Sis. Where Have You Been?

Yes, I’ve been M.I.A. for a short minute, but for a very good reason. I’ve been busy BAKING COOKIES! I’ve started back baking cookies and trying to get my side gig off the ground. (If you’re confused, keep reading and then click on the link for my cookie blog to get all caught up.) For the past month I’ve been baking every Saturday, filling orders and shipping them. It’s been fun, busy, and very, very exciting. It’s been my dream for so long and I’ve finally taken the final leap of just DOING IT. I’ve started and stopped so many times over the years that I’ve finally gotten to the point of realizing that if not now, when? If you want to see for yourself what I’ve been up to, check out my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SonyaSweetSomethings/. I’ve also started a blog about baking cookies and you can follow it here https://sonyassweetsomethings.wordpress.com/

What about my sisterlocks?

As far as my sisterlocks go, I’ve been doing some experimenting! Lately, I’ve been thinking about flat ironing my locs. Don’t ask me why, but I’ve been intrigued by it ever since I saw the cheesy sisterlocks video on the sisterlocks website almost a year ago. Now that I have some length and I’m just a week away from my one year loc anniversary, I figured ‘why not?’ So a day after washing my hair, I got the flat iron, put it on 370 temperature (my flat iron goes to 410) and went through my locs once. I made a video about it. Check it out!

They looked stringy, but it made me happy to see the length! So after an hour of enjoying the length, I quickly realized that I couldn’t walk around with stringy locs. Plus I had some place to be the next day, so I needed to do something. Curls. I wanted some curls and some volume. But I hate sleeping in rollers. Years ago I wouldn’t think twice about putting rollers in my hair. Now, I can’t do it.

Bantu knots to the rescue!

One of the quickest ways to get curls as a loose natural was always bantu knots for me. So I took small sections of my locs and spritzed them with a water and oil mixture, two strand twisted them and then put them in bantu knots all over my head. When I went to bed that night, they didn’t hurt my head when I slept nor did they come down. The next morning when I took them down, I had a head full of glorious curls! I also made a quick video to show you the results.

There are a lot of people who don’t like straight locs and prefer to have curls in them. I’m not one of them. But I must say that I loved how my locs looked after doing bantu knots. I did the bantu knots Saturday evening. Today is now Thursday and my hair is still holding curls. Many swear by curl formers and other loc curlers, but I swear by bantu knots!

hows my dry itchy scalp?

Funny you should ask! First off, the temperature where I live is currently 13 degrees. That wasn’t a typo. It’s 13 degrees outside and we got more snow yesterday. Yes, more. We got 5+ inches of snow on Halloween. Gotta love Wisconsin weather! So since we’ve completely skipped over fall and jumped head first into winter, my dry itchy scalp is only going to get worse, which means I need to be more diligent about keeping my scalp happy. This means washing more often, and oiling my scalp with a water based oil concoction that I’ve created. They are all light oils that are great for the scalp and help the scalp combat dandruff while promoting hair growth: vitamin E oil, sweet almond oil, peppermint essential oil, tea tree essential oil, and a dash of castor oil.

Also, I add peppermint essential oil OR tea tree essential oil to my sisterlocks dandruff shampoo. It’s soooo soothing and provides instant relief to my very itchy scalp. After I dry all the excess water out of my hair, I spritz my scalp with my concoction and I either let my hair air dry (if I know I’m not leaving the house anymore) or I’ll blow dry it on low heat. So far this has been working pretty well for me and my scalp. My deathly fear of having build up in my locs due to using oils is a thing of the past. I don’t use oils daily, only after a wash, and even still I’m going to play it by ear as we get deeper into the cold winter months. I may need to use oils more often.

Welp, that’s it y’all. That’s what I’ve been up to. How about you? How are your locs or loose natural hair doing? Let me know! I’d love to hear from you! ❤

I Tried.

It took a very itchy scalp 10 1/2 months into my sisterlocks journey for me to realize that I cannot follow the sisterlocks way to the letter of the law. I tried you guys, I really did. I tried my best to follow all the rules of the Sisterlocks way to insure that I have and maintain healthy locs. I tried my best to avoid slippage, bunching, and all the other woes that can happen to you if you don’t follow some of the main sisterlocks rules. Let’s talk about how I got to this point.

Slippage

Slippage was my biggest fear and one of my biggest issues. I didn’t have issues with an itchy scalp until recently. The itchiness had gotten so bad that I would have my 15 year old daughter scratch my scalp in the itchy areas for relief. I believe I’ve scratched so much in the same areas that I made my scalp bleed a little. I have dry itchy patches, the same as I did when I was a loose natural. When I was a loose natural, I would promptly oil my scalp with a light oil with tea tree, peppermint or rosemary essential oil added for soothing relief. Since having sisterlocks, I’ve been afraid of adding any oils to my scalp for fear of slippage. Now, I’ve reached the point that I feel something has to give. I can’t keep enduring this.

I’ve purchased the sisterlocks dandruff shampoo from my loctician and have been using that. It is very soothing and has a tingling sensation on my scalp, and it smells really nice. It has peppermint and tea tree oils in it which are known to help your scalp’s itchiness and dandruff. I love the way my scalp feels after washing with this shampoo. If you’ve read my previous posts, you know I spoke about washing my hair more regularly to try to combat my dandruff issues. I think I may have to change from washing my hair once every two weeks to once a week.

This is my journey

I say this a lot. No two journey’s are alike. This is my journey. We can’t all follow the same cookie cutter pattern. While I appreciate the sisterlocks system and the purpose it serves, I’ve finally realized that I can’t possibly do everything by the book. I know that the point of the sisterlocks system is to give you the most healthy, beautiful locs you could hope to achieve. However, as someone who has always struggled with dandruff, I can’t continue in my sisterlocks journey not addressing this. I know sisterlocks has products specifically for dandruff, and I may or may not purchase them. However, I’d rather use what I know works for me. Things that I know how to make myself. Also, I think going almost a full year without putting oil on my scalp is pretty darn good considering my scalp issues!

The one time youtube helped me

Okay, I’m being petty. YouTube has helped me many times. But this particular time I was watching some videos, and I happened to catch a video made by one of my favorite sisterlocks vloggers Tunisia Ali. This particular video addressed dry itchy scalp and what you can do to address it when you have sisterlocks. One thing she said that resonated with me was that we don’t have to suffer nor should we suffer if dandruff is an issue for you. We all have different needs and issues when it comes to our hair and scalp. She also admitted that she’s been using oils on her scalp since she got her sisterlocks and her locs have been fine. Then there’s me, trying to be obedient and follow the sisterlocks way while my scalp is telling me, begging me, to treat the dryness and itchiness!

I still believe in the sisterlocks way when it comes to certain things. I believe that there are certain things you shouldn’t do or should be very careful about doing when you first start your sisterlocks journey. Spritzing newly established locs every day with water or rose water. Why? What is the purpose? Basically, be careful or avoid doing anything that can cause slippage or buildup in your locs too soon in your journey.

I think for me, I had to see for myself how much following the sisterlocks way would actually help me. I wanted my locs to loc and I wanted to avoid slippage or breakage of any kind, so I avoided all the things that would cause those things to happen. I listened to my loctician and sought her advice when I had questions or problems. At my next retie, I will bring up my dry itchy scalp issues and what I can do to address it. I already have a remedy in mind, but I’ll still hear her out.

The Moral of my story

The moral of my story is to listen to your scalp. When I first embarked on this journey, I watched a lot of videos of people with sisterlocks who were being rebels for the sake of being a rebel. They wanted the look of sisterlocks, they wanted to be able to say or brag that they paid all this money to have sisterlocks, but when it came to following the sisterlocks way, that’s where they drew the line. They wanted to go against the sisterlocks way and do what they wanted to do to their hair, often with bad results. Then there were other sisterlocks YouTubers who bucked the sisterlocks system because they saw that their scalp or hair was suffering for whatever reason. They took action to correct it, even if it meant going against “the sisterlocks way.” I can respect that.

My biggest fear is damaging my locs or having buildup because of oils. Now that my locs have settled, I think using a water based blend of oils will be best for my scalp and locs. I’ll keep you posted. If you have locs or sisterlocks, is there something you do that goes against the rules? If so, what is it? Leave a comment!

Oils That Promote Hair Growth Part II

Clary Sage essential oil

Clary Sage essential oil is an oil I didn’t know much about until recently. It is one of at least one hundred varieties in the Sage family, but the milder version when it comes to taste and smell. Clary Sage is also harder to find than regular sage, and is used mostly for medicinal purposes. For that reason, it’s widely used in teas to cure various ailments. This doesn’t mean you can’t cook with Clary Sage because you can. You’d just have to use more of it to get the taste of regular sage. Because of Clary Sage’s milder taste, you can eat it raw.

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  Clary Sage

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  Sage

How can you identify Clary Sage? Their leaves are large and roundish with a rough texture and fine hairs whereas sage leaves are oblong and smaller than those of the Clary Sage but also have a rough, hairy texture.

How to use on hair And scalp

Clary sage oil contains the same linalyl acetate that helps make lavender oil so effective in increasing hair growth. It can improve hair strength, in addition to increasing hair growth, making hair more difficult to break.

Mix 3 drops of clary sage oil with your favorite conditioner, or with 1 tablespoon of your favorite carrier oil. If using it daily, rinse out after 2 minutes. If using it once or twice per week, leave it on for 10 minutes. If making a hair growth serum, add a few drops of Clary Sage essential oil to your mixture.

You can also use the combination of Clary Sage, Cedarwood, and Lavender essential oils (each oil promotes hair growth) with a carrier oil of your choice such as coconut or olive oil, as a hot oil treatment. Remember, you only need a few drops of each essential oil along with 3 table spoons of our carrier oil. Heat the mixture, massage into hair and scalp, wrap your head with a hot towel or put a plastic shower cap over your head and sit under a hooded dryer under medium heat for 30 minutes. Shampoo as normal.

additional benefits of clary sage essential oil

Reduces Stress

When used in aromatherapy, clary sage oil can help alleviate stress by inducing a sense of well-being. When inhaled, clary sage essential oil elicited feelings of relaxation and helped to reduce blood pressure.

Antidepressant

In a 2010 study, researchers concluded that clary sage essential oil had the most potent anti-stress effect. They found that the effect of the oil was closely linked to the feel-good hormone dopamine.

Antibacterial

Clary Sage is prove to be effective against strains of bacteria including E-coli. Clary Sage is also known to have anti-fungal properties as well.

Improved Mental Function

Clary sage and sage plants in general are associated with improved memory, greater alertness, and potential Alzheimer’s-fighting effects.

precautions

Though arguments on this vary, most agree that it is not recommended that you use Clary Sage if you are pregnant as it is known to induce labor. As always, test essential oils on a small part of your skin to see if you have a reaction to it before using. If you have an adverse reaction to an essential oil, stop using it and see your doctor.

Carrot oil/Carrot seed oil

Carrot oil is a popular vegetable oil that is rich in beta-carotene and vitamins. This is not the same as carrot seed essential oil, which is derived from carrot seeds. Carrot oil can actually increase circulation and stimulate the development of new cells, which creates a healthy environment for hair to grow. It’s a natural source of vitamins A, E and and offers much needed moisture to dry scalps. Natural oils encourage your dry scalp to create more sebum, which moisturizes your hair and scalp and promotes overall hair health and shine. Whether you choose to use it on its own, in a blend with other essential oils or as part of a hair rinse, carrot oil helps keep your hair healthy and shiny.

Carrot oil has antibacterial properties against a variety of bacteria and fungus. People experiencing dandruff and dry scalp may find relief from their symptoms when they treat their hair periodically with carrot oil. Using naturally occurring oils on your scalp, particularly if it’s dry, can stimulate the production of your own body’s oil, or sebum.

how to use carrot oil on hair and scalp

Like most oils, you can use carrot oil as part of your own hair growth serum. To boost the benefits of your favorite conditioner, add a teaspoon to your conditioner. Or use as a hot oil treatment in a blend with other oils. If you prefer to use carrot seed essential oil, then you will need to use a carrier oil with it. If you’re only using carrot oil, there is no need to dilute it. You can apply carrot seed oil directly to your scalp or skin.

Additional benefits of carrot oil/Carrot seed oil

Stimulates circulation

Used in aromatherapy applications, carrot seed oil stimulates circulation as well as brain and nerve functions.

Has soothing properties

Its warm, earthy, woody, and herbaceous scent has a soothing, refreshing, and grounding effect that is known to diminish feelings of fatigue, weakness, anxiety, and stress.

precautions

If you have blonde or light colored hair, use caution on using carrot oil on your hair regularly as it may stain your hair. Carrot oil is used as a natural dye by some. Carrot oil can be ingested, but if ingested in large amounts, it can cause nausea and vomiting. Always use caution, and test a small amount on your skin to check for an allergic reaction. Consult with a physician before ingesting.

Stay tuned for the next two oils that I highlight!