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