Lockling Rivalry

Well well well, it appears that there is more to the eye than just different tools when it comes to Sisterlocks Versus Nappylocks. Now I like i'm sure many of you thought that there was not much of a differnce between the two locking styles aside from the obvious tools of course. But apparently Nappylocks is a knock off of Sisterlocks or rather a spin off, yeah I think I like that word better a spin off. It seems that the creator of Nappylocks was once a student of Sistelocks and decided she wanted to go off and do her own thing but in the midst she used very similar if not the same patterns as the sisterlock patterns. So what distinguishes these methods? For one because the nappylock tool is so thin and needle like it makes it a little difficult to create tension in the lock which can lead to larger locks over time. No big deal if thats the look you want. Also although never being a user of the nappylock tool myself I hear the sisterlock tool is by far easier to use. Check out blogs such as sunsail, or gigglz-----> on my bloglist or follower list for more details on that. I also am not sure if the grid is the same either. Has anyone ordered their book that can answer this?

Ok so I guess some of you may be saying to yourself 'big deal people take original creations and make them their own all the time' and yes that may be true but when it is a patented creation I'm pretty sure its illegal. The rivalry comes in when SL originator sued Nappylocks for infringement I believe they won on some counts of the lawsuit but Nappylocks also won some parts of the case as well. To check out the case go to www.sisterlocks.com. Now recently before I took the retightening class I was thinking about ordering the NL tool instead to save some money and I was surprised to see statements on their page referring to the competition such as (not quoted) get the same results without paying a fortune like with that other method I giggled because thats exactly why I was on their page but still surprised because I new it was a shot at SL or at least thats how it seemed to me. Now I am by no means putting down nappylocks, not at all I still think the tool makes beautiful locks check out Kalia dewdrop's page she is a SL that maintain with the NL tool and her locks are wonderful. I was just intrigued by this tid bit of information. Because many of us newbies don't know whats really going on in the politics of the locked world. Now I pose the question, do any of you feel that Sisterlocked ladies who opt to tighten using the Nappylock tool are selling out or do you feel that it just doesnt matter?

Just wanted to say thank you

Just popping in to say hey. Just got home from a long day at work, I wanted to check out a few blog to get styling ideas and just to see the progress of my fellow newbies. I just wanted to say thank you to all of you who pop in to check out my blog every now and then and to those who offer all the wonderful advice that has been helping me along my journey. You ladies are so awesome and I truly appreciate you all.

Reti;

Ok so I am approaching my six month mark and as I have posted before I will be taking the retightening class next week I am really excited about it for one I will save me a lot of money and a lot of stress when my hair needs to be done. Anyway I asked my consultant about the things Ive been noticing about my hair such as the unraveling and she said it is normal at this stage, she said that it is part of the locking process because as I stated before its not slippage the hair isn't coming out, its just unravelled so not my hair is curling back on itself to create the spiral lock and soon the ends will seal and as luvlocks stated in my comments eventually it will condense to an even lock. So I suppose that answers the question but I gotta tell ya I can't guarantee that I wont try to fix it once I learn how. I will wait for 8 months though and if there is no change I'm gonna start meddling. :-)


Anyway This was my final reti with my consultant Claire who I have grown so very fond of, she was very professional from installation until now and just made my overall experience wonderful. Now that I am relocating I will find another consultant but just for quarterly check-ups. I hope I can find someone as fast, neat, and nice as her. She was awesome.

Finally the next change on the horizon is color. I want to color with henna in about 3-4 months. But I am torn. I actually like my natural color a lot and I luv to see long dark locks. But I want to spice up my locks a little, I also don't want to experience any problems with the color and my hair so we will see what happens around the 10 month mark. Does anyone know where to order from in the states or any store that sells Henna??

Also is anyone Else's blog acting strange, so that when you add pics you only see the html format until you preview it or post it? WHats up with that?

P.S. I know I look busted in some of these pics but in my defense I just woke up! LOL

unraveling

Quick question:

Does anyone Else's locks unravel from the root up? My slippage no longer occurs from the tip much, it unravels from the root up and if I didn't know my hair I would just assume that my hair grew a whole lot but nope it unravelled after I washed it. Anyone have any suggestions or similar situation?

Plump Locks Vs. Skinny Locks

OK so I have looked at countless blogs and I think I have come to a conclusion. I have been bewildered by how some people locks can start off so thin and then once they mature end up so thick. Now I know density plays a part in this but I truly believe it is due to how much your lock unravel between retightening.
Now I have been watching my locks very closely as I'm sure you have realized by now and Many of my locks are unraveled at the end almost halfway down the shaft and many of those locks are locking in this manner. They are way thicker than when they started due to the fact that they are unraveled and my hair has shrunk and expanded due to my curls and my loose hair which does what it wants to do best which is shrink, curl and stay. Now the locks that have my 4pt pattern all the way to the end are still as thin as they were at installation and some of them are locking as well. Now it is my belief that if at your retightenings your hair isn't tightened to the end then it will definitely expand fully and become really really full and fat. Although this looks great on lots of lock wearers, I have never really been a fan of big hair on me. Probably due to the fact that my natural hair is thin an dwhenever I had relaxers in my hair was very fine and thin and I was ok with that ( for the most part)

Solution?

For my retightening this week I'm going to ask my consultant how she feels about what I just mentioned and if she will retighten my hair all the way to the end, it may take a while but I really do not want my locks to expand a whole lot more. Where they are now is great to me and with my ends unraveling, (all part of the process I'm sure) my hair doesn't look as tailored as I would like it too. Obsessing I know, I can't help it! Anywhoo we shall see if my hypothesis is correct and if my pockets can handle my consultant taking the time to retighten to the ends if this in itself wont hinder my locking.

What do you think?

5 months

In other news Today and tomorrow marks my 5 month lockversary. I go to get retightened next week and my hair is doing very well I can feel the change in my texture my curly ques aren't quite as curly as they once were and I can feel many bumps and lumps up and down the shaft of most of my locks. Also there are many many balls on the ends of my locks. I have only had one lock slip this time and it was on my hairline. I have washed my hair twice so far and it pleases me to say that the majority of my build-up is gone. There are still two locks that I see which still have build up but its not nearly as much as it was. This leads me to believe that the culprit was the baby lotion I used on my face. A while back I ran out of face cream and I started using baby lotion it left my face clear and cool and did not break me out like most things do so I stuck with it. Now my consultant did warn me about not using baby shampoos in my hair because they can cause a protein buildup in the hair but it just didn't dawn on me that baby lotion might do the same thing it is contact the hair from the skin near my hairline which is wear most of the problem was, around my hairline and in the back of my hair near my neck where I would also put the lotion. Now whose to say that this was the real problem I don't know but I continued to use the dr. bronner lavender shampoo followed by the SL shampoo and its going away. Other than the texture change there has not really been much change in length this month or at least not from what I can see. My mothers says differently.

I have also decided to take the retightening class in Philadelphia, I am relocating and I really don't want to have to go through searching for a consultant and all that stuff so I have decided to take the class at the end of this month and set another appointment with my consultant in September after I retighten just so she can let me know how I did. Then for the future I will follow up with a consultant every three months or so. Or at least that is the plan we will see what life brings along.

I'm Baaaa Aaack!

Hello all I just got back from a wonderful Jamaican vacation. I got a chance to catch up with family and friends and most of all I got plenty of time to rest and do absolutely nothing. It was Great. I have a few pics to post sadly I was enjoying doing nothing soo much that I just didnt take much pictures. ON my vacation though I experimented on some head wraps and my brother who is a Rasta showed me how to wrap my head Bobo style, still havnt gotten the hang of it just yet but I'm getting there. Also I got so many compliments on my hair many people thought it was twisted but when I explain they were sisterlocks they liked them even more. I had to constatly tell people that I was locking but not a rasta, in a country where culture is so important I felt the need to clarify my position, although I do love some of the standpoints of Rastafarians and their lifestyles I am not one of them I just truly love locks.

I got a chance to go straight back to my roots and although I go home almost every year, each time just seems as unique as if it was the first time I've ever stepped foot there. I gain new experiences and new friendships everytime I go, I see a new a breathtaking part of the island everytime and it fills me with a sense of peace and serenity that just cannot be explained.

Now I'm back and its bitter sweet, I have a long road ahead of me, the journey has really just begun and as excited as I am to begin I am also a little sad to leave my past behind me.

Pictures coming soon...