Natural Journeys: My Sisterlocks and stuff

My expectations are high for 2011-- spirit, soul and body from hair to toe! My hair ends are re-locking nicely from my first style haircut back in February of 2010. While the cut has certainly grown-out, the result is still something I can work with. What else is new? Well... as you all know, my Sisterlocks where installed by Paulette Brown of Locks4Life Natural Hair Salon. Now, Paulette has moved to out-of-state. While it has been a long time since Paulette has actually retightened my hair herself, I will always well serviced by any one of the SL Consultants of L4L. For the past year, I've been in the chair of Sabrina Sampson. Then, Sabrina opened her own shop: Lock Envy Natural Hair Salon. So, in subsequent posts and videos I'll later create, I'll be rep-pin' Lock Envy! :-) DON'T GET IT TWISTED, though... I've got NOTHING BUT LOVE for Locks4Life!! What else? Well, I have been working on my skin. I've got wonderful pure makeup and natural hair, but my...

We had so much fun putting this together! My three daughters 'bout break their necks dancing and performing Willow Smith's smash single "Whip My Hair" whenever they hear this tune. (Which is DAILY... since music is on-demand these days with YouTube, right?!) I had a little time over the Thanksgiving holiday to put this together. Unfortunately, 2girlsbigsister was ill during the production but managed to get into Day 2 of trying to work this thing out. Ms.ZB was game from Day 1. Her "swag" was only minimally featured in front of the camera, but BAAAABBY that Ms.ZB has moves with attitude when this song is played. As you can IMAGINE we ALL had headaches for awhile after rockin' out take after take, practicing and messing up! What great family FUN, though! Hilarious... DON'T get it twisted... there is a MESSAGE TO OUR VIDEO! We are saying stay the course doin' YOU naturally. "Shake off" the haters and enjoy shakin' off relaxers, ...

I'm glad our WATER BILL was paid... I colored my Sisterlocks! Which is a hellava  RINSING  process with Sisterlocks... WHEW!  I have used semi-permanent color or rinses before, but never a permanent color like this one. J ust tryin' to make sure I rinsed all product out of my SLs , I MUST have emptied our hot water tank for sure!   :-) As much as I LOVE sistahs who really go TRUE golden, auburn or copper with their locs, I'm still not that bold... YET!  If I EVER DO IT, I'll probably get it done by a professional.What I really like in hair coloring Sisterlocks not withstanding is that TRUE tortoise shell 3-tone effect. That's a GOOD LOOK!! I think that requires some bleaching/highlighting  that I'm NOT particularly comfortable with... at least, not as this time. It would seem to me that a sistah would be tempted to color much more often than perhaps she might have originally expected to maintain the effect.  Anywhoooo... not yet for ...

2005 -2010 Five years ago I made the decision to get Sisterlocks... and WOW, I'm lovin' my life from head to toe. FREEDOM come sunshine (sweat) or rain... I LOVE IT!

This is the "and Stuff" of my Natural Journeys blog: cool websites like this one! Do check it out.

Introducing Ms.ZB! My second daughter with Sisterlocks. I'm so excited for her and SHE is lovin' her new look!

God bless Paulette, Ashlee and Atoya-- Certified Sisterlocks Consultants of Locks4Life!! It seemed to be Kids Day at the salon. There were two 6-year-olds in the shop during the beginning of Ms.ZB's Sisterlocks installing session. Well, after 9 hours and multiple breaks-- Paulette and Ashlee had become worn out over my baby's head with all of her moving, slouching, and sleeping curled into a ball in the salon chair. Plus, Ms.ZB is TENDER-HEADED!! Then, Paulette made the dreaded announcement: "We are going to have to finish this another day." Knowing how booked the Certified Consultants of Locks4Life are I wasn't sure when Day 2 would be... Turned out that it would be 3 days later. I KNEW Paulette and Ashley HAD TO HAVE BEEN WORN-OUT because they admitted to only having 3 move hours of work to go! I am very compliant with my SL Consultant Paulette so DID NOT press the issue... So, Natural Journeys readers... check back for Ms.ZB's ultimate Sisterlocks reveal. F...

  CLICK TO ENLARGE PIC 3girlsmomma couldn't be any prouder right now... Introducing my 6 year-old daughter - Ms.ZB! She has started her Sisterlocks journey. Her tests locks were installed today at Locks4Life by Master Sistapreneurer and Certified Sisterlocks Consultant, Paulette Brown. Ms. ZB is most excited about me never raking a comb through her thick beautiful hair AGAIN!

Yep... it's true! I'm going to cut my Sisterlocks. I have already tracked down my hairstylist from back in the late 90s using the Internet no doubt. I called the old salon and found that he didn't work there anymore. Further, no one there had kept up with him. Thankfully, somebody knew who I was talking about when I described him as I remembered him from back in the day. Luck for me, he had the distinct characteristic of traditional locs. I referred to him by his first name. (Can you believe I never even really knew his LAST NAME? Then again, maybe I did but had forgotten it.) All I KNEW FOR SURE WAS that I LOVED how he used to style-cut my relaxed hair. So, naturally since I've been thinking about cutting my Sisterlocks-- not all OFF , but in long layers-- he was my FIRST choice for the job. It was also lucky finding a working number for him online. Praise the Lord! When I contacted him by phone, guess what?! (I disrupted lunch with his sister, but...) He remember...

It's a process...Unlock to lock From societal norms that bind My thoughts, my actions, my mind From expectations of whom I should be Unofficial authors of my reality I Must be UNLOCKED! From false images projections beauty Apart from me That stifles and chains my innate creativity From rules that say my hair must be straight Or in a mainstream's line I will wait I Must be UNLOCKED! To seek truth and my life's meaning Paying homage to REAL SELF and TRUE BEING Finding connectedness to the mother Gifts assigned to me as to no other I SHALL BE UNLOCKED! To take control of my life and my hair And play rules my spirit calls fair To let go days of perms, curls and press To experience freedom in speech, styles and dress I AM MOST TRULY LOCKED! By Cynthia Raiford

My dear bruthas and sistas let's enter into this new decade with renewed vigor and life DESPITE the circumstances! We shall continue to OVERCOME... let us endure like GOOD SOLDIERS until the end.

 

Between waiting on a group of my girlfriends and tryin' to arrange childcare for us to see Chris Rock's GOOD HAIR movie, can you believe I STILL have NOT SEEN it yet?? Now, I've learned that My Nappy ROOTS: A Journey through Black Hair-itage [ http://www.mynappyrootsthemovement.com/ ] is another one I need to see. This one includes our own Dr. JoAnne Cornwell as an ethnic hair care industry contributor amongst a host of others. I'm on a quest today to find both of these movies... now that at this moment I can't see them to find them showing in my local area. Natural Journeys Readers, do you know where to see movies Good Hair and My Nappy Roots anywhere nationalwide? DO TELL... Seems I am so late about knowledge of the Nappy Roots movie (2006) that I missed that there was a lawsuit between the two movies! Movie maker, Regina Kimbell claimed her movie, My Nappy Roots, a documentary that she made in 2005, was the inspiration behind Rock's Good Hair, and sued him f...

  You've seen her YouTube videos all over the web... no doubt, you've seen the results of her beautiful SpringLocks techique on her client Antoinette's Sisterlocks . I recently placed an order for her most recent instructional video. Now... you, my Natural Journeys readers, already know that pipecleaners are my curling tool of choice among hair spools, SoftSpikes , the Wrap-A-Loc tool , and bantu knots. Truly, it's all in the technique because the tools are simple. Those who are "in the know" you must compensate ... and I ain't mad at 'em! Go forth my dear sistahprenuers! I'm very pleased with my results!! Thanks Phyllis-the Videotician for sharing. I love the Web for learning ANYTHING about which I'm ignorant. My photos posted here show my good and BAD technique and my really nice results-- for the FIRST TIME. I've been rockin' my long lasting set for a week now. LOVE IT!  

CLICK TO ENLARGE PICS It has been a long time now since I have applied any type of oil directly to my hair. So this hot oil treatment was an adventure for me. It was truly WEIRD having my hair actually quite GREASY even after washing out the oil treatment. It was so worth doing, however. I had noticed my hair becoming brittle in spots and even experiencing breakage in a few locs. So I began changing my washing regime to include more moisturizing shampoo and conditioning. I went back to my old Sisterlocks Moisture Treatment and distilled water spritz bottle for daily use as well as making a conscious effort to DRINK MORE WATER.

Oh, the things you can create on the Web... I LOVE IT!! I learned about BOOKr today. It is a site that allows you to upload pictures and add text. The pages turn like a real book. I WILL BE USING this for many other applications beyond this blog. It is such a very cool, EZ to use and fun site!! >>>>>> Alright, my Natural Journeys readers... I'm putting out a challenge. I wanna see YOU published online! Above is my "book". Recycle it by adding your own pics or create you own. Either way, send me the link to your Bookr creation. Tell your hair story!! I'll be your first reader. To add to my book, click the banner below the book. Once there, click RECYCLE. You'll have the opportunity to add to my book there. To create new one, click CREATE NEW here

Take one of the longest locs you have on your head... go ahead, hold a single loc between you thumb and index fingers, examine its end... Now, think who started your locs (You? Established loctician? Friend? SL-trainee? Family-member?) Now, consider all those who have retightened your locs, mended your locs... or touched your hair to get it to its present state. Can you list their names? I have been SL'd 4 years. As I really began to think about how a single loc has a story, I considered my own. Paulette Brown-- started my locs as a SL trainee at her kitchen table after working her 9-to-5 job (I'm one of her "qualifying heads" towards Sisterlocks Certification). Today, she has quit her old 9-to-5. She owns her own shop in multiple locations. Her salon serves to offer experience for several other SL-trainees-- many of whom were her own clients. Here's my longest loc... from it end to the root we've interacted with Paulette, Ericka, Atoya, myself, Robin, Ashl...

Did you know Dr. JoAnne Cornwell-- the originator of the Sisterlocks method is now on Facebook ? Be advised that there is a FRIEND limit on Facebook of 5000. Become a FAN of Sisterlocks -- there is NO limit! I'm BOTH! Yey, me... lol So far, Dr. Cornwell is actually doing pretty well at responding to Facebook posts. (Or should I say that her ghost writer is doing well...) It may become overwhelming after a while so get in there early... Sisterlocks is BLOWIN' UP! What better way to get your thanks, praise, and questions heard by the originator thru Facebook!! The Internet is a wonder indeed...

A strange thing happened on the road towards Virginia Beach, VA this summer. You know how you stop off the road to refill the gas tank, use the rest room, and/or grab a bite to eat in a town that you have no earthly idea where you are? Well, on such an occasion I approached the cashier at a Wendy's fast-food joint to place my order. She gasped... yet proceeded to take my order. Saying nothing else after our transaction, and feeling kinda weird about her gasping I stepped far aside away with my kids to allow my husband to place his order. Next thing I know my husband was calling me back up to the cashier... then she shared... Guess what? She recognized me from the Internet as she was surfing the Web for Sisterlocks pictures. I thought she might know me from my YouTube Channel or this blog but no just from doing a Google images search. She went on to quickly explain to me with interruptions from the food preparers how she was transitioning, getting her funds ready and seeking a Sis...

Click on the pic for a closer look...   Check out my daughter and I coolin' it on a HOT summer fun day in Detroit... Ahhhhhh, the freedom...