Sisterlocks Transparency

This past Saturday I celebrated my one year of having sisterlocks. I also spent the day with my daughter at a friend’s house while my daughter got her hair braided. During this time we had great conversations about everything under the sun, but mostly about hair. My friend asked me how I was enjoying my sisterlocks and how the journey was going for me. I told her, without hesitation, that if I had to do it all over again, I probably would have gone the traditional locs or micro locs route. She was surprised to hear that response from me, but it felt good saying it because it’s the truth. My moment of transparency was not a moment of regret. Far from it. I love this hair freedom that I have! But as with any journey, there are things you wish you had known sooner or things you wish you could do over once you’re in the journey.

Why Traditional locs?

Neat Traditional Locs

To be completely honest, I like the thickness of traditional locs. I like the fact that you can make them whatever size you want them to be, and part them however neat or messy you want. They are also one of the cheapest options, especially if you start them yourself. The only thing I’m not too keen on is the palm rolling and the use of gel. I’m anti-products, and I prefer the interlocking method. Also, you can go as long as you want in between touch-ups. Reties/interlocking/palm rolling too often can cause stress and tension on your hair follicles which can result in hair loss. For that reason, I’m all for going as long as possible before having to manipulate my hair again. Also, traditional locs, depending on how many you decide to have, can be self-maintained by you instead of spending money to let someone else do it. I think if I didn’t have sisterlocks, I would be more interested in maintaining my own locs. Having so many tiny locs just seems so overwhelming to maintain for me.

Why micro locs?

Micro Locs

Microlocs give you the same look and feel of sisterlocks, they are just a little bigger. Once again, you wouldn’t have to worry about a super detailed trade-marked grid. How many locs you choose to have, how you part your hair, and if you start them with two strand twists or plaits are all up to you. They are equally as beautiful as sisterlocks in my opinion, and a much cheaper option. Being in the loc community I’ve had the chance to see all versions of locs besides sisterlocks and how beautiful they are in their different shapes and sizes. I like fullness, and I know my locs are still maturing and have not gotten to their full mature size yet. I need to give my locs time and be patient.

combining my sisterlocks

My friend suggested combining my locs when I expressed to her that I wish my locs were thicker. I told her that idea has crossed my mind several times, but I will wait until my locs have fully matured before I do anything. Who knows, I may still combine them to get the look that I want. At this point almost everything is a possibility for me. Sisterlocks have given me hair freedom, but I’m also looking at self-maintenance very seriously. What if something happens to me and my family financially where I can no longer afford my reties? What if something happens to me physically? You just never know what tomorrow will bring because tomorrow is promised to no one. I’ve had several of my loc’d friends stress to me learning how to maintain my own locs, and I’m starting to see the wisdom of their words. It’s always good to know how to do your own hair no matter how you wear it.

Stay tuned!

My loc journey continues you guys, so stay tuned! It’s not over, it’s just beginning. I’ve gotten through my first year of having sisterlocks and it’s been amazing. But there are things that I want to do or explore like coloring my locs, possibly combining them for a fuller look, and self-maintaining them. As much as I love my loctician, the idea of saving my coins and taking care of my locs myself is starting to appeal to me and make sense for many reasons. Just as life evolves and keeps moving, so does your hair and how you choose to wear it and maintain it. I’ve gone from getting relaxers to going natural, and having locs. Each required me to take care of my hair differently, and I’m okay with that. Have you combined your sisterlocks or locs? Were you happy with the results? Chime in!!

One.Year.Sisterlocked.

Although my one-year mark isn’t until Saturday, I wanted to post something now while I have all these thoughts and emotions coursing through me. I seriously thought I’d never get to my one year mark, especially after my sisterlocks were installed. While I was super excited about having my sisterlocks, I also had nervous butterflies in my stomach. But I forged ahead because I was loc’d and loaded – literally. There was no turning back. I invested (mightily) in myself, and I’m worth every penny and more!

In the beginning

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  Installation day 11-16-2018

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  Consultation September, 2018

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  Installation day at the shop 11-16-18

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  One month

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  Various styles I attempted during first month

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Various stages from installation till five months

In the beginning, I was unsure of so many things: When to wash my locs, how to style them, how to make the stringy look go away. Eventually I figured some things out like washing your locs is the key to them not looking stringy. Washing your locs is also key in your locs swelling. But I quickly realized that I wasn’t one who could wash her locs too often because slippage was a huge problem for me.

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Months 7-8

Having locs also didn’t stop me from being a lazy natural. If anything it encouraged my laziness, lol! I love not having to wash my hair so often. I love getting up and going. I love not putting anything in my hair. I dread wash day because braiding and banding is such a pain, but also a necessary evil. I watched in amazement as my hair began to transform before my very eyes. Over time, my locs became fuller, and they grew and flourished. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. But I also felt that this was all due to me following the sisterlocks rules to the “t”. I wasn’t bucking the system like so many others. Then I had a rude awakening.

Girl, what is wrong with you?

I became so obsessed with doing everything the right way when it came to my locs that I literally lost myself. I became drunk off the sisterlocks kool-aid. And that’s not to say that the sisterlocks way is wrong. I’m not saying that at all. However, what I had to learn, and it took me almost a year to learn this, was that you have to cater your sisterlocks journey to you. The suggestions and rules that are in place may work for some, but it won’t work for everyone. My wake up call came when I began to have horrible itching and dandruff around my 10th month. That’s when I knew that trying to do everything by the sisterlocks book was doing more harm than good to my scalp. Once I had that realization, everything came full circle for me. I stopped obsessing and I began to relax. I appreciated my journey more. I stopped being so afraid of ruining my locs.

There were some other minor bumps in the road along the way, but I managed to get through them with the help of other sisterlocked sistas via YouTube or Facebook. Support groups are so important to your sisterlocks journey. I can’t stress this enough. Sharing ideas, experiences, frustrations, and getting answers to your questions is essential. Yes, you should first ask your consultant if you see one regularly. But oftentimes it’s good to talk to others with sisterlocks and hear their experiences, tips and tricks. Not all advice is good advice, but be sure you know how to sift through the information and take what you need from it.

What this year has taught me

Having sisterlocks for an entire year has taught me many things. As with being a loose natural, patience is key. You have to be patient. Looking at pictures of those with long, mature locs is not going to help you. If anything, it’ll make you impatient and have unrealistic expectations. This year has also taught me the beauty of embracing new journeys and everything that comes with them. You’re going to have your good days and bad days, unwanted comments and suggestions from family, friends and even strangers. Keep powering through it all.

More importantly, I think this year with sisterlocks has taught me the strength of my confidence. No matter what anyone had to say, it never made me second guess my decision to loc my hair. I embraced my locs and wore them with confidence from day one. Having sisterlocks have made me super aware of other women with sisterlocks or locs in general, and seeing how they rock their locs with the same confidence is everything. It reaffirms everything positive that I already feel about having sisterlocks. I used to think that rocking loose natural hair took a lot of confidence. It does. However…rocking locs of any kind takes a lot of confidence and courage. Let’s not mention the stigmas and sterotypes associated with having locs. It’s enough to make anyone think twice about getting them!

Hair freedom

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  Photo taken 11/13/2019

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  Length check in the mirror

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  Bantu Knot Curls

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  Photo taken 11/13/2019

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  Lightly Flat ironed sisterlocks

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  Bantu Knot curls

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  Photo taken 11/13/2019

Months 11 and 12 sisterlocked.

I’ve never experienced this kind of hair freedom before, and I love it. At this point in my journey, there isn’t anything that could make me get rid of my locs. With sisterlocks, I’ve found the hair freedom I’ve been looking for and it’s only bolstered my confidence and enhanced my appreciation for locs. More importantly, sisterlocks have taught me patience all over again. I had to let go of the idea of controlling what my hair does and trust the locking and growth process. Growth will come and your hair will loc. Trust me. Letting go is hard for many to do, but once you do, you’ll be amazed at how your hair flourishes when it’s left alone to do what it do. Document your journey with pictures. Seeing how much your hair has grown when you think it isn’t growing, and seeing how much your locs have matured over time will blow your mind.

Now that I’m one full year into my sisterlocks journey, I cannot wait to see what year two, three and beyond will bring. I’m excited, I’m humbled, and I’m thankful. Thankful that all of my experiences as a loose natural led me to seek something more permanent, sisterlocks.

Winter is Here. How Do You Protect Your Locs From The Enemy – Lint?

I live in the midwest. Winter officially started on October 31st, 2019 when we got 5+ inches of snow in my city and various parts of the state. The ground was too warm for the snow to stick, so thankfully it mostly melted on impact but stuck to the grass and trees. Other areas further north weren’t so fortunate. They actually had to get out their snow blowers. Speaking of digging, I’ve had the pleasure of digging out me and my families sweaters, winter coats, hats, scarves, and gloves. I usually don’t have to do this until late November or December. Anyhoo, I LOVE a thick, cozy turtle neck sweater or some other warm sweater. But I also have locs that continue to grow. So how do I protect them against lint?

Up dos to the rescue

Recently on Facebook someone with long locs gave the suggestion of wearing updos to protect your locs against lint. While that sounds like a perfect idea at first, how practical is it? Speaking for myself, I’m not keen on always “styling” my hair, nor am I good at up dos. This isn’t to say that I can’t practice or learn how to do better up dos. Maybe I can just braid my hair more and wear my locs that way? I’ll need to ponder this more. But the end game is to combat getting lint in your locs as much as humanly possible. Nothing is more irritating than seeing lint in your or someone else’s locs. It simply isn’t a good look, and it only contributes to the stereotype that locs are dirty and look unkempt. Those with locs know this isn’t true, which is why we must do all we can to keep our locs looking neat and clean.

If you’re styling challenged like myself, you’re going to need ideas and inspiration. Images of simple styles always help me feel less inadequate and gives me the push I need to take a stab at trying something different. So please enjoy the collage of photos I’ve collected that will hopefully help you to be creative when it comes to protecting your locs from lint during these cold winter months.

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Up dos for locs with a little inspiration from Natural Hair up dos.

I included some natural hair up do’s because I found that a lot of the up do’s for locs are intricate and detailed which is the opposite of simple. You can look at loose natural hair up do styles and draw inspiration from them to use on your locs, and vice versa. The whole point is to get your hair up and away from brushing against your sweaters, turtle necks, or scarves.

If you have medium or long locs, how do you keep your locs from getting lint during the winter months? What kind of hats do you wear? Do you put much thought or effort into protecting your locs from lint at all? Let me know in the comments below!

Sis. Where Have You Been?

Yes, I’ve been M.I.A. for a short minute, but for a very good reason. I’ve been busy BAKING COOKIES! I’ve started back baking cookies and trying to get my side gig off the ground. (If you’re confused, keep reading and then click on the link for my cookie blog to get all caught up.) For the past month I’ve been baking every Saturday, filling orders and shipping them. It’s been fun, busy, and very, very exciting. It’s been my dream for so long and I’ve finally taken the final leap of just DOING IT. I’ve started and stopped so many times over the years that I’ve finally gotten to the point of realizing that if not now, when? If you want to see for yourself what I’ve been up to, check out my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SonyaSweetSomethings/. I’ve also started a blog about baking cookies and you can follow it here https://sonyassweetsomethings.wordpress.com/

What about my sisterlocks?

As far as my sisterlocks go, I’ve been doing some experimenting! Lately, I’ve been thinking about flat ironing my locs. Don’t ask me why, but I’ve been intrigued by it ever since I saw the cheesy sisterlocks video on the sisterlocks website almost a year ago. Now that I have some length and I’m just a week away from my one year loc anniversary, I figured ‘why not?’ So a day after washing my hair, I got the flat iron, put it on 370 temperature (my flat iron goes to 410) and went through my locs once. I made a video about it. Check it out!

They looked stringy, but it made me happy to see the length! So after an hour of enjoying the length, I quickly realized that I couldn’t walk around with stringy locs. Plus I had some place to be the next day, so I needed to do something. Curls. I wanted some curls and some volume. But I hate sleeping in rollers. Years ago I wouldn’t think twice about putting rollers in my hair. Now, I can’t do it.

Bantu knots to the rescue!

One of the quickest ways to get curls as a loose natural was always bantu knots for me. So I took small sections of my locs and spritzed them with a water and oil mixture, two strand twisted them and then put them in bantu knots all over my head. When I went to bed that night, they didn’t hurt my head when I slept nor did they come down. The next morning when I took them down, I had a head full of glorious curls! I also made a quick video to show you the results.

There are a lot of people who don’t like straight locs and prefer to have curls in them. I’m not one of them. But I must say that I loved how my locs looked after doing bantu knots. I did the bantu knots Saturday evening. Today is now Thursday and my hair is still holding curls. Many swear by curl formers and other loc curlers, but I swear by bantu knots!

hows my dry itchy scalp?

Funny you should ask! First off, the temperature where I live is currently 13 degrees. That wasn’t a typo. It’s 13 degrees outside and we got more snow yesterday. Yes, more. We got 5+ inches of snow on Halloween. Gotta love Wisconsin weather! So since we’ve completely skipped over fall and jumped head first into winter, my dry itchy scalp is only going to get worse, which means I need to be more diligent about keeping my scalp happy. This means washing more often, and oiling my scalp with a water based oil concoction that I’ve created. They are all light oils that are great for the scalp and help the scalp combat dandruff while promoting hair growth: vitamin E oil, sweet almond oil, peppermint essential oil, tea tree essential oil, and a dash of castor oil.

Also, I add peppermint essential oil OR tea tree essential oil to my sisterlocks dandruff shampoo. It’s soooo soothing and provides instant relief to my very itchy scalp. After I dry all the excess water out of my hair, I spritz my scalp with my concoction and I either let my hair air dry (if I know I’m not leaving the house anymore) or I’ll blow dry it on low heat. So far this has been working pretty well for me and my scalp. My deathly fear of having build up in my locs due to using oils is a thing of the past. I don’t use oils daily, only after a wash, and even still I’m going to play it by ear as we get deeper into the cold winter months. I may need to use oils more often.

Welp, that’s it y’all. That’s what I’ve been up to. How about you? How are your locs or loose natural hair doing? Let me know! I’d love to hear from you! ❤