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.

13 Months! - 2009 Goal Update 5

So I've made it to 13 months and need to do something with my hair. I plan to curl it tonight, but here are some post-wash pre-style pics:








This month I actually retightened my own hair for the first time (well, at least the front which is the most challenging part since I still have hair growing in between my parts...my consultant finished the back the following week). I split one of my locs in the front because somewhere along the line it looked like two got joined together. It is growing slowly and I am in the swelling phase where my locks are plumping up, especially in the back, but I'm happy with my progress. I can feel that several of my ends are fully encased while some of my ends are still open.

I graduated last month so now that I'm done with school, I have time to focus on my other goals. I started working in a salon this week so I have been doing more retightenings. So far so good. My retightening time is down from 5-6 hours to 3-4, so I am getting a little faster. It also depends on the condition of the person's hair of course, but that's my ballpark range.

I am still working out on a regular basis and have recruited some work out buddies along the way. I am addicted to Zumba, which is a group exercise class based on latin/international dance. I have also been doing weight training consistently and it turns out I've gained a pound. I bought Bethenny Frankel's book Naturally Thin and it's a good read. It's helping me not become neurotic and obsessive about losing weight and I like her sarcastic/dry sense of humor (she's the natural chef from Real Housewives of NY). I also need to focus on some key things like reducing/eliminating soy intake, increasing protein which can be challenging since I'm a vegetarian, and reducing my caloric intake. Overall I enjoy working out and I feel healthier so at the end of the day it's all good.

I had my first swimming lesson last week. I am getting some of the techniques down but I am still afraid of drowning because I don't think people float the same way fish do. We'll see how that goes.

Year 1!!!

Yesterday marked my official 1st year with sisterlocks! I treated myself to a massage to celebrate. Here are my pics: