Ever seen sisterlocks underwater? Well check out the pictures below. Having fun with my water protection case from canon that I purchase a week ago for my upcoming trip to Bahamas :D. Taking pictures under water is a lot harder then it looks.


Note: You can click on any of the images to enlarge. All image are copyright by me. Please ask for permission if you want to use any of my pictures.

I been in a stump lately and I can't get out of it. I haven't been in the mood to do anything creative with my sisterlocks. There are certain styles I want to do, but the length is not quite there yet. For example: I want to do some nice side buns, but my sisterlocks length is making that task impossible.

Anyway I went to my company first annual BBQ event on Saturday, and below are the result of my simple braid out. I decided to do a braid out, which is super easy to do, but is now taking longer to actually accomplish. Is there a faster way to do a braid out? I can't imagine when my sisterlocks are past my shoulder, how long doing a braid out would take. I also decided to try my new settling lotion (which has been sitting in my cabinet since last month).  For the most part, my sisterlocks are just bone straight and the longer they get the more I don’t mind. I hope this laziness soon fades.

I use to wonder about the washing and rinsing habit of hair salon. My hair stylist would wash my hair with warm water and then do a final rinse with cool water (which felt great). Even though I stop gong to the hair salon after going natural, I kept with the same washing process for years, and I had no idea why (same idea for the chlorine after rinse). So I did some digging around and found the reason behind the cold rinse. I found out that washing your hair in warm water (with shampoo) opens the hair shaft. Rinsing your hair with cool/cold water afterward will help close and seal the hair shaft. Pretty cool huh!

If you ever have a chance.....try the cool water rinse. I usually do this....
Once I have completely washed my sisterlocks with shampoo and conditioner (in warm water) I rinse my sisterlocks with cool/cold water to seal in the protein, moisture, etc. I also notice when I'm rinsing out my sisterlocks with the cold water, my hair is much more shinier, and the color is more rich & vibrant.

Here are recent pictures of my sisterlocks after a clarifying wash. Please note: These pictures are taken after my temporary instant amber hair highlights (if you need any additional peace of mind before trying that hair spray).

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.

I rarely wash my hair every week, and if I do, it is because I had a super icky week, meaning I sweated like crazy at the GYM and went to the beach etc. If I washed my hair that week, I DO NOT use my Aura Rosemary Mint Shampoo, since I consider that shampoo as a clarify shampoo, hence it stripe out everything.

Prior to having sisterlocks, I wore my hair natural and I did not use a clarify shampoo at all, since my hair was very tightly curl, and I needed to retain whatever moisture that I could. The shampoo that I used was "Miss Jessie's Crème De La Curl Cleansing Crème - 12 oz (See all Shampoos)" made by Miss Jessie, which doesn't have sulfate, and was very mild as far as shampoos goes. Also note that this shampoo is not sudsy at all! That the shampoo I use when I want a very mild washing.

So if you feel that you must wash your hair every week, then you MUST use a mild shampoo for those wash, and then do clarify wash when you going for retighten/interlocking session. It not the end of the world if you use clarifying shampoo only, but you will notice your locks will be SUPER dry, and you will need to use a lot of moisturizing product to bring back your moisture.

Final Note: If you locks are not dirty, don't wash them. Every two week washing for locks are fine, and our hair is not prone to oil build up that it require weekly washing like our European counterparts. So relax and don't worry about the status quo for washing hair/locks. Please be aware that this is for mature locks only, if you do decide to wash your sisterlocks every week as a newbie, you WILL have to bundle & band your locks each time to avoid unraveling.

This post going is to be short and sweet. Please don't do or apply ANY thing while your hair is wet, especially if you just wash your sisterlocks or dreadlock. The warnings are out there about the danger of that but I hear suggestion that goes against those warning.

It seems the more length you have, the more creative people are getting with their locks, which is great! Just don't apply any additional tension while the hair is wet. Your sisterlocks or dreadlocks just need to be lightly damp for any curls or braid out to be successful. Braiding your hair, and adding curling to your hair while it is wet, will not only introduce issues like mildew (since the hair is taking longer to dry), but your locks can end up rotting as well (rare but not uncommon). Never mind the tension you are adding to your lock that will lead to thinning locks and locks breaks in general. If you want to add curl or do a braid out after you have wash your hair, let the hair dry a little (until it is slightly damp) and then add whatever curls or braids you want. Never and I mean never add tension while the hair is dripping wet. Tension comes from braiding, curls, and even twists. If you want to make your curls last longer, then add a settling lotion before your routine. I don't use settling lotion, and I could care less if my curls last more than two days.

And finally, don't add extremely heat on wet locks or hair in general. Extremely heat comes from flat iron or plates, and blow driers. The picture on the right is what you are doing to your hair when you apply extreme heat to wet hair. The hair staff forms what I consider blister or what is common know on the internet as "Bubble Hair." I have read that lock sometime takes a long time to dry, currently my sisterlocks does not take a long time to dry, but I know it may be a problem with very thick locks or even longer lock, but I will still urge you to use caution whenever applying any heat to your locks.