One month on

Just a quickie post. It's been just over a month since installation and am my locks are doing just fine. I have been washing weekly and experiencing little to no slippage. Can't overemphasis the  braiding and banding. My scalp is filling in slowly but surely. The hair has contracted and as that's happened, I started to notice a difference in volume to the two front sides. The right is less dense. To be sure, I did  a count of rows and noted 4 rows x approx. 15 locks a row short on the right and some locks bigger than what I would imagine is a medium sisterlock size. I got talking to my SL TC about this and she offered to re-do the front right quarter of my hair as part of the original package. No charge for this task. This re-do will take place mid October and that area will be six weeks behind the rest of the locks. Wonder how that will go down. I am loving the way the locks are developing. Check out my cute curly q's in the pic below.

I bunched, I braided, I banded…………

……..and carried out my first wash. I had no choice but to wash early because my scalp was a mess. A flaky itchy mess! Never mind that instructions were to wait at least two weeks. I was meant to get a wash at my first review, 2 weeks after installation. I took the plunge, reasoning that I ought to minimise the flakes in case they become unsightly build-up. Sweet relief!! Oh the blessed joys of water on my scalp.

I soaked my hair with equal parts water & apple cider vinegar and then shampooed twice with the SL starter shampoo. The reversal of the ACV rinse was my attempt at loosening and lifting as much flaking as possible. I am not entirely flake free but boy my scalp feels good.

I think I did a good job of washing my locks. I haven’t noticed anything untoward in terms of slippage or unravelling. Locks seem to have held up well. I separated locks bunch by bunch and airdried. I got some nice contraction and have a cute (if I may say so myself) TWA effect. I took several pictures of my freshly washed locks to enable inspection. My photos are thankfully not crime scene photos. Just evidence of good work, born of careful bunching and braiding and washing in one direction. However, I will await judgement at my review in 6 days. I will require another wash for this. Remind me again: Is there a warning about too much washing of babylocks??

I am mulling over issues concerning my lock count and lock size before I write about them. I feel unease about both of these.

Pictures to follow.

A very warm welcome to my little blog with big dreams to two new followers (YAY!!)  Kreyola and Lush Locks  . (Click name & link)

Wig, what wig? Gotta own the locks from the word go!

To think I thought of wearing a wig over my locks. The shame of it all.

Two days ago I attempted styling by using twist rods. The rods were a bit too big for my 5" lock length in that they gave me large curls that did nothing to minimise the so called "plucked chicken" look. At that time, two days ago, I was seriously contemplating getting to the hair store for a wig. Anyhow, come bed time, a wig cap over a satin bonnet gave me the compacted look you see in my profile picture and the scalpy look didn't seem so bad after all.

I did go to the hair shop yesterday and I am glad to say I bought no wig. I came out armed with rubber bands,  a silky hair scarf and pillowcase and small sized form rollers. I couldn't believe how little I spent. I was pleased and very smug about my decision to lock my natural hair. So smug in fact I found myself looking down at 'lye-ing' sisters in the shop. I was once a fully paid up member of that sorority - so I had to check myself. Natural hair epiphanies are personal. I am glad I had mine, just wish it came by sooner.

I've just finished curling my locks using small form rollers. Looking forward to see how that turns out. Check out my efforts in the picture above. I don't plan on too much styling as I rather like freestyle locks. I really just want to minimise the scalpy look until I fill in a bit more. My hair line is a whole other discussion. Will tackle that in another post.

Lock count: I doubt I have the estimated 480 locks on my head. Curled in bunches of 10 and I have not used 48 curlers - Again another post altogether.

And, and, I have my very first follower. Welcome motiv8ed4trubeauty . (click & Link)

My oh my, is that scalp I see?

Yes I am pretty excited by the locks on my head and the promise of things to come. Yet, I am contemplating  a wig (: - o *gasp! ) or a headscarf  for a few weeks. The scalpy look just ain't rocking my boat. I reckon I could do with a few more locks on my crown. Small locks as opposed to medium. Would small locks create more volume I wonder. I need volume on my crown. I haven't had my hair styled in any way yet, so will try something with setting rods and see how that goes.

A new dawn

And so I joined the sisterhood of the skinny & easily 'stylable' locks. Twenty six hours labour over 2 days and my sisterlocks were born. Oh my tailbone! But hey ho! I coveted  sisterlocks and by hook or by crook I was gonna get 'em. My loctitian estimated 480 locks. An actual count is pending. I started with a head of all natural hair up to 5" long. I can't tell you what hair type I have, except to say on installation day, my hair  was hard to the touch and even harder to comb through. My poor Consultant Trainee resorted to dipping her fingers in water to get it to behave some. That's not my hair's usual behaviour though. My hair is not very dense, perhaps medium dense hair on a big head. It is usually quite soft and springy, even without conditioner. I guess I can narrow down my hair's unusual behaviour to some over zealous scrubbing of the the scalp with baking soda + coconut oil followed by an apple cider vinegar rinse the day before locking. The aim was to be rid of spots of dry flaky skin on the scalp.  It seems to have worked.


I guess I noticed sisterlocks in the community because natural hair is where my head has been for a long while now. I just got fed up with all the hair drama. The more I noticed ill fitting wigs, that looked like hats on their wearers the more I decided on a natural hair solution for me.  Sisterlocks was that solution.


I want to thank all the sisterlocked women I stopped in supermarkets, on the street, at stations to marvel at their sisterlocks and ask a myriad of questions. Thank you for your patience and enthusiasm and allowing me to touch your hair. More thanks to the Consultant Trainees I contacted in the South East/West London areas.  I was awed by your willingness to spend your time on the phone with me and the selfless advice and recommendations of other consultants and trainees who either lived closer to me or had earlier availability. I was a sister in a hurry to get locked.

I am looking forward to my hair evolution.