IWhipMyHairBacknForth

SL 6 Years

Sisterlocks washed with  Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Aloe Shampoo.  Conditioned with Organic Root Stimulator Oilve Oil Replenishing Conditioner.   Towel dry followed by a generous hand full of Organic Stimulator Olive Hair Lotion paying particular attention ends.  (I heavily condition and moisturize during each bi-weekly wash.)  Locks were allowed to air dry naturally.  With the help of our 100+ degree weather it didn't take long.  

I love the feel of my Sisterlocks against my skin, running through my fingers - especially freshly washed locks.  And I will admit, it's been kinda cool showering sans showercap this week.  It was an added layer of freedom and I liked it!

This lock thang is so beautiful.  Our locks just keep evolving for the better, each phase beautiful in its own right, adding yet another layer of knowledge and experience to our Natural Awakenings.  

Are YOU growing along WITH your Sisterlocks?   ~BlaqKofI 

NOTE:  Please discuss any product use with your Sisterlocks Consultant PRIOR to trying, particularly if your locks have not completely settled. 

Photographer:  BlaqKofi 

Zits & the Light Bulb!

The light bulb came on today as to why I suddenly began breaking out with acne.

I'd wracked my brain trying to determine what I had done differently or changed. I wear the same Mac makeup. Granted, I haven't been eating properly, but I've done that sporadically for years.

As I was running errands this weekend, it occurred to me that I ran out of my Biotin pills over a month ago and with such a hectic April simply didn't have time to pick up more.

When I went to purchase Biotin for the first time about a year or so ago, the guy at the Vitamin Shoppe recommended their Skin, Hair & Nails formula. He said it contained as much Biotin needed daily while getting the benefits of addtional vitamins. The price was great so I thought I'd give it a try. I never really knew if they were "doing" anything - just that it was healthy to take them.

Ok that's my guess on the zits mystery. I started taking the Biotin again today, in fact they only had a 300 tablet bottle. I purchased it, ruling out running out anytime this year. I'm anxious to see if my skin clears up.

I'll report back on this issue in a month or so. I know y'all will be anxiously waiting on the status of Blaq's zits...LOL! I crack myself up.

Blessings...(Off Topic)

I promised to share some of the things that have recently occupied my time and prevented more frequent blog updates.

My Lil Sis, T - My Shero

My family and I were blessed to celebrate our second Race for the Cure with my lil sis, T. It was an unusually cold Saturday in April with snow believe it or not! (It rarely snows in Texas.) But the weather didn't stop over 20 thousand supporters from coming out to celebrate and help to fund research and a cure for breast cancer. To be able to celebrate another year with my beautiful sister was a blessing indeed...

My sisters: G, T & Blaq
(I'm the oldest, T is the baby. Now you see why I call myself BlaqKofi :-)

Of course, you've met Malcolm already, but thought I'd share another pic of him. Afterall, he's soooo cute. He also happens to be the smartest dog! He already knows the commands "come" and "sit." He hardly ever barks unless I'm out of his site or he can't find me. He's not one of those hyper dogs. He sleeps comfortably at the foot of my bed and is sleeping next to me on the couch now as I blog. He simply wants to be close to me at all times.

He sleeps a lot and crashes at 9 p.m. on the dot. It's just like having a new born. I'm up at 6 a.m. to take him out, feed him and play with him. No more hitting the snooze button for me! I come home every day at lunch to let him out and play with him some. It hurts my heart to leave him and hear those pitiful whimpers. But it's great to come home and receive all of his love. Another blessing indeed...

And yes, I will be one of those people who blogs about her dog...but I'll be sure to include pics of my dog AND my Sisterlocks.

Free style @ 22M

(I've started to get zits, believe it or not! See the huge one on my chin.

I haven't had zits since I was a teenager.

I'm bewildered at this new development and I hate it!

Perhaps my hormonal change?????

I'm trying every acne product on the market.

Just some random thoughts...

Afterall, the title read "off topic."

D'Hat & Locks

I was cleaning my closet recently

and came across

this hat that I purchased for a 70's party.

It's still uncommonly cold and rainy in Texas.

So rather than curl my locks

I sported d'hat last weekend

at my nieces birthday

skating party and got my roll bounce on!

It was fun and I didn't fall once.

Are those my Sisterlocks hangin' like dat?

Freestyle, SSC, Caruso's & Mango & Lime

I've settled comfortably into a weekly wash. I actually love washing my hair now. I no longer dread it. I was in the shower on Saturday, somewhat rushing through my shampoo as usual and the light bulb came on! Just as I can't expect to manipulate my natural hair as I did with processed hair, the same holds true for shampooing.

For the first time I actually engaged in the process of patiently shampooing my locks AND enjoying it. (I'll blog more about that in an upcoming post.) It was a very enjoyable experience that took me to a whole new level of appreciation and love for my locks. (I can only imagine it's akin to how those who love retightening their own locks feel.)

I washed with Avalon Lemon Clarifying Shampoo. I use a clarifier every other wash. Avalon works great, is natural, reasonably priced and I can get it at my local Whole Foods. No special trips and no waiting for mail order.

But then I realized that I didn't have any conditioner on hand. I didn't want to use the SL Moisture Treatment since I had just used it last week. (Moisture treatment should only be done once a month.)

I began rummaging through my bathroom cabinets and came across some Jamican Mango & Lime (JML) Protein Conditioner that Brunsli tried, didn't like and mailed to me months earlier. I thought, no other choice. Let's try it.

I was pleasantly, pleasantly surprised. My locks felt very moisturized and soft afterwards. And there was this sheen to them! I didn't even have to use my normal 10-15 drops of jojoba oil. Crickett of LockItUp is a big fan of JML products. Now I understand why. I'm not a product junkie. I'll stick with what works for quite some time until I decide that I'd like to try something new. But I will definitely purchase more of their products - the protein conditioner for sure. Thanks, B!

After a wash, my locks hold a really good curl. I started the week with a freestyle. Then used the jumbo Caruso Steam Curlers to give the locks a loose curl (my favorite look). A couple of days later, I set the locks with soft spike curlers (SSC) with a Lottabody/water solution.

When I set with the SSC, I put my locks up in a pineapple at night and sometimes cover with a silk scarf. The next morning, I finger comb and go. The curls continue to loosen and this style can last a week or more.

I've truly enjoyed playing around with my locks this week. Tonight as I rolled them with bendable curlers, I looked around my bathroom and saw, Caruso's, SSC, bendable curlers, scarves, decorative hair pins & B -ties. I pay as much or more attention to my hair now than I did when I was permed. But it's fun and a joy rather than a chore.

I find myself shopping for hair accessories, scarves, headbands, hair clips and anything fun to jazz up my styles just as I did with permed hair.

That is indeed the beauty of natural hair freedom ladies and gentlmen and, of course, Sisterlocks!

Sisterlocks Reflections

Well, the first week of 2007 has come to an end. Work was busy, but rewarding.

I had a drink tonight with my best friend and I'm in a reflective mood. I stopped by Target, my favorite store, on the way home. In line ahead of me was a gentlmen with a happy, smiling, cute little girl about 18 months. I watched as the cashier carefully wrapped a dozen roses. As I surveyed this scene, I smiled and said to him, "you get big props tonight. You're grocery shopping, have the baby and bringing home roses!" He said, "it's been a hard week for everyone - it's the little things that count." I thought, now that's one lucky woman.

So as I drove home, I began to reflect on the "little things." I got a prime parking spot at the Super Target :-). I have a wonderful best friend who I can talk to, listens and isn't judgmental. I'm blessed with a great job, two awesome sons and I'm about to be a grandmother in May.

And through Sisterlocks, I've gained some wonderful friendships. Here's a photo of TRA, Creyole and me on December 21 at Brooklyn's Jazz Dinner Club in Dallas. We had dinner and drinks, listened to some great live jazz and had some good ole gurl conversation. Ain't nothing like sharing with like minded sistuhs!

Here I am a couple of nights later. I enjoyed Brooklyn's so much that I went back to hear more live jazz (Music is one of my passions). Creyole asked how I got this "look." Well during our dinner TRA demonstrated how she created her cute, curly look with bantu knots. My "look" here is a combination of a bantu knot set the night before gone wrong (and not half as cute as TRA's) and a Caruso Steam Curler set the following day resulting in this crinkly/curly look. I probably couldn't recreate it if you paid me to. But that's the beauty of Sisterlocks...they do their thing while allowing me to express mine, whatever that may be and sometimes totally by accident.

Here's how I looked for most of my 12-day winter break. No makeup and freestylin' the whole time, a first for me. I got lots of compliments and my oldest son, "really liked it that way." Which was a pleasant surprise. A nephew home from college said, "your locks look real neat, not messy like some of the people on campus." I even wore them freestyle to work on my first day back. My co-worker (who is African-American) asked, "how'd you get your hair straight?" Which I almost found amusing.

Just random reflections - thanks for reading....peace.

Freestylin with Queen Hatshepsut

I had a great Saturday morning at the Kimbell Art Museum viewing the Queen Hatshepsut exhibit. It closes tomorrow and since I haven't been able to do any of the things I planned during the holiday break, I promised myself I'd not let the Queen leave town without treating myself to a viewing of her artifacts. X was kind enough to accompany me. It was a fascinating exhibit.

Can a queen be a king? In ancient Egypt, Queen Hatshepsut did and reigned for 20 years. Hatshepsut was neither the first nor the last woman to rule Egypt, but her reign was the longest and the most successful. She is not as well known as Cleopatra, however her achievements were more significant. She often dressed in the traditional garb of male pharaohs and even led her troops into battle. She is the only Queen buried in the Valley of the Kings. And check this out - many of the artifacts clearly showed and noted the sistuh's in braids or locks!

Here are some more photos of our visit. I hope you enjoy.

Happy Holidays

Happy holidays to all of my nubian locked sisters & brothers! It has been a wonderful time of family, friends and holiday celebrations.

Although my warm wishes are somewhat late, it is never too late to thank Him for the reason for the season....Blessings to all!

(I'm freestylin' during my holiday break. My locks are freshly washed here and partially blow dried on low heat. My intent was to stay at home all day and allow them to air dry. But I had to leave unexpectedly and I didn't want to go out in the cold with damp hair. Blow drying alleviated the shrinkage that I so dislike right after a wash. I like the end results here. Although I'm cautious about using heat consistently on my Sisterlocks.)

Lookin' At Length

My locks have been feeling really great lately. A majority of my ends seem to be sealing and it was a good hair day in these particular photos. I was just messin' around showing some length in these braid out shots...