Sunday, January 28, 2007

[My hair history..] Entry 1.

Hey all, and "Happy New Year!"
So far my New Year has gotten off to a great start, Why?.. Well, because on January 12, 2007 @ 1:01 am, yes am, my last sister loc was done. Total time to complete was 20 hours done over 3 consecutive sittings. After she (the hair dresser) removed the perm rods once done under the dryer, I cheered and danced while looking at myself in the mirror. I thought finally after two years of contemplating doing sisterlocs my decision had come to full fruition. It looked beautiful, I looked beautiful, and best of all, it was all mine.
My natural hair journey began about 11 years ago. I grew increasingly frustrated over the whole chemical hair experience. As I look back, its hard to believe what I put myself through to have "straight" hair...
1) Sitting in the beauty shop till 5pm even though my appointment was at noon.
2) Forgetting to not scratch or comb my scalp the day before applying the chemicals, only to end up with a burning scalp that lasted several days after the retouch.
3) Slowly watching my hair thin, but still putting those chemical son my hair because I was too ashamed of my own hair and didn’t know how to take care of it.
To grow out of my premed hair I wore braid extensions, and continued to cut off the permed hair until it was all natural, I was free of the "creamy crack"
At first I'd just press my own hair, and at the other times I'd just have my best friend braid my hair using synthetic extensions. I still didn’t know how to style my natural apart from pressing and braiding.
After my divorce in 1999 I began to experiment more with my hair. I learned how to do the two strand twist. It took some time to perfect it, but I was very happy with it when I did. People would stop me and ask if I was sporting locs.
So now my repertoire of hair styles had grown. I could press, and wear different twist styles. The styles were all great and gave me much more freedom (that is except pressing) but there were still the cumbersome task of removing the twists every 2-3 weeks, or every 10 weeks if braids, and then do it all over again. I desired to have ultimate freedom with my hair...No pressing combs, no curling irons, no fear of moisture. I wanted 'Freedom hair"
That’s what I got with sister locs.

(Day after locs)
'(day before my locs started)

9 comments :

  1. Helga said...

    You are stunning! You look amazing, and what a head o' hair! Girrrrl, watch out! Welcome sis (really, this is my sister!), and I can't wait to see more pictures. Now, how to get your daughter converted ;-)

  2. Quietspirit said...

    Beautiful! Beautiful lady, Beautiful hair, Beautiful locks. I wish you all the best on the next part of your journey.

  3. Creyole said...

    Welcome my sistah! You are on your way to a fab journey!

    Keep us updated on your beautiful SL's!

  4. Abena Abena said...

    Welcome to the world of locking. I look forward to sharing in your journey.

    Blessings!

  5. Brenda said...

    Welcome to the family! I'll be checking on your progress. You look great!

  6. Abena Abena said...

    Aya,

    Thanks for visiting my blog. I wanted to invite you to join a yahoo group I started for Christians. Check it out and I hope you join.

    http://groups.yahoo.com
    /group/GodFirstChristian
    Connection/

  7. Sis. RJQueen10 said...

    Wow! You got your last lock on my wedding anniversary! What a cool day! I love your hair and its length. I like the way it looked before you got sister locks. I like your story. It is similar to mines of course. One thing I just realized as I started to accept my natural hair. Is I was stunting its growth with braids. I only wore my braids and washed them. I did not apply the proper amount of moisture or conditioner, because I feared buildup. But hey, we learn what we learn and when we learn it so we will retain it. The knowledge came when I was able to receive it. Thanks for stopping by my blog spot.

    Sis. RJQueen10

  8. blackrussian said...

    I love the way your hair looked in that free 'fro; did you ever wear it out like that?

  9. Aya said...

    Blackrussian: Thanks for your complement. What a great question. No, I can't say that I ever wore it out like that. I should have though. I guess I wasn't brave enough.