3 Year Pics

So here are my pics at 3 years!






These are the comparisons at day 1, year 1, year 2, and year 3...


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back

3 Years!!!

So it's my 3 year lock anniversary and I decided to dye my hair! Well, kind of. I did an auburn rinse (not bold enough for permanent color). It's subtle but I like it. I will post pics soon.

I retightened my hair and am really noticing my length now. I mean my hair isn't super long, but I've come sooooo far from when I started. I can't wait to do comparison pics.

This is cliche, but it doesn't seem like it's been 3 years. I've gotten so used to (spoiled :-)) with my locks that I don't think about my hair as much anymore. Imagine that, it's just hair ;-)

I do have an appreciation for it when I do a consultation with a client that's in the same seat I was 3 years ago. We all have the same story in different variations. Tired of chemicials/relaxers/weaves/braids/etc., hair broke off after (pick a reason), wanted to go natural but didn't know how to, want to be more healthy, and fell in love with Sisterlocks after seeing them somewhere. I still like the idea that I can introduce other women to something that freed me from many of my hair woes. And I'm still loving every minute of it.

Pics coming soon...

Month 35

Can't believe it's been this long

March 19, 2011 marked 34 months since I got locked up. In just 2 months I'll be celebrating 3 years with Sisterlocks and I can hardly believe it. I can't wait to do comparison pics, because it's still hard for me to see my progress. I can tell my hair has grown some, but I still would consider it short. Either way it's in much better condition than when I started, so I can't complain.

I decided to break my lazy streak last night and attempt to style my hair. I did a braid out while I was laying in bed, so it's not perfect but it's something :) I'll have to take some pics of it after I unbraided it and post them later.

It's been a while...

It's been a while since I've posted anything, but I finally have some pictures for an update. I took these in January when I was at about 32 months. I can't believe it will be 3 years for me in May! Time sure flies.

My hair is still growing, and I've been lazy about styling lately. I'm not liking my rod sets as much these days. I tend to use a curling iron just to add a slight curl to my hair, but I mostly wear it straight.

Month 28

It's been busy an I haven't done much with my hair lately. I am pretty much trying to keep it retightened on a regular schedule. I'm in a bit of a styling rut but as my hair is growing out some I think I'll have more options.

On the sisterlocks trainee front, I finally submitted my certification application to the sisterlocks home office :-)

Here are some random pics I took last month. I had set my hair with soft spikes but didn't have time to let it try completely, so the curls had already fallen by the end of they day.

Month 26

So I've made it to month 26 of my sisterlocks journey. It's still hard to believe it's been that long. At this stage, I was surprised that I was able to take out one of my locks. I have some locks that are on the larger side, and they started to annoy me so I just figured I'd try to undo it and it actually worked. I decided to take out the one next to it and make the two locks into 3:

The one on the left is one of my original locks, and the 3 to the right are the ones I just did. I may combine the two on the left since one of them is a little on the small side now.

I haven't had a lot of time to do much to my hair, but after I retightened my hair I flat twisted the front and rodded the back. The pictures below were taken about a week after I set my hair, and a day after an intense workout that sweated out all of my curls :-)

2 Years!!!

It's official!!! On May 19, 2010, I celebrated my 2 year lock anniversary!




OK, so I didn't do much celebrating (I was retightening a client's hair), but later that week or the next week I actually did get a massage and finished retightening my own hair :-)

As promised, here are the pictures of my bangs styled with a curling iron on low heat setting. The pics aren't the best but here it is:

Here are some comparison pics of my 1st day, 1st year, and 2nd year. Looks like I'm making progress...


Right side where I had a LOT of breakage when I started...

Back view...

(the middle picture is actually at about 13 months)

To Color or Not to Color, That is the Queston

I will soon be at my 2 year lock anniversary. Time flies!

I am contemplating getting color when I hit my 2 year mark next month, but I'm not sure. I have seen varying degrees of results with Sisterlocks and color, and I'm not sure I'm ready to take the leap yet. I have seen differences in hair texture and breakage as a result, so I may not be willing to take that risk.

I did buy some henna some months back but am concerned about build up and my hair turning orange. I may consider doing a rinse to see how that works since it's only temporary. Anyone with experience/advice on color, please msg me.

I am in an experimentation phase with styling. I wanted more of a wrap look, so I got some large rollers but they didn't work that well. I have started using a curling iron on a low heat setting just to get a bend in the front of my hair for bangs and to frame my face. Everyone thinks I got a hair cut :-)

I am going to try to limit the heat on my hair, but I haven't seen any adverse effects from using the curling iron yet. I have noticed if the setting is too high, it can flatten your locks out some, especially locks that haven't matured yet. That happened to a few of mine but after I washed my hair they were back to normal. Also, the curl is so loose it doesn't hold up for long, maybe a day or so, and you can forget it if it's raining or humid.

I haven't done a roller set in a while but I also invested in a hair dryer so I don't have to always wait hours (or overnight) for a set. I still have yet to use it, especially since I got the curling iron around the same time.

My hair is still growing slowly at its own pace, but I'm still loving the journey. I will post more pics soon.

Month 22: My Tiny Ponytail

I'm inching up on 2 years, and I may have an inch of ponytail :-) No laughing please, but here it is:




Here is a lazy picture of the back of my hair I took while I was laying down. I can tell my hair is growing, but I am still a little paranoid that my locks in the back are too large. They aren't huge, but just big enough to be annoying to me since I really like small locks. I was hoping they would have contracted more by now, but I'll get over it.




In the sisterlocks trainee world, I have actually completed over 3 locking sessions but I still haven't submitted my application yet. My goal is still to turn it in by the end of the year, and if all goes well I'll get it in by the July deadline. Wish me luck!

New Style

I experimented with a new style for a gala I went to over the weekend. I curled my hair with rods all over (smaller ones on the sides) and twisted it up. I think it turned out well...

17 Months

Here are my pics at 17 months:




So my hair has finally grown enough in the front for me to pull off having bangs. :) This is a pretty small milestone, but progress nonetheless considering how short my hair started. Ever since a bad haircut several years ago, along with years of braiding, I have had this bowl look (short in the front, longer in the back). I am slowly but surely growing out of it.

I am still using the starter shampoo and shampooing once a week. I used the Sisterlocks reconstructor conditioner because some of my ends were looking on the dry side. I am experimenting with some hair mists though (more on that later).

Month 16

Here are my pictures at 16 months (close to 17 now). It's still growing at its own pace (slowly but surely).

I tried using soft spikes last week but my curls fell after 2 days. Maybe my hair wasn't wet enough. Anyway, this time I wet my hair thoroughly and used a little crinkles and curls setting lotion. I set it overnight on rods about 4 days ago.




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I have been thinking about coloring my hair but I am on the fence about it. I've never really been that into color but I've been seeing a lot of people lately with nice color and have been considering experimenting. I like the color of my hair and the texture. Many clients I have seen with color have experienced a change in hair texture and sometimes breakage, so I think I may just forgo the coloring thing for now. It sure is tempting though.

On the goal front, I have almost accomplished the goals I set out at the beginning of the year. Good thing since I will be thinking of my 2010 goals soon. So far the first one is to become a certified sisterlocks consultant.

At my last swim lesson with a new instructor, I actually swam on my own for the first time! No flotation devices, just me in the water and not drowning :-) I still have a few more lessons, because I still need to work on my breathing and form...but I am happy I was able to do that on my own. It looks like my Egypt trip will definitely be postponed, maybe for a few years, and I still haven't found an Arabic class. I downloaded some stuff from iTunes but haven't listened to all of the lessons yet though I learned a few phrases.

15 Months! - 2009 Goal Update 6

It's been a minute since I've updated my blog. I am at 15 months now and have been experimenting with different looks. I haven't taken as many pictures lately but I will try to post some more soon. These are my pics after just washing my hair:







I think my hair is maturing OK. A lot of my ends are sealed and some are still open. Some of the puffiness is going away too.

As for my goal updates, I finally got my master's degree in the mail last month and got a frame for it. Feels good, but it is an expensive piece of paper. I still have only taken one swimming lesson but I have one scheduled next week so hopefully I will make more progress. I have been doing retightenings like crazy and am looking forward to doing some new locks pretty soon. Working on different hair textures, lengths and locks at different maturity levels is a learning experience. I am going to start putting together a portfolio soon also.

Reached the 10-month mark!

I made it to 10 months and things are moving along. My hair is progressing nicely and I am noticing some of my ends are fully closed now. Mostly it's still coiled at the ends, but my days of slippage are gone. I am enjoying life wiithout braiding and banding! It takes much less time to wash my hair so I am glad I made it pass that phase! I took some pictures with my digital camera after my retightening:






On an unrelated note, I am moving along with one of my 2009 goals. I got a 93 on my mid-term so hopefully I will make it through the rest of the semester. Wish me luck!

9 Month Pictures

Here are my 9 month pics. I was in a bit of a rut with the freestyle so I tried an updo. I don't have much length but I think it looks OK. I flat twisted the front and the back and did a twist out and pinned up the middle.


Here is a pic that shows my progess from month 1 to month 9: