2022

I cannot believe we’re almost a month into the new year! I haven’t blogged much because there has been A LOT going on in my life outside of my locs, mostly good things like starting my cookie business, being at a new job, and planning for the future. But I do feel the need to catch you up on some things hair related because…that’s what I do! So let’s get into it!

New Loctician???

Y’all know how I’ve been back and forth on finding a new loctician versus self maintaining my hair. I would start my search and stop, find someone and be disappointed. The last person I found to establish my daughter’s locs and to hopefully go to for my retie was on a whim and she turned out to be a total FLAKE. She was never on time for her appointments and always had some long drawn out story/excuse for it. I’m talking 35 – 45 minutes late, and even had the nerve to ask to reschedule for later in the day because she was sick and hung over from partying the night before! She’s young, but definitely old enough to know better! If doing hair is your main gig then you need to step your game up and be a professional. She has zero respect for other people’s time but wants everyone to be understanding of her situations. Sweetie, when people are trying to get their hair done they don’t want to hear about your bad planning and forgetfulness. And the sad part in all of this is the girl is GOOD at what she does. She does BEAUTIFUL work! She started my daughter’s locs and did her first retie and did great work both times. She’s extremely talented and knowledgeable but very unprofessional.

About a month or so later, I found my current “loctician” through my cousin who started her loc journey but later combed her locs out. We’ll discuss that in a later post. I found out the young lady’s name and made an appointment for myself because I was in desperate need of a retie at the time. The shop was located deep in the hood, but that didn’t bother me. I’ve been to plenty of shops in the hood in the past and my hair got laid, okay? I was more concerned about how she was as a person, her skill level, etc. This young lady is younger than the previous girl I went to, but that didn’t bother me either. She was very kind, already at the shop and waiting for me unlike the previous loctician, and very gentle in washing my hair and doing my retwist.

Plot twist: I no longer interlock my new growth – I now twist! There’s so much I have to catch y’all up on!

Listen. She was so gentle doing my retwist that I fell asleep during most of it!!! It had been so long, years even, since I’ve had gentle hands in my hair that it felt like heaven on earth! I’m not exaggerating. Ever since I started my loc journey, from the person who started my locs and all the other people who have touched my locs since, they have either tugged, pulled, or done my reties too tight to where my scalp hurt for several days later. When this young lady got done, my scalp felt refreshed, clean and wonderful! My locs were light and bouncy and shiny. I loved it. So here’s why I put question marks behind ‘new loctician:

After I got my hair done, I immediately scheduled an appointment for my daughter for her second retie. Now my daughter has traditional locs and they are clearly new. The young lady studies my daughters hair and looks concerned. I ask her if anything is wrong and she says “No….I’m just concerned about how frizzy her locs are.”

Come again??

This was when I knew she was not quite a loctician by definition at all. Right now she’s someone who knows how to do neat reties and style locs. When it comes to the locking process and the different stages, she needs to learn more. Frizzy locs are most definitely part of the locking process, especially in the beginning stages of locs. Having said all of that, I’m gonna stick beside her.

She’s young and she’s only going to get better and grow as she learns.

She’s already taken steps to move out of her uncle’s shop (which is hideous and in desperate need of a total remodel and makeover) that was located in the hood to a better shop in a better neighborhood. (I hate barber or beauty shops where it’s clear that the money they make goes directly into their pockets instead of into fixing up their shop, getting new chairs, equipment, etc. so the customers can have a wonderful and comfortable experience!) I applaud her for making such a move because she stated that she knows she’s lost clients or potential clients because of where she worked and the atmosphere. Speaking of atmosphere, it was very loud with loud sometimes in appropriate music. It was a busy shop where choice language is used in front of children and women which I found to be highly disrespectful, but I was also so immersed in my scalp being pampered that I tuned out most of it. This young lady wants to elevate her clientele and their experience, and I totally respect that.

If you follow my Youtube channel Its Sonya, you probably know all about the issues I’ve encountered with various locticians since getting locs three years ago. It hasn’t been an easy journey to say the least, but now I’m in a place of acceptance. I’ve finally accepted the fact that I will never find the perfect loctician where I live, and if there is one in my city I’ll never get an appointment with he or she because they are booked well into the next year! Yes, I can do my own hair when forced to, but I’d much rather have someone else do it for me. I’m that kind of person. I want to be pampered. I don’t think this young lady will damage me or my daughter’s hair. I’ve seen her work, and she does beautiful work and she’s gentle. I’m willing to grow with her as she learns.

I guess you can say 2022 has been good to me so far. My locs are still growing and flourishing. What more can you ask? Getting locs is still hands down the second best hair decision I’ve ever made besides going natural. 🙌🏾🙌🏾👍🏾👍🏾

Time to Regroup

Most of you know that I started a YouTube page and I’ve been putting a ton of content there. Along the way I’ve met many other YouTubers, some are nice while others are very cutthroat or guarded. I quickly learned why. YouTube is extremely competitive, cutthroat, and full of content stealers. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve encountered who pretended to befriend me only to steal my content ideas, steal photos I’ve used in my blogs, or who flat out try to steal away my subscribers – and I have no where near the following that they already have!

Yeah, it’s time to regroup.

I’m a naturally friendly person, and silly me thought that other YouTubers would be the same. Not true. I’ve found that when a Youtuber – and by Youtuber I mean locs or natural hair Youtubers – find out that you’re a fellow content creator, they get very guarded and territorial. They are slow to follow you back (if they follow you at all) to show you the same support you are showing them. They rarely interact with their followers or respond to the comments made on their videos, and if they do respond, it’s usually a short two – five word response. Of course I thought that was downright rude and unfriendly. These are the people, your followers, who helped make your channel successful! The least you could do is engage with them and acknowledge them. Many often type a reply of “Thank you” or “Thank you for your support” which to me isn’t directly addressing the comment left. At least not in a way to make the follower feel appreciated. Especially when they see that you’ve left that same, blah, dry, general response for all comments.

There are those who have a lot of followers that say there’s just to many comments to respond in depth to individually and they don’t have enough time in their day to do so. One of the main ways you show your followers that you appreciate them is to acknowledge them and respond back in a thoughtful and meaningful way. But maybe that’s just me. Yes, I’m sure it’s time consuming and a headache. And no, not every comment deserves a response back. Let’s be honest – there are a lot of trolls and downright nasty people in this world who sit behind a computer, tablet or phone who LIVE to put others down and criticize you in the harshest way. So I understand why many creators are hesitant to put themselves out there so to speak. However, all YouTube creators have access to the block and delete options. You can report such ones. And if you don’t have time to monitor such things on your own, find an admin that is trustworthy to help weed out such comments.

I know I’ve neglected my blog for quite some time because I’ve found that I truly enjoy making YouTube videos about my loc journey and things I’ve found to be very helpful in helping my hair grow stronger and be healthier. I enjoy interacting with my followers and having great conversations with them about hair and many other things. But I’ve also found that the YouTube world has a toxic underbelly that can sap you of your joy if you allow it. I’ve had some pretty unpleasant experiences lately that involved fellow YouTubers following me, commenting on my posts and questioning me on my content in a condescending manner and then making a video of their own talking trash about me! I’ve had fellow YouTubers try to steal my followers away from me, use my Facebook page to promote their YouTube page and asking my followers and FB friends to follow them. I’ve had YouTubers steal or copy my page look, content, etc. and if finally came to a head to where I had to make a video addressing these shady broads.

Writing is my first passion, and it always will be. For the past two years YouTube had all of my attention but it’s time to regroup. It’s time to get back to what I love most – writing. So expect more posts from me because I have a lot to say and share!

My hair when I started my loc journey in 2018 to today at 2 years and 6 months locked:

Follow Me On YouTube!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiQMY_fkoR4Mr5D4ZtVXlsg?view_as=subscriber

You guys! If you follow me here on my blog, PLEASE do me a solid and follow my natural hair and DIY organic body and hair YouTube channel! I’m trying to get my subscribers up, and right now it’s pretty pitiful, LOL!

I have plenty of content regarding natural hair and locs and other things so please check it out, and hit that subscribe button! If you have a YouTube channel, please drop a comment so I can follow you as well!

Thanks!

xoxo

Should I Continue to Vlog?

I’m getting discouraged you guys. A few years back I said I’d never vlog. Then I decided to give it a try, and I started Its Sonya on YouTube. Guess what? I like it! Vlogging is basically putting words you’d usually have for your blog into a video. Hence the term vlog. I’ve always said that I express myself better in writing than in words, and I still feel that is true of me. There is an art that comes with being able to express yourself verbally and I don’t feel you’re ever too old to try to improve that technique.

Why I’m Discouraged

The whole purpose of this blog and my vlog on YouTube is to help people, black women and girls in particular, to navigate going natural and embrace their natural hair. I want to inspire and encourage people, and the main way you can do this is to speak honestly from your own experiences. To me, one of the most important things you must do is be yourself. I’ve watched thousands of YouTube videos and the personalities are all across the board. There are those who are bubbly and have a lot of energy, there are those who have a lot of personality and are over the top. And there are those who are laid back or, dare I say it – boring. People want to see personality, they want to be entertained. I get that. But that’s not my lane. My lane is to help, educate, inform, encourage, and be a source or information all while keeping things lighthearted. My content mostly contains a lot of helpful information.

Being myself, which is oftentimes laid back and chill, may be hurting me and I get that. Maybe I could or should put some more energy into my videos. I probably put people to sleep because I’m too laid back, LOL! But at the end of the day, when I’m speaking on a specific topic, I hope that’s what they are tuning in for – the information and not a show because I’m not there to put on show.

Declining Subscribers

My numbers have declined, and I have a few theories on that. For one, I no longer have sisterlocks. I’ve combined my locs and now I have what would be deemed microlocs or just plain locs. They aren’t traditional locs yet because they are still too small to be traditional locs. I knew I’d lose subscribers based on that because my journey no longer fits those who followed me because of having sisterlocks.

Second, as I go through my loc journey I continue to discover things about my hair, about how I care for my hair or how others I pay care for my hair. There’s so many unwritten rules about loc care like you should use conditioner on your locs or you shouldn’t because it causes build up, and other things you should or shouldn’t use on your locs. I’ve come to realize that no matter what you put on your hair you are going to experience build up. Also, I’ve come to realize that not everyone is going to agree with your opinions or decisions, and that’s fine. So if someone stops following me because I said something they don’t agree with, that’s perfectly fine by me. I know I’m not everyone’s cup of tea.

Third, I always preach natural remedies first before anything else. I’ve been making my own aloe vera moisturizing spritz/conditioner and using that on my locs. However, since coloring my locs I’ve realized that I needed more than aloe to moisturize and condition my locs. That’s why I used the conditioner I already had in my house and watered it down and then used it on my locs. (This was before I found and purchased Keracare conditioner that is specifically made for color treated hair.) There may be those who feel I’ve been hypocritical when I change my thinking or outlook on things and stop following me based on that. But isn’t that what happens when you learn and grow? You change. Never have I said that no products are good or should be used. There are some good products out there that is worth your coins, but for me, I try to use natural remedies as much as possible. Especially since I have locs now.

My point is not everyone is going to like what you have to say or understand when you’ve had a change of heart about something.

Do I Need To Do More How To Videos?

I’ve never been one to show people how to do things in my videos. I’ve tried a few times but it’s never been something I felt comfortable doing. For one I need better equipment – camera, lighting, tripod, etc. (If that sounded like an excuse it’s because it is an excuse, lol!) A lot of people want or need to see how to make something or do something. They are visual learners and I get that. The most I’ll do in my videos is show you the products I’ve purchased and will use and then I will tell you how to make it or I’ll direct you to where you can go to learn how to make something.

Lately I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone – even though I still don’t have the proper equipment – and I’ve done a few videos on how to make your own hair growth oils. I don’t have exact measurements, but I show you how I make mine. To be honest I really enjoyed doing that because its something that I’m passionate about. I love DIY projects, especially when it comes to making healthy, organic things that can be used on your hair and on your skin. I may do more of these simple videos in the future. That’s another thing – I keep my how to videos as simple as possible because I like simple DIY videos myself.

I’m Not Going to Quit

I’m not going to quit because I realize that my videos may help someone someday. It may not be today, tomorrow, next week or next year. YouTube videos are there forever until you take them down yourself if you were the creator. I’m just in my feelings right now, licking my wounds, lol! I also know that there are things that one must do to get more subscribers or to make your videos stand out more.

For instance:

*Hair and makeup looking good at all times. This is a problem for me because I’m not one who styles my locs or fuss with my locs. 99% of the time I wear my locs down. I don’t do twist outs or braid outs for curly or wavy locs. They hang the way they hang. I don’t like styling my locs because I don’t want unnecessary tension on them. As far as makeup goes – it’s summer time right now. Actually, even during the winter months you won’t see me with the “beat face” because you just won’t. If the mood hits me to put on makeup I will. If not, you need to get into my natural vibes, LOL!

*Having various beautiful location shots or backgrounds. My favorite place to shoot my videos is my kitchen. You may not realize it because for most of my videos done at home I’m sitting in front of a white wall. Just recently I started sitting in a new location…in front of my fridge, LMBO!!! I’m just lazy y’all. My kitchen is where I get the best light, the most privacy, and it’s just a much easier set up.

*Dressing up. I’ll admit that this is an area I could improve in. When I was working outside of the home before COVID hit, this was an easy thing to do because I had to dress up for work. I would simply keep on my work clothes and my makeup and make my videos. But on the weekends…that’s when I go back to bare face and t-shirts! Again, I know I can improve in this area and I will.

Honestly, I will try to improve in some of the areas. I love makeup, so I’ll try to wear it whenever I decide to film. One thing I will not change is being myself. I can’t put on this character that isn’t me just for followers and likes. I need to learn how to market my channel and my content better. I also need to look at the videos I’ve done that got a lot of response (views and likes) and do more videos like those. I basically made a post complaining about something I can change but am too lazy to do some of the things that I can change. Yup, that about sums up this blog post!

Loose Natural or Loc’d, You Need Almocado Products In Your Life!

I was gifted Almocado Seaweed Shampoo and the moisturizing peppermint Daily Spritz by Youtuber Leecey Leece aka Lisa. She is an amazing person with a big kind heart. We’ve bonded over our not-so-good sisterlocks experiences and both have created videos speaking on them. We both desire to help others through our experiences so they can have better outcomes with their sisterlocks journey than we have. Lisa knows I have issues with dandruff and have been searching for other natural things to use on my locs besides the sisterlocks brand shampoos. I’m currently using the sisterlocks dandruff shampoo, which works just fine, but I’m open to using something else.

What is almocado?

They are a black-owned family business based in South East London. They make all natural, organic products specifically for those with kinky, coily hair. They have a line of gentle cleansers, deep conditioners, daily moisturizers, and protective balms that leave your hair soft and very manageable.

Over the weekend I tried the Seaweed shampoo and it left my locs feeling amazing. First, I got an instant lather. It wasn’t too much lather, but just enough. Second, I love the way the shampoo smells and feels. It’s almost a clear color and a little goes a long way. I felt the difference in my hair after the first wash. By the second shampoo, my hair felt light and silky. I didn’t try the Peppermint Daily Spritz until Sunday night. I spritzed my hair with it and followed it with my Wild Growth Moisturizing Oil on my ends. I plaited my hair in small plaits so I could have curly definition the next morning. The entire night I smelled the gentle smell of peppermint and it made me happy!

Plait out results

My Plait Out Results. #Definition

Monday morning when I took my plaits down I had very defined curls and waves and my hair still feels soft and smooth. I’m in love with this line of products and I can’t wait to try more! Next on my list is the Peppermint Tea Tree Shampoo which is supposed to be great for dandruff issues. What I love about Almocado is that their products can be used on loose natural hair or loc’d hair. So my daughters, who have loose natural hair, can use and benefit from their products as well.

Support black businesses!

But don’t support just because it’s a black business. Support because they are a black business that sells great products. I’ve never been one to blindly support someone just because. I’ve tried two of their products and I can confidently say that they offer great quality products made from the finest ingredients. Please go to https://www.almocado.com/ and read up on the business, what they offer, and then purchase.

Whew Chile, The CON ARTIST Of It All!

I’ve been vlogging about this on YouTube, but I’m going to get into it here as well. I have documented my journey to locs and deciding on sisterlocks for a long time now. I went into this journey excited and trusting my loctician and the sisterlocks way implicitly. Y’all remember how gung-ho I was about following all the rules and listening and following what my consultant told me because – what did I know? I trusted that she’d steer me in the right direction. Well, let’s go back a little bit.

The Initial consultation

Before my initial consultation, I thought I did all the research needed, thorough research on sisterlocks. There isn’t much out there, but I went to their website and read everything they had there and watched the outdated videos. I did my due diligence. When I decided to make an appointment with my consultant, I went prepared with questions, and she answered them all and was very detailed. Most of what she told me I already knew, and she expounded on that information just a smidge bit. One of her selling points to me was how fast she was with installation and reties. Fast? That’s music to my ears! The last thing I wanted was a repeat of my creamy crack days spending an entire Saturday in the shop waiting to get my hair done or getting my hair done. Little did I know that ‘fast’ is a HUGE red flag.

FYI: When you take the sisterlocks retie class and when you take the course to learn how to install sisterlocks so that you can become a trainee and eventually a consultant, you are taught that reties should take three to five hours. And this is dependent on the persons head size, amount of hair (hair density), and hair length. During this time, corrections should be taking place for slippage (when your loc comes down), bunching (when you get big ugly lumps in your locs because slippage wasn’t corrected), or simply cleaning up the grid if it needs it. I just learned this recently. This information is not readily available to those of us with sisterlocks or those considering sisterlocks and that is a huge problem. Anyway, I went with this consultant and she got my locs established and did my reties for a year. She would do my reties in an hour or an hour and a half. I truly thought she was just that fast. Just a whiz. But when I’d tell people how fast she did my reties, they were amazed. Now I know why. Reties shouldn’t be that fast.

Something ain’t right

Over time I felt like something wasn’t right, but let me back up a bit again. At my consultation I let her know that I wasn’t interested in the tiny sisterlocks. I wanted a fuller look, so getting the largest size sisterlocks was what I wanted. That’s what she gave me. I also told her after I started getting reties that I wasn’t interested in having a meticulously well kept grid. I just wanted my hair to look good. Hang on to those last two sentences.

In the beginning I had issues with slippage. She’d point it out to me, and showed me what to look for. It wasn’t until a year into my journey when she gave me the okay not to braid and band that I got bunching that I realized why I had the bunching. Bunching occurs when slippage isn’t fixed. So while she would point out my slippage, she wasn’t correcting it. My consultant of a year was not doing any maintenance on my hair. None. On top of that, my reties never looked good. My locs still looked fuzzy and frizzy. My hair still felt thick at the root in some places. But over time I thought that was normal. It wasn’t. The bunching angered me, and her informing me that I’d have to schedule a separate “maintenance” appointment for her to deal with my slippage and bunching – that was the last straw for me.

She actually wanted me to pay MORE for something that should be included in my retie appointments anyway! My locs and grid never looked nice. They never looked clean. She took my words that I didn’t care about a meticulous grid literally to mean I didn’t want her to do anything to my locs other than retie them. Well heck, I can do my own reties if that’s all you’re gonna do!

I reached out to my sisterlocks community and vented my anger and frustration and many reached out to me offering help, offering to do my reties and to teach me how to do them myself. I was overwhelmed and very touched by the amount of love and support I received. I also reached out to my cousin who is a sisterlocks trainee and told her I wanted her to do my upcoming retie. This is where things got even more interesting.

Whole sections of my head not being retied

Yup, you read that right. I was at my cousin’s house for six hours for my retie this past Sunday, and what she discovered was mind blowing. First, I had anywhere between 1-3 1/2 inches of new growth in various parts of my head. She said the only way that can happen is my consultant was skipping locs during my reties. As she examined my hair and did my retie, she quickly realized it wasn’t just a loc here or there that was missed. It was entire sections. My consultant was so “fast” because she wasn’t retying every single loc on my head. Another nugget I discovered is I actually have 400 locs. My daughters miscounted. I know I have a big head and a lot of hair. I’ve been told this my entire life and it doesn’t bother me because it’s the truth. How this woman claims she was doing my entire head in such a short period time is laughable. She’s a con artist and a fraud.

I didn’t even get the bare minimum of service from her – and I tipped her at every visit! She was not gathering all my loose hairs during my reties. She would be distracted, on business calls, calls with her kids, etc. Oh, and my back was always toward the mirror, so I could never see what she was doing. I could never witness her skipping entire sections of my hair. And she had the nerve to brag about how many transfer clients she had from other people as if she’s so good. But let’s talk about how many of your clients have left you because of your con artist ways? Charging all this money while not providing even the minimum work! Highway robbery.

Your services are no longer needed

Two weeks before I went to my cousin for my retie, I sent my former consultant a text letting her know that I was cancelling my upcoming appointment with her and that going forward I was going to someone else. After my retie with my cousin, I was very tempted to confront my old consultant with what she didn’t do for me. How she flat out stole money from me. But I’m so happy to be in a better place because I have already moved forward and I don’t feel she’s worth the energy.

I’m particularly disappointed that this is a black woman taking advantage of other black women, preying on their ignorance when it comes to sisterlocks. Preying on the fact that the average person who wants sisterlocks barely knows the basics about sisterlocks even after doing their research. This is a huge lesson learned for me, but a serious indictment on sisterlocks the corporation.

The sisterlocks secret society

The secret society that surrounds sisterlocks needs to stop. Their secrets need to be exposed, but few will speak on what is really going on because all who take any sisterlocks courses are required to sign non-disclosure agreement documents. Speaking out after signing those legal documents would result in being sued aggressively immediately. But where does that leave the consumer? It leaves us getting suckered by frauds and those who practice bad business. It leaves us to start support groups on social media and YouTube in search of answers and help. Yet, sisterlocks consultants and brand ambassadors get angry over the misinformation that’s all over the internet and social media. Well guess what? If everything wasn’t so darn secretive and sisterlocks provided more information and guidance for the consumer, maybe you wouldn’t have so much “misinformation” floating around and rogue consultants!

And let’s be real – a lot of the information isn’t bad information. It’s a lot of women telling their sisterlocks journey and giving tips and tricks that may help someone else. The sisterlocks way simply doesn’t work for everyone. We all have different hair needs, scalp issues, etc. Some of us need to use oil. I found this out for myself the hard way.

Sisterlocks is a beautiful form of locs. It’s a great alternative to traditional locs or microlocs. There is a science to the grid, the precise spacing and sizing of each loc. Where sisterlocks fails is not providing the consumer with more knowledge about reties, how long they should be, what is done, what should be looked at and corrected. Instead, sisterlocks is nothing more than a way to make a ton of money if you are a consultant. The consumer is at the mercy of the consultants because there is so much that we don’t know. They can charge whatever they want. Their secrecy is what makes them money, and it’s wrong.

Going forward

I almost made the decision to get rid of my sisterlocks and combine them to have microlocs instead. I’m so glad that talking through my issues and concerns with others in the sisterlocks and loc community changed my mind. I was letting a bad experience with ONE consultant turn me off when that shouldn’t be the case. I needed to drop that bad habit and move on to a better, more positive experience in my journey. And that’s exactly what I did. So far I have not named my consultant in my YouTube videos, but I will continue to expose her shady practices so others out there will know what to look out for.

I am committed to making “beware” videos to protect and prevent others from being scammed. I will keep providing the tools and information needed to navigate finding a consultant, choosing the right one, and what you should know and expect from your installation and your reties. I WISH I had known a year ago what I know now. The only thing I had to rely on was the sisterlocks website that is very sparse and only provides basic information. It will never sit well with me that we as consumers have to depend solely on our loctician/consultant for information that should be readily available to us. It will never sit well with me that consultants and trainees bank on our ignorance and cash in on it hand over fist. It’s not right.

So while my new mission is to educate and do all I can to prevent others from the pitfalls of scam artists and frauds in the sisterlocks community, I will continue to promote sisterlocks as being a great alternative to loose natural hair. I don’t regret locking my hair at all. This past year of hair freedom has been amazing. It’s everything I was looking for and more… except for being scammed of course.

Back To Braiding & Banding + Check Out My YouTube Channel!

Around mid-December my loctician gave me the okay to wash my locs without braiding and banding. So far I’ve washed my hair twice and I’ve noticed some bunching in the back of my head. At first I thought this was just the natural locking process with my locs swelling and shrinking up. By the second wash, I saw that this was not natural at all. It was bunching. And it’s ugly.

What is bunching?

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Some of my locs that have bunching

Upon further research, I’ve learned that bunching is caused by uncorrected slippage and excess water on hair that isn’t fully locked. Excess water can include washing your locs too often, sweating in your head, or not braiding and banding when your locs aren’t ready. One YouTuber made a great point: Slippage and bunching isn’t your (the customer’s fault) when it’s the loctician’s responsibility to keep an eye on those things, correct the slippage when they see it, and advise you on what to do to combat it. If you’ve done all that the loctician told you to do and you still have these problems, it is not your fault.

This makes me wonder how much time my loctician is using to correct my problem locs versus rushing to get through my retie. There have been times where I was pressed for time or she was pressed for time, and she was rushing to get my retie done. I’m going to have to talk to her before my next retie appointment and let her know that we need to concentrate on maintenance instead of rushing to get my retie done.

More revelations

Another revelation I’ve had is that I wonder if my loc size was too big hence my hair growing outside of the grid? To be fair, my loctician noticed that my hair grew outside of my grid when she put in my tester locs during my consultation and I came back for my install a month later. I don’t know. I’m thinking out loud and trying to look at all possibilities. To be completely honest, I’m really frustrated at the loose hair that I feel at my roots (the new growth) and I think it’s something I’m going to have to deal with going forward because that’s just how my hair grows. But I also can’t help thinking “what if”…

Fixing the problem

The only solution I’ve come up with on how to fix this problem with bunching is to go back to braiding and banding. As much as I LOVED washing my locs freely, I do not like the look of bunching. Bunching is UGLY and it stands out. I will not ruin my locs just so I don’t have to braid and band.

I’ve also reached out to my fellow locked queens and I’ve received some wonderful advice and offers of help to fix my bunching. I’ve also had friends offer to teach me how to do my own reties. I’m definitely interested in learning how to do my own reties despite my laziness. 😉 I can’t help thinking that we don’t know what will happen today or tomorrow and what our employment or financial situation will be. If the time comes where I can no longer afford paying for my reties, I need to know how to do them myself. My friends advice keeps echoing in my head “Learn how to do your own reties, Sonya. Save your money, and it’ll help you if you’re ever in a bind and can’t afford to pay for them.” She’s so right!

Youtube

I’ve been making videos and posting them to YouTube pretty regularly regarding my sisterlocks journey and all the issues and questions I’ve had along the way. If you want to stay up to date on what’s been going on with me and my sisterlocks, please check out my channel. (<— Click that hyper link) I guess you can say I’ve come to like vlogging after all! 😉 I’ve found that when I have thoughts running through my head, it’s been helpful to just make a video and talk it out and share it with the world. The comments I receive and the advice has been awesome, and it’s helped me put things into perspective. So that’s the game plan, folks! Chime in and let me know how you deal with bunching and if it’s ever been an issue for you. 🙂

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! ❤

11th Retie Update

I’m late with this update, but I also made a video, so I hope you enjoy it!

Is It Really Just Hair? |Sisterlocks Edition|

I promise this isn’t a random question. Recently, I realized that I let my fear of ruining my locs keep me from doing what was best for my scalp. In my last blog I talked about how dry, itchy scalp has really been an issue for me lately and I feel oiling my scalp with light oils will take care of the issue. I’m already using the sisterlocks dandruff shampoo, which helps a lot, but it isn’t enough. If you’re still confused, stay with me. I’ll explain.

My Loc Fears

Since having sisterlocks I’ve continued to research and ask questions and seek out answers for everything relating to sisterlocks. I know just about all the do’s and don’ts when it comes to having sisterlocks, and I became so focused on not doing all the bad things that it somehow turned into a serious fear. Fear of having buildup in my locs. Fear of more slippage or losing locs, or hair breakage. I reasoned with myself that if I did everything by the sisterlocks book that there’s no way I’d ruin my locs. So that’s what I did for eleven months. I did everything by the book. I put nothing on my hair other than the sisterlocks shampoo. I didn’t sprtiz my locs or scalp with any oils, water or product of any kind. I listened and followed the advice of my loctician. I was the perfect A+ student.

I wanted and expected perfection

I blogged about this and made a video for YouTube about it recently. It just hit me how much my locs mean to me and how much I want to have perfect locs. I never said this out loud before, let alone admitted to it. But it’s true. How perfect I want my locs to be, I’m really not sure. I think perfect in the sense of being healthy, long, and look nice. I had a vision in my head of how I wanted my locs to look: full and luscious. I’m going to be very honest, y’all, finding out that I only have 367 locs was a blow to my vision. When I look at my locs I don’t see the fullness that I was hoping for, and I’ll be one year locked next month. At the same time, I know my locs aren’t done maturing. They are going to swell more over time. Knowing this and trying to reconcile this with my patience, or lack thereof, is what I find to be quite difficult.

I feel it’s taking my hair a long time to loc, and it makes me wonder if my washing routine played a part in it? My fear of slippage had such a hold on me that I may have possibly hindered the locking process of my hair by not washing my hair often enough. (washing your hair helps with the locking process.) Or is it simply my hair type (4B, 4C) that is making it loc slowly? This is why I ask is it just hair? Because clearly it’s not just hair for me. The things I’m worrying about with my locs may not worry the next person, and I feel there’s a level of denial that I managed to hide or suppress up until now. Now that I’m a month and some change away from being locked for a year, a lot of my fears and worries are coming to the surface. My hair is growing, but my locs don’t seem to be maturing.

Hair obsession

Do I have an unrealistic view of my locs and what I feel they should look like at this point in my journey? Yes, to some degree. What I didn’t expect was to become so obsessed with my locs. Now that I think about it, when I big chopped and went natural, there was a level of obsession I had with that whole journey. I became absorbed in all things related to natural hair, hence this blog (although I feel this blog is a good thing, not a negative thing). For some reason, I need to continually hear that my fears are unfounded, that my locs are progressing as they should. As if I’m not being told this at every retie by my loctician. I know that everyone’s locs progress at different rates. I know this yet I’m still anxious and insecure. What is wrong with me?

The short answer is I’m subconsciously comparing my locs to others. (The very thing I preach over and over that we shouldn’t do.) What I envisioned for my locs isn’t what I see, nor is it what I have. All of this goes back to lack of patience and remembering what I asked for at my consultation. I wanted the largest size loc on the sisterlocks sizing scale because I wanted a fuller look. I have to give myself more time to see the results of what I asked for. I need to stop obsessing and stop being impatient.

It’s Not just hair

I know there are more important things in life than hair. Getting sisterlocks is the third biggest hair decision I’ve ever made in my life. I could chalk up my worry and obsession about my locs to getting older, hormones, or even the fear of the unknown. But it goes deeper than all of those things.

I need my patience to be on a full tank. That’s it. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s an area that I need to work on diligently. That is my goal.