Something Different

I really appreciate those who have chosen to follow my blog. I really enjoy blogging and exchanging thoughts and information with you all. I’ve been thinking for some time of combining my two blogs, Loc’d & Loving It and Ivy League Reflections for easier maintenance. My hesitation was because I wanted a better platform for doing so. Well, I think I found it. Over the next month or so I will be combining my blogs and posting them to my new blog page http://fearfullynwonderfullymade.tumblr.com/. I pray that you enjoy my posts enough to join me there. Thanks again for following! Pray and lock on!

Peace & Blessings!
IJ

Observations

Well, I've reached the 18 month mark and I'm still learning my girls. I purchased the Nappy Loc tool weeks before my last professional retightening. So I've been eagerly waiting for my hair to need to be retightened so I can start my journey to being a DIY'er. I got my last retightening on April 12th. I usually go to my consultant every 5 weeks. So I shall begin my first DIY retightening soon! Excited!

In the meantime, I have been getting up close and personal with my little ladies. I've been inspecting them very closely. The front of my head is my problem area so that has been getting extra special attention. I combined a few SL's in the front because I thought they were too thin.



Using my Nappylock Tool, retightened the two together.

I then twisted the two together in parts and threaded the weaker one into the thicker one towards the end. Here is what it looked like after I was done.

I think it looks pretty good, but only time will tell.

Other observations that I have made:

I seem to have 3 different types of ends.

1. Balls on the end of locks.

2. What my sister calls "cocoons"

3. Open or loose ends.


Any feedback about my trio of ends?

I must admit that I am much more intimate with my sisterlocks than I was with my traditional locs. Anyways.....loc on ladies!

Peace & Blessings!

IJ

I’ve been bitten by the DIY bug…..

My recent frustrating experiences with my SL consultant have motivated me to begin my journey to DIY! I checked the SL website to look at the schedule for the retighten class. The recent changes to the site were not helpful to me finding the information that I need. According to the schedule, I will not be able to fit the class into my schedule until December. :-( So I started looking at blogs, emailing people, and talking to sisters who are currently DIY-ers. I was referred to YouTube and I found a number of videos with retightening instructions. I ordered the Nappy Lock tool and I got it in the mail today! :-) I already had a retightening scheduled for tomorrow the 12th so I am going to say that will be my last salon retightening. I am going to attempt my retightening 4 weeks from tomorrow. I’m excited! I maintained my traditional locks after about 1 ½ years and keep up my neat locks for 5 years. So I am confident that I can do the same with my Sisterlocks. Pray for me as I transition into a DIY-er! Peace & Blessings!

Spiral Clarification…..and As the Pipe Cleaner Set Falls.....

I don’t want to overkill the spiral set info, but I will address some questions I have had. The pic posted November 6th with the pipecleaners in is not a good representation of how it looks set when I take my time. So here are pictures of what it looks like when I take my time rolling my sisterlocks on the pipecleaners. It takes about an hour to roll my entire head. I usually put 3-6 sisterlocks on each pipecleaner.

This is what my hair looks like after I take the rollers out. If I am not going anywhere important, I will leave my hair like this for as long as possible before I’m ready to separate the curls. When I take my time this style is very doable and neat. From a distance my hair looks like Whoopi’s hair.

This is what my hair looks like once the sisterlocks are separated. The curls are pretty tight the first week. They loosen up as the style gets older.

Day 2

Day 4

After 1 week (My Rottwieler Buster likes my hair! :-)

Week 2 (forgot to take a picture of the back)

I absolutely love this style! It’s gonna by my 2011 staple!

Please leave comments! Be Blessed!

Pipe Cleaner Spiral Set....Take 2

So I tried the pipe cleaner spiral set again. This time I took more time rolling my hair. I only put 3-6 locks on each roller. I left the pipe cleaners in for about 17 hours.


When I took them out I left the spirals intact for another day.






This morning I separated the spirals. Here are the results. Enjoy! (Please leave comments)

Sisterlocks and Pipe Cleaners

So I’ve seen a few youtube videos about rolling sisterlocks on pipe cleaners and I was intrigued. So I went out and bought some. I found a pack of 25 at Michael’s for 99¢, so I bought 3 packs. I heard that I might have been able to get them cheaper at Wal-Mart, but I haven’t verified that information yet. I prepared 2 packs (50) of the pipe cleaners before washing my hair. I folded the pipe cleaner in half and formed a loop around my index finger. I then wrapped the two ends around one another until I reached the end. The loop makes the roller easy to hold and roll.

After banding and washing my hair, I began to take small sections of SLs and wrap them around the pipe cleaner (now turned roller). I started at the loop of the roller from the end of my hair. I rolled it in a spiral formation, because I was striving for a spiral type curl. I folded the end of the pipe cleaner over to secure it in place. It took a little more than an hour to roll my entire head. I did not sit under the dryer because I did my hair early enough in the day to let it air dry and I kept them in over night. Here are pictures of how my hair looked in the pipe cleaners. I ended up using 55 rollers.

FYI…I chose blue pipe cleaners because: 1. Blue is my favorite color :-) and 2. Whenever I use black rollers, bands, or any hair tool, they easily get lost in my jet-black hair.

The next morning when I was ready to get out and about I removed the cleaners. I did not just pull them out, I unwrapped each roller in a circular motion in an effort to preserve the spiral.

Here is what my hair looked like when I took the pipe cleaners out.


I separated each SL for a fuller effect. Unfortunately I had 2 casualties. I have only experienced lock loss in the front temple area. It was the same with my traditional locks. Not sure if there's anything to be done about that. :-(

• The curls are really tight now, but I still like to outcome and I know it will look better as the days go by. I put a headband on for a different look.
  
  I think I found my new thing…..pipe cleaners!
  
  Notes for the future:
• Colored pipe cleaners may not be a good idea. I am picking some blue fuzz out of my hair.
• As my hair grows I may need to use more so I need to purchase more pipe cleaners.
• When I make more, I will not fold them in half. At my current length, I still needed more room at the end of the pipe cleaner.
• I may consider twisting 2 pipe cleaners together for a little thicker roller.
  
  PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS! THANKS FOR CHECKING ME OUT!

I will try to remember to take pictures as my hair gets older. I hear this style could last 3 weeks. We will see.

Happy Birthday Sisterlocks!!!!!

I can’t believe it’s already been a year that I’ve had my SLs installed! I have loved every moment of this journey thus far. What’s next?? 1. Anticipating the news that I no longer need to band before washing. 2. Making plans to take the retightening class so that I can maintain my own hair. Let’s go SLs….I’m ready for the next leg of this journey!