DFW Brunch - Mrs. TRA's Bud

While hanging out and chatting, TRA found a sweet little “bud,” she’s been locked for about three months now and like me she has Symptom #1 “hanzenthehairtis” listing in the book “A Tapestry of Dreams” by Dr. Cornwell. Since having this disease, she’s been searching for budding locks and guess what; she found one at the Brunch! Whoopi!!!!!! She was elated because this is the first sign of locks becoming locks!

DFW Brunch Group Pic

Shout out to Ms. Brunsli!!! We missed you girl, you must make the February Brunch. Brunsli sent us an Instant Message during the Brunch to say hello, talk about a truly connected group. I can go on and on, but I’ll let the pictures tell the story. So, this was an awesome gathering and again…..I can hardly wait for February to roll around.

DFW SL Brunch "Audre Lorde Poems"

This particular DFW Brunch was especially empowering because of the powerful spirit of each sista in attendance.

Because of the everlasting impression I'd like to share some of my favorite Quotes by the legendary works of Audre Lorde

"it is not our differences that divide us. it is our inability to recognize, accept & celebrate those differences." -Audre Lorde

"If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive" ~ Audre Lorde


"Every woman I have ever known has made a lasting impression on my soul." -Audre Lorde

You see, we are Queens and should treat each other as such.....this world does not have any more room for hate, envy and jeolousy. I really felt like I was in the presence of Queens this past weekend! You all rock!!!!

DFW SL Brunch "Awesome"

Girls, I can't help myself... we are AWESOME!!!!!

See ya'll in February!!! No wait, see Karen and BlaqKofi on Friday, we go to the re-tightening class with Consultant Gigi on Friday! Whew Who!!!

Locks Starting to Bud

Happy Holidays everyone!!!
This is another favorite time of the year for me and after six months I can finally feel the locks in the back of my head getting really "puffy!" YEAH!! Not much difference in length and my locks have actually gotten somewhat shorter because of the bunching that's going on. I'm sure my locks are starting to blossom into the "teenage" stage and it's all a matter of time before they will be completely locked. They feel like small rope like braids and I love how the ends are sealing. Most of my curly’s in the back are completely gone, but still exist in the front of my head. (Click on each picture to get a closer look) Top left shows initial install six months ago and bottom left shows what they look like today.

I've picked up my "A Tapestry of Dreams" The Sisterlock Book by Dr. Cornwell and started reading it.....again. If you don't already have this book, you "must" order it. It's a great table topper and all of my visitors seem to gravitate to it and thumb through the pages, it never fails..... someone will always want to know more about Sisterlocks.

I'm "so digging" this transitional stage and I'm sure I have developed Symptom #1 (hanzenthehairtis) of the Sisterlocks Disease listed in the book. "This symptom is marked by a pronounced inclination of one or both of the hands to gravitate uncontrollably toward the locks. The onset of this symptom is governed by time of day or physical location and in fact has been reported in settings as diverse as board rooms, kitchens, restaurants and athletic fields. Researchers have hypothesized that the cause may be due to an independent gravitational field generated for some unknown reason around the head area of the Sisterlocks wearer." This describes me to a "T" and you can read about the other Symptoms listed in the book, they are so funny...and true!

The majority of my locks are definitely budding and starting to feel like real locks. It's very fascinating because my hair in the back is so thick and dense I believe my hair is locking at two different speeds. The front and sides are much softer and not much budding is occuring and bunching is more prevalent in the back than any other area.

If you look real close you can also see the frizzes have not yet gone away. I’m continuing to be encouraged as I’ve learned from my fellow bloggers and LockItUp group....the frizzes will eventually go away….. but much patience is required. I’m in for the long haul however, I must admit, I’ve been entertaining the thought of using some of the soft locking creams to speed up the process. I know that if I ever used creams or oils my consultant would probably work me over real good. So, I dismiss the thought real quick.
I’m back to free styling for a while just so I don’t over do it with my Caruso Curlers. Those things are really addictive in helping me create a cute soft curl... too much of anything is never good. Therefore, I’m waiting and will use them every other week instead of every other day.

This photo shows how my side locks are longer than the locks in the back, I think it's because they are not bunching and as I stated earlier they are much softer and the curl pattern is not at tight as the back. Oh well, since the back tends to grow faster, hopefully they'll catch up.... Thanks for checking in on me, this weekend is our 2nd DFW Brunch I'll be posting pictures next week.

Holler at me!
Peace!

Upcoming Events:
December 4th - 2nd DFW Sisterlock Brunch
December 9th - Retightening Class (BlaqKofi & Karen, I'm ready my sista's. Since we're all taking the class together it should be interesting and fun! I hope I can get the hang of this retightening technique.

My Consultant "Ms. Elaine"

This post is dedicated to my Consultant, Ms. Elaine Hill, she is located in the heart of Dallas, 7979 Inwood (Inwood and Lovers Lane), 214 956.7842. She is both a Cosmtologist and Certified Sisterlock Consultant; Ms. Elaine (bottom left & right) is also a true advocate of Dr. Cornwell and she has been certified for seven years. She loves her work and is both professional and knowledgeable, a real jewel! Her clientele consist of both men and women who wear natural hair styles and locks. Over 90% of her patrons are locked and she herself has worn beautiful traditional locks for over eight years. (With her permission, she allowed me to post her photos so I'd appreciate if you do not copy them...thanks!) We've had conversations about her cutting off her traditional locks and starting Sisterlocks TM. While I love Sisterlocks TM, I couldn't image cutting my beautiful traditional locks to start the process all over again! According to our recent dialogue that time may be real soon!

I am probably one of Ms. Elaine's most worrisome clients and I really admire her spirit because she is always so patient, honest and warm. Now, since she takes great pride in her work and doing what's best for each individual customer she does not hold her tongue if you overstep the boundaries. She is very open to questions and ideas but makes sure you understand that "your" hair type is not like the next person so you can't look at others and expect the same results. You are da bomb Ms. Elaine, and I really enjoy the services you provide, especailly those wonderful washes before retightening.

While I was in the Salon last week I met a new Sisterlocker, Cindy Moy. Ms. Elaine started Cindy's SL's six weeks ago and I began asking questions about her decison to get Sisterlocks TM. Cindy shared her story with me, she had been in the valley of decision to get "locked up" for a while when Ms. Elaine mentioned the Sisterlock TM process and showed her the video. After seeing the video she became intrigued and soon ran into someone that actually had them and then she grew totally convinced that Sisterlocks TM is what she wanted. Cindy also allowed me to take a photo while Ms. Elaine retightened her hair and I'm sure she will be starting a blog of her own journey soon. Click on the pic to get a closer view. Cindy, welcome to the sisterhood of Sisterlocks TM and thanks for allowing me to post the beginning your the journey on my blog!!!!

If any of you are in the Dallas/Ft Worth Texas area, I would highly recommend Ms. Elaine for any of your locking and natural hair care needs.

Reminder: DFW Sisterlockers, looking forward to our Christmas Brunch and BlaqKofi birthday celebration December 4th!!!!

Sisterlocks ® & Caruso Curlers

I am so in love with my Caruso Curlers!!!! Each day brings more joy since I have a product I can use to curl without using a hot iron. Right now, I’m still trying to figure out which direction to roll my hair in order to achieve the most attractive style. It almost feels like the old days when I would roll my permed hair on the magnetic rollers and sleep on them over night for a nice curl. Guess what? With these babies I roll my Sisterlocks® for 15 minutes and “voila” it’s done. The only problem is…..”I need more rollers in small and medium sizes” to accomplish a tighter curl!! Unfortunately, the 30 piece set only comes with six of each size curler and I’ve got to order more soon.

Not sure the pictures do any justice to show the gratification I have received from wearing my curls but I base what I like about my hair by how I feel when I leave my house in the morning. Kinda like when you wear something that is “hot” and you know you are “Hot”. Then there are days, when you wear something that is just not working and you want to go back home, get in that closet and start the process over. Yeah, well, same rules apply regarding my hair. Any who, as I stated I really like the “look” and “feel” of the results after using Caruso and not only that, too many people that have never commented about my Sisterlocks® all of a sudden came out of the woodworks, they wanted to touch, feel and ask questions. Especially in Whole Foods while shopping this week, for some reason people in Whole Foods really relate to Natural Hair, oh makes sense since “Whole Foods” attract “Whole people.” I didn’t mind because I really like talking about Sisterlocks® and natural hair.


While I’m experimenting with my Caruso Curlers I’ll continue to post updates so check back with me. Peace and have a blessed & safe Thanksgiving!

Reminder: DFW Sisterlockers, looking forward to our Christmas Brunch and BlaqKofi birthday celebration December 4th!!!!

Six Month Celebration

Wow, I can't believe how time passes, it seems like yesterday when I got my SL's installed! As previously posted I have a few bunching issues and I recall someone that wrote to the LockItUp group and advised us to run out and get the Caruso steam rollers because they were being discontinued. Well, I did and I used them as an experiment the same night I bought them........ I loved them!! The curlers camouflaged the bunching and I actually have loose curls that flow a little as indicated in these pics. I used the larger rollers to achieve this look, like I said, it was an experiment and I plan to continue working with the styles. These are my beginner Caruso pics and it only took about 15 minutes to do it, not bad huh?

This week, BlaqKofi, Karen and I signed up for the retightening class on December 9th with instructor GiGi. We are so excited to get together and encourage one another. I know I'll need help with the patterns because I don't' have a clue of how they work. I'm sure we will do fine and I'll bet it will be entertaining as well!!

Also, this week I've had the honor of chatting directly with Kristian Alexis Perry, originator of Brothers_locked group. Chantal hooked us up and it has been a true blessing to receive advice from him regarding bunching. Kristian went through the same bunching process as we both have almost identical hair type and have you seen his hair lately??? He obviously knows what he is doing? (shown below left) So, I'd like to send a special shout out to Chantal and Kristian for their "support" with my bunching trial!! LockItUp group has put me in touch with such wonderful and sincere people and for that I'd also like to send out a special thanks to Sandy, again!

Bunching

OK ladies, you asked for it and I've decided to put my vanity on the shelf and share what I'm going through with BUNCHING! Eeks! While I understand the process, it is the most unattractive thing about my locks. I aim to be a consistently neat person in appearance and my locking journey is fighting against my wishes. I must admit though, there are some days more than others that I secretly wish I had some "good ole beautiful extra tight curly hair" because it's the best for locking. My pics above show some of my many "bunched babies," I'm learning to accept them instead of change the way they look. This locking process in teaching me many things about me and my God given hair especially…. Patience!!!!


Go ahead click on any pic and see an up-close view of how my hair after washing just curls up each individual lock. I used to stretch each lock out after washing but it just crunches right back up after the next wash, so I've finally accepted this stage in my journey and will just wait and let nature run its course. Additionally, besides the bunching I also have the frizzes. The only way to control the two concerns is to wear braid outs. Braid outs give me a little help with my neatness because I have a crinkle or wavy look and the bunching and frizzes are minimized. Some of my locks as you can see are bumpy, lumpy and down right disobedient. They actually look like they don't belong with the others and the majority of my naughty bunched locks are located in the middle and back of my head. Ummm… The bunching stage is no easy task but my reason for adding the challenging stage to my blog is to support others that are experiencing the same stage and understanding that they are not alone. Shout out to my other Bunched sisters, “we will get though this!”


None the less, I am "still" ecstatic about my beautiful Sisterlocks and would not trade this experience for nothing in the world. I continue to play in my hair daily and can’t wait to take the retightening class. Most importantly, I feel beautiful even with my defiant "bunched babies." I come across a lot issues regarding sisters seeing their parts and scalp when they first get their Sisterlocks installed or even after retightenings. Well, my hair is super thick and you can't see my parts even when I pull my hair up or after retightening so I guess "bunching" had to be my challenge. I wonder if anyone has ever had a smooth locking journey without having to deal with bunching or scalp issues. Just a thought, anywho….. Regardless, no matter what your/our issue is, we should just allow time to work its course and trust our journey will be very rewarding.

Peace, Love and Soul!
LaChanda
Will be six months on Friday..

Playing Pin The Hair Up

Here I am playing "pin the hair up," I so love the way many sisters wear their locks pinned up and it took me at least 30 - 45 minutes to get something up that I felt comfortable wearing out for the day. To my surprise, it turned out pretty nice. Although, this was the best I could do to work my "up do" I feel better about trying other styles. I used a couple of long hair pins to keep my thick stuff in place. I picked them up at one of the booths in the local mall shown below.


I'm a week away from my six month (time passes quickly) mark and I'm still loving every moment of my journey. Some days are challenging because I started with 8 - 9 inches of natural hair and because of my BUNCHING and I am probably still at 8 -9 inches. In my case, because I have semi-curly hair my locks seem to bunch after each wash. The length is not really the main concern; it's the several ugly locks that "I" see here and there. So, the ugly locks are more of a challenge for me because I must learn to be patient and let them develop into their own little personalities. Just my little way of seeing the big picture!

The one noticeable good thing is that my locks that were separating after each wash are now locked in. My consultant "Ms. Elaine" washes and retightens my hair while wet so each problem lock is now tightly in place. Retightening while my hair is wet feels much better than getting retightened while my hair is dry because my/our hair is much softer when it's wet.

Again, I stated in my previous post about how much I love my SL's and how I wish I would have started my SL journey earlier, so now instead of looking in the past I'm now focused on the future. Each day I awake I'm so thankful that am FREE!!!

DFW Sisterlock Brunch

Whew......I cannot even begin to tell you how wonderful it felt to be in the presence of so many beautiful sisterlocked sista's. If the Sisterlock Reunion is anything like this I am "so there" next year. To begin, upon arrival at the Blue Mesa Grill I opened the door there stood Maryee, Jen and Tiffany. I immediately knew who Maryee and Jen were and once Tiffany introduced herself we all stood hugging and greeting one another. We then proceeded upstairs to be seated and there was Blaqkofi (Shirley), we all knew her from her well-known blog and the hugs started all over again. As we waited to be seated, more DFW Sisterlockers began to stroll in and each time someone walked in we all pulled out the cameras and started flashing away! One young lady could not help herself, she was so taken by our hair that she stopped and asked Shirley for information. Well, that just kicked off the recruitment process and Shirley began to explain the whole procedure as the young lady stood in amazement. (Tiffany, Jen, Blaqkofi & Maryee pictured above)

**Don't forget to click on each pic to get a close up**

We were seated and there was not a quiet moment at the table as we all got to know one another on a more personal level. I sat next to Jen, Beverly, Blaqfoki and Tiffany and the conversations we had about hair, God, family and relationships will forever be remembered. (Beverly pictured below)



Jen, so deep and funny in her own way, reminds me so much of one of my favorite Artists – Ms. India Arie! Beverly, who’s Sisterlocks are five years old was so encouraging and so very confident within herself, shared the story of her sister giving her Sisterlocks as a birthday gift, what love! Blaqkofi, we were locked within two weeks of each other, she has such a sweet spirit and that hair of hers is so soft! Tiffany, who decided to go with Braidlocks, had them put in the day before meeting for brunch today and her hair was so pretty, can’t wait to see her in another year! She’s going to take off! Ok, if anyone wants color please talk to Karen she has the most beautiful hair color I've ever seen on locks.

I’m sure people eating were blinded by our flashes because we were constantly taking pictures at our table. The excitement was one to be desired!! Brunch was a great success and I look forward to the next gathering. We all decided that the next meeting should be scheduled in December for a nice holiday setting. (Karen pictured above left with the dy-no-mite hair color)

As we exited Blue Mesa, a table of young men and a female stopped us and wanted to know about our hair, there came another opportunity to market Sisterlocks. I must say, everyone was so down to earth that I truly felt a special bond with each locked individual. This was off the hook and I’m looking forward to our next jamboree! Oh one more I must not forget...... Marilyn!!! Wow, her gray locks were fierce! I can't wait to embrace my gray, they were so beautiful they sparkled from afar. You are the bomb Mariyln. (Pictured below)








Thanks everyone for accepting the invitation and especially thanks to Sandy for the LockItUp group. The LockItUp group allows us the opportunity to connect with one another for support through the process and Sisterlocks haircare advice. (Partial group of Sisterlockers)

Hurricane Katrina Experience

I know...... it's been a while since I've updated my blog and I cannot even begin to explain the events of the past two weeks. I must say thanks to all of you for the overwhelming emails, phone calls, generous donations and especially prayers!!!!

This blog is especially dedicated to my SL journey but I cannot exclude the experience we've had regarding Hurricane Katrina, so please be patient with me as I share the past two weeks. My husband and I are both from Louisiana and this tragedy is near and dear to our hearts. New Orleans is one of our favorite cities and we share wonderful romantic dating memories as well as family vacation memories with our children. This tragedy is beyond unbelieveable to us!!!

(The picture above is my niece from New Orleans, lost everything in Katrina but she is in great spirits, my daughter and me!)

Hurricane Katrina has made a tremendous impact on our family. We have several family members here in Duncanville with us and our church is housing others in our church cabins in Athens, TX. Reggie (my husband) has one brother (Jonas, 46) that has not yet been accounted for, we’re praying he is OK with hopes that he will be contacting us soon. All of my husband’s family except his sister lost everything. His sister's home did not sustain any water damage but was looted. Please continue to keep my brother-in-law and the people of New Orleans in prayer.

With all that has occurred in the past two weeks, my hair was one thing I did not have to worry about. We were averaging three hours of sleep each night and I got up one morning and realized that I had not done a thing to my hair! Through all of the chaos my Sisterlocks held strong with me each and every day!!! I ran into a sister in Starbucks today and the first thing I noticed were her beautiful Sisterlocks....she too was from New Orleans and we began to exchange our stories of family members affected by Katrina. Loved the instant connection of true Sisterlock Sisterhood! No one believes that I can just sleep on it and get up and go. This is the real beauty of wearing Sisterlocks. A true lifestyle!!


All of the children are now enrolled in school and one of Reggie's nieces (picture above) decided to finish out her senior year in Duncanville with us. She started school last week thanks to Gov. Perrys request allowing New Orleans victims admission to Texas schools. Duncanville High welcomed her with open arms, gave her school supply and uniforms. God really works in mysterious ways! She was a little down because she would not be able to finish her senior year with any of her McDonald 35 classmates, when she arrived to register at Duncanville……three of her classmates were in the office registering. It was an overwhelming experience and they all grabbed each other, formed a group hug and shedded tears of joy!!!! It was like a scene in a tearjerker movie!!!!

(All displaced children in above right picture. The camp gave them an awesome outlet of water activities.)

The Katrina experience has made us realize that "any" of us could lose everything we have in a matter of 24 hours....... but through our weakness we are made strong. God be with us, we have been humbled!

One story I’d like to share…I met a lady while volunteering at a shelter; she broke down crying when I asked her a couple of questions. She told me that she and her husband were separated and were in the process of divorce, after Katrina hit, they came together and both were at the shelter together helping each other pick out clothes and shoes as they both lost everything they had and only had each other. She thanked the Lord! So, even while in the midst of a terrible situation she found hope and peace in being with her husband.

(Click on above pictures for larger view, my daughter wears twists and loves her natural hair.)

Love & Happiness!
LaChanda
SL'd 15 weeks

Three Months

My sista's, I just cannot resist feeling and playing with my hair. I'm experiencing a bit of guilt because of my borderline vainness...I'm really digging my Sisterlocks! Then I think to myself, it's not vainness, I'm just ecstatic over each and every one on my head! Even the loose curly ends I cherish and I'm crazy ready for blast off mature locks! Patience, patience, patience. Bah humbug!

This week makes three months for me and I'm so loving the freedom of Sisterlocks. Thank you Dr. Cornwell, the Sisterlock invention is a brilliant one!

Pull Back Style

Well, I finally decided to try something different, a "pull back" style. Experimenting was an interesting task but I guess it was worth it since I received several compliments from church family on Sabbath. I felt very relieved having the hair off of my face for a change, whew.. its "hot" in Texas! Now, if I can only work with my locks and get the back to look half way decent I'll be on my way to creating new styles...

I purchased new hair pins and used them to hold my hair in place. (You may be able to see a glimpse of one in the side view pic) The young girl at the Mall played with my locks and placed the pins in the right place to get a cute little style. Yes, you guessed it, I certainly could not recreate the style once I got home and I'm still practicing. Right now, I'm at eleven weeks and you better believe I'm still loving my Sisterlocks! No more getting up to comb and brush my natural hair, just spritz with rosewater, run my fingers through it and goooooooo.

Two Months

I finally made my two month anniversary!. This picture was taken after I braided/banded and washed it. It is just about dry at the roots. I can't believe how much I love my Sisterlocks!!! The only disappointment I have is that many people don't believe this is "all" of my own natural hair. I'm getting questions like... "what kind of hair did you add to your braids?" Ugh!! I can't wait until my locks begin to mature so that my hair really looks like locks instead of micro braids. Other than that I am still lovin my exodus.

Peace Out! (Click on the picture to see a closer view)

Five Weeks - First Retightening

My wash after the first retightening was a bit scary. I did not braid/band and I was too rough with my shampooing so some of my locks had knots in them. After a couple of days they were fine. Overall, I am still very pleased and excited with each stage.





I'm free-styling for now, just letting it do it's own thing. Maybe, I'll venture out when I'm feeling the vibe to do so.

Three Weeks

Wow, what a significant difference! It has been three weeks and I've had my first wash, the running water felt great going through my parts. My new consultant, Elaine Hill, braided/banded my hair, washed it and retightened while it was still damp. It felt much better getting retightened while damp as opposed to getting my Sisterlocks put in with dry hair.

Elaine then twisted my hair into Bantu Knots and I took down the next morning. What I've noticed is a fuller head of hair and hair that looks a lot like micro braids. I'm anxious to see what my SL's will look like by the end of the year 2005.

First Day - Sisterlocks Completed

SL's completed after four days and 60 hours! Yesssss! Thanks Bridget Goupou!

Night before SL's were started

This is my afro in the raw...right after washing the night before my Sisterlocks (SL) were started. Before my decision to get SL's I would wear two strand twists or braid out styles.

Two Strand Twists

Unfortunately, these are the only two pics of my two stand twists but you get the idea. I loved wearing these and the only thing I hated was taking them down and having to put them back in again. The pic to the right shows me eating my favorite candy bar..so that is what's in my jaw.

This style was done by parting small sections and using "non-alcohol" gel to twist the hair together.