Crazy Hair Day!!!

Summer Lovin'

After some initial struggles we've reached a place where Naomi is much happier overall with her locs. Her hair is growing fast and she loves getting the length! It is also starting to "fall" instead of look quite so full. And if baby is happy, Mama is happy!!!

My first solo retightening

I hope I get faster as I practice locking!!! (Laughing) It took me four 'sessions' and way too many hours to do this my first time. My poor, sweet daughter.

Session 1: (One DVD long) - front section done
Session 2: (Approx 3 hours) - working at my locktician house with a help on a few locks and some mentoring - most of one back side section done
Session 3: (Another DVD) - both side back sections and part of middle section done
Session 4: (Yes, we watch allot of movies!) - FINISHED!! But poor Naomi was crying big tears rolling down her cheeks. Poor darling! I kept asking her how she was doing but couldn't see her face from the back. I couldn't get her to tell me if it hurt, she was just tired, frustrated, mad/sad at having to do this all the time, or what. So, I guess it was probably a combination of all of them.

The next retightening I have scheduled with my locktician. Hallelujah!

I think part of the slowness in this last one, aside from my inexperience, is that I really worked hard on separating. By the time I got to the back, it had been a week since I started the front and I did not re-separate before continuing. So each row and each loc took extra time.

But we are already starting to see a difference in length! So in between wanting to cut it off "like a boy" and wishing she had her "own" hair again (sigh! part of the purpose of locs is so she does have her "own" hair), Naomi is excited to have long hair! We'll get there, and Mom will get better too. :-)

Surviving the Sisterlocks training class

Naomi's Mom speaks:

When I mentioned I was going to take a four-day training class to learn to do the Sisterlocks myself, I was often asked -- how can it take four days to learn? I must admit I wondered that myself but I was sure that it must. They've been around long enough to know.

WOW! I've now been filled to the overflowing with information on hair type and texture and how to analyze it, health and safety considerations, locking techniques, problem solving, running a professional business, product knowledge, and styling tips. I"M EXHAUSTED!!!!

Also, in my naivety I though I could walk out of the class and start whipping through Naomi's re-tightenings. I've already run to my consultant in a panic begging to be squeezed into her schedule. We've worked it out so I'm going to start at home on my own - let's see how far we get (I was pretty okay with it until she said "and if you can lock Naomi's hair you can lock anybody's hair!") - and then go to her house to complete the retightening with her available as an overseer and mentor (with some time allowed in case she has to save my sanity and finish up for me).

The Sisterlocks Training Class:

Listening and learning ...

Our patient models!!!! Mine is front and center -- I'm gonna just have to name her too as we've spent some quality time together!

Practice, practice, practice ... we had to finish 50 locks each night. I don't know about the rest of them, but for me that was about a 4 hour process! And then on the last day we had TIME TRIALS!!!!!! Yikes!

And even more intimidating - but ever so valuable - we had to practice on a live human being. Thanks so much Martell for being sooo patient!

The May 2009 Sistas of the Sisterlocks sisterhood ... forever locked together by our experience.

P.S. If you're having trouble picking me out, just let me know and I'll give ya-all a hint!

Day to Day

Most days Naomi sleeps with her hair loose. Morning hair is tousled and wild, but a scarf or wrap leaves it too flat (and doesn't allow her hair to breath).

Braiding up for swimming -- these are box braids and then tied back into loose pigtails. It looks lumpy and clunky and make her self-conscious, but once in the pool she takes out the two ties and after her hair is soaked it hangs down nicely. But it is not attractive enough a style to leave in and too time consuming to be a workable solution for summer when she swims every day, so we're looking at other options.

What Not To Do

I am learning good lessons about "our" locs.

1. DO NOT let your daughter (or do so yourself) dunk her head under the faucet, without then separating the locs.

A spritz does not always do the trick after waking up with bed-head. Naomi had gotten into the habit of a quick soak to let her hair dry hanging down and help combat the morning messies and her natural fullness. There was no rubbing or twisting or other manipulation so I was not encouraging separation afterwards.

2. DO NOT forget about the bundling and banding - and heaven-forbid - separating when going to the pool for hours of hair being wet and floating around freely.

The kids were on spring break recently and I was at work. "Can we go swimming?" Sure! Did bundling her locs even enter my mind? No!

3. DO NOT go for several weeks without separating just because you haven't "officially washed" the hair.

Up to this point, separating had been relatively easy and we have had few tangles. In fact, I wondered how it happened that people talked about locs combining together. Well! Last week we were scheduled for our second re-tightening. I had only washed and separated once since the last time, so the night before our appintment I dutifully got ready to wash and separate. Old habits may die hard, but new ones "live" hard! Can you believe I popped her in the tub without bundling and banding! I realized it as I was soaking down her hair. Too late! I washed gently and then we started the separation process.

It was horrible! The combination of all of the above had created mattes and tangles between almost every loc. It took us forever and there were several -- especially down by the nape of the neck where her hair is the most curly and it gets the most "rubbing" -- that I actually had to snip the locs apart! I think it will be okay, but it gave me a stomach-ache thinking about the damage it may do to the integrity of the locs in the future. Argh!

A valuable lesson in proper loc care.

Sunday the kids went to the pool again. I carefully braided and banded Naomi's locs. But even with taking great care, they were difficult to unbraid and had many tangles - though they came out fairly easily. Up to that point I had hoped that for summer when they swim every day, I could just make smaller braids and leave them in for a week at a time. I don't think so! The motion of the water causes all of the hair to float around into tangly patterns it would not ordinarily do, even with a shampooing. A swimming cap has been suggested, but it is difficult to get her to wear one as it pulls on her hair, is hot, and bruises her 9 year old ego.

Additionally, I am disappointed with how frizzy and fuzzy her locs get. Right after tightening they look really nice, but a few nights sleep or one trip to the pool and we are dealing with the same issues that we had with cornrows and braids. I think (and hope and pray) that when they are more mature and "locked" that this will not be the case.

I'm really looking forward to the consultant training in a few weeks when I can not only become more infomed, but can pose my questions to the professionals and hopefully leave with solutions. Don't despair, we still love the locs and just needs to get through these lumps and bumps (pun intended, which those with locs will understand)!

P-a-t-i-e-n-c-e

I've been very happy with the locs so far. It is so much easier to manage on a day-to-day basis. It is literally wash and wear -- or sleep and go as the case may be. Maybe a quick spritz with water or pulling the front up into a loose top knot. Wow! Sometimes I think I am not happy with larger size in the back but I think it will work out fine as they mature and I get used to the look. I'm also pleased that once we washed all of it and the hair had a chance to dry naturally (vs the stiffer look of freshly installed or tightened locs) the unevenness of cut is much less noticeable.


Naomi goes back and forth between whether she likes them or not. I think she pictured them longer and is disappointed that they are not (most of the other girls she saw before getting them already had longer hair). I also think she is just not used to sporting a looser look, and her hair is very full! We have had many a talk about p-a-t-i-e-n-c-e.

Normal separating after a shampoo, soaking, or swim only takes about 15 minutes! I had done one quick recount where I got 388 locks, but when I washed it last night to get it ready for today's retightening, I counted slowly and carefully and got 390 locks. Separating today took about 35 minutes, but according to our locktician I wasn't getting close enough around the base as there was still some tangling. So I guess my record time will increase. Oh well! Still isn't nearly as difficult as I had imagined.

Here we are shampooed, separated, and ready to tighten



And after retightening . . .

And then adding the front done in nice loose cornrows and beads, all ready for school!

YIPPEE!

Here's a happy Naomi with her happy Sisterlocks-tician . . .

Monday, February 16
We're done!!! We had two mini-sessions today and finished with 404 locs. I'll do a re-count next time we shampoo and separate, just to make sure our notes were correct. We spent a little more than 35 hours with our loctician, and with stretch breaks and other interruptions, the Sisterlocks probably took around 28-30 hours. Some small fussing aside, Naomi did great with the long periods of sitting. We watched allot of movies!!!

Since it took so long to finish some of the first sections are almost ready for retightening. In fact, our loctician did a few of the front ones today, and we will go for our first re-tightening session in a couple of weeks.

Naomi's locs are still a bit fuzzy at the tip due to her hair texture, and even though the locs are done as close to the tip as possible, a bit at the tip is left a little looser to encourage the locking process. The whole tendril will "lock up" from the tip to the scalp and get more "mature" as time goes on.

I was upset to find that Naomi's hair, especially a section on the left side, was cut very unevenly. Several months ago I took Naomi to an Ethiopian salon for a trim, thinking they would be familiar with her hair type and able to do a good job. I wasn't happy with it at the time, and now that I see that it has such a huge snafu, I am even more unhappy. But what can you do? I am only sad that once the locs are mature and we are able to trim it and shape it up, that we will have to lose allot of length to make it even.

Lovin' our locs . . .

The sprint to the finish

Sunday, February 15

There is light at the end of the tunnel. We only have a small section on the right side of the back to finish . . . maybe 3-4 more hours. Whew! We are all anxious to be finished. Today seemed to move quickly ~ we got 63 locs done and are now up to 343. It is funny . . . the unfinished sections look like such small amounts when it is braided up, but unbraided and combed out it takes on a life of its own and becomes a huge cloud of soft fuzzy curls that take so much longer to loc than one initially anticipates.

Sunday, February 8

We're in a rhythm now. The back of Naomi's head is not so sensitive as the top was and the back loc size is a larger, so we can move a l-i-t-t-l-e bit faster. There is only one long section on each side of the back to complete.

I put the two back side sections into cornrows again to transition to next week. The top layers camouflage the braids underneath so she can even wear her hair all hanging down now. She is very tired of sitting but loves the versatility of her locs.

It's Getting There

Sunday, February 1

Naomi is restless and fussy today. She's been unusually tired and mopey all day and I think may have a small bug of some sort. We need to keep slowing down because the pulling is bothering her. (Yes, perhaps I shouldn't spoil her and cater to her tenderheadedness, but I do want this to be a good experience for her). AND we encountered a couple test locs put in by one of the other consultants we interviewed. They are not lined up with what we are doing and are a different pattern, so it took some time to take those out before we could move on. We finished the day with 230+ total locs.



We have the rest of the back middle section to complete, and then the two sides of the back. So probably a good three more sessions. She has so much hair! Once finished, the earlier sections will be about due for a tightening, so we'll probably have to give it all a once over to get everything tight and consistent.

This time we put the unlocked hair in the back into large cornrows for our transition to the next session.

Sunday, January 25

Another Sunday afternoon locking hair. Sunday is the only chunk of free time that works for both us and our loctician. We've settled into a routine . . . pop in a DVD, set out some snacks, have water handy to stay hydrated, and a timer that Naomi gets to choose when to set for her next stretch break. She is so good and often adds more time once it rings. I think the control helps her to not be so restless. I encourage lots of stretching when we do take a break, and there is mini-tramp to bounce off some energy. We're up to almost 200 locs!


It's a bit of a challenge styling through the transitions, but so far we have been doing pretty good. Here we are ready for school with the front locs pulled back, unfinished upper back sides braided, and unfinished lower back sides and middle back pulled into a low puff.

We're locking and rolling

Monday, January 19

The kids were out of school for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, so we planned on hair for the whole day. We were really hoping to get most of it done. And even though we spent from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. with only a few stretch breaks and a short hop to McDonald's for lunch (we even brought it back to eat it), we only finished the front section. Naomi's hair ranges from 6"-9" in length and each loc takes about 2-3 minutes. But with separating, parting, and combing, the total time per loc is probably closer to 5-6 minutes! We now have 150-some locs completed.


Here we are with front locs tied up, and the unlocked hair in the back in box braids with big beads.

Sunday, January 18

Washed, combed, and ready to go! ~ FYI: Her hair in these pics is soaking wet.





Parted out!

Even though I had it all combed out in the morning, it still took close to 45 minutes just to separate her hair and get the sections parted. Now you know why I am so excited for the locs!


The locking process is going much slower than any of us anticipated. Naomi is very tender-headed, and our sweet loctician is very accommodating to her needs -- thankfully, or it may take even longer. The first day we did four hours and got a small section in the front complete; about 40-ish locs.

Naomi is getting Sisterlocks!

I’ve posted on my adoption blog about our braiding experiences ~ it's just not that nostalgic mother-daughter bonding time that that I’ve read about in folk literature. It is more a time of impatience, short tempers, fussing, and scowling -- from both of us. Every weekend we would struggle over when to do hair, how to do hair, and more often than I would like to admit we would just skip it and go for the puffy bun. Not that it didn’t look just cuter than cute - the first day. But it succumbs to the fuzzies by Day 2 and even my best attempt at small braids would last a week at most. I refuse to surrender to chemicals … although on Christmas eve day I did give in and use a flat iron to straighten her hair. On top of the fact that it took 3-1/2 hours to do, it looked only “okay” the first day - though she liked it - and less than okay until we got back to doing something else the next week. Thankfully she was not in school and we have allot of headbands.

Anyway, a few weeks ago I happened to run into another family with two Ethiopian daughters and their hair was adorable. When I asked how they had it done, the answer was Sisterlocks! It sounded vaguely familiar and I rushed to do my research.

Sisterlocks is a patented technique of “locking” the hair into small tendrils. “Sisterlocks allows the hair's natural interlocking process to unfold, they are true ‘locks'. This means that they are not meant to be undone.” It is quite time-consuming and costly to put in, but then only needs to be tightened every 6-8 weeks. In the interim, hair is much easier to style, manage, and maintain. It also encourages faster growth and looks marvelous! Both Naomi and Mom are very excited.

Stay tuned for pics of getting started . . .

In the meantime, here are some photos of pre-Sisterlocks hair over the past 9 months.

Braids:









Extensions:



Puffy Buns:





Loose: