendee was the daughter of one of the ladies. Little Miss N is only 5 years old. We had a nice group of ladies with various styles of natural hair. One sister isn't natural but is always seeking a healthier way to care for her hair. One attendee who was natural was rescued from the brink of returning to addiction of "creamy Crack". It seems that this dear lady who has been natural for awhile simply had grown "tired" of her natural style. She actually went to the salon, that day, but after waiting longer than anticipated, she left in disguist. So thank God for small miracles, as she was rescued from a decision that certainly she would have regreted. It was her niece that brought her to the party that night and we were able to support her in her decision to stay natural. Hopefully, she has found a support group within this informal group. Goodnapps was there and her hair looks fantastic!! It has really grown, is thick and healthy!! As always she had a wonderful hair accessory to show us all. I even went online and ordered two for myself this week. The website for these items is: http://carmennc.blogspot.com/. Check it out for yourself and I'm certain you'll find something you'll like as well.

Our hostess Mrs. S had gifts for everyone!! She provided us with slippers that were pretty as well as functional. They were imported and each had a reflexology insole. She also had several raffles and several of us won nice prizes/products for natural hair care. Mrs. S even arranged to have a masseuse there to provide massages for those desiring the service. She was certainly the perfect hostess!

This was our 4th gathering in about 2 years. I hope that we can keep the momentum going as we offer support and encouragement to those who are natural or seeking out information on natural hair. The pictures found on this post are from the party.

2007-11-03T23:24:00.000-05:00

Well, I haven't posted in soooo long...I hope I remember how to do it!!! Really, life has been coming at such a fast pace that I haven't had two minutes to think, let alone write down those fleeting thoughts. I'm still lovin' my locks, maybe more than ever before. I'm really digging the length now. I can do now that the weather is turning cold up here in C-town. I must admit, I haven't done a lot of styling lately, but last night I decided to cornrow my hair for the crinkle look. Well, I was very pleased with the results as you see here. My only question is why after braiding I end up with lots of stray hairs at the ends of my locks. I know I probably shouldn't trim, but I can't rock my style with all of those strays everywhere. Anyone have any thoughts?

2007-07-06T01:18:00.001-05:00

I must say, I did represent for the SL'ed ladies. I did a braid out that I curled at the tips. My daughter put it up in an updo and the rest was history. It is amazing how non-natural sista's kept asking, "What are you going to do with your hair?" It was the bomb!!! I was happy to have enough length to do the updo. My cousin was there from CA, and she has been rockin' SL's for about 6-7 years. Her hair comes down almost to her waist. Somebody out there took a picture of the two of us after the ceremony, so when I got a copy, I will post it. Her locks are fantastic!! She is an inspiration for those of us who are still at the beginning of the journey. Well, enjoy the pictures and keep the couple in your prayers.

2007-07-06T01:05:00.000-05:00

The official wedding cake: each layer different

Grooms cake
A Red Velvet Delight!!!

2007-07-06T00:14:00.000-05:00

"I'm a mother-in-law!!"

Well folks, It's official. My son and his long time girlfriend were married on Sunday, June 24, 2007. The wedding took place after an 18 month engagement. We thought we had so much time and before you knew it...the date was here. They had a beautiful ceremony in Huntsville, AL. at the college church on the Campus of Oakwood College (a HBCU) where they met about 6 years ago. The bride was stunning in her gown. I thought she looked like a porcelain doll, so fresh, simple and yet elegant. My son was handsome and soooo emotional. When he entered the ceremony you could tell he had been crying. When he saw her enter the church, he bit his lip and rocked side to side to try to maintain his composure, but to no avail. He wept as she walked down the aisle. As I looked at her I began to tear up as well. Her mother openly wept. She was just so beautiful and our children were truly entering a new phase in their lives. It was indeed a bittersweet moment for a parent. The couple wrote their vows and they were very touching as they declared their love for one another. When they lit the unity candle and then came over to hug each set of parents, that was another tearful time. For each parent we were able to say that we loved them both and give them encouragement as they began the journey as man and wife. My husband even teared up and had to fight back the tears as he hugged his son. In his words, "He's not my little boy anymore, he's gone...he's really a man!!" I can't wait to see the video as I think to deal with the emotion of the moment, my husband and I became distracted by the children participating in the ceremony and at times watched them rather than attend to the ceremony. I think it was a sort of defense mechanism to keep the intensity of the moment at bay. The reception was great. His wife (oh, my goodness...he has a WIFE!!!), is of Jamaican heritage so we had jerk chicken, curry chicken, Escovitch fish, beans and rice, veggies etc. Each layer of the wedding cake was a different flavor. The grooms cake (see photo) was a Polo bear, fully edible with Red Velvet cake inside and a head of molded rice crispy treats. There was also Jamaican Fruit cake. Cake and food was everywhere.

2007-06-03T12:50:00.000-05:00

Going veggie!!

I am in the process of going to a vegetarian lifestyle. I have been cooking less meat over the last several years. I don't cook red meats anymore, but still prepare some chicken and fish. I have been doing less of the chicken and fish these last few months. I just wanted to share a recipe with you all that I got from a girlfriend over 15 years ago. I love these "meatballs" and whenever I serve them they go so quickly. Most people don't even realize that they aren't meat. Try them for yourselves and let me know what you think.

Veggie “Meatballs”

1 package Morning Star Breakfast patties
1 cup grated cheddar Cheese
½ cup. ground pecans
1 cup cracker meal or bread crumbs
1 onion finely chopped or minced
1 tsp garlic powder
4 eggs (beaten)

Break up breakfast patties into small parts. Add other ingredients. Mix together. Form small balls or patties and brown in vegetable oil.

For sauce:

Mix 1 part BBQ sauce with apricot preserves. Pour over meatballs and bake at 350° for 30-45 minutes. Enjoy!!

I'll be looking to hear from you!!

2007-05-30T11:07:00.000-05:00

"I am Not My Hair" Party 4/28

Well ladies I've finally had a few minutes to share with you all the fun that we had on April 28th. First, I must thank Montrie for opening her home to all the ladies who attended. We had about 28 women come and share food, fun, inspiration and words of support and encouragement. We had women with traditional locks, sister locks,fro's, twists, naturals, flat ironed, and even relaxed. While each was different, each woman was so very beautiful. Now I know you might be saying, "why was a sister with relaxed hair there?" Well, several of them were looking for information on how to transition or to support their child who is natural and remember after all someone helped us along the way. Among us some had been natural all of their lives and others had just begun the journey. We had a fantastic time as we shared our memories of our childhood when we "faked the funk" with the bath towel over our head, pretending to have long hair, thanks to Montrie's re-enactment. Many of us laughed as we remembered the straightening comb coming ever so close to our ear and we heard that familiar "sizzle" of the grease heating up signaling that a burn would probably occur. We shared also, kind and unkind comments we endured as we took the plunge and decided to go natural. Folks brought products and books to share and we had an opportunity to network. One sister had even designed a great tee shirt with the title "As Is..." It shows a beautiful caricature of a natural head woman obviously happy with whom she is. We also learned of salons and natural hair stylists in the area. Last, but not least, we had fantastic food from salads, hummus, fruit, vegetarian dishes, and my favorite, sauteed greens.

Our next planned event is for August in the park. We plan to bring along younger sister's who might be considering going natural, but who lack support. All in all I believe from the messages left in the guest book, all had a good time and I expect that we will build relationships that will last a lifetime.

2007-03-11T00:40:00.000-05:00

Well folks, it's been 1 year since my sister locks were started. I have to say that overall I'm very pleased. I did try a new consultant and was pleasantly pleased. She thought I had a lot of locks and it took her about 5 hours to re-tighten, but the converation was great and I was fairly comfortable in the chair. It was nice to have someone else shampoo my hair as my original consultant doesn't do it routinely and I shampoo myself about every two weeks. So it was nice to put my head back in the bowl and enjoy the magic touch of my consultant. Her price was reasonable and I was pleased with the results. The picture on the left shows a braid out (no, I'm not drunk, but trying to tell my mom how to use the camera and unfortunately, this picture shows the detail of my hair the best) and on the right curls after using soft spikes overnight.

2007-02-18T22:37:00.000-05:00

Well,Katika tagged me and I guess I have to think of 5 things that make me, well me. Sorry it's taken me so long to get to this, but life happens.
1. I am the mother of two adult children. CB is 27 years old and is the assistant director of employee wellness at the Sears headquarters in Chicago. My baby, AB is 25 years old and is in his second year of law school at OSU. He is getting married in June to a beautiful young woman. We also had the opportunity to raise our niece for about 18 months until this past June.

2. I like to travel, but hate to fly. Doesn't make sense does it? I love going new places, but hate to be off the ground. I don't like roller coasters either. I do fly, but with great reluctance. Believe it or not I have not yet made it to California. I hope to make it someday, but hate flights longer than 2-3 hours. I have to admit flying does indeed get you there faster and easier but it just ain't my thang!!

3. I love doing flowers for weddings and coordinating weddings as well. I don't do it much any more because my time is limited, but this is my passion.

4. I'm a child of the 70's and love oldies. Earth, Wind and Fire, Barry White and the Love Unlimited Orchestra, The commodores, Patrice Rushen, O'Jay's, Three Degrees, and especially "Got to be Real" by Cheryl Lynn listen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoXvDleWJ5U&mode=related&search=

5. My husband and I are high school sweethearts having met in 1974. I can't believe that we've been together that long. It hasn't always been all roses, but God has blessed us. Our faith has sustained us through the tough times. We have his parents example of a 59 year marriage which only ended due to my father in laws death, before us as an example. We've been married now 26+ years and I hope that we have many more!! I appreciate that he has been my biggest cheerleader in all that I have done in my professional and academic pursuits. My advice to anyone getting married is to put God first, each other second, don't expect it to be a fairytale, recognize that it is work and take time to spend quality time with one another.

Thanks Katika for giving me this opportunity to share. I have tagged:

BLQberrylocz
Queenli
Chocolata

2007-02-13T22:39:00.000-05:00

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. Well while we didn't have snow at Christmas, old man winter is now making up for it. We are in the middle of a blizzard with 8-10 inches falling just today. The only good thing is that the university where I teach will be closed tomorrow!! Yippee!!! I would rather go into to teach on a Spring day when I don't have to trudge thorough the cold and snow. The extra day will help as my husband and I spent yesterday stranded in Columbus (about 130 mi. away) waiting for our car to be repaired. Long story short...to the tune of $1100 we were able to get on the road last night and get home before the big storm. So those of you in more temperate areas...enjoy as we will be digging out!!

2007-02-03T21:50:00.000-05:00

Here's a really curly look. I took time and put in all 60 soft spike curlers and boy did I have curls!! I guess this is what I have to do, put more curlers in utilizing less hair per curler. Maybe I'm slow, but it took me almost 45 minutes to get them in. I did use the JML setting lotion. So these pictures are from the end of day one. I am anxious to see how long they will last, my experience has been they are out in 2 days. I'm going to have a tightening this week. So, I'm excited to see how much appreciable growth I have.

2007-01-24T18:56:00.000-05:00

I want to introduce you all to my dear friend and my local Sisterlock inspiration Ms. T. This woman has some awesome locks. She like many of us went natural, returned to the perm and then went back to natural and onto Sisterlocks. Her hair has taken off and she has served as personal cheerleader for several of us. Not only is her hair fantastic, but she is our diversity coordinator at the FPB School of nursing. She knows how to help a sista when times get tough. So hats off to Ms. T.

2007-01-14T01:22:00.000-05:00

Well, folks I am in business with my new camera, but I still have to learn a lot about the features.These pictures were self potraits and late in the day after having rolled my hair overnight on soft spikes. It doesn't look as curly as it did when I took the curlers out as I had fallen asleep and sort of smashed one side of it while at my mother in laws. I think I need a better setting lotion, gel or whatever as my curls don't last. I am generally happy with my hair, but just impatient wanting more length so that I can experience more versatility. I know that good things come to those who wait, but I a really want length and want it NOW :) No, but really it is more the bunching and and fuzziness that have me intermittently frustrated. It has been 10 months and I have a fair number of locs particularly in the front that just don't want to cooperate. They seem adverse to locing and just continue to frizz. I certainly thought that with my thick coarse hair that there wouldn't be any problem with locing anywhere on my head. I haven't been consistently banding my hair with washing as I felt like I was pulling apart more locs that I was maintaining with their use. I have avoided conditioning, which is killing me, to prevent unraveling. I wear a bonnet to bed nightly and for the most part avoid major manipulation of my hair. I do use products for locs to provide a sheen, because I do have a difficult time with dull, dry appearing hair. One product is by Jamaican Mango, Lime and the other by Clairol. So if anyone has any suggestions on how to reduce these issues, let me know.

On another note, I just came in from church spending about 3 hours with the youth of our church in prayer, testimony and support. Folks we need to keep the teens of today in prayer and close to our hearts. They face so many difficulties in their young lives. Be blessed as you begin the coming week.

2007-01-03T00:02:00.000-05:00

Hello and a Happy and Blessed New Year to all. Well, I finally got the coveted digital camera for Christmas. I am adding a picture of the hubby and I New Year's eve on our way out the door to dinner. I am so excited so now I will be posting more often. I start school tomorrow so I will limit my post tonight, but stay tuned for more frequent updates and yes I still love my Sisterlocks.

2006-11-09T00:15:00.000-05:00

Well, I know I havent' posted in a very long time!! One main problem is that I don't have a digital camera. These photos were taken by Tanya a fellow Sisterlocked sister here in C-town. We had a wonderful lunch at the Cheesecake Factory last month. She had planned a get together for a few of us, but due to problems beyond our control, several others who planned to come couldn't make it. But any how we had a great time sharing our journey from perms, to natural and finally to Sisterlocks. So thanks to Tanya for her photos.

I am currently for the most part happy with my locs. The only disappointment is that I have a lot of frizz at the ends. Some of the locs look as if they will never lock. I know this is part of the process, but I am looking forward to the day when my locs can be groomed. One the other hand, I do have some that are actually starting to lock. I must say that over the past several weeks when I wore several different caps, I received lots of compliments and if I don't say so myself, I was looking rather fly!! I really would like to put a semi perm rinse in like "Jazzing". Anyone have experience with this product?

2006-07-23T14:04:00.000-05:00

Well, its been awhile since I posted. While I know my hair has grown, it went thru a slower period of growth and I was disappointed in my progress. My digital camera is broken but I hope to have some pictures soon to add. I am going thru that funky stage where I'm not completely happy due to some slippage issues, but I still receive lots of compliments. I realize that we all go thru this, but I can't wait to get to the next phase. Will post when I get some new pitures.

2006-05-02T20:56:00.000-05:00

Here is my first picture of me with my Sisterlocks. They were about 6 weeks old at this point. I had just come from church several Sabbaths ago and my daughter took this picture. I will be posting more pictures of my Sisterlocks as they progress. I am going for my first tightening sometime next week. I must say that I love my Sisterlocks.

2006-04-22T21:54:00.000-05:00

These photos reflect all of my hair styles from TWA, twists, to my afro as I considered going the Sisterlock way. I tried it all and loved each style for different reasons. I wanted more pictures, but had a hard time getting them all up online to post. I have had Sisterlocks for 6 weeks now, but my digital is "busted" and I am waiting for my daughter (seen in the first photo at her college graduation) to send me pictures that I can post. Until then these phots will give you an idea of all the changes I've been through over the last 4 years. Note my mom is wearing twists. She hasn't had a relaxer or other chemical in over 20 years. Be Blessed y'all.

Linda

2006-04-22T21:51:00.000-05:00

2006-04-22T21:40:00.000-05:00

2006-04-22T21:38:00.000-05:00

2006-04-12T22:39:00.000-05:00

I am very new at this but will give it a shot. I hope that something that I share will be encouraging to someone else considering taking the plunge into the world of natural hair. It has been a journey that has had its ups and downs, but mostly ups. I had a life changing event occur several months before I made the decision finally to go natural. I lost my grandmother at 77 years young, very suddenly due to a Pulmonary embolism. She was alive watching the NBA playoffs at 11:00 p.m. and by 5:15 am the following morning she was gone. I think that with that blow to my life and taking the responsibility for her estate and all that goes along with that, that the last thing I wanted to do was be a slave to "creamy crack" and all that it entails. So, after having my last perm done before my father in laws funeral (almost exactly one month after my grandmothers) I called it quits with the whole relaxing thing.

While I told my family I was going natural no one believed me. I started off with braided extensions, cornrows and the like. I was planning to wait one year before cutting off the perm, of course so that I would have some "length". After 6 months I couldn't take it any more. I scheduled with a natural hair stylist, here in Cleveland to have my hair cut, the "big chop". I tried to tell my family I was going to cut off the perm, but they didn't believe it. When I came home with my TWA, my husband was shocked, but he liked it. My mom's response was, "no you didn't, I can't believe you cut off all your hair" Now mind you I've cut my hair down to 1-2" when transitioning from perm to curl and vice a versa. No one had negative comments then, but now that it was a natural texture, everyone had to comment.

The best advice I can give you if you are deciding to go natural is to do it because you believe in it and are comfortable with being who you are. I've known people who have gone natural, but hide their hair underneath a wig for dressy affairs or special events. Girl, embrace that thing and go for it. Don't buy into "you'd be so pretty if you'd just relax that hair" as one acquaintance told me. Our ancestors did not have relaxers and they were beautiful. Beauty is more than just hair length, texture, or style, but its about what radiates from inside. I believe that the Christ that lives in me reflects all the beauty that I need and I hope that I be a positive force in the lives of those around me.

I am now Sisterlocked for 4 weeks and lovin' it. I will be taking pictures and posting soon. Be Blessed and watch here as I chronicle my journey