Finally a ponytail!!

As a runner, I have been very frustrated about not being able to slap my hair in a ponytail and get it off my neck and out of my face.  I put headbands on, but the neck was still being slapped with sweaty hair that was doing nothing but making me hotter.  


But today!!! Today I found a great YouTube video that showed me how to put these rowdy teenage locks into a ponytail.  Check sistergirl out!  She has some good videos with clear instruction.





Here are some pictures of my attempt to mimic it - it's not awesome, but it definitely serves the purpose for which it was sought.  All you need is a ponytail holder (elastic) and some hair pins!

I decided not to twist the entire front just to see how it looked - I liked!! A lot!  Wearing it out tomorrow :)

Wish I could show you a better photo of the twists but they're just flat twists, lol.

If you're worrying, I'm on my 18th month of being locked and I'm still LOVING IT!  The athlete in me loves the ease and flexibility of the style.  The fashionista in my loves the versatility and the stylishness.  Definitely a winner with me.  And I'm not going back to the shaved head any time soon.  Thanks for those who read my blog (especially my boyfriend...hi, baby!)

What's new, boo??

Hello out there!  Guess what?  I learned to cornrow...well I think I did - sort of.  Let me tell you how this happened.  I was trying to figure out what to do with my hair to go work out - and I was curious if this was possible for me to do. So I sat in my bed, watching old episodes of Oz, and gave it a try.  It took a little bit of effort but hurray!  Before I knew it, I had this uneven, yet masterful (lol) do...

After enjoying this style for half a day, I decided to take it out.  I got to the point where I thought it would be cool to look in the mirror because its been one of my finest dreams to look like Method Man in the Tical video. This is what it looked like:

Ignore that random piece on the top that seems to be doing it's own thing, lol. 


This is me just sharing in the life and times of my hair :) Hope you all enjoy your week!!  Happy Sunday!


Next up on the styles list: Curls by pipe cleaner...

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

I GOT IN!

YAY! I got into a doctoral program -- and I'm so pleased about it! And I'm super hyped that I'll be able to experience my sisterlocks in school.  Now, I'm sure that professionalism will always be key - but I'm can't be happier that I can rock sneakers and jeans on a daily basis if I wanted to, LOL!
So my babies are almost 2 months old and here is how I feel about them:
1) LOVE THEM
2) Not as hard to take care of them as I was prepared to do
3) LOVE THEM

Okay, so while that may not be the most descriptive description, it does truly speak to how I feel.  I went to chapter meeting a few days ago and I got some awesome compliments.  However I did have to laugh when one soror asked me what I had done. When I told her that my hair was in sisterlocks, she was super interested. But when I told her they were permanent (because in my mind, they are just as permanent as any other kind of lock) - she almost flipped out.  She acted like I just told her that I had baby snakes growing in my head and I intended on harvesting them for their snake eggs (okay, maybe she wasn't quite like that).  But either way, her response hit me in the wrong way.

Anyway...here are some pics from a week or so ago!

(The shirt says "every damn day just do it" - pretty much how I feel about life)

Well, until next time folks!! Love yourself...love others...and stop living like this is just the dress rehearsal!

MUAH!

Interviewing with Sisterlocks!

So today was interview day at University X.  It was good - I felt a little nervous because I didn't know what they thought about my answers to their questions.  There were no comments about my hair...except from the girl who knew me from a couple years ago when I had a fade (seriously).  She said "Wow, you really did let it grow out".  Which I don't feel like is a compliment or a diss - just an observation.  We'll see how long it takes for them to get back to me.

TIME FOR PICTURES!  I may be the single most picture-taking-in-the-first-month-with-sisterlocks blogger around.  But I keep finding new features on my computer that are made for blogging.  And I have a little secret! I tried the latch hooking - which was so niftily shown on kalia dewdrop's blog . Only a small section in the front so that I could test my moxie, but it felt like when I got these bad boys installed.  This one goes in the W column!

Here comes trouble!

Not that bad...I think I did an okay job.

My BF mentioned that I never showed any pictures of my hair prior to sisterlocks so I thought I'd include that for you all to see what length I was working with back in October.

And here are today's pictures (just found out that you can take pictures on your webcam - I know..common sense).  Good month one - and really looking forward to month two and three...and so on and so on.  Monday will be exactly a month since installation. 

And last but not least...HAPPY CHARTER DAY to the Lovely Lambda Chi chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.!

More pictures! Time for a RETIGHTENING!

 

I don't like the picture (I look horrible and my skin is acting a donkey!) but my hair is still up there and doing ok.   This week I've been sticking with the water spritzing and trying to give up some of my bad hair habits.  

Here's the back of my head.  I think it looks pretty great! 

I'm going to Atlanta this weekend to visit a friend so hopefully, I'll come back with plenty of delightful pictures to share with you all when I'm not looking busted at 11pm, *smh* lol

As for the retightening, my first one is coming up but I have a schedule conflict and currently, I'm in heavy prayer that she'll be able to reschedule.  When I email her tomorrow, I'll see what she says!  Next Friday, I have an interview for a doctoral epidemiology program - and I'm SUPER HYPED!  I want my hair to look appropriate and professional but I'm scared that I won't know what to do with my hair.  The institution is  lily white majority White American and I am nervous that there will be a negative reception to my hair.  But I am heartened by my confidence in my research and my personality.  And anyway, my hair is GORGEOUS! It's so alive with flavor and taste.  And I wear it like a beauty queen :-) ...SHOUT OUT TO THE NEW MISS AMERICA from the one and only VIRGINIA!

Until next time...<3

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!

Sisterlock Birthday! January 15, 2010

I'm sisterlocked!! After 25 hours over 3 days, I am finally a member of the Sisterlock family :-) My trainee consultant, Danielle Akins, was a God send. I originally met Danielle while trying to get my coils latched so I could begin traditional locks. Sadly, she broke the news to me that the lady who did my coils did some crazy part work so the bases of my would-be-locks were completely wrong for what I wanted. After a lot of upset, she explained to me about Sisterlocks and I decided to go for them. It took me 2 months to schedule an appointment (my crazy life, not hers) - and the day finally came!

I LOVE THEM! I went to work today and some people had to fight the urge to touch my hair. Can you believe it? Well, I couldn't - I was shocked. They haven't been seen by the BF...but we're going to webcam tonight. I'll let you all know what happens. Love you, MUAH!


UPDATE!!  The BF loved my hair!  He thought it was cuter than the coils - and he used to have traditional locks so he was super biased.  But he said that they fit me!  Glad it went well...he'd be SOL if not! LOL