When I first considered dreadlocks, one of my main concerns was the feel of them. I'm not going to lie, the cost of dreadlock, compared to Sisterlocks, was something that attracted me the most about them. What made me stay away from the regular dreadlocks was the act of touching a couple of them (permission asked first by the way).

The first sets that I touched was way too rough (he didn't need or use beeswax since he just interlocked). The second set was much softer, and was done via palm roll, but the issue with that set was all due to the beeswax residue, which I hate. So I stuck with my natural hair for a while and continued to research Sisterlocks. Then I had the opportunity to touch someone who had Sisterlocks, and the decision to go with Sisterlocks was finally made.

Comparison

First thing first, hair texture plays a huge role on how soft your Sisterlocks can be. Another factor that plays with the softness of your Sisterlocks is the dryness level of your locks. Those two items alone can play a major role on how soft or rough your mature Sisterlocks will eventually feel to the touch. I can only speak for my texture, and how it compare to what I have touch in the past. Mines are indeed softer then beeswax version, but not by much.

If you ever had your hair braided with human hair before (micros braids) in the past, that how your Sisterlocks will feel if you have my hair texture.

Factors to Consider

When coloring locks, you need some kind of moisture, because your locks will get and feel super dry. That is why I will never recommend coloring for newbies who want to color before having Sisterlocks installed. I will also not recommend newbies to get their hair colored a couple months after either.  Just like when your hair is a natural, you need to moisturize, moisturize, and moisturize. You can't do that in the newbie stage of Sisterlocks. Even now, with mature locks and coloring with just the Jet Black color, my locks still need to be treated and moisturize.
What I Use to Combat Roughness

I don't spray my hair with water anymore, I'm past that stage now. The reason that I don't need to spray water on my locks anymore is because I use conditioners now, which helps combat super dry locks. I also like to use my Onyx Moroccan Oil, because it is super light, easy to apply, and doesn’t feel heavy. Another bonus with this oils is that it  DOES NOT leave any residue on my locks. That how I was able to finally put  my homemade spray to rest.

I was very picky when I got my Sisterlocks installed, so I never really like sleeping on them while they were wet. I do have friends and guests who have experience the "moldy" smelling locks, and the usual reason was either they did not let their locks completely dry after washing them or they have't completely washed out the products that were used on their locks prior.

If you enjoy making stuff, then this is something that you can make for your locks that is quick and easy. The cost up front may be a lot for some or very little for others. Even though this post is focusing on loc jewelry for sisterlocks, this tutorial can be used for any size locks. You just have to pay attention the sizing of every material you used.


Material Needed
Crochet Needle(s)
Needle Nose Pliers ( Wire Cutters)
Copper Wire 20-22 Gauge

Different Hair Types

Before getting sisterlocks, you should get to know your hair type by growing it out and wearing it out. Knowing this will help make the transitioning of your locks a whole lot easier, and save you heartache in the future.

For example, someone with really lose curls, will have a totally different experience vs. someone with very tight curls. The look of loose vs. tight curls will be different while the individuals are transitioning into mature locks. So while you are looking at pictures for inspiration, please keep in mind what I stated above, and don't assume your locks will look like theirs at any given year or month. Your texture, density, and head play a huge role on how your sisterlocks will eventually turn out in the end.
Now the explanation above came with experience, because when I had my first consultation, my consultant told me I had the perfect hair for sisterlocks, because it was very tightly coil, and it wouldn't take long to lock. That was the first time I was ever told I had "good" hair. Even though I left that day with the feeling of awe, it turn out that I did indeed have two different textures on my head.

Newbie Locks

Gwendolynne Sophia "Gwen" Moore is the U.S. Representative for Wisconsin's 4th congressional district, serving since 2005. She is a member of the Democratic Party.She is the first woman to represent the district. She is also the second woman and the first African-American elected to Congress from Wisconsin. You can read more about her here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwen_Moore

Base on her current picture, I would guess that she had sisterlocks for about 4-5 years now. Below are current picture of her sisterlocks








 Got to admire how she rocks them in serveral of her online photos ^_^.

Please note these pictures are not copyright by me what so ever. If you the owner of these pictures and would like to be recognized, just email me and I will include your name :). Most of these images were found on google image search.

Newbie Locks

Kind of late, but I wanted to be sure that she indeed had sisterlocks as of 2012. I pour through a lot of video & pictures and confirmed that she indeed have sisterlocks or very small interlocks.

I would say from the look of her pictures, she had her locks for about 3-4 years. Below are more pictures of what I believe are sisterlocks.







Lauryn Williams is a track and field sprint athlete of Trinidadian descent, competing internationally for the United States. She won the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's 4 × 100 Meters Relay.  You can read more about her here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauryn_Williams

Please note these pictures are not copyright by me what so ever. If you the owner of these pictures and would like to be recognized, just email me and I will include your name :).

Below is a custom made hair tie I made, and I'm giving it away to my CURRENT followers. This is not the norm I assure you! Normally, you have to sign up, and you be automatically enter. This contest is about loyalty, which I value more than having tons of followers. Currently my blog has 152 followers and those are the followers that can enter this contest. If you happen to following me afterward, I will be doing another contest later on this year. Below are my two requirements.

1. You first must be a current follower (part of my 152 followers) of my blog.
2. You must comment on my post with either your email address or your twitter account. I can send you a direct message via twitter if need be.

This contest will end June 30, 2012 so good luck! Please note: Winner will require a complete address to be emailed to my email address or twitter account. Winners will be selected at random.

Below are the step by step instruction on how to create loc hair ties for sisterlocks, dreadlocks, or thick natural hair. The initial cost may be a bit more at first, but once you have the main supply, doing your own hair ties can be quite a affordable solution to styling your locks. Also note: To make a functional hair tie, all you need is Gogo Pendant, Bone Hair Pipe, and Elastic Cord (2mm). All the other stuff are extra to make your hair tie pretty.

Material Needed
Elastic Cord (2mm)
Bone Hair Pipe (1 inch or 1 1/2 inch)
Donut, Beads, & Gogo Pendant (30mm or more)
Scissor
Beads (Optional)
Measuring Tape  (Optional)

Step 1: Figure out the design or color you’re going for and then select your gogo, bone hair pipe, and beads.

Step 2: Measure about 22 inches of elastic cord on your measuring tape or you can try eyeballing it.


Step 3: Take your elastic cord and slide it into the hair pipe.


Step 4: Then you going to even out the elastic cord and make a TIGHT knots around the bone hair pipe. I tied it 2x times just to be on the safe side.


Note: If the knots is not in the center don't worry about it, just move the bone pipe to the center of the knot.

Step 5: Put the two elastic cords together and then you going to take your largest beads (2-3 beads) and slide them both through the cords. This is just too hide the knots from step 4, as well as to give your hair tie a little bling. This is a totally optional Step.


Step 6: Then you are going to add your gogo, donut, or bead pendant through both elastic cord as well.


Step 7: You going to take the excess elastic cords and slide it through the first bead, this is going to be your gogo holder.



Step 8: Optional accent is to take the two excess elastic cords and just add different and unique beads to the ends. If you are not interested in accent, then go to step 9.


Here you can make thing even, or for a different style, uneven. Note: Make sure the last accent bead is small.

Step 9: Final Step is to tie and knots the elastic cord individually. That is what holds the accent beads & gogo in. Note if you have extra elastic cord at the end just clip them off.


Below is the final result of my custom DIY homemade hair tie. If you want to see what you can do by following the above steps click here.


Note: I had a Loc Jewerly on the left hand side of my sisterlocks. That is why you see a little silver thing by the Gogo.

I won the above shampoo and conditioner in a contest thrown by Jungle Barbie. I decided to release a review of these two products after a couple months of use. These two products are not recommended for newly install sisterlocks. I also decided to do some research on ingredients that are founds on our daily hair care products. I was under the impression that natural shampoo didn't produce any suds. This shampoo and conditioner did.  Once I have a complete understanding of common ingredients found in beauty products, I will then share my findings with you guys. Below are my thoughts on the shampoo and conditioner.

What it Claims
Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention Shampoo
Gentle, all-natural shampoo will help soften, moisturize and repair damaged, over-processed hair.
Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioning Milk
Moisturizes and repairs dry, lifeless, over-processed and damaged hair.

Likes
 - It cleans without striping (Shampoo)
 - It softens and retains moisture (Conditioner)
 - Sudsy (Shampoo & Conditioner)
 - Love the fact the conditioner can be used as an optional leave-in

Dislikes
 - I hate the smell. (It has a natural organic musk that I'm not feeling all.)
 - It has super strong smell. I don't like STRONG smells.
 - Crumps of the conditioner can get caught on the locks. I believe that is due to the pump, which helps with wastefulness, but leads to dry crump being stuck at the pump end.

I will continue to use this shampoo and conditioner after I run out of Misses Jesse. Would I buy this product in the future? Most likely not and that is solely due to the smell. I know they have other shampoos and conditioners on the Shea Moisture line, and if they have one that smell more feminine and light, then I would buy that instead. Do I recommend this? Yes, I do. I think the shampoo and conditioner will work great for a guy. If you are a female, I honestly don't see you liking this strong smelling product on your locks, unless you like wearing man cologne (I do have a friend that does lol).

Note: When using these type of moisturizing shampoos (Miss Jesse or Shea Moisture) you will have to clean and rinse out your locks thoroughly. I highly recommend a clarify wash once a month, especially if you wash your locks more than 3 times a month. This will prevent build up from happening, especially with these heavily marketed moisturize products.

I was checking out another dreadlocks forum the other day, since I needed to gather information for a post that I'm currently working on. To view that forum you have to sign up, once you have signed up you automatically get a profile page. That same day I received a "welcome" message on my profile page which wasn't all that welcoming.

"welcome sisterlocks are interlocked interlockinmgs very bad for dreades and should never be done as maintenance only maintenance you should do is washing and seperating to prevent congos but sisterlocks you probly should let alot congo so they wont be so weak"

I will not be advertising this particular forum at all! This site claims to be unbias about all methods, but with a welcome message like that, and all the warnings that are display on the site about interlocking, etc., fails to convince me otherwise. So after lurking for a couple days, I decided to leave. This site wasn't for me.


Rip & Twist - I literally cringe at the name lol. I looked into it and found that its not like interlocking. I believe "Rip & Twist" Method is more closely related to "Backcombing" Method than anything else. I mean seriously, with the wonder of the Internet, you think someone who so against every other method would at least get these 2 methods right. Right?

Anyway from what I gather of the two methods, both are ways to start off dreadlocks. I'm still trying to figure out how the "Rip & Twist" method is maintained. From what I gather, not 100% sure, you can either maintain the new locks by either interlocking (which I think is where the confusion lies), palm rolling, or by letting it be. It took me one day to find this information out, and this guy who is considered a guru couldn't find this information out himself? To Each His Own...I Guess.

Note: The image is of Jason Castro, and I don't know how he started his dreads, but I always thought his dreadlocks look real nice.

It official, today is Happy Loc Appreciation Day!!!! Today day is The 1st Annual Loc Appreciation Day created by Qochemist on YouTube. I know many of us celebrate our own anniversary and that is great, but today is really special because we now can come together and just celebrate being locked and free! Whether you have sisterlocks, interlocks, braidlocs, free-form or just natural dreadlocks, today is our day to appreciate. So let your locks run free, because today is our DAY!!!! May this day stay strong in the minds of many and hopefully convert many as well.  As one great artist once stated in his music ~ One Love, One Heart.

It hot and it getting hotter in Florida, and I tend to go to the beach, pools, and swimming park a lot during those time, especially the summer months. Going to those places are fun, and it gives my daughter and I time to cool down and have some fun, instead of being hold up in our home with the A/C going on full blast.

So yesterday I went to the pool, and when I went home, I immediately rinsed and conditioned my sisterlocks. I always had a rough idea what chlorine does to my hair, but I wasn't positive to say the least. I decided to do some research, and wanted to share my finding with you guys. I also decided to do a little twist to this post. I decided to show a benefit side, for the newly install lockers out there as well.

Note: Picture on the right is Pompano Beach (took that with my iPhone), which happens to be my favorite beach, because it sooooo nice. Look at that water =).

Chlorine & Beach Effects on Locks

We know that having chlorine in the pool protects everyone, as far as the beach is concern, mother nature is Mother Nature. Chlorine effect on our locks are similar to how saltwater (beach water) effects our locks as well. Our hair shaft has many layers, the outer layer called the cuticle, protects the inner shaft of our hair. The chlorine/saltwater for the most part, will stripe out the natural lubricant (sebum) or moisturizer you normal have on your hair shaft (cuticle). Once that happen (after many attack from the chlorine & saltwater) Chlorine & saltwater will start penetrating the hair shaft by opening the cuticle. Once that happen, the hair may not reflect light, and doesn’t appear as shiny.

Once the cuticle is disrupted, hair quickly loses moisture, and it can feel dehydrated and brittle. This is why you notice your hair becomes much dryer once you get out of the pool. If you continue going to the pool without protecting your hair, you can potentially damage your cuticle which will leaves your cortex unprotected, which can lead to what you call "split ends". For us lockers, we don't have split end, but you get the picture =).

First, this does not happen with one dip in the pool or beach. Second, the only issue we locker have to worry about is the dryness of our locks, since split end doesn't really concern us that much. So don't worry or stress about chlorine & saltwater on our locks (if you natural you still have to worry), and go enjoy the freedom of being locked. If you do enjoy multiply trip to the beach or pool, and want to add an extra layer of protection, look at the suggested tips below.


Ways To Protect Your Locks From The Chlorine & Beach.

• Apply a silicone heavy base conditioner before entering the pool.
• Or you can apply an extra layer of your own moisturizer, and thoroughly wet your locks for about 15-minute before entering the swimming pool. Your hair will absorb the tap water instead of the chlorinated pool water (this is what I will do from now on).
• Wear A Swimming Cap(I don't, since I don't go swimming every day, but if you do, you may need to invest in one)
• After you are done swimming, rinse your locks with tap water, preferably washing the chlorine or saltwater out with a mild shampoo. Then condition and moisturizer if needed.

Now there is an idea out there involving plain old saltwater, several people are raving about how saltwater can speed up the process of locking for the newly install dreadlocks.

This concept does makes much sense, since dryer hair would mat a lot faster (hence why baby sisterlocks wearer are advised not to put anything on their hair). So if you looking for a way to speed up the locking process check out the pool or beach as an option, without any extra layer of protection, and see if that would help. I would advise to at least moisturize at times, since you hair will not only be dryer, but rougher as well.

FYI, dirty hair DOES NOT speed up the locking phase, so please wash your hair, and let nature takes its course. Here is an interesting YouTube video I found of a woman discussing saltwater in general, and the effect on her dreadlocks, and how it helped speed up the process for her.