when is sisterlocks not sisterlocks?

This argument comes round regularly, maybe every year. I think the prevailing thought on LIU was - the tool does not matter, it's the pattern and partings that count. Which is a pretty sensible view to take. Some even use their FINGERS. Someone strongly disagreed insisting that any deviation from what the founder intended, no matter how slight is FRAUD! Wow! I just hope they will always have access to all SL products at ALL times, never experience a medical problem that forces her to use a different tool or hair-loss which could result in a small deviation from the norm, Or finds herself in a location where you can't access SL stuff, SL class, you don't have the official tool or strapped for cash. Some consultants have had to use tools other than sls tool due to medical problems, others have found they're just more comfortable with the NL tool. Not to mention the SL wearers across the ocean. More than one of us have had to find other products to substitute SL ones, as well as DIY with other tools even while checking with in SL consultants every now and again. Never say never, cos next thing you know you're in the soup.
Oh well, to each her own, as they say.....

Water is your best friend

As you know I've begun to p a y more attention to my locs and am doing everything I can to increase moisture. I thought back to when I had Traditional locs and how soft and pliable they were as opposed to dry and stiff. One major difference between now and then is, I rinsed my locs A LOT. I mean I did prolonged rinsing from NP, I co-washed, and spritzed 2 or 3 times a day. Frequent rinsing is not practical for long locs or during the cold weather. And I know the water here (UK)is HAAARRRD! But, defenitely upping the length of time rinsing and spritzing a lot does make a difference. Apart from acv rinses, I would sometimes use bottled/filtered water as my final rinse.

Don't forget to Drink plenty of Water too!

Americans! How about you send these Brits back home?

"British Family tell US hotel they do not want to deal with black staff or anyone with a foriegn accent." This request was put on a computer and a black waiter(on his way to serve them) was stopped. The waiter is suing the Ritz Carlton in Naples in Florida.
So why didn't the Ritz ask the family to leave? Cos it is they who are foriegn WITH the foreign accent. Americans have American accents (not british). And all sorts of colours make up America, so they should have stayed in their pitiful Home in whatever unfortunate part of the UK they're from. B'cos they are quite likely to run into a black, mixed race,asian, eastern european face when they step out their front door.
I hope you Americans realise these Brits wouldn't even try this fool trick here(UK).
God help them.

2yrs 3months sisterlocks

Look how much it's grown.

Some locs in the back have doubled in size.

Not sure what (if anything) to do about them.

My new moisture routine is working.

Just rediscovered another moisture source,

water!!!! Hehehe. Drink it, spritz it, rinse, but it's

Another blog post for another day.

Herby African black soap(from Ghana)....

....with aloe vera juice. This is very simple to make. I made a herb infusion. Simply put 2tbs each of the following dried herbs:

parsley

horsetail

nettle

rosemary

sage

thyme

( you can substitute other dried herbs, or use essential oils if preferred)

...and pour 1pt boiling water over it and let it sit for for 2 hours. I put 1 cup of the resulting liquid in a bottle and 1 cup of aloe vera juice in a bottle, took a small chunk of african black soap broke that in pieces and dissolved it in the mix - And you have your herby aloe vera african black soap shampoo. ( I got the aloe vera idea from Chele, author of The Knotty truth cos this is the truth!)
I will use some of the herby liquid to make a hair rinse using aloe vera juice and acv. I might make a spritz of it adding not only aloe vera juice, but essential oils.

DABUR VATIKA OIL:

I make an oily mist with EOs to go on my scalp 1x weekly, but I use vatika oil sometimes. Vatika oil contains: coconut oil,neem oil,brahmi,Amla,bahera,harar,henna,spiked ginger lily,rosemary, lemon oils.

The Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar

I've seen the question asked repeatedly. What's ACV? How do you use it? Is it safe to use ALL the time?

I have used ACV since I transitioned to natural hair in 2004. It worked wonders on the permed ends and kept my natural hair in top condition. You can use it as a rinse every time you wash your hair if it's say 1xweekly. The benefits of ACV are too numerous to mention here, but I will focus on what it does for the Hair and skin.

Rinsing with ACV will help balance the ph of your hair and remove build-up. Make a rinse by mixing 1/3 cup with 1 quart(1litre) water or 1tsp in 1 cup. The best vinegar to use is organic(especially if you're taking it internally).

To make a herbal rinse you can infuse a herb such as thyme,nettle, marigold, sage in boiling water for 2hrs and use that to dilute the acv. An easier way is to add a few drops of essential oils to increase the conditioning properties. The acids and enzymes in organic ACV kills the bacteria that causes dandruff scalp problems itchyness and hairloss. A good treatment for dandruff is to apply neat vinegar to your scalp, leave on for 1/2 hr and wash out. You can infuse vinegar with herbs that fight dandruff e'g stingin nettle,southernwood, and burdock root. You can also add some drops of tea tree oil to make it even more effective.

For Hairloss, apply 2 tbs full strength acv with a pinch of cayenne pepper to your scalp. Rub it in and leave for 1/2hr before you wash it . Before bed, mix 1tsp acv and 1 capsule royal jelly and pat onto the bald areas.

I personally use diluted vinegar to rinse my face and it really makes my skin so soft.

ACV is useful for controlling body odour, used neat underarm,elimnating the bacteria that cause it. It can knock out the bacteria that causes athletes foot, get rid of age spots, warts, restore bruised skin, soothe stings....you really need to research this if you want to know more. I hope this has helped clear up a few things about using Apple Cider Vinegar.

...and I will deep condition with the-

sisterlock reconstructor conditioner. It's supposed to work wonders so we shall see. Interestingly, my friend Ama uses a shea butter mix on her locs and they are very moisturised and zero build-up. I should have asked her where she got it but I didn't think of it at the time.
Still, my regime should work.....

I'm getting more moisture and dumping the 'no oil' routine

My scalp and locs have been really dry. I mean even my sis told me they looked dry whilst I was in one of the hottest most humid sweaty places in the world(Ghana) and I was drinking water by the gallon. This led me to think perhaps I need to try adding moisture from the outside too. I let things slide a bit, but now I've decided to do something.


Internal:


I'll be taking omega 3s, codliver oil, b complex, barley grass and maybe biotin. I might modify this later.


I'll make an effort to drink more water.(This is hard in the UK).


I'll add aloe vera juice to my diet.


External:


Condition 1x3mths with diluted condish.


Condition with herb teas such as camomile(thanks chele) after every wash.


Continue ACV rinses as and when needed.


Mist my scalp with a mixture of essential oils/jojoba/shea oils in water 1xweekly.


spritz my locs with essential oils/oils/water/honeysuckle water/aloevera juice daily.

*always make sure you do roughly 1 part total oils to 10-15 parts water*


I made a mixture of EOs(lavender, tea tree,peppermint)/jojoba/shea oils in water and put a fine mist of the mix, all over my scalp. I was very suprised when my scalp 'drank' the mixture and it was all absorbed very quickly. What does that mean? I didn't think I needed much by way of oils on my scalp. Also I was practicing the Sls 'no oil' routine. As it is, oiling my scalp, or rather 'misting' with a watery oil mix,will now be part of my routine. The toothbrush you see in the pic is what I used to evenly distribute the oils and massage my scalp. I use it to brush my hairline too. It's a really soft baby toothbrush. I discovered whilst spring cleaning, that I have Vatika oil and Healing herbs with over 20 EOs. So I have more than enough to keep me going for a long while.

My locs are 2 1/2yrs old, they're pretty much settled and can withstand a lot more...in other words if you're a SL newbie, I wouldn't advice you to dump the 'no oil' routine like I've done.