Thursday 6 September 2007

To Sisterlock or Not To Sisterlock

This morning I was thinking, that perhaps I should just get my hair cut and colored and see how that works.

I've had my initial sisterlock consultation. I'm scheduled for an installation on September 28.

After the consultation, I was very excited about the prospect of getting sisterlocks. Before the consultation, I was not 100% certain if that is what I wanted to do.

Since my consultation, I've been going back and forth. I try to tell myself to stay committed to my decision and give it a try. But some days, like today - I'm just not certain.

What am I not certain about?
  • The overall look - I see some sisterlock styles that I like and then some that I don't, so I can't say that I like all sisterlocks.
  • I will not be able to do the wash, gel, wave/curl and go anymore
  • I will not be able to twist my hair anymore (I think)
  • When my sisterlocks grow, will I pretty much be in the same boat that I am in now - wearing a ponytail.

Why do I want to get sisterlocks?
  • I like the elongation it adds to the hair. That way if I do a twist out (which is my favorite style - by the way), I won't have to blow dry it first.
  • I really like the styles that my consultant has on her website http://www.nolye.com/
  • It takes a very long time to style my 9 inch long natural hair.
  • With all of the time it takes to style, the style does not last more than two days. That's unless I do a style that is two strand twist based.

2 comments:

brunsli said...

Hi Miss Twists,

Thanks for your sweet comment on my blog. I have some opinions about your post -- are you surprised? LOL!

For one thing, if your hair is 9" long and natural now, please please please ask you consultant to introduce you to someone with similar hair that was as long as your when she started Sisterlocks. I don't have a big study, but I have this feeling that the bunchies may be really difficult to deal with when you start with long hair -- see for example, Creyole's early blog posts. She ended up cutting a lot of her hair.

Re liking some SLs and not others, there are enough blogs out there that you should be able to get a good sense of what yours will look like based on the thickness and texture of your hair.

You won't be able to wash, gel, wave/curl and go, but you will be able to wash and go, or wash, set into waves, dry, and then go-go-go for the rest of the week. I suspect it will be a lot less work than wearing twists now.

I don't know exactly what you mean by elongation. If it's that you're hair will lie flat, yes, that's true. But, it makes your hair shorter, since your hair will be tangled, not straightened out. Your 9" of natural hair (if 9" while pulled straight) will be about 6" in locks.

You won't be stuck doing a ponytail all the time though. There are Caruso curlers, braid outs, Soft Spikes, etc. to play with. And, there's no reason you can't cut it to keep it at a length you like that you don't feel has to be in a ponytail all the time.

Anyway, it sounds like you're giving this a lot of thought -- which is a good thing! Don't just "give it a try." They're expensive to put in and tedious to take out. Keep doing research and do it when you're 100% certain!

All the best!
Brunsli

Ms Stella said...

This was a good post. I had some of the same concerns when I was considering Sisterlocks. I started with 6-8 inches of natural hair. It looks a lot shorter locked.

I'm almost 1 year locked and it's been a very pleasant journey so far. I'm not completely locked, I still take extra care when washing and styling my hair. By your photo it appears that your hair has a looser curl than mine so you will have to take extra care with those baby locks.