In this post I discuss starting my Loc Journey. As you may already know, I am an advocate for holistic healthcare and living your best life. For me keeping my hair in it’s natural state is a part of that holistic journey. Over the years, I have learned to embrace my hair in it’s natural state. However, I believe people should be free to do whatever they want with their hair, so this post is not meant to persuade anyone into going natural or growing locs. At age 46, I have been wearing my hair natural for most of my life. I have not straightened my hair at all in the past twenty years and I have never worn a weave. I have worn braids at various times in my life including box braids and mirco-braids. I even tried faux locs a few years ago, but I have never had a sew-in, quick weave or none of the weaves. Also have never done the lace-front wig.
Over the course of my journey with natural hair I have done the “big chop” a few times. I actually love myself with short hair. I always get multiple input from others that ask me “why did you cut your hair?”. Sometimes it almost seems as if they are angry about it. I be like wait a minute ain’t this my head? When I do grow my hair out, I typically keep it trimmed every few months and don’t let it get too long. A little past shoulder length is usually as long as I let it grow. When you have thick, coarse hair it takes time. I never use heat on my hair so when it’s longer air drying can take a couple of days. My ritual since high school has been to wash, condition and do a hot oil treatment weekly. When I wore my hair relaxed back in the day the next steps would be blow drying, curling, styling, etc. As a natural, wash day would be concluded with detangling and then preparing my hair for air drying either by braiding (plaits) or banding sections of my hair. If you are not familiar with banding I will explain it a little later.
My last big chop was December of 2018. I felt so free. I wore a short fade haircut for about one year (2019) and then start letting it grow back in 2020.
Locs Establishment
After letting my hair grow out for about a year, I started my Locs. My Establishment Date was January 19, 2021. After debating between Sisterlocks and Microlocs, I decided to go with the Microlocs. I have approximately 350 Microlocs. Which took approximately 10 hours to establish. I was able to watch the entire Bridgerton Series, during my appointment. I caught most of it between dozing off a few times😁. I will be looking forward to Season 2.
Some of the things that you need to know about Microlocs are that when you first start them you will most likely have the “scalped chicken” look meaning your scalp will be very visible. Fortunately, for me my hair is pretty thick so mine isn’t that bad. I have had my locs for a little over a month now and they are starting to settle in but there are a couple of spots in the middle of my head where the scalp is still visible, I am anxiously awaiting those spots to fill in. If you are interested in what’s the difference in Microlocs and Sisterlocks, I will give you my brief opinion as a non-professional. You should should speak with a trained Sisterlocks Consultant for more specific information.
- Microlocs by definition are small locs, that are much smaller in size than traditional locs
- Microlocs can be started various ways (braids, twists, interlocking).
- My Microlocs were started through interlocking
- Interlocking involves using a tool to start and maintain the locs versus using a hand technique such as palm rolling
- Sisterlocks is a trademarked brand of Microlocs that has certain specifications
- Some of the specifications for Sisterlocks include: must be established by a trained Sisterlock Consultant (trainee, consultant, ambassador-there are different levels), done with a tool specific to Sisterlocks-you can only access this tool if you have completed the training, follow a specific grid (parting pattern) specific to Sisterlocks, sizing specifications and approximately 400 locks-varies depending on head size and hair texture
As stated I am not a professional so for more information you should talk to a trained professional. My Lotician is a trained Sisterlock Consultant, and after doing my research online about the different types of locs and having my hair consultation, I decided to go with the Microlocs. Here are my reasons:
- I personally think you cannot tell the difference between Microlocs and Sisterlocks just by looking at them
- I am not that particular about a specific parting pattern. As a loose natural when I did my two strand twists I never parted them, just grabbed hair and twisted. I always got compliments and people would always ask me who does my hair, so the parts where a non-factor in my opinion
- My hair is thick and grows rapidly so the grid will only be visible for a few days to a week after re-tie at most
- The final factor is that Microlocs are less expensive.
I paid $650 to start my Microlocs. It would have been $850+ for Sisterlocks. Getting these types of locs is a financial investment so you definitely want to do the research and make sure you know what you want before you spend your money. The pricing will depend on many factors including the size of your head, the length of your hair (the consultant will measure), the density and texture of your hair, as well as supply and demand in your geographic area. If you live in an area where there are not many trained consultants they may be able to charge more. If you are thinking about getting Sisterlocks you can pay $2000-$3000+, based on length and texture.
Loc Maintenance
You will also need to factor in money for the regular maintenance, which will typically be anywhere from 6-8 weeks. Depending on your hair growth you may prefer to get your retightening (re-tie) a little early. I think I will probably stick to around 5-6 weeks, because my hair grows at a pretty decent rate. Your consultant will ultimately decide how long you can go between re-ties. If you choose to go past the recommended timeframe you may be charged additional fees. I recently had my first re-tie which took a little over two hours at a cost of $80.
When you are newly loced you will be told to “braid and band” your hair when you wash it. This is to protect the ends of your hair and help assist with the locing process. I continue to wash my hair weekly. I also “braid and band” when I workout because I sweat a lot in my head. You will braid a group of your twists together and then tuck and band the ends. I used to band my loose natural hair, after washing and detangling to allow it to dry in a “stretched” state, because I have a lot of shrinkage and otherwise it would be matted down to my head the next day. So braiding and banding is not new for me. You will need to braid and band until your consultant approves you to wash without doing this.
You will be restricted to using only one hair product when you begin your Microlocs or Sisterlocks. For Sisterlocks you will be given a starter kit that continues instructions, Sisterlocks Starter Shampoo, and bands for your hair. Since my consultant is Sisterlocks trained she included a starter kit with my establishment. Since then I have purchased more shampoo online and bands from Target. These are the only products you should be using until your consultant approves you to use other products.
I am only one month into my loc journey but I am loving it so far. My hair is always “done”.
