5 Years

5 Years ago I decided to take my hair in hand and began my journey into Sisterlocks(TM). Who would have thought that 5 years later I would go on to become a certified Consultant myself bringing my craft to others? I am still thrilled by seeing the look on my clients faces when I hold up the mirror.

 Here is a length check and I admit to taking up the scissors, just a little snip here and there to cut off some stragglers. I will try to wait until year 6 for the main cut but would like to cut a least 4-6 inches off then.
I want to cut back to my shoulders as I think I managed my hair better at this length.  I tend to be accident prone and am constantly catching my ends on my hand bag, seat belt and clothing lol

I am really getting used to the two tone look now and have not returned to colour. Below is a picture of my freshly washed hair but I need a retightening,

 

My regime remains the same, in the summer I wash every week or more depending on how often I have been to the gym, in the winter I wash monthly, yes you heard right old habits die hard.  I still braid and band to wash my hair as I find it easier to control my hair that way. I try to deep condition every month but sometimes this is every 8 weeks just before I retighten. I had started to do retighten every 4 weeks but I think this is too much manipulation for my hair and I don't have the time any more.
Hope you enjoyed these pictures and what ever your hair journey, I wish you seasons greetings and a happy journey hair for 2013.

Kittylocks x

Client Feature,Jamini

This is Jamini.  She has natural hair for over 10 years having grown out a relaxer and decided to come over to Sisterlocks (TM) This was how we started.

13 hours, lots of laughter, films, chat and breaks later showing the back section.  Sisterlocks (TM) lengthen the hair so the true length will be seen and it will not shrink when you sweat. Jamini was surprised at how long her hair was.
Hope you enjoyed these.
Until next time Kittylocks x
 

Client Feature, "Petals"

Here is Petals, she was transitioning for nearly 1 year and cut the relaxer out of her hair.  She has dense hair which is very straight near the nape.  This is her at the start of her Sisterlocks(TM) journey.

 This is the top of her head and you can see the ends still have some relaxer therby forming the curly qs on the ends.  These may eventually seal and or drop off or form the buds which will seal the end of her locks.

 Side view.

Lots of positive talk and laughter and nearly 13 hours later and she was reborn into her new journey and ready to face the world !

 

Enjoy

Until next time Kittylocks x

Client Feature CK

CK natural hair partly blown out and you can see how much longer the hair is. Her hair is relaxer and chemical free.

Fully blown out.  Although she has not cut her hair for many years it has maintained its shape.

Ends of Cornrowed hair

Twisted to make a top knot, lovely.

Until next time, Kittylocks x

Amsterdam

I recently went on a jaunt to Amsterdam having never been there before.  I must say that I remain very impressed by the transport system. At only 45 minutes away from London its a great option for a long weekend.  I arrived at Schipol airport and without having to walk very far were trains to Central Amsterdam as well as other destinations. The bicycle is king over there versus the motorist or even pedestrians! I saw between 1-3 people on bikes with shopping and children. I am sorry I never got the chance to have a go  myself.

I loved the buildings, went on canal rides, ate at many restaurants, for me the Surinam food was the best and of course the shopping. The next time I go I promise to go with a large, empty suitcase!

I took a train ride to Rotterdam and saw this apartment complex which is built sideways. It made me feel quite dizzy just looking up at them.

Everything in the apartments was tall, thin and narrow including the stairs and good use was made of every bit of space. Just look at this building below also in Rotterdam.

I met up with Lupin and did her hair.  Clean traditional locks were retightened. This red colour really suits her.

I went with my locks styled in the usual curly style but as the days went by the curls dropped out and I was surprised at my length when my friend took this shot.

I am remaining with the two tone look and have not coloured for some time now. 

 

You can see my layers especially the bottom 4 inches which I think I might cut to neaten up my hair.

 

Just waiting to get up the courage and hoping that when I take up the scissors I don't go too far and end up with that asymetric bobb that I have been promising myself.

 

Hope you enjoyed these pictures and don't forget to let me know that you are there.

 

Until next time Kittylocks x

 

Fitness Weekender

Hi all I attended the UFD Summer Fitness and Spa weekender courtesy of www.ufdance.co.uk which was held at the Crown Plaza, Five Lakes www.fivelakes.co.uk

The weekend ran from Friday 1pm to Sunday 1pm with numerous fitness classes on offer.

There was a theme night which was army gear so I will spare you the sweaty pictures and here I am.

I had a great time and tried some new work outs such as Bokwa which is a dance and fitness routine that builds up your cardio, respiratory endurance and weight loss.  I also tried Jukari fit to flex (TM) which is inspired by Cirque Du soleil and Reebok, it was fun and helps to increase flexibility and coordination.

I did Zumba, aqua Zumba, a Shines Salsa class (focusing on lady's salsa foot work) and ended with a box mania class using hand weights.  I have never used weights before and this was the most challenging of classes for me. I even managed to fit in a sauna and steam so all in all it was a very active weekend.

So what about my hair you say? well clean and newly retightened hair was flat twisted to the centre of my head with single braids at the back and I did all activities like this even rinsing my hair and letting it air dry in the sun.  I undid it for Saturday night for my signature crinkly look. (Sorry no pics of this as I was too busy dancing lol.)

Hope you enjoyed this post.

Until next time

Kittylocks x

Certified Sisterlocks (TM) Consultant

Hi all I came home tonight from work and there was a large grey envelope waiting on the floor for me.

When I opened it, it was my Sisterlocks (TM) certificate advising me that I am now a certified Sisterlocks (TM) Consultant.

I am so happy, the first thing I did was pray and thank God that my hard work has paid off.

Then I called my Mother, Daughter and friends.  Then I emailed my clients to thank them for their support and then I hit face book and of course my beloved blog to share it with you all.

I think this deserves a toast?

Kittylocks

x

Ascot 2012

Hi all life has been very busy for me lately.

However there is always time to treat myself so I commissioned this made to measure outfit from Blaque Ribbon for Ascot 2012. This lady is talented,very professional and produced a very well made outfit for me in a fabric of my choice.
Check out her website:www.blaqueribbon.com

The front of my hair was flat twisted to the centre of my head and secured using locks so that I could fit my fascinator in the middle.

The rest of my hair was set the night before on medium curl formers up to 5 locks per curler and I used a spritz of water and setting lotion for fine hair. In the morning I just slipped them out and here is the end result.

As usual at Ascot time went by very quickly however I did place 2 bets and managed to win some money, it was really exciting.

It rained on and off all day and the skys were grey this did not stop the fun but by the end of the day any little curls that I started off with were gone.

Below is the back of my dress.  I love the cut of this dress, many people stopped me at Ascot to compliment me on my outfit.

I also wanted to do some work on my physical self development.

So I altered my eating habits as I felt that the pounds were piling on.  I reduced my meat especially red meat intake, I eat my main meal at lunchtime, am semi raw by eating mainly uncooked food for my evening meal, enhanced my intake of water, fish, fruits and vegetables.

I also upped my fitness routine and added to my programme of zumba and salsa dancing, gym and  joined a running group.  Yes you did read right... me and running group in the same sentence and guess what? I find that I love to run and now run between 2-3 times a week outside in the local area. Even on a Sunday morning at 07.30am when I would usually be enjoying a Sunday lie in. I have never been able to run on a treadmill I don't know why.
Here is another style worn over the last few months.

Back view of rolled and tucked hair.

The results of these activities are that I have lost 1 stone in weight and a few inches because my clothes fit better and maintained this even whilst on holiday to Thailand.  It must have been all that walking to the shops.

My skin is very good, I still have that Thailand glow even though it has been raining and freezing since I returned to England and my heating has remained on!

My hair always appears to have regrowth which can only be good.  I am aiming to get to 6 years before giving it a good cut yes I am onto this one again.  I have some stragglers which could do with it but don't worry as I have 1 year and 6 months to go before this day...

Side view, I did continue rolling and tucking all my hair away but the battery in my camera died so I don't have  a final picture.

The longer lengths of time in between colour touch ups will be a good barometer to judge how much my hair is growing.  Since changing my diet my regrowth is jet black, I have never had jet black hair in my life so this is an interesting development.  Its a shame that my grey patch in the front remains grey.

Front view.

Hope you liked these pictures.

Until next time

Kittylocks
x

Thailand Holiday

Hi there I have been missing in action. So where have I been? I went to Thailand to an island named Koh Samui. I flew via Thai Airways who offered exceptional service.  The flight was around 13 hours to Bangkok, then another 1 1/2 hours to Koh Samui, then 15 minutes to the Hotel.  Average temperatures were 40 degrees which was a blessed relief after all the cold winds and rain of England lol

I needed some real sun and vitamin D on my bones...  and boy did I get it. There was no difference in day and night temperatures, with little wind and the humidity was very very high.


This is me on the balcony of my hotel getting ready to go down for breakfast then the beach.



On the beach getting some vitamin D. It was 40 degrees in the shade, lovely.



We stayed at the Centara Grand Beach Resort in Samui, this is an area of the lobby. see here for more information http://www.centarahotelsresorts.com

On a bed and breakfast basis. This Hotel is on a quieter part of Chaweng beach but outside the hotel there are many shops, banks, bars and restaurants.

All the rooms in the Hotel are beach facing ours was a deluxe with balcony and 2 chair beds with lovely white foam cushions.

This is the series of fresh water pools which were always clean. and refreshed nightly.  There is a bar  and an outside Jacuzzi. 

This is another part of the entrance. apparently the Hotel had suffered major floods the year before but you could not tell at all.  Staff were always washing, cleaning and painting to ensure the upkeep of the Hotel.

Everywhere on the road side are these shrines to God to protect travellers on their journeys.  people put candles, food, drink, money and lights on them and they are never defaced. Drivers hoot their horns when passing as they can not take their hands off the steering wheel to pray.

This is me on an island tour at Viewpoint which had these large rocks.  This was the first time I can say I got some breeze during my stay and it was wonderful!

This Monk died and was some how naturally, perfectly preserved, he even had RayBans on lol

This is the entrance to the Temple of the mummified Monk.

Koh Samui has 2 Waterfalls, this is me in front of the smallest. They also did Elephant riding here.

This day like every day was blazing sun.  If I remember correctly I walked up 161 stairs to get to this statue which is called Big Buddha.

How was my hair? This was the first holiday where I can say my hair did not fair too well, especially if I left it out during the day.  I realised quickly that the humidity was too much for my locks, they seemed to swell, puff and open therefore got damaged easily.  So I wore my hair up in a variety of updos, when swimming in the sea and also on rinsing.  At night I might leave some hair up and some down just to keep me cool as there was no difference in the day and night temperatures.  It was hot hot hot! I can empathise with those of you with locks and who reside in humid countries.

I love sea food especially Lobster yum yum

Of course no meal is complete without a drink and here I am, this wine came after the Campari aperitif and before the Champagne lol

I thoroughly enjoyed my holiday to Thailand Koh Samui and if time permits, as you know my holiday list is long, I would love to go again and I would stay in the same hotel.

Hope you enjoyed this post and don't forget to let me know that you are there and comment.

Kittylocks x

Client Feature, LupinTraditional Locks

Hi all I was blessed to meet up with an old friend who asked me to maintain her traditional locks. She travels a lot to sunny climates and swims a lot so there was much regrowth lucky her..

I shall call her Lupin.

 This back view shows her below shoulder length, red traditional locks

 The time passed so quickly as we were catching up with one another.  Here the side view shows her parts are visible again.

Another happy client.

Hope you liked this

Until next time, happy hair.

Kittylocks x

Day of the Goddess 2012

Well it was that time of year again when it was the Summer equinox so I attended The Day of the Goddess 2012 held at the Unity Centre. See here for more details http://www.dayofthegoddess.co.uk/ It was a women only, no men, no children event. A day for celebrating the Goddess within ourselves.  Organised by Redhed Qi above, a poet, performer, singer, designer and much more...and entailed inspirational speakers, workshops, poetry, singing performances and an indoor market selling traditional clothing, jewelry, bags, food, skin and hair care products, books, tapes and the list goes on. Here are some but not all of the Goddesses present. The moto of the day was "I am present, I am enough"

Above is Aama Sade co organiser, and is qualified to conduct celebrations and wore this beautiful outfit and compered the event. She also designed 4 sets of Vision Affirmation cards for Transformation, Self Reallignment, Unionship and Feelgood. 

This picture shows Redhed Qi presented with flowers in the middle with Aama Sade, to her right and Sister Doctor Sandra Richards phd on the left in gold and black.

 Sister Doctor Sandra Richards describes herself as a "Sister in service" and has authored books such as "The Journey" which is a self development work book, "The Way We See it" which examines the educational experience from an African perspective.  She and her Sister closed the day with an inspirational talk that struck a cord in both tears and laughter.

This is Yvonne Douglas and she is a life coach and counselor and authored her personal memoires of her life story  and struggle entitled. " Hungry for Love" and available from Amazon.  She was asked to read a random passage from her book which was very thought provoking. 

She was supported by her beautiful Daughter. Yvonne made both of their outfits too.  I have already placed my order for her book.

This drumming group got the house shaking and dancing.

 They put their heart and soul into the drumming.   It was really good to witness their skill and enjoyment.
Their drumming inspired a fantastic impromptu, cultural dance from a performer.

Below is Sister E from http://www.thecalabashhub.com/ in a

 traditional outfit and seller of natural skin care products such as Shea butter and garments and bags from Ghana.  She wore this outfit with pride wow.

 Ebele shook the house with laughter in her workshop with her performance. "One yam for a star" will be forever etched in my memory.  I am laughing just thinking about this poem now lol

 Lacey Indigo Adigwu sang so beautifully that I ran out immediately to purchase her ear rings and her CD entitled "Love is Where You Are".  She had a lovely, clear, earthy voice and is a great guitar player.  Her spirit shone through her performance.  

Bashiyra The -Voice is a singer and performer and she rang out a song that got down to my bones, this is the only way I can describe it.  Find her at http://www.bashiyra.com/ She is performing in her production "You Haven't Seen Nothing Yet" on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd April at the Broadway Theatre in Catford. This is also a fundraiser event for the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust http://www.aclt.co.uk/

This is Solariss she is a dance instructor and she can be found at http://www.bellydanceuk.com/ she had us shaking our stuff in a belly dance that spoke to my spirit as well as my body, so much that I started sweating and have emailed her to include me when she starts her belly dance classes.

I hope I have given you a taste of Day of the Goddess 2012, no disrespect to any one not captured here, I was having such a good time that I forgot to take pictures lol.  Don't miss out on Day of the Goddess 2013.

In the words of Day of the Goddess " I am present, I am enough"

Until next time

Kittylocks
x