Just a little "Edumacation" on the Stages

I got this from my fellow Blogger Janay of http://jaeasisterlockexperience.blogspot.com.  I had to repost it on here as it is a reminder of the stages that my locks will go thru.  As well as share it with my family that like to check in on my blog.... Plus, I gotta stay informed....

So how you feel about that...

If anyone know anything about me, they know that I have been a big fan of weaves.  I got my first weave in 1995, my 12th grade year.  (Wish I could find a picture)

They started off as a natural length, big and poofy - kinky straight, moved to the silky straight, then graduated to virgin indian hair of 24 inches.  I went through the curly, wavy, and straight weaves, and would rock it.  The bigger and longer the hair, the better I liked it.  And my weaves looked like they were growing from my scalp....  They were right!!  Here they are....

Me & 2 of my brats.. My lil sis & youngest son

  

Full weave.  I tried a short look

Workout in the mountains on a misty day = frizzy hair

   

I remember about 2 years ago, I was ready for SLs and walked into a hair salon and saw some BEAUTIFUL Brazilian Curly weave hair.  My mouth dropped and I nearly salivated at the thought of how bomb that would look on my head.  Although at the time I couldn't purchase it (I needed it long and it would have been $500), I KNEW that my reaction and "lust" for this Brazilian weave meant that I was not ready for SLs.  So I put it on hold.  

In fact, just 2 months prior to getting my locks installed, I was in a weave... 

But one day, after taking my weave out, I dried and flattened my natural hair and looked in the mirror and HATED my look!  Although I had shoulder length hair, I felt like my hair was too short and I just didn't feel attractive.  I started to question myself.  Why does it take for me to put 2 feet of Indian textured hair to feel beautiful?  It may sound a little extreme to some, but think about it... How many ladies suffer from "low-self" when they don't have their weaves in?  It was at that time that I decided that I was done and was ready for SLs.

Well, the weekend after my SLs were installed, we took my son to an amusement park for his 4th birthday.  There were weaves everywhere (LOL).  Most of them were a bit of a H.A.M (Hot A** Mess), but a couple of them were really nice.  But the interesting thing is when I saw those ladies, (not to mention my sister's hair that stays absolutely BEAUTIFUL & flowing)

  

(That's her on her prom night with my Mom & I)

I thought the hair looked really nice, but that was it.  I didn't feel like I regretted my decision.  I actually was amped because I knew that soon enough, my hair, although not straight, would one day be as long as their weave.  Here is my beautiful cousin with her long locks.  She has been a great inspiration in my journey and a great wealth of knowledge.  I remember when she first got them installed.

And this isn't the longest her hair has been!

Now don't get me wrong, I love to see a beautiful hairstyle, locked, curly, braided, twisted, or straight.  Hair helps us to feel beautiful.  Different styles give us different looks.  But, I have moved past the idea that straight is the best....

A couple of days later, my husband was watching a TV show and he called me in the room.  He showed me the actress on the screen, who had a very nice weave in her head, and said "Look at her hair... How do you feel?"  I replied, "Oh, it looks nice.", his next question was, "Do you miss your straight hair?", and my honest answer was "No, I love my locks!"  

Week 1... Update

It has been a very busy week.  My lil guy just turned 4 years old on Sunday.   We had a great weekend!  Adventure City on Saturday and a small celebration at the house on Sunday.  I am soo happy that my baby is moving out of the toddler stage into a preschooler.  I love the babies, but I am pretty much over it.  He is my last one, so I am enjoying every bit of him!

So my new babies (the locks) are doing well.  I am still in love.  My maintenance includes:

1.  A satin bonnet to sleep in.  

2.  I have gone between a twist out, a braid out, and freestyle.  I like the braid-out best.  I put a small roller on the ends to curl it.

3.  A few spritz of my Special Water/Tea Tree Oil Spray that I bought from Natural Hairstory.

4. Shake & go!

I cleaned out my cabinet and "donated" all of my hair products and weaves to my mom & sis...  They were really happy.  LOL!  Man, she came up!  

What I don't love about my hair is the frizzy ends, the thinness, and I have a patch of straight hair in the front.  I feel like my hair is gonna unravel if I mess in it to much.  Although I know that that isn't the case.  It is just so soft.  It kinda feels like cotton.  I am used to seeing the SL's on hair that is a little coarser.  So I had just assumed.  I am hoping that it will get coarser/thicker as time moves on.  And the frizzy ends... My Loctician suggested that I spritz them and roll them to help.  That has been working.  

But overall, I am VERY HAPPY with my decision.  The above hurdles are things that time and experience will fix.  

Now, I just need to find out what style I will wear to my sis' wedding.  

Day 3... Not quite sure what to do

**  This was written a couple of days ago**

On the night of day 1, I texted my locktician to ask how do I go to bed.  Bantu, braid, twist, or just cover and go.  She said C & G.  I wrapped in a satin bonnet and went to bed.  Woke up to some funky look, with frizzy ends.  My hair was looking slightly crazy, like fine wires with this curly stuff on the ends.  [Luckily, my intense research of other people's blog had me prepared for my hair to have days that look a mess.  :-)]

  

So far, what I like least about my hair is the thinness.  The scalp doesn't bother me as bad as I thought it would, but the pencil-lead thin lock does.  I can't wait until they thicken up. And what is crazy is how light they are.  I thought I would have hands in lock-itis.  I love the way they feel, but they r so fragile right now, I am afraid to touch them for fear that I may unravel them.  Especially around the edges.

So last night I decided to 2 strand twist them, to hopefully get a loose wave going on and show off the little length that I have.  I liked them, but wasn't in love yet because I had this weird frizzy thing going on with my ends...  See what I mean...

So I spoke to my Locktician about my frizzy ends.  She recommended to spritz the ends with the water/tea tree oil mixture that I got from her and roll the ends.  We well see the end results..

Side note:: My husband told me to leave them alone so I wont mess them up, Well actually his words were, "Did she say you can do that?" (He's so cute)  But this is how they came out....

Oh well, everyday is something new.  I will be a pro soon enough.

Day 1....

I am sooo happy with my decision to Sisterlock my hair!  I was officially a member of the Sisterlock family at approximately 11pm on July 13th, 2011.  I wanted to blog yesterday, but was just way toooo tired.  So, here is my story.

Woke up bright and early with excitement and anticipation.  I got Ethan ready for school and dropped him off by 9:20.  My original appointment time was 9, but needed to get pushed back to 10:15.  So I went to grab some breakfast from Jack In The Box (Love that sourdough breakfast sandwich) and sat and ate in peace.  I figured it would be a LONG day.  So anyhow, got to Hairstory Natural Hair Salon at about 10 and waited for my Locktician.  Ms. Imani Nash-Bey pulled up right on time.  She brought her beautiful mother, who is also a certified locktician from Seattle, Washington, to help her with my hair.  We started at approximately 10:30am.  Ms. Imani went right to busy.  She is very dedicated to the craft of sisterlocks, and it was evident.  Her seriousness while parting was insane...  I was thinking that it looked straight, but she would find another way to perfect it.....

    

So, once the parts were done and Ms. Imani and Ms. Valerie got started on my hair, I had mixed feelings.  Mostly excitement, I was so happy that I was finally getting locked up.  But a slight bit of nervousness, How was this going to look....  

So anyhow the ladies worked non-stop on opposite sides of my head.  We had watched 2 full movies and a couple of tv shows.  My hair texture is fine and baby soft in some areas.  They were speaking Sisterlockese about the lock pattern to make sure that it would stick.  Some areas around my hairline were so fine that Ms. Imani had to get in to do her magic (she is more experienced) to make them stick... I was thinking, "Wow!  All this time I have been thinking about how nappy my hair is, but in this situation, it is not nearly nappy enough... smh".   We finally got a break at 2:30... about 4 hours into it....  I was hungry and needed to straight....  It was perfect timing :-)

  

(Not sure if this is the correct timing, but here it is...)

After the lunch break, we started back at about 3:15.  It was time to get started again...I made sure to be very comfortable... I had on jeggings, socks, and a t-shirt...  I had movies, my iPhone (my favorite), magazines, DirecTv was available, and we had great conversation topics too...  My hubbz checked on my around 4, and although he wanted to see the final product, I talked him into coming to visit me.  I was happy to see him and 2 of my sons.  But their expression was priceless.  All 3 of them looked a little shocked... LOL!  "Those parts are REAL small..." was one of his comments.  But he was still supportive, saying that he trusted that the ladies would do a great job.  (That settled some of my uneasiness because I was concerned about how he would like my new look.)  

One of my really good friends, who was pivotal in my decision to Sisterlock and was one of my inspirations as I know her journey from the big chop nearly 10 years ago, called me to see how it was going.  Although she was at work all day, she drove over 40 miles to come down, bring me dinner, and hang out with us.  My only regret is that I didn't take a picture with me there... (But here she is at another function with me)

(Isn't she lovely with her locks and dimples...  ;-)  and yes... her locks are as long as my 22 inch weave... I have had Lock Envy of her hair for so long..)

So, anyhow....  Ms. Imani was in BEAST Mode and determined to finish my hair in one setting.  I was very appreciative of that because I did not want to go back a second.  We talked, laughed, and watched the BET awards again (lol).... But she never got so distracted that she forgot why we were there.  She was very pleasant and professional.  I asked questions, and she answered them.  She had such a lovely, calm spirit.  

We worked pretty much non-stop after lunch, with VERY SHORT breaks in-between to stretch.  I even had to put my feet up at one point...

     

Well, fast forward this evening to about 10:00, and the locks were just about done!  I think she was down to like the last 2 rows in the center.  My tender-headed self was about ready to explode.  I was exhausted, but very excited.  I could not wait to see my babies all complete...

Well, at about 10:30, she was DONE!!!  My Babies were Born!!!  I looked in the mirror and saw the Bantu knots all over, and although they are not my favorite look, I was very happy.  One of my fears was that my indecisive self would sit through the installation and look in the mirror after the fact and think "Oh NO!!  What have I done!", but I can honestly say that I looked in the mirror and thought, I love them! I can't wait to see my babies out of the Knots...  I can't wait until they mature!!  I was so happy that I felt that way!

    

     

It took Imani & Valerie approximately 11 hours to complete my hair.  They gave me my important instructions on hair care.  I was instructed to let them settle and not mess in them too much (that is difficult right).  Although washing can  be done more often once they mature, I was instructed to wash not more than every 2 weeks.  Because of my texture and Imani's concern of slippage/un-locking, she prefers that I wash just before I go in for my re-tightening in 4 weeks.  She was very clear that I am not to use any product other than Sisterlocks shampoo and spritz of the water/tea tree oil mixture.  She was clear about being careful with my edges since they are very fragile.  She explained the washing process with the braid/bundle concept and answered additional questions before we left.  Although we were there for 12 hours, Imani worked diligently and never appeared annoyed or short with me.  (I am very regretful that I forgot to take a picture with both of them since they too were such pivotal pieces of my journey.)

I went home exhausted!!!

So Day 1 of my installation and I woke up....  Suprisingly, I was still in love with my Locks!  I was anticipating feeling some kind of way about them.. but I didn't.  I released my Bantu-Knots to find some very tight curls looking like a TWA... But was OK with it!  This is interesting because I chose NOT to cut my hair for vanity reasons.  I went on my day and I was VERY comfortable with my look....  Here it is....

    

  

The look is OK.. not my favorite, but I have plenty of time to play with my locks to figure out which styles are better for me.

I have been a person that needed the long weave or the straight hair. This new look of mine is Neither One.  I rocked this new look today with such comfort and confidence.  For the first time, I truly felt like I understood the statement "I am NOT my hair."  (I may need to change the name of my blog).  

When my hubbz finally saw it, he told me that he can tell how happy I was with my decision.  He said I was Glowing and looked so relaxed.  He asked me quite of few questions about them, demonstrating his continued interest and support in what I had chosen to do.  And never once did he look at me like I had lost my mind.  That made me feel even better....  I even got positive responses from all 3 of my sons and my nephew (who originally looked at me REALLY CRAZY when the Bantu knots were in)  

I sent several pictures to my family members and close friends, and finally uploaded some pictures on Facebook.   All of the responses that I received were very positive.  Some people did not mention anything about my DIFFERENT hair...  I wonder if it is because they don't care for it... But guess what... I Don't Care.  I locked my hair for me...  I hear that I gotta deal with OTHER people's acceptance of MY hair.  Well, ME and ALL THE PEOPLE IN MY LIFE THAT MATTER are happy with it... so any negative comments will be cut short and not accepted  :-/

I am ending my DAY 1....  I definitely have "Hands In LOCKS"-itis and had to make a mental note to keep my hands DOWN!  I have spritzed my scalp more than I needed to because it was soo tight... And I am trying to tell myself to roll with the flow with the styles until the locks settle.  I feel that my babies are SO fragile and I want them to do well.  I will begin increasing my water intake to try to decrease the dry scalp/itchiness/dandruff that I have read about.  And I am trying not to mess with them too much to prevent any slippage.  My 3 yr old (who will be 4 on Sunday) loves to rub my head and hair, so I gotta keep his hands away from my babies right now.

Well, I know this was a lot of info.... I am going to bed to prepare for tomorrow's adventure with my locks... :-)

-- Choklett

Installation Eve...

Well, well, well... Tomorrow is the BIG DAY that I have been waiting for.  It's crazy that something that is so small to some people (a hairstyle) is a very big thing to me.  Tomorrow will begin a totally new look for me.  I mean, 10 years ago, I don't knowif I would have imagined walking around without straight hair.  And to think, just 3 months ago, I was proudly sporting 22 inches of Indian Hair that flowed down my back bone straight.  I remember as my weave started to get a little old about 4 weeks later, I looked in the mirror and thought, "This is getting old, I need to be more comfortable with my hair".  That was when I knew I was ready.  Fast forward to 7/12/2011, and it is the night before... Well actually, it is after 12am, so I can technically say I TODAY is the BIG DAY!

So, I have received the confirmation text from my Loktician and was advised to get rest (I should be sleep now, but needed to do this blog to keep it raw), pack a lunch, and bring movies.  My thought was Deeeeeeeee!!!!!  I will be there ALL DAY LONG!  I have never been advised to take a lunch and a movie to a hair appt (although I can think of multiple instances when I should have).

 But overall I am very excited!  A little anxiety about how it will look.  My research of newly installed looks has revealed to some that were cute from the jump and some that GREW to be cute...  Also, I have some anxiety about how my husband (and sons) will feel about the newly installed locks.  It's no secret that he loved that straight hair, 22 inch with a swoop bang and loose curls flowing.  And although I know he will adjust, I want to continue to be attractive to him... Sounds shallow, but eh... it is what it is...  But I can't wait!!

So, anyhow, I have prepared my hair for the big day!  I was gonna color it, but didn't want 2 drastic changes in my look since I have never dyed my hair fully before.  So I did a hairdressers no-no and lightened my hair a few days ago.  I just washed my hair about 3 times and plaited my hair for tomorrow.

Here are the pictures.. Warning - They are busted... but eh...   Don't Judge Me!!

NO PRODUCT on the hair.  That means a Shampoo Only... Not even conditioner...

Time to plait it up.  

No conditioner.  Just my hair after a shampoo plaited up. 

It is what it is...

I don't know if this look like Celie or OG Deabo...  Either way, it's a mess... LOL

 Tomorrow is a new day and big day for my journey.  I will try and take as many pictures as possible without slowing down the flow of things.  I will be having 2 consultants work in my hair tomorrow.  Lord knows how long it will take from start to finish, but I am hoping that they can knock it out in one sitting.  I have movies packed, 2 books, 1 magazine, a lunch, and my iPhone... I think I have enough entertainment to last (I know... I have over-packed).  

Good night and God Bless!

Choklett

The Anticipated Shower...

Hey!  I'm back!!!  Today was the greatly anticipated Bridal Shower.  Just to re-cap...  My SL will be installed in 3 DAYS!!!  (YAY!)  For the past 2 weeks, I have been instructed by my locktician to keep product use to a minimum and NO straightening my hair to prepare.  So since then I have tried a few natural styles that I found on you tube.  However, my look would NEVER come out the way that I wanted it to.  My hair was looking CRAZY!  The hubbz would ask WHEN was my hair getting done...  I was on the borderline of low-self... :-/  In the midst of all that, my sister's Bridal Shower was coming and I had NO IDEA of what to do (Since I am in the wedding, then I knew that I would need to take pictures therefore my hair had to be at least partially decent.)

So, I bought a clipon ponytail because I knew that was an easy fix.  I was gonna wear it Friday night to a party, but didn''t make it.  So naturally, I would have it for the shower.  I showered, washed my hair, and thought to myself that I wasn't really feeling the clip on pony tail.

It was not exactly my thang.  Yes I wore weaves, but synthetic was unacceptable.  Synthetic hair with braids was ok, but that was my limit.  Then I had a light bulb moment.  I totally forgot about this curly creme product that I bought a few weeks ago.  My idea was I would try the curly fro and if it did not work, then the clip on would be my last resort.

So I applied the product and was actually excited by the outcome.  Here is a picture....

See how tight my curls go.  This is the length when I pull them out...

This is me & my Beautiful Sister at her shower.  She will be married in exactly 20 days....

'
I am very proud of my decision to rock MY own hair.  It was funny because I got lots of compliments on my hair.

And I will be locked in 3....  I an't wait!

I broke down...

And bought a clip on ponytail...  smh...  It is so synthetic that I am borderline embarrassed.  But, after attempting to manipulate my natural hair into all of the styles on the you tube that I have seen, and being rather unsuccessful, I gave up...  I was planning on hitting my lil-sister's 25th bday bash tonight and I have to attend my other sister's bridal shower on Sunday.  My afro and the ATTEMPTS at the natural hair styles were NOT working.  So I figured I will pop on a pony clip-on that will hold me for the next 4 days.... Wow, I can't believe I have 4 more days to go.... Woohoo!  I am excited and nervous all at the same time.   But more excited than anything else.

Can I switch topics slightly for a bit???

Tonight as I went through my ritual of stalking blogs about Sisterlocks, looking for inspiration and checking for the different styles, colors, and looks as I anxiously wait for my installation day to arrive, I came across a new blogger that is sharing her specific journey (among other things).  Her SL's are beautiful, her make-up is flawless, her physical shape/weight is plump, and her personality is AWESOME!  She has this level of confidence about herself that is vibrantly exposed through her presentations!

It lead me to reflect on myself for a minute...

I am a plus-sized woman.  I wear a size 14/16, depending on the cut.  My weight fluctuates up to .... (not comfortable enough to expose that to you... :-/    ) and although in my husband's eyes, I am beautiful as I am...

 

 

 In My eyes, I am a fat girl.  If ever you ask me where did I find my cute clothing item, my typical response is "at the fat girl store"...  Yes,  I can stand to lose some weight, but I think that my interpretation of my weight is distorted.

I have always been on the chunky side.  I remember my Nanny calling me her "Cute little butterball" and my mom shopping in the "pretty-plus" department when I was growing up....  (Sidenote... "Pretty-plus"...  That was a name right...)  My mom was always thin when I grew up... I think she was like a size 7 or 9 or something.  I remember asking her if I was going to lose weight when I got older.  She lied to me!!  She told me YES, that it was "baby-fat" and it would leave as I got older ... SMH  (I'm not angry with my mom for her LIES. LOL)  But as I got older, it was clear that I would not have the thin shape of my mother.

  I had inherited the shape of my father.  Yes, the infamous apple shape.  Top heavy, large breasts, big legs and big calf muscles and a little belly :-(.  The only thing that I got from my mother's shape was a waist, which I am so thankful for...  So anyhow, as I grew up,  I learned to accentuate my positives, and hide my "ahem..." other areas.  Although I have always known that I was an attractive person, I have always been aware of my weight.  I have been on so many "weight-loss" kicks since middle school.  Some were successful and others were not.  And the ones that were successful, typically ended in me returning the weight.  I just have never seemed to get it right....

Now, at the age of 34 and a mother to three beautiful sons, I still worry about losing the weight...  I admit to flaking on events because I didn't have anything to wear that looked well (I don't do that too much anymore), and God forbid if I was feeling fat and my hair was a mess....  I think that I have always tried to keep my hair looking well because it would take the attention off of my weight.  (But was anyone else worried about my weight like I was?)  I can only imagine your question... "If it bothers you so much, why don't you diet and exercise?"

Well, I did/do, but I am not consistent enough to see a distinctive change.  I am married with 3 children, I work full time, my kids are busy and their social lives are more popping than mine.  I have not quite mastered the idea of making "me" time consistently (although I am working on that now), and often when I do have "me" time, I like to spend it hanging out with friends or just plain RELAXING.  And plus, working out with the black woman hair issue was a whole new topic, which prevented me from a consistent workout.  Another thing that discouraged me was the slow results.  If I worked out and ate well, I wanted to see consistent change...  I mean at least 1 pound loss a week.  If I didn't then that would be another factor in my discontinued inconsistency.  Yeah, it may sound like a bunch of excuses, but hey... it's my story.

Living in So. Cal, looks are important.  You know, that L.A. Swag,...  Tight clothes, high heels, long hair (weaved or not), big butt, and a small waist... You gotta love it right...  Some people can be so shallow :-).  Some people believe that if you don't have a certain look that includes the above characteristics then you are not beautiful or a BaDD B****.  So where does this thick waisted, choklett diva fit in?  How do I compete with these "Beautiful skinnies"?  Now... don't misunderstand me, it's not about other people accepting me... I have been happily married to my highschool sweetheart for the last 14 years (and was with him for 5 years prior to getting married), but about my comfort with myself.  There is something about when I look in the mirror and see the thickness in my waist, shoulders, arms, and face that leads me to say, "you REALLY need to lose weight."  So my question is WHY and WHEN??    When will I look in the mirror and see the beautiful woman that I am and not the flaws with my weight?  When will I look in the mirror and be comfortable in my skin?  Why do I have such an issue with my weight anyway??  I get it.. Health is important.  It is important to be FIT.  BUT what if I do all that I am supposed to do, eat well and exercise and lose weight.   But what if I don't have the "look" that I want, even with the weight loss, will I ever be truly content with my weight?

As I watched the Blog, and looked at this beautiful, plus-sized woman with this personality that didn't scream "Hide me, I am not a perfect size small" I thought to myself... This woman is AWESOME!  Her confidence does not peek through, but YELLS "I am here!"  Now, the interesting thing is that I too can have the same personality.  But it is not constant.

 I also have a cousin Ms. Sunset Brown (her stage name b/c she is a talented vocalist in a live band called Homegrowne Entertainment from Los Angeles), that I admire although she is younger than me.  She is also a plus-sized, lock wearing, beautiful brown skinned diva.  Her personality also screams... "I'm here, and ya'll better get ready because I stay ready".

I really admire that confidence in plus-sized women that do not allow society's shallow standards of beauty to dictate how she should feel about her own beauty.  As I continue to evolve as a woman, the confidence in my beauty, despite the thickness in my face and waist, continues to grow.  Now, I don't have any daughters, but I make sure to tell young girls how beautiful they are.  I work in elementary schools and live in an area with quite a few biracial girls that have a light skin complexion with long, curly/wavy hair that get told that they are beautiful or pretty often. However, I am very sure to tell my beautiful choklett babies, with kinky hair or chubby faces/waists how beautiful they are as well!

Although it doesn't happen as often as it used to, I am moving to a point where I look in the mirror and see my beauty and not the weight.  I am getting to the place where I can accept my weight.  Although I will not stop striving to be fit, and will work on losing a few pounds, I will not allow it to determine how I feel about myself.


P.S.  I have uploaded all those pictures above but forgot to share my most prized possessions, my 3 sons...

Please excuse my rant and babbles... This was a very personal post to me that discussed my insecurities with self...  But I am sure that I am not alone with this battle..  I believe that sharing is caring and expressing is releasing.  I hope that my blog can help the way that you feel of yourself or others, or even how some comments that you may say can affect how others feel.

Hope you enjoyed....  Please feel free to comment....  

--Choklett

Tried the Bantu Knots...

Well, I tried them, buuutttt it didnt come out how I was hoping. Due to the limited time I had to get ready for church, I did what any self-reapecting lady would have done... Threw on my clothes, accessories, make up, and rocked that fro like it was the best thing under the sun. (smile).

I went to church, and service was another life changing message (praise God), then went home to play in the pool with my AFRO! Today is the 4th and I have basically decided to do a slickback pony and sit in this crazy heat to enjoy good food and drinks with some friends. I have 9 more days and trust me, I can't wait!!

P.S.  Shout out to my new followers... Hope u r enjoying my rants :-). Feel free to leave any comments ...

Slight change in plans...

So I did NOT go get the wig! It has been hotter than fish grease the last few days, and I can NOT imagine walking around with a wig and a net sitting on top of the hair on my head... Can you say "dripping wet"! That would be the word of the day. It was 101 degrees today! I slicked my hair back in a ponytail, with some alcohol free gel... And watched helpless as my edges waved/frizzed up from the sweat on my head. I have 11 days to go and I still have not mastered a natural hair style! I turned to my You Tube for styles and was inspired by some loose curls that was set by Bantu Knots. So I washed my hair the. Twisted and knotted my hair while still damp. I didn't put any moisturizer or conditioner on it because i am trying very hard to stay product free (or product-less). Luckily, I don't have anywhere special to go tomorrow, so if it doesn't come out well, I can do another slickback. But I do need to master some type of look by next Sunday (which is 3 days before the big day). I must attend my Sis-in-laws bridal shower, which I am helping to host since I am a bridesmaid in the wedding... Which means a lot of picture taking... Which means I need to master some type of look. Geeesh, I am hoping for a miracle here. But oh well, we shall see. How this works out. I didn't take a picture of the knots. But I can post a picture tomorrow of the curls IF they look decent. If they don't... Uhmmmmm, they will be slicked in ponytail faster than the time it takes to read this paragraph... Oh. Well guys, I will see u later! ;-)

Uhm... I think I have to try something different..

So, I have exactly 12 more days to the big Lock up!  I have been walking around with this unruly Afro, that I can't seem to figure out how to style.

(SEE WHAT I MEAN?!?!?!) 

My hair is not listening to me... I tried to do the twists, but I can't figure out how to do them so that they are full, and I end up looking like a kid with plaits.  I am a professional that works with people, not in an isolated cubicle behind the desk.  I have been placing on my accessories and make up and walking around with confidence with this afro, but it's all been a front.  My hair starts off decent when it's wet, but fast forward to drying time, and uhm.... all unruly...

Sooo, I think it is time for a wig....  I do not want to alter my hair too much before the big day, so a press is out of the question.  But I can braid it up and put a wig on since I still have to function in public... WOW!!  This will be interesting, because I am really not a wig wearer.... Wish me luck...  I hope I find a decent one...  :-/