Reason #10 – Time is Money:
The time that I save getting ready every morning for work, church, just to go for a walk, every social outing, every drive past the beauty supply store, every time I don’t have to read a hair product label is time saved. Before locs, I was spending 1.5-3.0 hours in salons weekly for varied services-shampoo and set, color refresh, relaxer retouch, or precision cuts. Every moment that I can just be me, without worrying about my hair, saves me time and ultimately, that extra time saves me money.
Reason #9 – Maintenance is a Breeze:
I shampoo my hair every ten days with a $1 shampoo. I use rose water spritzes every other day to refresh my locs. My retightenings happen, like clock work, every six weeks. My consultant retightens every single loc each time (over 400), and it takes about four hours.
Reason #8 – Product Junkie No Más:
When I was a loose natural, I could have opened a store with all of the products I purchased. It was necessary; I learned so much about my natural curl pattern and the types of products my hair craved, but with Sisterlocks, no extra products are needed.
Reason #7 – Compliments Galore:
No matter where I go, no matter what I do…there is not one day that goes by that someone does not verbally appreciate the look, feel, or patience I must possess to wear my hair loc’ed.
Reason #6 – Money Cometh (Over Time):
The install of Sisterlocks is an investment, and if your hair is dense or long, you’ll drop a pretty coin for the install-anywhere from $350-$1500 depending on the market or region. The six week reti fee is less than what one would pay for six weeks of traditional salon services. Over time, the install investment pays for itself.
Reason #5 – Vacation is Vacation:
Worry-free hair makes vacation time all yours. You can engage in all manner of water, air, and land sports without worrying about your hair – before, during, and after the activity. You still can cover it or shampoo away the residue of a day of fun.
Reason #4 – No “Ugly” Phase: I was anxious to embrace every phase of the evolution of my locs in order to appreciate the growth from start to finish. From the curly worms of baby locs to the length of teen locs, at almost three years in, my locs never went through an “ugly phase” – mentally, I was all in, and I never cared about scalpy retis or what others thought about my hair. It was doing its own thing, and I was 100% vested from the start.
Reason #3 – Sweet Inspiration for Others: For friends, family members, and strangers alike, my locs can inspire others who may be on the edge of deciding whether to take the plunge. Maintaining locs requires patience. If you lack the patience to experience the evolution of your locs, this process may be a challenge for you. Returning to the alternative posed a bigger challenge for me than being patient and allowing my locs to grow, change, and evolve.
Reason #2 – Blogging (Look Like Me): In December 2015 when I big-chopped my relaxed hair, I could find no blogs with black women, who looked like me, with Sisterlocks-from install to growth spurts-so, I was driven to blog about my pre-loc state of being and the entire loc’ed process. I happened upon beautiful blogs of caramel-hued sistas with locs down their backs, but none with the initial starting point. I wanted to know what others with Sisterlocks were feeling, their insecurities, their challenges about their professional image…I wanted to feel a kinship, but also display images of my hair as it evolved weekly, monthly, annually. Blogging gave me a platform to discuss my hair and my newfound hair freedom.
Reason #1 – Styling Freedom: Perhaps the top reason for choosing Sisterlocks, interlocks, microlocks, or traditional locs is the freedom you gain from being able to wear your hair in so many styles-loose, updos, braided, twists, curly, ponytails, Bantu knots…you name it! The versatility is endless, and I can change my look daily if I want to do so.
Here are a few pictures from my final reti (6/2/19) before Year 3:
What a difference a year makes!
I’ll be back in mid to late-July to celebrate the next milestone!
Until then,
Andi D😘
The pictures (above and below) in the red tee are from my January 27th retightening. I asked my consultant to display the parts so that you could see more “scalpy” images to get a sense for how much work it is to maintain your locs properly. She touches every single loc, each time I have my six-week retightening sessions. I prefer to come to her with my hair freshly shampooed (the morning of my reti).
As you can see, the locs are varied sizes, lengths, and shapes. They are each evolving in their own way. 
The pictures below are from my most recent reti, March 9th. I’m noticing that my locs are a little less frizzy and more defined. Now that warm weather is on the horizon, they’ll get an opportunity to be more exposed to the sun and the ends of my hair tend to turn upwards – toward the sun. ☺️
In the midst of my hair-watch patrol, I had a great time in Newark! My locs enjoyed the early morning and evening eastern breezes. This picture (mauve tee) was taken while I was in Newark, about eight days after my last retightening.
Textures! That’s what I most appreciate about my locs in this “teen stage.” They continue to evolve, and the frizziness is becoming less and less as each loc becomes more compact and stiff, especially on the ends. In the picture above, I’m twisting on my locs, as I often do, waiting on my Frank to finish pumping gas and thinking about my vacation with my mom to St. Louis this week.
One of the things I’m noticing about my locs at this stage is that a few of them, especially around my sides of my head (my sleep sides) are weakening and are thinning in the middle of the loc. Because I have such thick hair, it’s not noticeable to the average person, but I see them and wonder if I should just let them be. I’ve pointed out one or two to my consultant, and she joins them when they become weakened.
The photo above is a pre-reti photo that I took for an ID badge-looks better than my driver’s license photo…which, by the way, was taken six years ago with a fresh post-wedding relaxer. Things have certainly changed! Ain’t no lye – about that!
You know the deal…no real makeup on reti day. 😘 I was poking around all morning. Now that my reti is done, I can enjoy the rest of my Spring Holiday. 
I’m looking forward to enjoying a long weekend with my family. Tomorrow is our 6th wedding anniversary. Yes, that hair was fried and laid to the side!
Today, on Good Friday, we celebrate My Frank’s grandmother’s 99th birthday. She is such a wonderful soul; as the matriarch of the family, we are so blessed to have her here with us.
I’m starting to get a little “hang-time” now. When I compare this picture from July 1, 2017:
to this one from February 10, 2018, the growth is evident. 
In 2017, I became more confident and secure in my personal and professional image, and while not all agree that Sisterlocks represent the safe, Eurocentric, and professional look that appeals to the average HR Executive, Head Hunter, or Hiring Manager, I have resolved that who I am, in truth and in light, can no longer be denied. My hair is only one part of my complexity, but it sets the stage for who I am on most days and in most situations: natural, individualistic, untamed, and expressive.
a year has made quite the difference in terms of my hair growth and regimen. My locs were professionally installed in late July 2016, and at the one-year “lockversary,” in July 2017, I acquired a new consultant. Over the past six months, I’ve been pleased with her care of my locs. I’ll see her again the first week of January, and like all of our previous visits, I expect her eagle-eyed attention to detail, that she touch and retighten each loc, that she inspect each loc for optimal health and make repairs as necessary, and that I leave her satisfied with the service, consistent cost, look, and feel of my hair.
This year, 2018, I resolve to stick to a ten-day shampoo cycle so that I am shampooing my hair roughly three times a month. At the end of each quarter (every three months), I will add a ACV rinse to the shampoo cycle for extra cleansing and purification.
This may sound weird…but the personal trials and tribulations I’ve encountered recently made me think about how things might have differed IF my hair was not locked, and on top of balancing the dynamics of life, I had to “do” my hair (or pay someone else to “do” my hair). I am convinced that the time i would have spent “doing” my hair and scheduling hair appointments on top of all of the other commitments I have, would have pushed me over the top-into a frenzied world of “it’s just too much.”
While many women see salon appointments as an escape to quiet, focused self-care; an opportunity to relax, read, catch up on social media pages…a spa-like indulgence, in my mind, the “hair thing” would have been just another thing to do, another daily obligation, another task that would take me away from full rest, simply another appointment to schedule and meet and do all over again the next day and week.
I’ve been wearing my locks for 16 months now, and as they continue to evolve, I realize that I, too, am evolving in so many ways. I truly feel that my hair is a metaphor for God’s hands in my life and each lock represents a singular blessing. Wherever I go, strangers compliment my hair. Every opportunity I have to discuss the freedom of my locked style is an opportunity to counsel someone who may need the motivation to take the step toward hair freedom. It’s not a style for everybody, but it is a lifestyle that everybody can appreciate if they want to know more about it.
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