18 Month Update

Well Ladies,
These are my SLs post big chop @ 18 months(for relaxed ends). For the most part, I have had no surprises, no missed retightenings, and no attempts at learning to retighten my own locs.

Grad school is just about finished for me and life is, well, just life. Loc exposure wise, it seems as though family and friends have finally learned to understand the meaning of "permanency". Initially when I got SLs, everyone seemed to think of my SLs as a style I was just trying out until something more captivating came along. Well, nothing has peaked my interest more than SLs. I respect "relaxation" (if you know what I mean) and everything else in between, but no, nothing is more captivating!

As for blogging, well, those who visit and lurk know I am probably among the worst. I have somewhat lost interest in taking photos of my hair, mainly because I have been hit with the symptoms of the "no/slow growth" illusion. Many SLers have attested to this illusion. I know this may be temporary and I probably just need to stop being lazy and do a photo comparison to definitevly prove/disprove my conclusion.

On to health, well, you probably can't notice facial wise, but since September, I have lost 35lbs. I found myself on a fast path to self-destruction during the latter part of last year. I was eating out daily, not exercising, and basically not giving a crap about my health. As a result, the pounds crept north. I mean, literally, I went to a gyno appointment and happened to look at my charts recorded weight and nearly died. I could not believe, (actually I could) the numbers. Since then, I have managed to get myself a new wardrobe in the process.

This may be completely wrong, and I know it probably is, but per ayankha, I need to list 5 things you don't know about me.
Like Ayankha,
1. I never match clothes according to color. As a matter of fact,my shoes almost never match what I am wearing. Does that mean I look like a complete idiot, no. I just can't comprehend the need to have a red shirt with matching red shoes..

2. As mentioned before, I wear boots year around. Notwithstanding,Texas weather. Don't bother, its a Texas thing....

3. I still have my first car. It was driven for 7 years by me alone and has north of 200,000 miles. And yes, it still runs.(not like new though)


4. I could not watch America's Most Wanted alone up until 2 years ago, in spite of the fact that I loved the show. My solution, Tivo and watch in the daytime, schedule permitting.


5. I surreptiously visist stormfront.org and aryan-nations.org to leave anonymosus and outrageous comments for the idiots to quarrel about. It is interesting, believe it or not, the thoughts some of this people have.


In my natural, nappy, locked, low maintenance glory. I would never go back, start over, yes, revert to relaxtion, NEVER!!









I screwed this pic up contrasting and soft bubbling percentages...














Me at some night spot here in D-town...Oh, and boots, yes, I wear them year around, notwithstanding, Texas smeltering temps or incoordination of colors.











Don't ask, I think I was just waking up, or probably on my way to sleep, evidently!!
















Side shot, early morning bed head, for sure!!!










I thought I would try on some contacts on for the heck of it. No, I would prefer my low maintenance eyes over this horrendous maintenance anyday!!!!!











Maybe you can see my SLs through the huge blur"















Only some side action. I believe I was in Ft. Worth at a swingers club.... No, not that type of swing, swinging the dance stlye, people........ (R. Kelly comes to mind). This swinging dance style invloves a lot of tiring footwork. A lot of older women and men seem to be attracted to this dance style.











Another long day!!!!!












More high maintenance, false eyes.......















My cousin, in Ft. Benning, GA... On his way back to Iraq. He will be home in May of all goes well!!!!









Another bed head pic!!!!







More texture shots. I love combined SL life.







Combind SL life= 200 SLs.








Thickness+low maintenance=SLs











I love these, I have no regrets and no desire to return to the once known world of relaxing/perming/strightening!!!!!!!!





Antique------Ghost face pic.

My Babies are 1!!!!!

Well actually, I am about 1 year and 1 week into the SLing thing. I have just gotten around to posting about my 1 year locaversary due to various issues in life...... So far everything is going smoothly. I, like many other SL sistas seem to suffer from the dreadful "I can't notice a difference phase". I mean, like literally, I have compared pics of my first week and now shots and have managed to convince myself that there is no growth. I know this is an absurd thought, but until I see otherwise, I am still anticipating this massive growth spurt that I know won't conceivably happen. Most of my ends have sealed with the exception of a few that want to take their precious time. I am still loving my SLs and still have no regrets!!!!


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These are SLs 1 week after Big chop...



These are SLs 2 months after Big Chop...
Still no noticable difference!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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No matter how long it takes. I would prefer my nappies over this any day.....

The back of my nappies...



Another crazy pic of SLs at 12 months.

Front of SLs. I still love them though.......

Side shot of SLs.

\
Fresh retightening... I have stopped counting my retightenings because I just can't keep up. Retightenings feel so GREAT!!!!!

Side, front, length shot. I dont know why I like the back of my head better than the front.. Weird right...


Some funky bangs I got going on... I can't do much with them, they are too short!!!

Yay!!!! My ends are sealing and are starting to feel more durable to the hand....

The front. oooooh, I need more length......

Locked, Chopped, & Lovin' It

Finally Ladies, the pics of my chop are here. The cut lasted all of about 10 mins. When my consultant was finally done, I looked on the floor an low and behold, a huge pool of relaxed hair!!! It was almost startling, but my fresh, new cut proved worthwhile. I have ABSOLUTELY no regrets about the cut, although most of my friends and family seemed somewhat disappointed. The mere notion that I was "cuttin off all that good hair" just seemed downright "stupid" to them. I really appreciate all of you ladies inspiration and insight on Sisterlock Solitude.......

For now my SL concoction consist of pure canola oil and water. This is an awesome mixture(when shaken up). I spray my roots/ scalp daily and the end result is total loc rejuvenation. I am not a fan of fruit smelling mixtures, hence the canola oil and water spritzer.... And no, my locs never feel heavy, greasy, or "cakey".
Applying a generous amount of canola oil and water to my SLs daily also contributes to a wonderful shine....

Since my SLs are fairly short, there is not too much to do styling wise. (at least in my opinion). I will usually go for the daily "spritz and go" look, which usually requires about 2 minutes of my time on any given day...(awesome!!)

The only problem I seemingly have with this new cut is the ends. I know this may be the norm for about the first 2 years of SLs, but I have been snipping ends for about 2 weeks. Most of the ends I am snipping were not cut (or were overlooked) in the initial cut and have mounts of straight ends left. I don't know if I should continue to snip the straight ends or let them do their own thing????

I am still adjusting to my new cut, but I know this will be a journey.. I still have ABSOLUTELY no regrets and would do it again in a second!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



I look sad in this pic, don;t know why. These new earring really complimented the new look...



Just another pic. Still adjusting.... Trying to get my front locs "trained"



Short stuff!!





I loved my front locs at that length. If you look at the
above pics, you can tell I cut them shorter... See look at that
loc that looks split (right pic).. When my SLs were cominbined, I twisted them in 2's so they could inmesh. I guess those ends never inmeshed.




Side shot... I think I am need of a better Hair shape?





Back texture/length shot @ 10 months.....
















Mean Green alien!!
(((((U. of North Texas alum))))




Texture/Length/Density shot....



















Week before Big Chop... ((((still stylin))))












Just some curls.......


Relaxed ends length.... No match to my (((soon to be))short, sweet, and sassy SLs.

Well, here in Texas as I write this post, it is 7:45 a.m. and 87 degrees, WTH? It will definitely be a scorcher today. No this is not a weather update, but the main reason for this post is my BC (for relaxed ends) countdown. The date is set for this Saturday 08.11...so I actually have about 4 days to brace myself. I am so excited, most of all, but I am alos somewhat fearful of the unknown world of short hair. This will be a journey that I am seemingly ill-prepared for and mentally prepared for at the same time. Most of my close friends and family know about my (((incision date))) and have remained consistent in their stances on locked, kinky, and nappy hair. Still none of their stances have affected my decision to lock and chop it!!!!! I will have pics posted Saturday night (hopefully) of my long lost ends. Much love to all my frequenters/supporters....................................

Just some reminders!!!!!!
SLs 1 week old

Sideview of SLs

Back of SLs (Day 1)

SLs @ 8 months-The Last of the Relaxed Ends!!

Hi Visitors, Passers-By, and Lurkers,
These will be the last photos of life as I know it with Relaxed ends. I have had two premature BC dates cancelled because of the unraveling/maturation processes that occur with locs. I am chopping my relaxed ends off August. 9. Why August 9th, well I will be officially 10 months and summer school ends that day as well. Anyone familiar knows 12 hours during a summer seesion is doable, yet horiffic!!

You may ask, what's the big deal with cutting hair?, It's just hair, it will grow back, it's dead anyway (my favorite). Well hair signifies a lot to a whole lot of people. Society being one. Cutting my hair will be a milestone for me because all of my life, I have dealt with/become accustomed to/and conditioned myself to believe that relaxed,long hair is the epitome of beauty. Family, friends, media, co-workers, stylist, fashionistas, and many more in between have adversly reinforced my belief until recently. Thanks to various natural hair forums, locked exchanges, and lock it up groups, I have realized that beauty doesn't necessarily have to be derived from wearing long, straight hair.

Thanks for stopping by!

Black-Love + Loc-Love= 1 Love

Sorry I had to lighten this bit. I wanted you to see some actual SLs from the front.

A texture/volume/lenght shot of the back

I was trying to get a clearer pic of the combined locs. This is the best I could do.

Top of my head, In case you are wondering.

Don't even ask me where I was looking.

Early morning curls before work...

Random pic of SL (relaxed ends) length

Back shot of relaxed ends

Pony tail, sorry so blurry...

Another hair shot.

These are my relaxed ends. My hair has grown significantly since I got SLs in Oct 06.

You can see some combined SLs back here..

A few curls....

Don't ask me why the white glare. You can see some SL definition and swelling.

My baby a stereotypical "Terrible 2"

TEXAS STYLE!!! He is dressed over the top here.... We are not this country, I promise.....

I wish had natural solitude at this age. (oh, she is very tender-headed and her mom contributes this to her wanting to relax her hair.)

My little cousin in all her "natural glory". Too bad her mom is about to do the unthinkable in my opinion and relax it. There have been numerous attempts in talking her out of this to no avail......

SLs @ 5 months!!!

Another 6 weeks has elapsed since my last post. These are pics of my 3rd Retightening.*-*
I have my 4th Retightening scheduled for this Saturday, April 7th. My SL's overall health seem to be functioning as expected. The only slight problem I am experienceing is seemingly "slow growth". The first 6week of SLs, I had a huge amount of new growth, now my retightenings seem to be "un-needed" because I am not having a lot of growth. I have inadvertently slacked up on my biotin and that could possibly be the culprit??? What do you ladies think???????

I look horribly sad in this shot, don't know why? You can see some of my short babies in the front, before the relaxed ends take over.....................................

I thought this morning shot would show some of my curls before work, but apparently not!!!!!!










Going out somewhere?. I promise I did not look like a clown in person*.*









Just some curls. I know I look very pale.......







This is a side shot of my SLs. You can sort of/kind of see where they were combined. Oh, I have started twisting my combinded locs, due to boredom. i have been instructed to just leave them alone though?!









It looks like a terd, but right after my retightening, Elaine braided my hair into a sort of fishtail braid.























This is the side of my fishtail braid. I had just had a fresh retightening and it was very rejuvenating*-*

The front of my big braid. Retightening #3...........................

SLs in my most often worn style, whichi is generally a ponytail. Honestly, most days that's all I can think of style wise. Not many choices with two different textures of hair.

A front shot of SLs. Sorry so blurry. I am still using a disposable camera.......







No make Up yet? I have the worst little fuzzies at the fron of my head.
That may seem ridiculous, but a lot of short, wild, napps can be
nerve-wrecking sometimes...... A Little gel would do?*























Just some of the rollers i use.


















Front shot of SLs at 5 months.

It's Been a While Ladies!!!

Well, it's been a while since I was last here. You know how it is with work, school, family, and for me a mandatory field practicum (internship). Sometimes I find it very hard to keep up with this blog and the progress of my SLs. But please bear with me, I;m trying!,* I think the last time I posted I had just had my 2nd retightening and I am due for my 3rd retightening this Saturday Feb. 24.th. I will be approaching 5 months on March 9th and my SLs seem to be progressing fine. I still have my Big Chop for (relaxed ends) set for May 11th. I have already forewarned friends and family to no avail, about my impending chop. I still haven't received any positive feedback about the chop from either. But, Thanks to Cluizel for the BC inspiration, I am really looking forward to the Big Wack off. (((A TotalLy DiFfErenT Me WiLl TrAnSfOrm))))


The InFaMoUs PoNytail!!


















I have no idea why my face is so shiney?? I love these Jackie-O shades though, They're huge....

This is normally how my hair looks when I am in need of a retightening. Not S P A C E Y or scalpy.......

This is normally how my hair looks after a
fresh retightening. Very S P A C E Y and scalpy.....







My kitchen..... I think I had just had a retightening on here. You can see where the SLs were combined........

You can see a little SL definition. Can you tell they were combined???

This is how the Annie rollers turn out.

Nothin extravagant,

but OK and simple. I dont't know why my face is so pale. Oh,!! It's Monday morning and I have to work.

The back result of me rolling my own hair.

Rollers cRooKed and SLs non uniform.

This is generally how I look on Sunday nights.

I use Annie rollers because they are cheap,

easy to manage, and produce OK results.

the one green roller is smaller than the rest

of the rollers because I don't like a big curl

covering my face.

I was Tagged also!!!!!

Ayankah I am so sorry for posting this so late, but I had not idea you had tagged me unitl I read your blog a couple of days ago.

Soooooooooooo,5 things you don't know about me.

1. Before SLs, I had never worn my hair natural. I had been relaxing my hair up until about 4 moonths before I got SLs, which is the complete contrary to the typical SL wearer. I still have no regrets about getting SLs, besides of course the size.

2. My absolute favorite food is Indian cuisine. My favorite restaturant of course is Taj Mahal Indian restaurant in Dallas. http://www.tajmahaldallas.com/ My usual is Chicken Tikka Masala, Naan bread, lentil soup, and Kheel (rice pudding) for desert. And yes, I go there 3-4 times a month.........

3. In the 6th grade, I received an award for reading the most books in the whole school. A record breaking, 104. Now that's a lot of reading for a 6th grader.

4. Growing up, I admired Jackie Joyner Kersee and Gail Devers. I wanted to be a track star just like them and compete in the Olympics. That dream was definitely deferred.

5. Lastly, I was the only Af.Am. at a previous emplyer for 2 1/2 years. Where in the heck was the diversity there?. I am so glad I am no longer there. I feel completely free to be myself at work now.