Monday, June 29, 2009

I removed over 500 Sisterlocks. For Real. True Story!

In June 2003 I had over 500 Sisterlocks (TM) installed. I had been natural for a little over a year before deciding to get SLs. My then consultant happened to be a relative of a former co-worker. Since she worked out of her home she didn't charge super ridiculous prices to install or for maintenance. I absolutely LOVED my locs. But with the loss of my job, maintaining them became way too expensive. So I had this bright idea to remove all of 'em & restart w/braidlocz, which, at the time, I thought I could maintain myself. NOT!! With a lot of diligence & hard work, it took approximately 2 1/2 months to remove my 2-yr-old locs - tool of choice: curtain hook.




I would like to think that the removal of said locs was not done in vain since I ended up backsliding & going back to a relaxer 6 months later. The process taught me patience &, believe it or not, to love my natural kinks. It also taught me to believe that I can do anything I put my mind to. To see more, take a gander at my Fotki Album .

12 comments:

  1. wow that is dedication right there!

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  2. i know...tell me about it...LOLOL

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  3. 2 1/2 months whew-- I think by two weeks I would have lost my patience and cut them all out!!! Hats off to you!

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  4. @gigglz: thanks!! i used a journal to document my journal & believe me i wanted to quit a million times, but i was determined to remove 'em all becz, at the time i didn't wanna lose all my hair...if i woulda known that i would backslide & start over again anyway i sure woulda cut them jokers off...LOLOL

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  5. It's a common myth that you can't maintain SL on your own. You can. It's called latching and it's very similar to the SL retigtening process. There are latching videos on YouTube.

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  6. Your hair is beautiful!!!
    And I love being natural myself :) I'll be 1 year natural as of next week. Please check out my blog and follow me!!! I have great goodies 4 excellent prices!!! Thanks let me know what you think.

    I would appreciate it!

    "Natural Girls Rock"

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  7. PhePhi - whats the best way to pick out your SL's? I combined two reluctantly because I was careless :-( when retigtening and I've lost a part on the side of my head...I'm a bit of a perfectionist.

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  8. @gigglz: i used a curtain hook, like in the pic above. but i reckon u could use anything w/a sharp/pointed end, or maybe even a fine tooth/rat tail comb. i would saturate w/conditioner to make it easier & to not damage the hair. i'm a bit of a perfectionist too. so i totally understand.

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  9. Do you think its worth it to take it out? Or let it be? Actually in thinking about it, I'm not sure how to put a whole new lock in. how different is it from retightening one?

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  10. honestly gigglz, i think that's a personal decision that all depends on how you want your hair to look. to me, retightening isn't different from starting a new loc, however, you must start a base before the interlock method can take place. a sistah by the name of nubianlockedprincess does a great job explaining this in her youtube vid. this vid is actually what motivated me to start my braidlocs. ck it out:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgrRXZwmqLg&feature=related

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  11. True - a decision I have to decide if its worth it. Thanks I will check out the video.

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  12. after watching the video, i believe u will be truly informed. this sistah is BADDD! great tutorial!

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