Sisterlocks, texturizers and curls...


Well the co-worker decided Sisterlocks were too expensive and not being able to take them out would be a problem. Yeah, Sisterlocks were never for her. She is currently wearing a texturizer and says she now has options including perming. She was even talking about curls, saying she didn't know they still did them in the shops. The horror! Damn, I thought curls were in the past. Anytime I see someone with a curl here in Montgomery, my mind often ponders, who the hell did their hair and where do you find the kits to do them. Seriously. I told her she must do what is best for her and best of luck with her hair.

When she came to me and said Sisterlocks were too expensive, I said they are but in the long run it is cost efficient. Now that I do my own retightening and only go for maintenance issues, I am happy to have a couple extra dollars in my pocket. I also stated that braids and perms cost way more than what it will take to begin the process, however, I told her I am happy she was able to do some research and learn about them and then realize what she would be comfortable with doing with her hair. It is her hair.

(When I wore micros from 1997 - 2004 I paid $800 a year to have them done and maintained every 6 weeks. $500 for human hair extensions, which had to be specially ordered due to the length I needed and color. Hair products such as perm, shampoo and etc. $100 a year. Then I switched to kinky twists in 2004 until August of 2006. They ranged in price from $195 - $215 every 3 months. I also stopped perming in 2004 so I saved on products then and luckily I no longer had to purchase the hair. You do the math, all that added together for as long as I had the braids is way more than what I have paid to get my hair done now. These couple of thousand over a 2 year period is nothing compared to what I spent to keep the micros, kinky twists and let's not forget my perming days hair looking tight.)

It is kinda sad in a way that she cannot love her natural hair in all its kinky glory. Honestly, she wasn't comfortable with the natural tiny afro. We as black folks do not know how to handle our own natural hair and until we do, all the things that harm our hair will continue to be en vogue. I don't knock folk wearing perms, because for some this is the best way to manage their hair. However, don't ask my opinion about perms and natural hair because I am going to say natural because I see too many crispy hair folks who have foul perms and have no idea on how to care for it. Whether you have a perm, braids or natural hair, you must know how to take care of it. Healthy hair requires time to maintain and not doing so means you will be walking around with hair that is not you crown and glory!