This has been another good week. Besides a few locks that have experienced some slippage, primarily around the front edge, and some frizzies, everything is looking good. Patience, patience, patience is a virtue :-) So this week I pretty much free-styled for the most part. I tried a little pin-up style just because and slept in soft spike curlers one night to see what kind of curl result I would get. The curls were tight and cute. I only kept them for the day before performing my second wash. For this wash, I followed the same recommended wash routine, braiding and banding and using Sisterlocks starter shampooo. I've noticed a few flakes in the front of my hair (dry scalp), mild, so I washed a little more vigorously this time around. I've yet to feel that "squeaky clean" that my consultant and others have said they feel after a wash. I still feel that I'm not getting my hair as clean as I could without the braiding and banding, but know it's important to go through this process of washing to prevent major slippage. I've also noticed that after I wash, small specks of flakes stuck at the base of my lock. I can pick them out easily, but it just makes me feel like I'm not getting my hair as clean as I could. Being careful not to be too vigorous at this stage is another factor I'm keeping in mind. I already cannot wait for the day I can just dive under the water and let it soak my hair and scrub my fingers into my scalp for a good 'ol fashioned washing without worrying about ending up with a head full of loose hair. Again, PATIENCE is a virtue.
I continue to get compliments and questions about my hair. At work, one guy actually touched one of my locks, without my permission y'all, lol..he's cool though and was curious if it was a twist. He was all up in my grill..lol. He said he really liked it and thought it looked nice. I had a brief conversation piece with someone in the restroom who walked in as I was fluffing my hair with my hands, you know that handinthehairitis, and she complimented me on my hair. She went on to say that her daughter had "those" in her hair, but was complaining now because they were so heavy. I asked her if she had Sisterlocks and she said yeah. Of course, I think most people don't know the difference. They think a lock is a lock is a dreadlock is a lock, lol. I feel it's my duty to raise awareness :-) Anyway, I asked her if her daughter uses alot of product on her hair and she said yes. I then responded that most likely she has traditional locks and the product build up is making them heavy. I also told her I only have to spritz with water and go!
In light of that conversation, I have noticed that some SLockers use different shampoos other than the Sisterlocks shampoo. Did you decided to wait until they started to move on from the baby lock stage or just use it from the start because of preference or problems with the SL shampoo. The Sisterlocks starter shampoo seems to be working fine for me right now and I will continue to use it as recommended. I have had very mild itching, but nothing that makes me feel like I need to switch over to another shampoo or add anything on my scalp. I will continue to keep an eye on my scalp and maintain my wash routine once a week for now with the sisterlocks starter shampoo because my consultant says it helps stimulate the locking process. I would so love to be able to use my AVEDA Brilliant shampoo again though..something that smells nice. I know that I will be able to switch over to one of the other scented sisterlocks shampoos at some point, so I will just wait. I know it will not be in vain. Peace & Sisterlocks Love ;-)
Hi Joyful, I feel your 'pain' with the flakes at the base of your locks. I had a similar issue when I first started out - through trial and error I managed to sort it by
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b)I had to be careful NOT to use any clarifying shampoos because although they are great for removing build up, they were drying out my scalp way too much and basically making the problem worse.
c) I started to use a very light hair oil on my scalp, (mostly jojoba) just at the places where I found the flakes seemed most prevalent. Just a few dabs every couple of days was sufficient (I am not saying to go and oil down yuh head hahaha), and only apply to the scalp.
This helped sort my head out one time! I hope you find it helpful too. Oh and a small word of caution, one of my consultants had said that frequent washing can lead to 'frizzy' locks so you'll need to decide whether you want to take that chance or not :)
Good luck!