2016 Updates - Roller Set & Curls

2016 UPDATES - ROLLER SET & CURLS

Her hair has grown a great deal and she LOVE'S it! Her locs were installed October 2013. We appreciate the low daily maintenance for school and sports activities. 

She went to camp without us this Summer and her hair was not an issue.  It just got very dirty, but that's what shampoo is for.

I am still her "consultant" and recommend that a parent or guardian living with their girl tighten her hair for several reasons.

1. It is unnecessarily hard for little ones to sit for up to 3 hours at a time for a retightening. Take the time to make her feel comfortable as a way to reinforce the notion that her hair is neither a) a problem to be solved nor b) an inconvenience to be overcome.

2. It is a great time to bond, talk, and love on your daughter.  My daughter now brings the tightening tool and her water bottle so we can "do some locs" before she goes to bed. Sometimes we watch TV, sometimes we don't.  All the time she lays her head on a pillow on my lap and we talk, laugh, and snuggle.

3. It's helped me hone my retightening chops.  We don't do her whole head at one time. It is always in sections and over several days or weeks.

4. Last, it is free. I need my hair retightened by a professional and it would cost that much more in time and money if she were to go as well.

Almost a year

ALMOST A YEAR
It has been some time since we have checked in about Moo Bear's Sisterlocks. She is coming up on one year of SLs in October. She is now in first grade and is doing well at her school. Many of the teachers comment on how they love her hair and not a day goes by that at least one person, primarily Black women, comments on how beautiful she is and how beautiful her hair is.

This summer we went on a cruise, to Disneyland, and to San Diego and our hair was the least of our issues. I also had 3 weeks of training out of town and Daddy did well getting her set each morning.  I don't think he touched her hair all week, but that was OK since her hair takes care of itself.

RETIGHTENING
We did not survive having a consultant retighten Moo Bear's locs. As a word of caution, working with a consultant can be somewhat of a challenge, particularly because children cannot sit for very long and should not be expected to do so. Also, a consultant may not be as sensitive to pulling or any kind of discomfort associated with retightening the hair. Since I know my child and have access to her on a daily basis, it is easier for me to do it. That way, we can work around nap time, school, and/or other events she may have. Also, I am able to tighten her hair in the bed, in the bath, or wherever we may be. In a word, it is just SIMPLER.

Although, the verdict is still out on how MUCH she loves her hair, it has definitely been an esteem builder for her. She cannot wait until her hair is long like Mama's.

Today, we're about 75% done with her retightening. We are still not on a set schedule, but I generally try to feel her hair and see when we need to do it. The top grows much faster than the back and I had to split 5 to 7 locs because they are significantly bigger than the rest of her locks. I actually think this is mostly attributed to her head growing and the sheer thickness of her hair. That is something that we will have to consider as she gets older.

In an attempt to provide more regular updates on her hair, its length, and the things that we are learning, I will try and post at least one blog a month.

Two princesses...

75% done

Beauty Shots!

Moo Bear has always loved to take pictures!  Here are a few of her Sisterlock "headshots".

Washing Hair

WASHING HAIR

We had our fist wash sometime in November 2013.  "Easy peasy" is all I can say.  We bound her ends with rubberbands to protect the mesh, shampooed and we were done!

Binding with rubberbands to protect ends

Head in sink

Moo Bear is adjusting well.  We are working on styles that are cute and easy.

Finally, the Install

SISTERLOCKS™ INSTALL

Moo Bear started her Sisterlocks™ install on Saturday September 28th and ended on October 17th. My previous blog was inadvertently erased, so I will recap as much as possible.

Waiting to start

She was totally ready for this, but neither of us was ready for the length of the process. The install took about 25-30 hours of in-chair time over the course of 3.5 weeks, due to our schedules and the fact that she could only sit for 2-3 hours at a time. Given that she is an active 5 year old, MB did remarkably well!

Her consultant was easygoing and took her time to accommodate long lunches, potty breaks, and even crying at points because this was taking "so long".

Day 1

Day 2

Given the amount of time, the results were lovely! We've been having a lot of fun with her hair. She finally gets to wear it "down".

Done!

:)

More on hairwashing later...

This is a story of a lovely little lady...and her Sisterlocks

BACKGROUND
I've finally found a blog topic I can really get into...HAIR.   Love hair, have hair...perfect right?

This blog is really to share my and my daughter's journeys with our hair.  I've read several blogs about adults with Sisterlocks™, but rarely little girls.  I hope you are inspired and have a lot of questions and suggestions for us.

HER STORY
After 5 years of Afro puffs, ponytails, twists, creams, pomades, and 3-5 hour detangling sessions, my little one recently became the latest member of the family to join the Sisterlocks™ (SL) community!  Interestingly enough, her father recommended we strongly consider it after hearing her cry one too many times.  My mother, my sister, and I all have Sisterlocks™.

Having had SLs for almost 14 years and having worn my hear natural for a few months shy of 20 years, I made a commitment to keep my daughter's hair in its natural state, which included no pressing or heat.  But after what was supposed to be both a bonding and a self-esteem building experience, both of us began to dread hair washing day.

HAIR WASHING
Hair washing usually happens on a Saturday.  In the morning, when I am "on top of it" and late afternoon when I procrastinate.  Hair washing really isn't that bad.  We've come up with a system that keeps her  face dry by laying her on the kitchen counter and letter her head hang into the sink.  I use a big bath roller under her body that is rolled into a neck roll to support her neck.  I fill up a plastic container and pour the water over her head.  Works well.

The challenge came when it was time to detangle and comb out! I tried to put her hair in a protective style that would last at least one week, but ideally, 2-3 weeks.  Daddy has little to no interest in learning to "do hair", so we needed a style that would require little to no tending, so twists became our mainstay (More on twists later).  Getting from "postwash" to "cuteness" began to wear on our relationship (poor ting).  I say that facetiously, but really...we both found ways to avoid dealing with it/hair.



Prewash Fro

Beyootiful Twists

Beyootiful Twists II

I look forward to sharing more of her story soon.