Black Expat Interview

One of our goals for my Aspiring Expats site to motivate and provide information to black people who are considering making a move to a new country -- so we were extremely honored to have been asked to share our journey to Costa Rica in feature interview with The Black Expat!

The Black Expat, is a digital platform that focuses on the experiences of black expatriates/immigrants and international living.

You can Check out our interview here

If you haven't visited their site please jump on over and check them out. They have lots of helpful information as well as videos and interviews with people who have made the move! Enjoy!

Sisterlocks in Costa Rica

Black Girl Hair Update: 

Photo Source

Lots of ladies have contacted me regarding hair services for women of color.

I have posted some photos from my appointment with my Sisterlock Consultant yesterday. She came to my house to do my hair. I usually have to go to her home in Heredia. Perhaps if we have more people in the Grecia area we can work it out so that she will come to us. 

I have also attached her price list. You can reach Carmen at carmenhutchinsonmiller@gmail.com

For those with relaxed hair - in Grecia Central, I have finally located one salon that can do your hair. My friend Verdette went to him about a month ago. She doesn't have the name of the salon, but the stylist's name is Henry. Ph# 8949-9393 cell & home 2494-7356. Per Verdette - You should bring your own preferred shampoo and conditioner. Also if you have a preferred relaxer you can bring that too. He was running low on the one he had (you might ask him when you make the appt to double check) He uses only flat iron and no barrel curler. She had touch up, cut and style. The cost was $100 USD (which she thought was a bit pricey - maybe "gringo" pricing). But, hey, if you can't do it yourself, at least there is somewhere to go. 

IMO - Still best bet in Costa Rica is to have natural hair that you can do yourself although there will be more options for stylists in the San Jose area. 

Hope this helps!

Costa Rica's first INTERNATIONAL Sisterlocks client

Since I am Carmen's 1st International Sisterlocks client, that makes me
the first international Sisterlocks client in Costa Rica, right?


Yes, it does!

First International Sisterlocks Client in Costa Rica from Devon on Vimeo.

Sisterlocks in Costa Rica

My Sisterlocks appt yesterday in Alajuela Costa Rica

Sisterlocks in Costa Rica

On Tuesday I had my first Sisterlocks retightening in Costa Rica

We took the bus to Alajuela (22 miles away) yesterday so I could get my hair done by my new Sisterlocks Consultant. Her name is Dr Carmen Hutchinson-Miller and she was awesome!!! Did a great job and took about 2 1/2 hrs (normal) The price was $40. I pay $100 back in the states. Cost of the bus was $1.20 ea way and takes about 30 mins.  Some of you may remember I was searching for someone to do my hair before I left.

NATURAL HAIR RULES!!!

after my lock retightening

Dr Miller and me

I won this one hahaha

If you are in Costa Rica and would like to contact Dr Carmen Hutchinson-Miller you can reach her 
by email 
proudlockscr@gmail.com

Or Proud Locks on Facebook

Let the Sunshine in - Sisterlocks in the morning

I got a trim and a retighten yesterday - last one - before my move to Costa Rica.

Interesting shadows this morning from the sun coming into the window

Hair Chalk & Ribbon Loc Curls

I'm going to try this
Just ordered the chalk

What if it rains? And other hair dilemmas facing black women abroad

If you are a black woman traveling abroad -- or heaven forbid -- you are relocating abroad, I am pretty sure finding hair care and/or hair care products for "our" hair is a question that weighs heavily on your mind.

When I consider relocation, the 2nd most important question I ask (right after "where will I live?") is "who is going to do my hair?"

Some of you may not be as worried about the rain these days due to the increase in black women wearing their hair natural or wearing weaves, braids or other protectives styles, but the hair dilemma is real and effects black women no matter whether we are nappy or straight 

For my situation, try adding Sisterlocks to the equation, this only complicates the search even more!

I remember having the same hair questions when we were thinking of moving to Buenos Aires (I had NO luck finding any black hair care services/products there which ultimately led to my decision to not move there)

When I was in West Africa I expected to find a country full of natural hair but instead all I saw were weaves and braids.  Billboards advertising them were everywhere and I was shocked!

I don't claim to know much about the hair trends of black women in Costa Rica (yet). So far I have only seen the women on the Caribbean Coast, but I surmise that products and services are available -- at least on the Caribbean side. (I did not see anyone with Sisterlocks)

What black hair care products and services are available in the rest of Costa Rica? 

Not sure.

Are there salons that do relaxers or can do a press and curl? 

Are there any black run salons in the Central Valley?

Not sure.

What about my Sisterlocks?

Gotta know

So....My search continues

Stay Tuned...

Locs N Lips

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To end the year right, I made a trip down to Union Square to check out the Xmas decorations yesterday (since I did not dare go near that place during the height of the shopping season).

I stopped into Macy's to browse and met a delightful lady named Carla Thomas. She works in the make up department. We chatted for a bit and turns out we have some common interests (she's a writer, blogger, music lover and fellow traveller) Happy that I made her acquaintance.

Even though I have decided to use all natural products, I ended up over @ SmashBox and the lovely lady with me in the photo below, helped me with my brows and a new lip color (of course one cannot leave Macy's empty handed LOL)

The best oil for black hair

Have you ever wondered what are the best oils for your hair?

Source black doctor.org

We all want what’s best for our hair because the end goal is beautiful, healthy, growing locks! The problem is that sometimes we don’t understand the significant different ways we all must treat our hair to get to this point. 

Every type of hair is different, and therefore needs different types of maintenance. This is especially important when thinking about oils and what you put on your hair.

Every hair type needs a different type of oil. So let’s play matchmaker! According to celebrity hair stylist Corey Powell, “Hair oils are a great way to nourish and hydrate your hair, not to mention the perfect way to give your hair the exact vitamins and minerals it needs.”

He suggests that once you’ve determined the best oil for your hair that you treat your hair weekly with it, massaging it on your scalp and covering your hair with it as well. Doing a hot oil treatment will make these oil masks more effective.

Read the rest of the story

Happy Birthday to my Sisterlocks - Reflection on 15years of being loc'd

Today is the 15th anniversary of my Sisterlocks! 

It has been a very pleasant journey and embracing the Sisterlocks lifestyle has been a joy! I would not trade it for the world!

But I tell you what I will change. That is, the number of locs that I have. I really love the fullness of my hair but I am going to be retiring in Costa Rica, and so far I do not see that there are any licensed Sisterlocks Consultants there, so I am going to have to re tighten my own hair. 

The thought of this task seems daunting to me. So with the approval of my current Sisterlocks Consultant, we are beginning to combine some of my locs.  Currenttly I have in excess of 500. I would really like to get them down to somewhere in the 300's. We'll see

Stay tuned for the outcome. 

Today in celebration if how far I've come. I am reposting from my blog in 2000.

An excerpt from the day I got my Sisterlocks and a some thoughts pro.

Enjoy! 

My (Sisterlocks) narrative journey begins 2 weeks before the big event. These are actual excerpts from my journal. My desire is to give others a sense of what brought me to this point and the feelings I encountered as I shifted my awareness to embrace my authentic beauty.

2000

I'm writing this mostly for those who are considering locs or who are newly locked . I felt a sense of frustration because I had a difficult time getting information and I had many questions. Those of you who are comfortably past this stage may have no interest in reading about my thoughts so please click here to go directly to my site for photos, links, etc

2015

Day 14-...... As a 50 year old African American perm-a-holic, I've sported a ton of hair dos in my time!! I can honesty say that I am truly exhausted with the traditional ways of dealing with my hair. When I look back on it now-I think it's a little strange-that I never really questioned why I relaxed my hair or why I willingly spent so much time and money on it. As far back as I can remember, getting my hair done was rarely an enjoyable experience. Mostly it was done out of necessity (or should I say... a "chemical" dependency). A good hairdo was somewhat like the illusive butterfly! Getting it right was always just beyond my reach! I remember one Saturday, I sat in an over crowded salon for over 4 hours waiting for my turn in the chair. What-in-the-world-was-I- thinking? And what in the world are so many other black women thinking as they faithfully march off to the shop each week only to have to endure the endless, senseless waiting! At least that time I had the good sense to walk out.

Today is the day 11/3/2000 

Well, we're just about finished. It's been a little over 13 hours and my butt is numb! I can't believe her fingers still work. Gee, and I don't see a part anywhere! My hair is boinging out all over the place and I have cotton ball tips. I'm wondering "what kind of hair is this anyway"??? Che chuckles and assures me that all is well (although at that moment I'm not sure I believe her). She says my hair is is fine and my locs will be gorgeous! We rolled the top portion so that I could see that the cotton balls could be tamed.

Nov 2015

After the session I hurried home, excited but a bit perplexed. Somehow I thought my hair would resemble the pictures I had seen of other people after their initial locking session. The next morning I slept in late and didn't take any phone calls. I wasn't sure what I thought. I needed some time to reflect.

I certainly do not feel perplexed today!

Creamy Crack and the connection to fibroids in black women

The results of a new study in the American Journal of Epidemiology have some black women thinking about going “au natural” when it comes to their hair. A published paper from researchers at Boston University linked hair relaxers to uterine fibroid tumors in women and early puberty in young girls.

photo source

Led by Dr. Lauren Wise of Boston University’s Slone Epidemiology Center, scientists followed more than 23,000 pre-menopausal black American women from 1997 to 2009 and found that the increased rate of fibroid growth among black women may be linked to chemical exposure through scalp lesions and burns resulting from relaxers.

Read the rest of the story

Hair Day - retightening Sisterlocks (rockin the long locs)

Yesterday I had my retightening done. 

I have been going about 8 weeks bewtween sessions now.

I don't mind the new growth that comes with waiting a little longer

After the session my Sisterlocks Consultant snapped these candid pics