Sisterlocks Truth or Fiction: Thinning Crowns?

I have heard countless times, that the crowns of Sisterlocks wearers seem to thin out. People wonder if there is any truth to it.

There is no sure answer, but it is likely to happen and here is why and potentially how.

In my Sisterlocks training, we were taught  to place "small" sizes in the front, "medium"  sizes in the crown , and "large" sizes in the back of the head. All sizings are relative to Sisterlocks.

As a Master Loctician,  over the years, I found the larger the loc reduces the amount of rotations. So the Sisterlocks in the front may need  tightening every four weeks, but the crown area may need 6 weeks to get a full rotation without it being too tight.

So essentially, unless all your Sisterlocks are equal in size then they are not going to be equal in needs.

Just food for thought.

How Often should Locs be tightened?

Loc Expert Benita Blocker

How often should locs be tightened? So Glad that you asked!  The smaller the locs, the closer to 4 to 5 weeks is recommended. Medium size locs, closer to 6 to 7 weeks is recommended.  Larger locs, 8 weeks or more is recommended.  

Why? The number of loc rotations decreases with the larger the loc's diameter is.  So small locs allow for the most rotations to stay secure so frequency is importatnt. Medium locs typically don't allow a full rotation until about 6 to 7 weeks.

Because my Sisterlocks are larger than many, at a four or five week period, I was at risk of being overtightened.  And initially, I did have a Sisterlocks technician to overtighten instead of informing me it was too soon for the tightening.  Sometimes the technicians don't know.

Articles like this can be used as a guide for both consumers and technicians.

A Guide to Determine Loc Startup Sizes

Do you remember the rules for roller setting?  The parting sizes should match the diameter of the roller or the rod.

The same principle should apply for locs.  For example, Sisterlocks tm founder Dr. Joann Cornwells' curl pattern is "short and shallow."  "Short" means the diameter of her natural curl patten is probably close to an 1/8 inch.  This is why the Sisterlocks technique that she founded worked so well for her hair type.  Micro sized locs were the best match for her short diameter curl pattern.

So am I saying that people with larger diameter curl patterns should not get Sisterlocks?  NO, that's not what I am saying.  You can squeeze a medium to long diameter curl pattern into a micro sized loc.  It will look a little stringy, but you can adjust your interlocking pattern to allow a little more volume from the curl pattern to shine through.

So what if you have a short curl pattern, and you get large size locs started?  It depends on if you have resistant hair or not.  Resistant hair shrinks, and resistant strands will try to pull away from a loc that is too large for its curl pattern.  For some people, you know how the hair on the edges always tries to pull out of the bigger loc that the loctician is alway trying to pull back into the larger loc around the hairline.

If your natural curl pattern is NOT resistant and does not shrink much, then you can have any size locs you want.  Your hair is pliable or flexible.  "You can have it your way."  A little humor here.

Now, what if you have two different types of curl patterns in your head?  Then you really may consider two different sizes locs for your head.  Obviously, if your two curl patterns that are entirely different, then choose the shortest curl pattern as your guide to loc sizing because the larger curl patterns can go smaller, but not vice versa.

Need a natural hair analysis?  Just schedule a loc consultation with me Master Loctician and Cosmetologist Benita Blocker!

My Locs: March 2014 versus March 2013

March 24, 2014 makes my One year and 8 months  Lockversary. Styling is getting easier because I am not following any rules. I am tackling every section of locs and every loc in its own special way.  I am feeling the texture of my roots and based on what I feel I am making decisions as to what it needs. Because shampooing locs will undo twisting in the areas of the locs that are not matured nor interlocked.

Also, remember 25% of my locs are smaller than the other 75% of my head.  The smaller locs are the ones that were initially done within the Sisterlocks guidelines.  These Sisterlocks sized locs are the ones tucked behind my ear.  They fall differently than the opposite side of my head. So I will forever have two front sides that will behave differently because the number of rows and sizes are different.  I sometimes get frustrated, but it is like surgery.  You have to be content that it is not worse and move forward.  I do not want to double the smaller locs because it is still not going to be symmetric on both sides.  I have decided not to split any locs either because I am definitely too far along in my loc length to deal with long and short locs.  So it is what it is.

The benefit of having the quadrant of Sisterlock size locs in my head is for me to really see if the size does matter.  There are many locticians that believe that locs need a larger base to support shedding hair and the weight of the length of the loc as it continues to grow.  I believe there is some truth to this theory, but it depends on the hair texture.  Looser, medium texture hair may never have to worry about heaviness because of the nature of their hair texture.  Some hair when put into water floats; some hair when put into water sinks.  I personally have both types of hair in my head. I talk about these two textures that I found in my head in my blog article about "lopsided" hair in January 2014. I will keep everyone posted long term.  Since I am constantly reminded every day when I style my hair that I have two different hair behaviors, I will not forget.

The only analogy that I can think of to describe how I feel is this:

What if one side of your head was rolled with "red rollers" and the other side rolled with "teal rollers?" Do you feel me now?  Who would roll their hair with large rollers on one side of their head and smaller rollers on the other side? 

Well, that is how I feel every day about my front locs. I feel lopsided.  Not because of hair texture, but because of loc sizing. Well, enough said.  In the spirit of Throwback Thursday . . .  my March 2013 picture below.