There are two main reasons why you should steam your locs: Moisture and Hydration.
Let’s get into it.
Moisture & Hydration
Moisture is important to all hair, but especially to locs. Once you loc your hair, it becomes harder for water to penetrate the hair and get to where it needs to be. That is why dry, brittle locs are a problem for loc wearers. This is also why those with locs are encouraged to drink plenty of water daily and spritz their hair with some kind of water or water based treatment.
Another factor to consider is living in a cold weather environment. The winter months can be brutally cold and dry. These conditions can have harsh effects on natural hair and locs. Without proper moisture, your hair will become brittle and eventually break off which makes steaming your locs even more important.
Hydrated locs will feel soft and look shiny and healthy, but the hydration needs to start on the inside first. On October 14, 2020, the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, found that an adequate daily fluid intake is: About 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids a day for men. About 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women. Proper water intake is key to proper hydration for your overall health, body and hair!
Gentleman getting loc steaming treatment
The Benefits of Warm Steaming Your Locs
Warm steam lifts your hair cuticle which allows treatments to penetrate the hair shaft. It also opens the pores in the scalp that allows for better absorption.
Cleanses your scalp and locs by loosening up dirt and dead skin.
Encourages blood flow to your hair follicles which promotes hair growth.
Helps fight against dryness and breakage and instead gives you soft, shiny locs.
How To Steam Your Locs
Let’s be honest, hair steamers are not cheap. Just go to amazon.com and price them. But there are ways around this.
Use your shower to steam your locs. It’s cheap and convenient.
If you choose to purchase a home steamer with the hood, make sure you do your research and buy a quality one.
Purchase a hand held steamer. It’s cheaper than a hooded steamer and you can take it anywhere you go.
Boil a pot of water on your stove. Carefully sit it in front of you and hold your face and locs over it and take in all that nice steam.
For ultimate moisture and hydration, oil your scalp with your favorite oil (preferably a light oil) before steaming your locs.
Hey y’all! Usually I’m good at staying on top of the closing of one year and the start of another. By now I would have already blogged about the good and the bad of 2020 and what I look forward to in the new year.
It goes without saying that 2020 was CRAZY! I mean major crazeballs. COVID19 – need I say more? But as it relates to my locs and the decisions I’ve had to make regarding the care of my locs, 2020 wasn’t all bad. Hear me out.
In 2020 I Took Charge Of My Hair
You guys, I’ve blogged and vlogged about my displeasure with my sisterlocks consultant who established my sisterlocks. Let’s recap: Not only was she a scammer who practiced bad business, but she was doing a half job on my locs! She was skipping whole sections of my head but still charged me full price for her services. She was constantly trying to find new ways to get more money out of me all while providing bad services. She was habitually late to my appointments constantly, running behind with her appointments 15-20 minutes even though I always show up early. She would have people come in during my appointment so she can provide services to them while I wait. Granted I didn’t find out that she was skipping whole sections of my hair until I started seeing someone else, but I made the right decision to stop letting her janky butt touch my hair.
How did I take charge of my hair? First, I found someone else to do my reties and that’s when I found out that my previous loctician was skipping whole sections of my hair. That news angered me, but it also put pieces of the puzzle together. How can you possibly zip through almost 400 locs during a retie in an hour? All that pulling she did on my hair pretending like she’s doing the 4 point rotations when really she was only doing one or two rotations – if any at all! We’ll talk about the damage she caused to my hair later.
While going to the second loctician I decided to combine my locs so I could have bigger locs. That was something I had wanted to do for a long time, and it turned out beautifully thanks to my sister-in-law. It was some time after this that I found yet another consultant who also did not work out, and from there I decided to do my own reties. So far I’ve done one full retie of my entire head. I made some mistakes along the way but I didn’t stress over it. I was too busy being proud of myself for taking charge over the care of my hair. I felt empowered and accomplished.
My sisterlocks establishment in 2018 vs my combined locs in November of 2020
Using My Platform To Help Others
Throughout this whole process, I decided to use my platform on YouTube to help others. I made videos about my horrible experiences with my first loctician and the following ones as a public service announcement to others to beware. Beware of the red flags, the lies, the scams. It is my goal, my mission to keep others from going down the same road I did, and I considered myself “informed” and had done “extensive research” before getting my locs! It just goes to show you that sometimes none of that matters because when you encounter a scammer, they prey on what you don’t know about sisterlocks. I knew the basics, but there was so much more that I didn’t know.
A plait out on my combined locs, 2020
I think it is so important that women go into their loc journeys as informed as they can be. I go into detail about the things they should look for, the questions they should ask, and more importantly, don’t be afraid to walk away if something doesn’t feel right or seem right. You have a choice, there are other ways to get the look you want for much cheaper than sisterlocks, there are other people you can see to get you started on your loc journey OR…you can take charge of your own hair and start your locs yourself using two strand twists or plaits. So many women who are thinking about locs don’t realize the options they have and that’s why I vlog about it on YouTube.
Starting Conversations About the Ugly Underbelly of Sisterlocks & The Loc Community
By me speaking on my bad experiences with sisterlocks, much needed and long overdue conversations has begun on my YouTube page and elsewhere. For some reason, it was taboo to speak against sisterlocks because many believe Dr. Cornwell is this fearsome woman who will somehow jump out the shadows of the room and get you. All this woman can do is sue people, but she can’t sue because someone is speaking their truth about their bad experiences under her brand! There are others who feel that we as black women shouldn’t speak bad about another black woman who is a successful business owner. Ummm… come again? Bad business is bad business – I don’t care what color or gender you are!
I thought I had bad experiences with sisterlocks, but once these women started commenting on my videos I realized my experience paled in comparison to theirs! And that’s a shame. That truly breaks my heart that there are so many women out there being taken advantage of and robbed blind. So many are being overly charged for sisterlocks but what they were given weren’t even sisterlocks!
Within the sisterlocks community, there was no safe space to talk about the bad side of the company. Most sisterlocks Facebook pages were pro-sisterlocks. If you questioned anything or complained you would get jumped on verbally and told to go elsewhere with the “negative talk or negativity”. These people want to ignore the problems in sisterlocks but today, I am so glad that so many are speaking out and sharing their experiences on YouTube and other places. There is wonderful advice given, support, and knowledge being shared.
Hoping For A Better 2021
I feel even more determined to continue to be a resource and a safe space for women to talk about their experiences (good or bad), to provide comfort and guidance and help them get back on the right track with their loc journey. No one should feel silenced, no one should feel stuck or feel that they have to continue to take the bad service they are receiving.
More importantly, in 2021 I hope to hear less horror stories. I hope these horrible locticians, sisterlocks or otherwise, are called out and put on blast as a protection to others. And I hope the great, wonderful, caring, ethical locticians are shouted out, praised, and given all the accolades for caring about what they do and the women and men they service.
May all of our hair grow abundantly, flourish, and be healthy in 2021 and going forward.
Going Back to my Natural Roots 