Thursday 13 September 2007

DIM (Doing It Myself)


It's funny that recently I've read on a few blogs that people are considering maintaining their own SL's. For various reasons I have been thinking about the same thing for quite a while; the main one being that I'd like to take care of my own hair. Self retightening was always part of the equation when I made the decision to get Sisterlocks.
I don't intend to take the retightening class and figure, that like many others, I can work it out for myself.
I've purchased the latchin' e-book and at £4 ($8) it was a bargain; very informative and the pictures are a bonus. The thing is I'm not sure that I'd be any good with the latchhook, so I'm thinking I'll order the Nappylocks tool and use it to follow the e-book instructions. My only gripe with the Nappylocks tool is the price us brits have to pay for P&P; surely $15.95 is a little steep, that's the same price as the tool. But I have to look at the big picture, having it will enable me to maintain my own hair and in the long run
I have an appointment booked with my hairdresser next month and I'll schedule another for December (when I hit 1 Year!) and then I'll attempt to take over myself. Like others, I wonder about the conversation I'll have with my hairdresser about doing my own hair; I'll cross that bridge when I get to it...

12 comments:

Goodnapps said...

Welcome to the party!

muslimahlocs said...

good for you. i would recommend a little instruction though. i tried to figure it out myself and made quite a few mistakes. fortunately, my consultant was able to repair them after she stopped laughing.

Anonymous said...

I have the same concern. My main issue is that I have no idea when the next Sisterlocks retightening class will be taught in FL. I'm pretty sure I'll be purchasing the Nappylocs tool and asking my Consultant for help.

I don't know why I will feel so guilty about mentioning this to my consultant.. With every "Sisterlocks is initially a bit expensive" comment there is a "But after six months of being Sisterlocked you can take the class and self maintain". So consultants should be excited and prepared to hear this news from their clients.

Just remember they were clients once as well and decided to either take the class or learn themselves for, more than likely, the same reason as most of us. To have freedom..... or bragging rights for doing your own hair..LOL!!

Anonymous said...

Mel, I have been thinking the same thing for over a year, and have read many blogs on tips on how to self maintain, especially Brenda and Leighann's blogs, and the Yahoo groups but as my pattern is a 3 I can't find a blog to give me any tips how to do it, and still can't get to grips with it. I have ordered the Nappy locs tool more than 6 months ago and still going for regular retightens, and in that time the price has gone up. I can feel that the consultant is doing a kind of sewing motion to retighten the locks and wish i could figure it out. I under stand the class is only about 3 - 4 hours and i resent paying that sort of money when i can ill afford it in the first place. It will be interested to hear how your consultant receives your plan to self maintain without taking a class.

V @ Locks-N-Motion said...

First I would like to say go for it and I wish you luck. I too have decided to DIY, hey maybe we can give each other encouragement and pointers! Because we are going to need it. I think the nappylocks tool is much easier to use then the latchhook. All I can do is stare at the thing, lol. Well keep us posted on what happens. By the way your Sisterlocks are looking lovely.

Aya said...

Great news! Iplan to take the class at the end of this month. We can be an encouragement to each other.

N'Drea ~ the Storyteller said...

I feel so left out, y'all. It seems most sistas are taking the classes. I have no idea when or if there'll be any classes here in JA. I've also been thinking of taking a class, because I want to be able to maintain my locks, should I find myself in a situation where my consultant isn't available.

But good for you, Mel. Go for it!

Naturally Sophia said...

Keep us posted!

Brenda said...

It's all about what you feel comfortable with. For some reason, using the Nappylocs tool just doesn't feel good to me and I'm much more comfortable with my modified latchhook. Anyway, you'll have so much more freedom and money in pocket once you can DIY! Also, is the latchin ebook still only describing 2-point? It was when I purchased it about 4 years ago. But even without taking a class, I was able to figure out that I should do 4-point. Good luck.

AFunkyKindaGlow said...

I used a little safety pin the other day, to tighten the tiny ones in the front!
I do not like the Nappylocs tool, but maybe with practice.

Anonymous said...

I don`t have sisterlocks but in favour of taking back control of my hair! I stopped going to a loctician once my locs didn`t unravel after a wash. How about trying to use a safety pin. I couldn`t work out the latch hook, I found it too big and cumbersome.

A lady at my gym has/had sisterlocks, she maintains them herself and she never took the retightening class. She did correct me when I asked her if she had sisterlocks though! They do look great though.

Mel said...

Goodnapps, Thanks!

Muslimah, hopefully my hairdresser will give me a few tips.

MM, I don't know why having the conversation troubles me so either.

Locked Forever, thanks for dropping by. Like you, I don't really want the shell out for something I think I can teach myself. My pattern is a 4, so I think it's fairly straight forward. I don't think the 3 pattern is much different; it just misses out one of the points on the 'clock'. I'm sure that if you search on Lock It Up, you will find old posts that explain it.

Sistalocd and Aya, I think the time is right. My relaxed ends have gone and my hair seems to have settled. As far as I'm concerned my hairdresser will always be there if I need ym hair done in a hurry or I make a mistake.

N'drea, you can teach yourself too; many others have.

Sophia, I will do.

Brenda, the ebook describes the 4 pattern now. I must admit that the technique looks a little tricky, but I'll give it a go before ordering the nappylocs tool.

AFKG, are you completely retightening your own hair now? A small safety pin eh, interesting. I managed to tighten a lock that had slipped a little using my fingers.

Kathryn, I think I'll try and find a safety pin, just in case. I've also seen a guide to tightening with a hair pin; I might give that a try also.