How to Be Lovely

When I was a little girl my parents enrolled me in an etiquette class. My teacher was Ms. Paige and she was an exquisite lady; very poised and graceful. Because of this lady I learned how to be a lady full of poise and grace.

Since I started so early, the habits of loveliness I have now are ingrained in my mind. I simply cannot be any other way.

Today I came across this list on The Elegant Woman blog and wanted to share it with you. Not only did it bring back all my lessons from long ago but it also brought me back to my center and the recognition that I am truly a lovely lady.

She who is altogether lovely...

#is generous with her smile
#is kind
#is on time, if not a little early.
#believes others come first.
#is disciplined in her mind and heart.
#is impeccable in appearance.
#has a good work ethic.
#has a balanced life with her values intact
#loves.
#never lets herself believe that anybody is different from anybody.
#is gracious.
#is authentic and never puts on pretenses.
#is a giver.

New Hairstyles

I've been experimenting with a new hair style or two. I like them pretty well.

Hair Progress

I'm approaching the one year mark soon and I'm so excited! I had my retightening a couple weeks ago and my loctician says my locs are doing well.  The other day I measured to see how long my Sisterlocks are. They range from 4-7 inches. My shortest locs are because I had damage from my relaxer. Parts of my hair were badly broken.

These pictures were taken after I shampooed it.

 

  

 

10 Months SisterLocked

Wow! I can't believe it's been 10 months already! I've enjoyed every minute of this journey, even the frustrating parts. My hair is growing like crazy and my babies are maturing. I've taken some close up shots that shows more detail.

Most of my relaxed ends are gone. I had them clipped and the rest seems to be shedding. I love this process and the fact my hair is growing so much.

My daughter has braidlocks and they are growing like crazy as well. Here is a picture of her locks now. (She will kill me for putting this picture online. So don't pay attention to her expression, just the hair, LOL.)

At this point my locks are feeling ragged in some places but I know that is the locking process. To clean my hair I pretreat my scalp by spraying a mixture of ACV and water on it. Then I shampoo with a mixture of baking soda and cleansing shampoo followed by the sisterlock shampoo (yes I still use it at my loctician's recommendation).

I typically braid my locs in small sections after I shampoo for a cute, wavy look. The waves stay in until I shampoo again in 2-3 weeks. I use my hot rods to curl when my hair goes flat, especially in the back.

My routine is pretty simple, which is what I love.

8 Months Sisterlocked!

I've been Sisterlocked for 8 months now. This is a cool milestone for me. I hear that at this point the hair growth really takes off. I'm looking forward to that. I think it's already starting to happen because I just got retightened a couple weeks ago and I already feel new growth.

Here are a few pics I took this morning. I did a front twist of sorts. Not really caring about neatness, just something different to pull the hair out of my face. I couldn't get a good clear picture but I think you get the idea.

I looked in the mirror this morning and had to smile because I am a beautiful, natural woman. I never thought I would be at this point but I'm here and it's awesome! The time has flown but with each new day I feel blessed to have Sisterlocks. I really love my hair! I love my life and wouldn't trade it for the world.

Yesterday I had a pretty mindless Sunday. I rarely do that, but it made this Monday morning quite bearable. I'm not a Monday morning person because it seems to take everything in me to get started. But I have a new attitude and am loving my life.

I am toying around with learning how to maintain my own hair. I've always done it and have been pretty successful, but Sisterlocks may be an entirely different story. My main concern it aching arms, shoulders, and back. I suppose I could do a little at a time or just bribe my 13 year old daughter to do it for me. She has no interest whatsoever in doing hair so that might be a major feat.

Well I thought I would share my progress and pictures of my current state of hair affairs. Until next time be blessed and continue to enjoy your Sisterlock sister journey.

Retightened

I got retightened this weekend and can see some growth. I am loving the wavy look because I don't have to do anything to it but shake out and go. I like the length too...very "corporate" or professional. I got this look by plaiting my hair in small sections and sleeping in them. I blend the hair with my fingers after I take it down. I don't re-plait but just sleep on a satin pillowcase.

Here are a few more shots from different angles. The side profile is not the greatest because I can see how flat it can be when I don't do anything extra. I have to fluff it out more in the future or throughout the day.

I've noticed that I love playing in my hair. It feels good and I can see it's changing. Everytime I see a picture of mature locks I get excited because I know that's how mine will look pretty soon.

My sisterloctician said when people reach the 8-10 month range their hair begins to grow like crazy. I'm almost there. In two weeks I'll be 8 months sisterlocked. So my journey continues and I'm loving every minute of it!

Sisterlocked for 7 months now

My Sisterlock journey through the last 7 months. I finally cut most of my relaxed ends off and I'm loving it. I feel more authentic, if that makes sense.

The picture of me in green is one I took today. I shampooed and plaited it for the wavy look last Sunday. It's lasted all week. This morning I curled the ends and this was the result. I really like it.

I want my locs to mature faster. I suppose everyone feels that way when the locs are still babies. I've been reading that salt water will help them lock faster so I will start spraying them with salt water. I'll post pictures of the changes.