You be the judge, what do you think?

For some time now I've been debating if I should start retightening my hair. You all know that I was having consultant problems and I really didn't want to start all over. Another issue I had was that the retightening class won't be offered down here until next year sometime. That is a long time from now and I decided that I didn't want to wait. So I said to myself that I would give myself a chance and if then I didn't succeed, then I would proceed to finding another consultant.

Well it took me along time to get to this point because I've been wanting to do my own hair for the longest now. However I guess I wasn't ready back then and plus I was too intimidated. I was too afraid that I would mess up. However after I looked back at all the things that I've been through and let happen I decided to put and end to it and decided it was time. Another thing which kind of held me back was that I really wanted to take the retightening class. I felt that if I didn't take the retightening class that I would be breaking some kind of Sisterhood but now I've come to realize that sometimes you have to do what's best for you and retightening my own hair is whats best for me and I'm glad that I could get over that bad feeling.

I've realized that being able to do your own hair leaves you with a special feeling. I feel like I am finally in charge and there is no more secrets. ( A while back I asked my consultant what my pattern was and she hesitated before answering. Why is knowing your pattern a big secret? At first I was scared to ask her because I knew what the outcome would be, but I'm glad that she did let me know.)
Like I was saying it feels good to finally be in control of my own hair the feeling is so indescribable! I want to give a shot out to all the ladies of the LHBE who stopped by and left me words of encouragement to go ahead and give it a try. Thanks again I really appreciate the love.

The Process

I have close to 400 micro/small Sisterlocks. I chose to use the Nappy Lock Tool ( size small). It is very simple to use. Now being that this was my first time it took some time. The first section I did was the back and it took me about 4 1/2 hours. After that I stopped counting but I'm sure if I was to estimate it took me a total of 16 hours. That is a long time if you do it all at once but I did spread it out over three days while watching movies. I hope to get better, like they say practice makes perfect. Now during this time there was a few things that I learned.

Things that I learned:

I learned that doing it yourself, you have this special bond with your locks and learn so much about your hair. I am even thinking about combining some of my locks mostly the ones in the front some of them are weak and may need a little help. However I am going to wait it out and hope that they will strenghten at the root and grow out. I don't want to mess up the parts and plus I think it may be a little too late for combining. If anyone has any tips on combining locks please share.

I learned to make sure you pull the lock all the way through once you finish the rotation so you don't form a bump.

I learned not to force a full rotation if it can't be done, this causes the lock to draw up and is also probably the cause of headaches.

I learned to take your time especially if you are a beginner. I married two set of locks by accident but I was able to un marry them.

I learned that there is a reason why your consultant says to separate your locks after shampooing.( Please do, it will help out in the long run) If you don't chances are you locks will start growing with other locks. Which causes problems during retightening sessions.

I also learned that if you want your retightening to remain looking fresh to wash your hair before not after.( However if you don't like all the spaces then washing your hair may be the thing for you). I usually wash my hair before I get my hair retightened but I didn't think it was necessary at the time. However when I really started investigating my hair while I was retightening it was definitely in need of a good washing.
My dandruff started to appear again. I had stopped using Nizoral because I didn't want any problems to prevent the rest of my hair from locking. However I needed more than Nizoral. I treated myself with ACV and Nizoral, I also used Sisterlocks Shampoo but I had to use my Avalon Organics Lemon Clarifying Shampoo to get rid of the smell. Anyways I know I said that I was going to stay away from other products for now but I had to reward myself for what I just accomplished. I was going to style my hair as well but then I got lazy, I did say I was going to chill out with the styling too so at least I didn't go back on my word on that part of the deal. I'm trying to hold out until my 1 year and a half mark or New Year's do you think I will last?

Anyhow being that I am still an amateur I plan to do my retightenings every 4 weeks so it won't take as long. When I get retightening my locks under control I plan to prolong it to every 6-8 weeks.

The Outcome

My hair came out decent except for those few mistakes that I mentioned earlier. I didn't see any wholes. My hair actually looked like it was retightened by a professional. It also felt like it was done by a professional. I'm glad to have overcome my fear of doing it myself and I look forward to many more retightening sessions.

This goes out to all those others who are considering doing it yourself. I say go for it because it can be done, however patience is necessary. There is a special feeling about doing it yourself and I love that feeling and I want to continue to have that feeling. Anyhow I have written more than enough as usual. So until next time much love.


P.S You know I couldn't leave you all without any pictures. Anyhow just a many slide show I created.

**New Memo** I have updated my fotki again (Months 12-15) and there are several pictures that I have posted there that I didn't post in my blog so you all can have a look if you like. You can get to my fotki from > Here or you can get to my fotki from my links that are listed to the right side of my blog. Hope you enjoy until next time much love!

Quick Update

I just wanted to check in to let you all know what was going on with my previous situation. I have decided to take matters in my own hands and I have completed a full session of retightening my own hair and I am proud of myself. I recently got a new computer so I 'm trying to get all my pictures together. I will be back soon to give you a detailed post and plenty of pictures. Until next time much love.

Brunsli's Hair Ties

Now it's been a while since I sported a B-Hair Tie. When I first got my Sisterlocks and being the product junkie that I USED to be ( I've slowed down tremendously). I purchased close to 10 B-Hair Ties . I have lost count but I know I'm sure to have close to 15 now. I was trying to buy everything out there for my hair not knowing any better at the time, that it was important to just let my hair do what it's suppose to do on it's own. Anyhow back to the story when I first got my Sisterlocks I purchased several of Brunsli's Hair Ties. At that time I couldn't wear them the way I wanted which was up in a pony tail or pineapple. I had even got creative shown in this post. I remember Goodnapps and Brunsli mentioned that I could wear them as headbands instead. I was relieved so I did that for a while. However I eventually stopped wearing my B-Hair Ties not because I wanted to, but because I let them get tangled up. *Note to ladies out there who have several hair ties please keep them in their separate bags or use a tie rack ( which I have yet to buy). It will keep things a lot easier.

Since I have noticed that my hair has grown I decided to start wearing my B-Hair Ties again. I only managed to get a few loose. I'm still working on the rest. ( That's hard work trying to untangle all of those hair ties, lol) Here in this pic I'm wearing one of my favorites. I forgot the name sorry. However it is lovely and I love the way my hair fits up into a hair tie now so I will be posting more pics as I continually try to untangle my other hair ties. I must go out and get a tie rack ASAP before I have to go through this again. The only thing that has stopped me from buying more hair ties at the moment is because I said I wouldn't purchase anymore until I get the others untangled ( it's been a while). When I do finally master that task watch out Brunsli because I have been keeping my eye out on e-bay! (lol) Anyhow just thought I share. If you haven't purchased a Brunsli Hair Tie yet what are you waiting for they really come in handy! Until next time much love.

Miami Northwestern Takes It Home! Go Bulls!!!

Well let me first tell you that this post has nothing to do with hair. I just wanted to share that my High School Alma Mater is # 1 in the United States. Miami Northwestern was listed #2 and played South Carroll #1 yesterday evening in Dallas. Until this big game I had no idea that we were even # 2 in the country. I was a proud student of Miami Northwestern( I won't mention how long ago that was, lol ). I was also in the Marching Band as well as other bands but Marching Band got all of the attention because we were present at all the football games in which I had no choice but to watch the games as well. I'm not sure how Marching Band is acccepted in other states but in Florida and other Southern States we take Marching Band very seriously. Anyhow I just wanted to share that info. To all my fellow Sisterlocked Sisters in Dallas I'm sorry that Miami had to come up and show out! I hope that South Carroll took notes! You know I couldn't go without a little trash talking right? Just kidding. Until next time much love.

Contemplating.... If you were me, what would you do?

Lately I've been seriously thinking should I take retightening my locks into my own hands. More and more I want to take that big step but then again I'm not so sure. Sometimes when I take a look at all the Sisterlocks that I have it is very discouraging and intimidating. Before I go on I want to share with you what I've been through so you can have an understanding of where I'm coming from. At first I didn't want to share this information but why not maybe someone else can learn from my mistakes. I must warn you this is a long post but a good one. However I really need your feedback and opinions. So please continue on.

Incident #1
Although this didn't affect me I should have known better from the very beginning. My husband was set to get his locks started by my consultant before I got my Sisterlocks. Everything was fine, she even called the day before to confirm the appointment just to cancel the next day! But that's not it she didn't even attempt to call us to let us know. We had to call because we misplaced her address. Her excuse was she had suddenly came up with the flu. Which was fine but she could've at least given us a call to let us know. I wonder what would've happen if we had shown up with out calling first. However now that I look back I really don't believe that is why she cancelled. My husband never got his locks and I said to myself that she didn't try me so I'll give her another chance.

Incident #2
With my consultant she likes to schedule her appointments way in advance at least two or three retightenings in advance. Which has it pros's and con's. The pros's are you already have a set day and can schedule off of work in advance. Or clear your schedule for other things. The con's are if your consultant cancels your schedule your pretty much stuck because she has several other clients that have filled up the schedule around that time. This is what happened to me one of my appointments were cancelled why I do not know the true reason but I have a good idea. Anyhow I was upset when my appointment was cancelled as I was looking forward to my retightening. I know you are thinking what's the big deal things happen but wait until you hear the rest of the story. So she said that she will call me when she could to get me another appointment. One week went by I haven't heard from her so I decided to call her again and ask her whats up did she have any spots. Still had no spots and said that she would let me know if anything came up. About another week went by and I finally got a call there was a spot available! Finally I said to myself. For some reason I knew something fishy was going on. I knew that she had to cancel someone else's appointment to fit me in. (Why did she do that I don't know because she would have to keep doing the same thing over and over again! Hey that's not my problem right?) So I decided to call my associate who put me up on Sisterlocks( who also sees the same consultant) you would never believe what I found out. Turns out she had her appointment cancelled ( I took her appointment! What are the odds of that happening?) Anyhow it gets better the consultant told her that she had to cancel her appointment due to the fact that she had to go to a hair workshop/conference out of town! (That was a good one!) I couldn't believe my ears. However I said nothing to my associate because I knew the truth and I really wanted my hair done. I know I was wrong and selfish however it is done and over with and plus my associate no longer has her Sisterlocks I wonder why. I really need to find out. Anyhow I know your thinking I should have changed consultants then. I did try during that two week period that I was waiting for her to call me back. I called around some of them weren't taking any new clients and one that I did speak to wanted to know to much information, who, what and why. All the consultants in the area pretty much know each other so I know you know what happened next. Yep you guessed it the new consultant called my consultant and let her know what was going on. Which is why I think an opening for my hair to finally get done suddenly opened up. Anyhow you would think at that point I would have changed consultants then but I didn't. I still thought she was a nice person even though she wasn't professional plus she literally stayed right around the corner form me less than 5 minutes away. So I decided to give her another chance.

Incident #3
Yes there is an incident number 3. It's one too many right? Anyhow me not being happy with my locks recently especially the loose ends. When I first noticed them I didn't know you could do anything about them so I never said anything. However when I did find out that you could something about them I was happy and relieved. However when I mentioned it to my consultant she tried to place the blame on a shampoo I had just started using, now it could have played a part however I know that I had the loose ends way before I started using the shampoo. I just blew it off and then I asked her could we do anything about it and she said that we would have to set a time for her to do it so I said fine. I also found some locks that were combined without my knowledge. ( Could things get any worse?) I found two of them for now. Why is it so hard for a consultant to let you know what is going on with your hair. I guess I have to be a little more inquisitive.

Incident # 4
I know its getting old, however it seems like it never ends I am surprised that I held my peace for so long. Anyhow I think this put the icing on the cake! I went in for a retightening. I mentioned the loosed ends again hoping that she would work on them. guess what she said she has been working on them. I'm saying to myself you couldn't have I just mentioned them last week AFTER you finished my hair and here we are are the beginning of my session. Sometimes I wonder what is going on inside my consultant's head. Anyway when I got there apparently something personal was going on which led to my consultant stopping in the middle of our session asking that she be relieved because she had to take care of something. I could not believe what was going on. I thought to myself is she really going to leave me with half my head done? I was hoping that she wouldn't go through with it but she did. The good thing was that she didn't charge me however there was a catch to that mentioned in incident #5.

Incident #5
Follow up of Incident # 4. So here I was walking around with half a head retightened. ( Not a good look! ) I'm patiently waiting for my consultant to call me to schedule an appointment. A week goes by I said enough is enough so I called her and of course there where no openings. However about an hour later one mysteriously opened up and I took it. Now being that I already had half of my head done you would think it wouldn't take as long, yeah right. I hate to say it but I think she intentionally took a long time retightening my hair so she could make up for last time. Which I think she has done more than once.

I know you are asking me is she still your consultant? Yes she is in fact I have an appointment with her next week. Which I think is too soon. I tried to schedule my appointment much later but she wouldn't listen and I basically let her get away with it. I think I'm at at a point where my retightenings can be done every 6-8 weeks. I think every 4-5 weeks is too soon. Why can't I decide when I want my own hair done? Isn't it up to me to decided when I want my hair done no matter what the consequences?

Anyhow I know your thinking I should have dropped her a long time ago. Now that I look at what all I wrote and what all I have been through. I really need to either go ahead and change consultants or do my retightenings myself. I don't want to change consultants due to the fact of what happened before. I want to retighten my hair myself but I really would like to take the retightening class. However that's where one of my problems come in. There are no retightening classes scheduled for the remainder of the year. Which means I would have to wait until next year. (That is a very long time!) Another thing that is bothering me is that I feel that if I don't take the retightening class that I'll be breaking some type of bond or sisterhood. I know it sounds silly but that is how I feel. I even tried looking up consultants that offer the retightening class on the side but of coarse they only offer the class to their own clients.

I really don't know what to do. I guess the only thing I can do is try. I already own a latch hook and the nappy locks tool . I purchased a long time ago, I probably purchased it when my consultant disappointed me. Anyhow I have no idea how to use the latch hook it looks so complicated all I can do is just look at it hoping that it would come to me but that doesn't work, lol. Anyhow the nappy locks tool is easy I attempted to retighten one lock in the past and it came out fine. I just wonder if there is a way to keep the lock in the whole without it slipping out? ( Tips are welcomed) I do know my pattern. Which was kind of hard to come by why is knowing the pattern of your hair such a big secret?

After reading Naturally Sophia's Blog and comments made on that particular post. I have really decided that I should go ahead and give it a try. Whats the worse that could happen? ( Don't answer that, lol) I already know that I'm not going to be a pro ( at first anyway) and that it will take time to master the technique. This is something that I really want to achieve so I can't give up, not so soon anyway! Just say a prayer for me, lol. There is something about doing your hair yourself. It's a special feeling a sense of pride. Although you may make a mistake its your mistake and you don't have to blame anybody but yourself which is fine. At this point I'm just tired of being dependent on someone else to do my hair.

Do you think I was wrong for voicing my problems and concerns?

Now that you know the whole story behind me wanting to learn how to do my hair on my own what do you think and what would you do? Please all comments and tips are welcomed. Well I know that I have written more than enough I must go. Until next time much love!