Dreadlocks: Lessons Learned in 2013

 This is my August 2013 picture.  My last time having my hair "sisterlocked" was March 2013.  Five months Sisterlocks-free!  Same parting sizes.  Just new SELF-tightening technique!

Honey (as explained in my last article on this blog) is doing really well to keep my locks coiled.  Overall, they are not untwisting.  I did have a few instances where the honey made my neck sticky because I was sweating and the leftover honey on my scalp started sliding down. (What a visual? Right? LOL!)

Anyway, I just took a wet paper towel and wiped my perimeters and neck off.  Surprisingly, I have spoken with more and more people who use honey to avoid skin breakouts from other "lock products."  So those with sensitive skin will love honey for tightening their hair.

The honey works like a heavy moisturizer. I must admit my satin bonnet and pillow cases all look "greasy" but I have not attracted any ants nor bugs.  I will happily use the honey again and keep the wetness of my hair consistent before applying the honey if it starts to dry out as I am working my way through my hair.

Well, this picture is from January 2013.  I really suggest children start their dreadlocks between 10 and 12 years old.  Some people are born with "perfect shaped head and face" that they can look glamourous with a bald head.  And some of us, like me, need hair length to balance our distinguished features.  I found it difficult in my age 40's working in a corporate setting to start growing out Sisterlocks and/or dreadlocks.  I hated to feel forced to wear a wig to fit in with the workplace and also cause stress to my new $800.00 hairdo.  I really did not have a real support system.  People would say  "it looked great, but it was not for me. "  "My (their) husband would not go for it." Oh, "look at those little things.  Is that your hair?"

In hindsight,  I realized that I gained weight from the stress of coping with Sisterlocks and the "starter dreadlocks."  I even was laid off from my corporate hairdressing position within two weeks of initial Sisterlocks locking session.  My manager was African American, but obviously needed diversity training. I have a few other choice names to call this manager, but it would be inappropriate to post that here.  So I digress.

The founder of Sisterlocks' purpose was to empower women, but I found MY Sisterlocks journey to be a quick route through "hell" and back.  I made the best of it, and I am now back on track for happier days with my new approach to dreadlocks.  Thank God that I now see clearer skies, and I am on track to becoming more empowered as my locks gain length withOUT thinning out my hair density.  More on hair density later in this article.

Anyway, the younger you can start your little girls out with dreadlocks the better to cope with the peer pressure.  The dreadlocks or Sisterlocks need at least two years before they get to the length that most people start to really love them.  So starting at age 12 means by high school, the locks should be easy to style, and the girls should have some workable length.

This picture above shows the relaxed hair that is still hanging on my hair ends versus my matured lock.  My relaxed hair rolled up on the ends and formed knots while in the Sisterlocks' framework.  The Sisterlocks consultant really did me a disservice by locking my relaxed hair.  I honestly do not know if I had enough new growth to start Sisterlocks anyway. (Visit my July 2012 articles for my start of Sisterlocks.)

I had so much relaxed hair that I do not know if she really knew what she was looking at. My relaxed hair was never silky straight because of my natural texture. I digress again. ( I am trying to stay upbeat. Smile.)

Anyway, please do NOT pay to get your relaxed ends Sisterlocked.  They will either matte and lock on its own depending on your natural texture or NOT.  Either way, you will probably end up cutting them off at some point in time.

 Okay, my Sisterlocks consultant had started doubling up my locks within the first 3 months of getting Sisterlocks started.  She did not tell me.  I found this doubled up lock, and I was upset.  For those who do not understand the big picture, doubling up locks means your hair density is thinning.

For Christ's sake, if your hair is thinning out within months of starting locks, then something is NOT right.  Either your hair is the type that really does need some shea butter, olive oil or some sort of moisturizer  OR the interlock/Sisterlock technique is NOT a good fit for your hairtype.  It could be the Sisterlock technician's error in her interlocking technique.

Regardless, stop the madness!  If the doubled up strand is larger than the root area, then you are going to rip your hair out from the scalp trying to pass the "fat ends" through.  If you understand the interlocking process, then you know what I am explaining here.  If you do not understand the interlocking process, I encourage you to watch youtube tutorials on "interlocking dreadlocks."

By all means, watch your hair density.  In my December 2012 picture above, my second Sisterlocks consultant was twice as fast at tightening, but I believe that she was also causing me breakage and thinning.

Most of the length in this picture is still stemming from my relaxed ends that had not rolled up and knotted.   (i.e. my length above is from the relaxed hair that was put into Sisterlocks framework)

I kept asking the new consultant how is she sooo much faster than my last consultant.  Her answer was "age difference?"

No,  in hindsight, my hair was being ripped out.  The Sisterlocks consultants seem to like getting those Sisterlocks premium dollars, but they do not care if you are going bald in the process.  They just want to get paid without owning up to the fact that the interlocking technique or even the frequency of tightenings may not be working for you.  There are some exceptions . . . so yes, not all Sisterlock consultants are bad.  But definitely, do NOT trust that sisterlocks.com certified consultant list either as far as finding a caring, professional consultant.  I digress. (I swear - writing this article is taking me through an emotional roller coaster. It is amazing what I have been through on this lock journey.)

Also, if your Sisterlocks consultant is yanking your sisterlocks apart if they start to grow together, then I do not recommend this action.  Shears should be used to carefully cut the cross hair(s) if they can not be massaged apart.  Yanking on dreadlocks/Sisterlocks is what amateur locticians do; not professional locticians.  Yanking stresses the locks.

As you can see, I have learned a lot about dreadlocks over the year.  As for me and my dreadlocks, the best thing is for me was to do like so many other women with beautiful locks are doing - just do it myself and go to a loctician for updos, steam treatments, or other specialty options.  I do not want to risk too much lock doubling or combining.  I want to keep my locks as feminine as possible.

Thank God that I have found a loctician that I hope will work out. Our consultation went the best out of the three locticians I visited a few months ago.

I hope that this article helps others considering the lock journey for their children or for themselves.  Locks are a serious thing.  It's still hair and breakage still can happen.  Some sistahs with straight hair take sistahs with locked hair for granted.  I assure you that a sistah with long, beautiful locks are just as picky about her locks as any straight haired sistah is about her blow-out.  So don't get it twisted!

Dreadlock Analysis at 11 months

I wanted to do an individual analysis of one of my (Sister)locks at this 11 month period.  My dreadlocks have two transitions in them, but you probably can only see one transition in this picture.  The obvious transition is where I still have relaxed hair hanging onto the lock.  

1) From the scalp to the length of the clip is the finger twist tightening technique. (around 3 months of new growth)
2) From the end of the clip to the start of the "stringy end" is the Sisterlock interlocking technique.  (around 8 months midshift)
3) The "stringy end" is my relaxed hair that has been woven using the Sisterlock interlocking technique.

So I can not visually tell the difference between finger twisting and Interlocking as far as lock formation.  I can only tell where I have chemically processed hair.

My dreadlock pictured above measures over 5 inches in total length including over 2 inches of relaxed hair.  I actually wonder if I had enough new growth to have even started Sisterlocks 11 months ago.

So by my calculations, I gained about 3 solid inches of lock length in 11 months. Considering my coily, zig zag curl pattern never showed a lot of length until it was straightened by heat or chemical, I am comfortable with my growth cycle.  In another 22 months, I should be a nice full chin level bob without the relaxed, stringy ends.  It may even be sooner who knows?

Well, we shall see!

A Lesson about Hair Length

There are four chenille stems pictured. They represent hair strands in different curl patterns.  Which chenille stem is the longest?  The third one from the left?  The fourth one?  Which one looks the shortest?  The second one from the left?

Okay, some of you probably guessed the answer . . . .  all four chenille stems are the exact same length.  Can you believe it?  The shortest chenille stem measures under 2 inches, but the straight chenille stem measures 12 inches.  That is 10 inches difference which mean hair shrinkage is almost at 85%.  50% shrinkage of anything is a lot.  Can you imagine 85% shrinkage?

So when people comment on how short someone's hair is . . . do they really know the true length? Probably not unless you straighten it.  Then you can compare "apples to apples."


My Sisterlocks at 8 months curled with perm rods.



A detailed look of one of my Sisterlocks at 8 months with relaxed ends still intact.  As far as curly length goes, I am only visually seeing about an inch and a half of growth in the last 7 months, but I know that if my curly hair was straightened then it should measure about 3.5 inches longer.  This long locks journey is going to take me about four years versus two years based on what I am seeing.  I am definitely mentally preparing for the long haul.

Six Months Sisterlocks Check-in

 I completed my fifth retightening which was my second visit with the new consultant.  She completed my head in half the time of my old consultant. But I just found out in my Sisterlocks refresher course that I attended this weekend that my Sisterlocks should be tightened in the same grid pattern that they were put in.  Neither Certified Sisterlocks consultant has done this.  In addition, I realized that the new consultant doubled up one of my sideburns areas.  It was on the same side that I corrected before trying to get a smaller hairline.  So I had to undo that lock area again.  I am getting sooooo frustrated.   Not enough to get rid of my Sisterlocks, but possibly enough to spend the time to work on my own head.  I really understand why some customers take the Sisterlocks retightening class to do their own hair.  The Charlotte area Sisterlocks service options are brutal. Another classmate was also saying the same thing because she was looking for someone professional and strict to follow the Sisterlocks way of doing things.  I may switch to one of the ladies in the class.  We will see.  In the meantime, as my Sisterlocks mature, I can clearly see where my stringy relaxed hair is still hanging on, and my thicker new growth is getting longer.  The line of demarcation is pretty clear in the picture below.

As far as the Sisterlocks refresher course, it is even better now that I am taking the four day course again.  Why?  Because there was so much to learn and grasp on the first go around.  Now, that I have been "around the block" a few times, I have better questions and everything is so much clearer.

Unfortunately, there is someone else going through the same thing that I went through . . .  paid a lot of money ($600) for a "much less than perfect" Sisterlocks experience with a different Sisterlocks representative.  She came to learn the truth about her new Sisterlocks.

In my opinion, any consultant charging over $400 per head should be in refresher training every year or two years religiously.  It is good to network and re-commit to Sisterlocks rules and regulations.  Customers really need to keep detailed notes and photos and feel more freely about submitting formal, professional complaints to Sisterlocks headquarters.  I would love to see Sisterlocks keep the Consultants in check more.  I believe it takes four or five complaints submitted  per consultant for any serious action to take place.

Things to report would be 1) failure to get a Sisterlocks starter kit (the official one to mail off for your Sisterlocks birth certificate);  2) failure to maintain your original Sisterlocks grid pattern;  3) any blatant inconsistencies in the work that was done; 4) Sisterlocks falling out or unexplained thinning.  Sisterlocks headquarters prefers for you to resolve any outstanding issues directly with the consultant but if it is not going well, they can help.