Confusion..

Ok, why am I confused?  Well, first I should state that I am upset with myself for attempting to trim my locks and took too much off the ends.  When I washed my hair, I did my normal routine but didn't braid and band because I thought I was past that point.  Well, apparently I'm not past that point and the next morning my hair in the back had come almost completely undone!  I wanted to cry..

This was a self imposed mistake.  I immediately called my consultant and told her that I now looked as crazy as my Uncle Walter!  His hair was wavy, curly, straight - you name it!  I too have multiple textures on my head.  The front stayed locked and the back of my hair decided to go free.  It made a run for it!

The reason that I am confused is because my best friend mentioned that after 2 1/2 years, she really didn't like my hair.  WHAT?  I mean really???

I am one of those people that don't care if your hair is dyed blue, purple or green. I really don't care!  I don't care if you shave your head or wear a wig, weave, whatever.  You do you!  So for her to tell me that I should just cut if all off and wear it short made me question everything.  She wears her hair short and cuts it herself.  When she mentioned that another friend that had gone thru chemo was now rocking a short haircut, I didn't know what to say.  And..???  I mean I wore my hair short too - because I started off BALD!...

She even told me that she thought my hair was too fine to wear locks.  Uh...well...you should tell that to the 65% of my hair that has locked!

I spent months researching Sisterlocks before going that route. I didn't make this decision lightly.  It was a decision that I made because I thought they were beautiful.  I didn't really care what folks thought.  So, to find out now that someone in my camp doesn't like my style of choice makes me wonder just how honest they have been in the past.

Why do I care?  Because I rarely let folks in.  I am friendly, loving and kind and I love to laugh.  But few people make it into my inner circle because as I have gotten older I don't have the patience for fake, superficial people.  When my twin sister died 26 years ago at the age of 32, I lost my best friend.  No one could replace her or that bond.  Over the years, I have let people into my life, but always kept them at a distance.  Up to a point.  So to feel judged concerns me.

If you love me, love me.  If my hairstyle is not your preference - that's is your opinion.  You can be honest, but don't expect me to change anything to fit into your world.  As I said, you do you and I will be me.

I LOVE my Sisterlocks!  I have an appointment on Thursday with Valencia to get them repaired.  It will be a long appointment and may even require 2 appointments to fix the damage - because the back of my head will basically need to be reinstalled.  There is no "damage" other than the fact that more than a third of my hair has come undone, unravelled and is now loose and FREE.  Not a good look, so I have had to come up with creative ways to style my hair until I can get to V.

All in all, this has been a learning experience.  Why do we judge each other and the choices that we make.  At the end of the day I guess it really doesn't matter but in this case it has changed a friendship.

Peace and Blessings!

Confused in Atlanta,
Evie

p.s.  After Valencia repairs my hair, I will post updated pictures.

It's been over a year?!

Wow!  I can't believe it has been over a year since my last post!  A lot has happened in my life, but I still love my locs.  I  used to wonder how anyone could not post for awhile, but now I get it.  My locs are just a part of my life. 

I was a product junkie. I have products under my bathroom sink that would rival any drugstore or beauty supply store.  What would moisturize my hair, detangle my hair, add shine to my hair.. well, you get the idea.  I am throwing away products that I bought thinking that they would make my hair better.  This of course, was before Sisterlocks.  I couldn't bear to throw full bottles away, so they have sat under my sink for 2 years! 

Well, after my son accused me of being a hoarder I took a good, long hard look at what I had under the sink and began to throw stuff away - 1 bottle, then 2 or 3... it was painful thinking about all the money that I had spent on these products.  But now I shampoo with Neutrogena Clarifying Shampoo, and go.  I condition sometimes, but for the most part I let my hair do what it wants to do.

So, after a year away from blogging and just letting my hair be, I have realized that keeping my hair clean is the ultimate goal.  My hair is growing, looks healthy and is basically maintenance free!  I love it.

Peace and Blessings,
Evie

Beautiful long locks..

Well, wouldn't you know it?  I trimmed my hair and then I saw this video...

http://naturalhairbeauty.blogspot.com/2010/12/in-love-with-locs-video.html

next time I think I will remind myself to wait it out!  Luckily my hair grows fast because now I want to try some of these styles and to do that, I'm going to need more hair! 

*sigh* 

Peace and Blessings,
Evie

I cut my Sisterlocks!

Well, there is something to be said for being bored..  I saw a picture of myself, and realized that for me long locks are probably not going to work.  I didn't want Sisterlocks for the length, I wanted the freedom that comes with locks and the fact that I think locks are naturally beautiful.  I do not buy into the thinking that when a woman reaches a certain age long hair is no longer an option because my mother kept her hair long as well as some of my aunts.

However, for me long hair gave me a matronly appearance.  I usually do lots of investigating, reading and research before making up my mind but this time was different - or maybe it was that glass of wine!

I removed the link to an article about cutting Sisterlocks when I realized the author didn't have Sisterlocks and was probably promoting something else...  It really is common sense, don't trim too much, start with little snips and evaluate what you're doing as you go.  In other words, take your time.  Remember locks shrink so be cautious!

 Armed with my Tweezerman scissors and following some basic information and a little common sense, I began snipping.  I didn't do an all over cut because my hair on the sides and top is much shorter that what I had in the back and that was the offending area...those long ends gave my hair the shape of a mullet...uh...yep, not a good look.

So, as you can see by the pics, I didn't cut a lot off - maybe 1 to 1.5 inches and a lot of my ends weren't locked yet which I was a little worried about but I did it anyway.  My ends are natural with no perm, so I was hoping that the hair above where I cut was pretty much on it's way to lockdom.  I read somewhere that hair locks from the root to the end and then begins to lock from the end to the scalp and keeps that pattern always locking towards the scalp.  Makes sense to me.  The other thing is that how bad could I mess this up?  I wasn't cutting large chunks of hair, just the back portion and then only about an inch at a time until I reached a point that I liked.

So, here are the pics.  My style is now more of a bob and I'm a happy camper!
Peace and blessings,
Evie

It's been a year!!! WooHoo!

Well, there's not much to update about my hair other than I simply love it more and more every day!  I missed my one year update because a friend was going thru a personal tragedy and posting was the last thing on my mind.

I had my retightening on Saturday, and I am really thinking about taking the class.  I want to be able to do it myself in case something comes up, for financial reasons, or if I just don't want to drive 30 miles... I love my consultant!  She is absolutely wonderful and after the ordeal that I went thru with my original consultant, she is a gift from God!  However, I could still go to her a couple of times a year to make sure I haven't done any irreversible damage.  I love the freedom!

Funny story...I was taking a nap and I had my scarf on (I'm really concerned about getting any lint in my hair, so I always put on a scarf when sleeping).  Anyway, I was expecting a package and my UPS man is well...cute!  I snatched off that scarf, ran my hands thru my hair to fluff it up and opened the door!  I realized that back in the day, pre-Sisterlocks, I wouldn't have been able to do that!  Waking up cute is worth the price of admission!  LOL!

Also, I was in Cost Plus and there were two cashiers.  One excitedly asked me, if I had Sisterlocks.  I said yes, and then the other cashier said, "Oh, so those are Sisterlocks".  Now cashier #2 had traditional locks.  They were very neat and on the small side.  She said, "So what's the big deal about Sisterlocks?"  Cashier #1 just smiled at me.  I said well, they were created by a brilliant woman to give us choices on how we lock and style our hair.  Her reply..."locks are locks".  Ok... anywho... I didn't feel defensive, it just made me think.  Yes, technically locks are locks, but for me Sisterlocks are beautiful and my personal choice for my hair.

It's not about one being better than the other, it's a personal choice on styling.  It's about FREEDOM!  Ok, I'm off my soapbox now. 

Peace and Blessings,
Evie

October Reminder!

I can't believe October is half over and I forgot to post my reminder about the importance of mammograms and breast self-exams!  Wow!  I have been very busy lately but I that is no excuse for me to drop the ball.

I have survived breast cancer twice.  I was first diagnosed in October 1998 and again in August 2008.  As scary as this diagnosis can be, I want to let everyone know that it is not a death sentence.  Early diagnosis is key.  Don't be afraid to go to the doctor, do your self-exams and know your breasts.  That way when something changes you are more likely to question it and go to the doctor.  Ignoring something is the absolute worse thing anyone can do. 

So, Happy October everyone.  Think PINK! And please be proactive with your health. 

Peace and Blessings!
Evie

Happy Birthday to me! And other random thoughts

Wow, today is my birthday!  I am so blessed to still be here alive and well, happy and full of joy!  I'm not saying how old I am...that's between me and the Lord!  LOL! but I'm still here.

Today I was going to join Curves... and somehow I ended up at Cami Cakes in Buckhead buying cupcakes!  Yup, oh well tomorrow is another day. 

I just had a retightening on Saturday, so I have new pics to post.  Also, I mentioned to my consultant that my locs felt dry and that I had lost another one - see earlier post, so she brought out some olive oil and proceeded to massage the oil into my locs.  Then she added some shea butter.  Well, it looked good and felt great...until the next morning!  I looked like I had dunked my head into a bucket of oil.  Not a good look.  So, I washed my hair repeatedly until it felt clean.  This time I decided to condition my hair.  It was braided and banded so I wasn't afraid of anything coming undone.  Also, I remembered that before I had Sisterlocks, I would always condition my hair and that my hair just doesn't respond well to most oil products.  Conditioner on the other hand is a different story.  I was trying to help the dryness but oil doesn't add moisture - it adds well.. oil!

After I rinsed my locs several times, I squeezed the water out with a towel and then rolled the ends on my brand new soft spikes - pictures below.  Things turned out great - however around 4:00 a.m. I was pulling those soft spikes out of my hair.  On Monday morning, I had 24 soft spikes on the floor next to my bed!

I do like them but maybe I rolled them too tight.  Also, I had just had my locs retightened so it just felt uncomfortable and they had to go.  Sleep is a priority and comfort is key!

Ok, so here are my Sisterlocs at 10 months!  I'm going to eat a cupcake...

Peace and Blessings!
Evie