Week 9 - Soft Spikes

I concluded week 9 by trying my Soft Spikes.  First of all stop laughing at my pics with the rollers in my hair.  I know they are big.  I ordered the large size.  In retrospect maybe I should have gotten a smaller size. Although there were a big large, I didn't have a problem sleeping with them... tied my scarf on my head and went to sleep.  And I LOVE THE FINAL RESULT!!!!   Oh my goodness, I got so many compliments today.  I was not expecting people to respond to my hair the way they did.  The photos really don't show the full beauty of my hair but you get the idea. I want to say that I also love my peeps. They are so encouraging and loving to me as I proceed on this journey.

So, let me share my process in achieving my style.
1.  Put hair/locks in small braids/plaits.
2 . Spritz lightly with water
3.  Curl on soft Spike Curlers
4.  Take curlers out and finger comb hair to desired style.
4.  Fall even deeper in love with your hair.

That's it, so easy!!  And all chemical free and free to be ME. By the way, it snowed today so these photos are after I put my hat on and off a couple of times.  I will definitely do this again soon.  I have a wedding to attend in 2 weeks.  I'll definitely use the Soft Spike in my styling option.  Thanks for stopping by.
Blessings!!!

Two Months - Get Up and Go Hair

Okay, so I got my Soft Spikes on Thursday (sorry no pics).  Was out and about, got home late and my hubby had placed them on the bed to make sure I saw them.  He so knows me (and my hair priorities).  Well, as tired as I was, you know I still had to test them out before I turned in for the night.  I had Soft Spikes going every which way.  I was too tired to try and use any kind of method with my madness. Well, when I took them out on Friday morning I suppose my hair turned out okay..considering.   My hair had a slight turn / bend/ volume to it.  I didn't want a tight curl so it was a plus on that end.  I ordered the large size and I think they did what they were suppose to do.  I think when I am able to put products on my hair  or use the Soft Spikes when my hair is wet the result will be a lot dramatic. Overall, I did like the result but I'm looking forward to using them again. I had planned to take a pic to post but got busy and forgot to take one.  I felt good that my hair wasn't as sparse as it had been after my reti. Some of the parts from the fresh reti were camoflauged as well. I'll post a pic when I try them again.

My son is pretty sick, woke up yesterday with the dreaded "flu-like" symptoms, took  him to the doctor (of course he didn't see a doctor but a nurses assistant).  However, I have to give a shout out to the NA's.  Mine did a good job. He didn't get a prescription, shot or anything.  So why do we have insurance again??  In any event,  I'm taking care of my first born.  Didn't sleep well. He was pretty sick and  I was sensitive to his every cough, whimper, turn , plus worked on getting that fierce fever under control all night long. Kept going to the guest room to check on him and administer TLC, liquids and essential oils throughout the night.  Same regiment today.  At least the fever is going down.  Thank God!!!!

Anyway, took a minute to jump online.  I will say that on days like today I love my SLs even more.   Didn't even fluff them out when I took my wrap off this morning and  they still looked cute...,just flat against my head.I will actually work this look later on with the right accessories.  I LOVE MY HAIR!!!   Gotta go check on my patient.  Blessings!

Week 7 - First Retightening

Woke up on yesterday to frigid temperatures and snow but not even the weather could deter me from getting to my 8 a.m. appointment.  I was eager to get my first "reti" and was looking forward to a good shampoo. I  read on some of the other blogs that their reti's were done on dry hair.  Tayo shampooed me first then did my reti on wet/damp hair.  She noted that my locks were doing very well and that I didn't have any slippage or bunching/crawling. I had about a quarter of an inch of new growth.  I was also pleased that it only took her one hour and about forty-five minutes to shampoo me and complete my reti. She really works very fast and does and excellent job.  Also, I don't have as many locks as a lot of  others sistah's but the number I have is appropriate for my hair (density/etc.).  I was told to continue with the same routine of not putting anything in/on my hair, including water.  On my next visit in four weeks she will let me know if I can begin to add moisturizer, etc.  Everything has worked out well so far so I will continue to follow the instructions of my consultant.  She also clarified that it was okay for me to style my locks. YEEEEAAA!!!!  I guess I just didn't want to manipulate my locks too much at the beginning.  But I will try to do a little bit more with them.  Last night   ordered the Soft Spikes  I've read so much about.  I'm looking forward to getting them and testing them out.  The only small challenge I had today (Sunday) with my newly reti'd locks was with styling them because they were not as full as before the reti.  The finished result was a lot like the initial installation. I fluffed them out as best as I could...donned my "work your SLs attitude",  went out with confidence and  walked in the freedom and knowledge that this is my hair and I'm proud of the journey I'm on.  Wouldn't you know it.... I received several compliments at church today and one lady asked if I had sisterlocks, we talked about them and she asked for my consultant's contact information.  Sistah's, even on our challenging and unsure days, attitude goes a long way.  Overall, I ended my seventh week still in love with my locks, having learned to embrace my hair at all times and I am eagerly anticipating what the next week will hold for me.  I'm posting my before and after pics so you can see the difference.

Week Six - A Beautiful Journey

                                                                          
Week six was uneventful in terms of  any major changes in my hair.  I understand that this is a gradual process but even at this stage, I am loving what my hair is doing. I think the key to my attitude is prior research.  I did an enormous amount of research on SLs and the process before I decided to transition.  I think that knowing that everybody's hair is different and being acquainted with the process has helped me a lot.  That's not to say that I won't have issues and concerns about the process, but right now, at this point I'm okay.  I'm going to trust my consultant and follow her instructions on caring for my locks. Right now my hair and are a little dry  but it's tolerable.  Not much itching or flaking but I've read that this is common for this stage.  I am intent on doing the right thing for my hair in order to aid it in doing what nature directs it to do.  I must be patient with it.  I did stop by to see my consultant about a week ago just to have her check to see if  my hair was too dry.  She assured me that my hair was doing great and wasn't too dry. Interestingly though, other people say that my hair doesn't look dry.

I'm getting lots of compliments and have been talking with other locked sistahs whom I know.  Now that I have joined them on this journey our connections is even closer.  Isn't that amazing?  Met a beautiful sistah (Leigh Ann) while out shopping yesterday.  I noticed her right away because her SLs were so beautiful.  They were about 2 years old and looked incredible.  We talked for a while and she was so nice, encouraging and had a beautiful spirit.  There really is a "sisterhood" among "locked" sisters.

So I start Week 7 on tomorrow.  I'll go on Saturday (10/10/09) for my fist "reti" and my second shampoo (third if you count my installation day).  I am so excited about it.  I've been making sure that I separate the locks so that they don't "creep/bunch" into adjacent locks.  Still haven't put anything on my hair (not even water).

Okay, enough for this week.  You really can't tell any changes with the pics I took this week but I'll post  them anyway.