I'm BAAACKKK!

Yesterday, I had a chance to see some great friends and get out of the fog that kept me from this blog for so long.  My wonderful boyfriend (still the same one...in a few weeks, it will be TWO years together YOWZAH!) has been mentioning my hiatus for a while but it wasn't until my good girlfriend, let's call her Locked&Lovely (L&L), expressed disappointed in her not seeing anything from the blog in a while.

So A LOT has happened.  I started my PhD - about a year from finishing, went to Panama, the Bahamas, and Cozumel, spent two years with a wonderful man, and my hair has grown out of control! Check out the pictures...

Early 2012 - Hair hadn't quite reached my shoulders yet

Ugly Christmas sweater party 2011 - put my hair up in a style so cute that it made the sweater look good!

Me and my homie, VP on St. Patty's Day 2012

Curly Q hair!

Spring 2012 - at the dentist's office...lol

Summer 2012 - Curly Q again...this time the curls didn't turn out so great

Cinco de Mayo 2012 - Hair was in a "growth spurt" Lol

Summer 2012...Weird curl...or whatever...My hair was very awkward this summer

March 2012 - on my way to Panama with the BF

Office FLOW!  Summer 2012 finally got a cubicle

PONYTAILS!!

PONYTAILS! -- Now HOW LONG have I wanted this?? It's so HERE!

My niece giving me so much love!

In Panama...city lights in the background...feeling very model-like

NYE 2011 with the BF.  Coordinating my heel bottoms with his shirt...FLY :) Put my hair up in a style I found on YouTube. 

Ponytails on the cruise to the Bahamas for the BF's family reunion.  My family reunion was in Tennessee...go figure! Haha  The ponytail was just beginning to be huge but was a great option, nonetheless.

Tried a bun...Only once...not because I didn't like it - just felt like I wasn't doing it justice

MY CONSULTANT!  SHE'S AMAZING.  Danielle Akins is a God-send and I will always love her. She even came to hang with me on my birthday.  Crazy night :)

Danielle set my hair on pipe cleaners and I went to Hot Yoga...homegirl warned me!

My mommy and I finding matching outfits for Black Girls RUN! Drive to End Hunger 5k/10K and Conference weekend.  We wore grey/black and purple/black.  She's amazing!

My mommy is FINE!  There's that ponytail again :)

Did a side-pin up.  Did not like it.  But love moms!

On the snorkeling boat in the Bahamas with Atlantis in the background

Not in the Bahamas...in my room... but boy, my hair has grown.  It was in the collar of that sweater lol

Day of my qualifying exam - ALL CURLS!

There's that ponytail again...it's a staple!

And finally, BF and I in Panama in the Panama Canal.  Hair feeling like a vacation in itself.

Having locs has been such a blessing. For the first time EVER, I have been in love with my own hair.  I'm proud of my hair.  Though I'm not sure whether I've just grown personally or my hair is JUST that fly...but either way, I love me and I love my hair!  

I will post more frequently...won't let a year+ go by again.  January will be year 3 of being locked and loving it.  Hopefully, you all will see engagement and wedding pics with locked hair in the next couple of years...we shall see!!

Love...

The Lioness!

I'm back!

Hello, hello!  It's good to be back.  I was definitely starting my PhD program and unfortunately, I hadn't gotten a real hold on my schedule.  But that is (hopefully) a thing of the past.

Hair update: DOING GREAT!  My SL consultant told me that my hair has "settled" and I don't have to braid and band any longer.  YAY!  So now, I use the Squeaky Clean bar from Lush and the Grand Poo Bar from Oyin Handmade.  The latter leaves my hair feeling the best out of the two.  I have also been using Greg Juice and Juices and Berries from Oyin Handmade.  SHOUT OUT TO OYIN! http://www.oyinhandmade.com/

Skin Update: Look at the picture at my White Coat Ceremony!  My skin is doing wonderfully.  Between the ProActiv and the baking soda, the acne doesn't stand a chance.  Yes, I still have a few pimples here and there - but NOTHING last this time last year.  My ex (yes, we parted ways) saw me recently and commented on how nice it looks.  One guy I went out with actually called me skin beautiful.  Didn't think I'd ever hear THAT again!!

Okay, so here are some pictures.  I really need to try more styles and do more with my hair but I've been scared to do much.  It's not long enough to be put up and the freestyle look is kinda getting old with me.  I'm going to be YouTube-ing for new styles.  Any suggestions???

May you each be blessed and wonderfully empowered.  Remember that God lives in each of you and He has deemed you a ruler over your entire life.  Be well! Very well!

First day of school (yes, I have a backpack!)

White Coat Ceremony ~ Skin looks magical!

Sisterlocks in the Mud  with my bestie Weaze

- YMSCA Mud Run in Norfolk, VA

Skydiving - the sisterlocks were flying!

The Super Post in Month Three

Happy Easter/Resurrection Sunday! It's my third month of having my SLs and I love them still! They still are racking up compliments and encouragement from women who are natural and relaxed.  April 15 (tax day and my parents anniversary) will be my official month 3.


But I have learned some lessons:

• FOLLOW DIRECTIONS: I have had major slippage at my retightenings and I think it's karma from month one when I was braiding and banding like I was supposed to be doing.  Braid and band - don't play the SL gods.

• WASH CAREFULLY: My athletic lifestyle has caused me to feel like my hair is icky.  So when I do that weekly wash, I can be a little bit overzealous. That's particularly the wrong answer! My consultant, Danielle, has asked me to be gentle and spread out my washes by  a couple more days.  Currently, I do every 7 days but I'm going to start pushing it to 10 days.

• AIR IS NECESSARY: Since my hair sweats while I workout like Luther Vandross on stage (sorry, Luther - you did sweat a lot) so I need not pull out all of my fashionable racing hats this summer.  And buddy, do I have PLENTY of wonderful hats.  I just got another one at the Shamrock Half Marathon in VA Beach (see pic below - btw I had the greatest time - shout out to LJ and Louise - the incantation!). The other picture is of me and my fantastic family!  Even though I grabbed this hat and shoved it on 10 seconds prior to the picture being snapped, the hat's addition is welcome.  But instead of hats, I think I'll be venturing into more visors.

I just had my last retightening on March 30, 2010.  Unfortunately, because of our schedules, my consultant and I let my hair go 6 weeks instead of our agreed upon 4 weeks.  NOT A GOOD IDEA.  My hair was desperate. That may have something to do with the incredible amount of slippage.  It took around 5 hours to retighten my head - we were in there til midnight.  Does any other SLer feel bad when they have massive slippage or some other hair issue which causes their diligent SL consultant to have to labor tirelessly over their head?  Well, we solidified a date for our next appointment so that it won't go that long again. Hopefully the tip I left made it a little better.


Speaking of my consultant, shout out to her! She's awesome and you can tell that God has worked in and on her life.  Even when I catch her on a difficult day, she's still hardworking and very flexible.  I try to put people on to her services because she's such an awesome individual and consultant.




HAIR UPDATE:
Here are some pictures.  These were prior to the retightening.

SKIN UPDATE
As far as my skin goes, it's doing better.  I'm still rolling with the clarisonic and the baking soda regimen.  Since there are not any major breakouts happening, it's not at the forefront of my mind right now.  Still looking for other options in reducing the dark marks on my cheeks.




FOLLOWERS!!
THANK YOU!  I want you to know how happy I am to have you as followers.  Your support is amazing and I appreciate you.  If there are any questions you have for me, you can always feel free to just ask or comment or whatever!  MUAH to each of you!




Goodnight, sweethearts in hair land!
The Lioness

Pictures of my Hair!

This is a bathroom pic of my 2 week old sisterlocks.  My widow's peak has escaped! But I'm very happpy with my babies!

 

This side view shows how curly my texture is and that the color I put in when I was growing out my fro is still hanging in there!

 

 The top of my head.  I love the curliness but in the pics - it just looks messy, lol!  

So far I am breaking some rules.  

• Not braiding and banding while washing - it looks the same afterwards.  Am I making a tragic mistake? I did it once and it seemed to be very time consuming - for no reason!
• Oil-free leave-in conditioner heavily diluted with water - I want my hair to smell like SOMETHING...may be another epic fail but we'll see!
• Headbands...something about stretching??

Anyway, I'm trying to be good this week. I promised to only spritz my babies with water.  Let's see how that goes.  I work out quite frequently so I have to keep my hair smelling good between washes.  Otherwise, it smells like dirt and sweat.  

My favorite things about having sisterlocks

• FREEDOM! The lack of necessary maintenance on the daily is very good and I can work out without fearing that they will fall apart
• The feel so good to my hands - I play in them quite often (ooh, probably shouldn't do that either)
• The attention (admittedly) - a lot of compliments have come my way about the new hair.  Some don't know what to think, some can't help but touch me (eww) and others straight up gush over them and say how much they want to do the same thing to their hair.  The man serving mashed potatoes at our cafeteria told me that he loved my hair so much that he's going to call his girl up on his break and tell her she should get some.  I advised that he foot the bill for THAT one! LMBO!