Hair coloring is all the rage now, especially with dreadlocks in general. Since a lot of sisters are going the natural route, most are considering coloring. I'm not against coloring, as you can see, I have dealt with coloring and I'm still coloring. I'm noticing more and more sister are asking question about coloring, and whether they should color they hair prior to getting sisterlocks or after. They get the recommendation to do it prior. I don't recommend this at all. I never will. My hair was colored 5 months prior to getting sisterlocks. This gives me enough time to treat it correctly, and even with all the treatments I did prior to getting sisterlocks, I still battled really dry locks in the beginning of my journey.

When I wore my natural hair (before getting sisterlocks) I give it some color. It was a rich auburn color, and I had it bleach to achieve that very rich deep color I got. After time, the color faded while being sisterlocks. The early stage of my sisterlocks journey was very drying, and the tips of my locks did shed off. I wasn't allowed to put any type of product on my hair while it was transitioning. My hair got extremely dry during those times. Now that I added some new color to my hair, I'm now able to treat my color hair the way it should have been treated, when I first got sisterlocks.

Reason not to color too soon & the effects.

As you may know already, to go from black to blond or deep red, you will need to bleach your hair. The danger of that along is worrisome for me, especially where locks are concern. If you going to get it professional done, or apply the color yourself, you will need to be aware of the danger especially with locks in general.

When you dye your hair, most hair type and locks in general gets extremely dry, and if you getting sisterlocks install in week or even a month, you will be told NOT to use any type of products, other than the Sisterlocks Starter Shampoo. The reason you are told that is quite simple, you don't want any unraveling locks after your sisterlocks has been install. Unraveling locks equal to more time spent on the hair, which for some can be costly.

Most lock takes 1-3 years to mature (this depend on hair type), and if you want to avoid the major unraveling that can occur with sisterlocks, you will not get your hair colored during the settling stage. Keep in mind that you are asked not to put any product on your sisterlocks, so how are you going to treat your recently colored hair? Color hair does need extra care in order for it not to break. It will need deep protein treatment, intense conditioning, and moisture treatment. That is why I don't recommend dying your hair 1 week or even a month ahead of your installation date. If you want my honest opinion, I would wait until after your sisterlocks have been mature, in order to put coloring.

Some sisterlocks wearer will be a lot more successful with coloring, they may not experience any type of shedding, and that is largely due to hair type (will do a post about dry sisterlocks and who is more prone to in the future). My hair type is very tightly coil, easily breaks, and shed. If you get your sisterlocks with colored, please be aware that your hair will break and shed more easily in the early stage, largely due to the open ends and the use of none moisturizing product. So really think hard if you want to color your hair prior to getting sisterlocks.

Recommendation for Color

Here what I recommend when coloring your hair, if you decide to do it. If you do decided to color your own hair, the safest hair color option for african hair that is permanent, is haircolor without ammonia and peroxide bases. If you are thinking of getting sisterlocks in the future, and you want to retain your length, color your hair in 2-3 month in advance. I know you will have a lot of new growth then, but it will still look nice. If you color your hair prior to getting sisterlocks, please treat it extensively, knowing that you won't be able to put any product on your locks once you get your sisterlocks.


If you have sisterlocks, and you thinking of getting them (only if your sisterlocks are FULLY mature), I would recommend going to a professional. Hair damage is something that you don't want to play with. If you don't do your coloring correctly, you can end up with odd coloring, as well as damage hair. The most common reason for damage hair is inexperience, especially when coloring dreadlocks. A perfect example is when the chemical used in the coloring product is not properly rinse out of the locks, the chemical end up still actively working on the locks or natural hair, which causes more damage to the structure of the hair or the locks itself.

Safe Hair Color Alternative (Expensive though)

• Herbatint & Herbavita™
• Naturtint™
• Naturcolor™
• Light Mountain®
• Henna

Note: Even though they are safer, you are still changing the structure of your hair, those I listed above are less harmful to your hair.

Once your hair is colored, you will need to treat it. You will need a good moisturizer, especially if your hair type is tightly coils (4a & 4b), as well as a good protein treatment. Some protein comes from a hair treatments, other can come from a conditioner. Whatever you decide, do your research, and empower yourself with knowledge.

For some reason, we as African-American, have the notion that that shiny hair equal to healthy hair. Well it is not. If your hair is really kinky (very tightly coil) your hair will not be as shiny as someone with looser curls or even straighter hair. The kinkier and denser the hair is, the less likely it will shine far away.

Ever wonder why Europeans wash they hair every 2-3 days. The simple reason is that they hate the fact that their hair is always shiny and oily, hence why they wash their hair every day. Now we on the other hand, want to make our hair shiny, minus the oily look (can anyone say Jerry Curls). Just because your locks are not shiny doesn't mean they’re not healthy.

This post is about accepting your hair and changing how you think of oils and the use of oils. By the time you’ve finished reading this post you should think of oils as a way to moisturize your locks, and not as a shine producer. Now before I start, did you know that your scalp produces its own oil? On the diagram you will notice the Sebaceous gland, that gland is what produces oils on your scalp.

Below is a brief description about the Sebaceous glands taken from Wikipedia.

Sebaceous glands secrete the oily, waxy substance called sebum (Latin, meaning fat or tallow) that is made of fat (lipids), wax, and the debris of dead fat-producing cells. In the glands, sebum is produced within specialized cells and is released as these cells burst; sebaceous glands are thus classified as holocrine glands.

As you can see, our scalp does produce its own oil, the only people that would really notice it is someone with straight or looser hair pattern. The reasoning behind that is quite simple. The oil that the Sebaceous glands produce can easily travel down the hair shaft of someone that has straight hair vs. someone with very tight coiled hair. The looser the curls, the more easily the oil will travel down the hair shaft. That is why we don't necessarily need to wash our hair every day, because our hair just doesn't grab the oil as easily as straight hair would.

Now you are probably wondering about all the pictures you have seen with shiny locks and saying to yourself, “I want that look!” Well you can get that look by faking it. When I mean faking it, I mean putting unnecessary oil on the hair to make it "look" shiny . Also note that hair type plays a role as well. The ways you can go about making hair that is not normally shiny "shiny" is by putting heavy oil on it, but keep in mind that it is a temporary fix, and you will have to use a large amount of oil to create that look. A product that is commonly used for shine is Shea Butter. Another common option is using pure essential oil (not diluted) on your locks. I don’t recommend the options I listed above because A) Over time, putting unnecessary oils & products on your locks will cause major build up over time and B) If you have very thick locks, you can also introduce mildew.

Now you are wondering why you need any kind of oil for your locks. The simple reason is as follow - you need oil as a moisturizer. Now if you hair is dry then I do recommend adding oil to your routine just for moisturizing’s sake. I would suggest using oils such as Jojoba & Avocado Oil. Oils like these two for example are very good because they don’t penetrate the hair shaft as much. Below I list some of the oils that are very good for the hair and scalp, even if some of the oil does penetrate the hair shaft, they do come with extra benefits.

List of Good Oils & Interesting Facts

1. Jojoba oil is a fungicide, and can be used for controlling mildew.
2. Avocado oil helps to heal the scalp and leaves the hair with a superior moisturizing effect.
3. Castor oil is a humectant as it draws moisture into the hair and skin.
4. Coconut oil is excellent as a skin moisturizer and softener
5. Olive Oil can use as a deep conditioner and a dandruff controller
6. Aloe Vera oil can be use as an astringent (reduces oily build up) and fix damage from heat appliances

Please note that the above are what I consider carrier base oils and not essential oils. There is a big difference between carrier base oils and essential oils. I will talk about essential oil in a future post. Also note that if you are going to experiment with oils, make sure you make a future plan to do a BS wash & ACV Rinse.

I pretty sure everyone from time to time goes through stress and not eating right. I know sometime my stress level goes up so fast and hard, that I tend to lost hair as a result. So as you guys know (if you been following) I was battling hair thinning after my first year of being sisterlocks. Now that my hair is growing back beautiful, I started to do some research on how stress affects the body. So one night I decided to search for the term "stress depletes what vitamin" and found wealth of information on that topic. All in all, stress deplete a good amount of vitamin B (which is good for hair, nails, and skin) and as well as Vitamin C (which is good for immune system, eye sight, and much more). Another interesting thing I found out about Alopecia (turn out I do have Alopecia) is that it’s a condition that is thought to be an autoimmune disorder in which the body attacks its own hair follicles and suppresses or stops hair growth. Say what? Interesting huh! I'm not saying that if you increase your Biotin and Vitamin C intake that you’re Alopecia will be cure but I wonder if there is way to prevent it from coming up in the future. Taking vitamin to cure hair loss or thinning maybe another myth, like using a ton of coco butter will stop stretch mark, but it doesn't hurt to try, and I think peace of mind is always a plus.

In conclusion: Please be advise that this is my opinion guys - I truly believe Biotin is restoring the B vitamins that is being lost as you go on with your daily level of stressful environment. Vitamin C is improving your immune system which help fights against virus etc.

GNC Biotin 2500 and One-A-Day Womens vitamin has done wonders for my hair. With both of these supplement combine, my hair is on the right path of growth, with hopefully no thinning what so ever. Click here to find out what type of vitamin are believed to be depleted due to stress. I not a physician or a medical doctor, so please if you experiencing hair lost go see a dermatologist. Best investment you can make - Peace of Mind!

Now that my anniversary is coming up, I'm starting to get really frustrated with the back of my hair. For some reason, the back of my hair is different texture then the rest of my hair. For the most part, my hair type is 4a (Very tightly curled) but the back of my hair is more like a 4b (very soft and loose). I went ahead and took a picture.

One shows the back of my hair and the other show the side of my hair. You will notice the different right away. I just can't wait to be completely locked. This phase is taking longer than I thought.