Cutting My Sisterlocks - How To Layer Cut Your Locs

Hey Gang.

I’m really excited to share this video with you.  It’s not on YOUTUBE yet because it’s too long, but I wanted you to have the opportunity to see it in it’s entirety and without the distracting commercials on the LiveStream/Broadcast channel.  However, still check out the  replay of the live broadcast, because the chat session directly after the video was terrific.  Lots of great questions were asked and many useful tips were shared.  I’ll be coming back later to populate this post with the actual pictures that you see me taking during the video , along with some great feedback I continue to get from all of you.

My hope is that this video will give you some inspiration if you have very long locks and have been sitting on the fence about cutting your Sisterlocks or cutting your locs.  You’ll get some great tips on cutting locks just by watching the video.  ENJOY!!!

  

Enjoy the libray of live broadcast replays and see the complete broadcast on             how to cut your Sisterlocks and locs!

Phyllis’ Loc Journey

Hey gang. 

Although I’m good at documenting my client’s loc journey through photos and videos, I realized that I have just a few pictures to document my own.  In response to your continual requests to see photos of my loc journey, I spent most of the day looking for photos of my hair and was able to pull together a small collection from over a 10 year period. 

I’m happy to be able to share these with you.

 

Personalize your own digital slideshow

How To Find A Good Locktician

This post was inspired by an email I received recently concerning finding a good locktician. I really felt compelled to answer it because as an experienced locktician, I find myself repairing or “fixing” the locks of women who have had poor experiences and bad results with an inexperienced or a “Lazy Locktician". Here’s the email I received recently: 

 Here is my response….

Regardless of whether this locktician has experience or not, I would consider her a “Lazy Locktician”. First of all, I would never suggest cutting off 3½ inches of hair unless that hair was completely damaged. 

  I recently installed Sisterlocks on a client who had over 12 inches of naturally straight and dense hair. She ended up with 548 locks. I’ve had clients cut their hair to get rid of damaged ends or because they wanted to completely cut off all the permed ends, but at no time did I recommend cutting the hair to save me time in the process.   

    

 

 

 

Locking Gray Hair - An Update

         DAY 1 

Hi Gang! 

Here’s an update to the post Installing New Sisterlocks - The Journey.  In the initial post, which also featured a great video, you saw newly installed Sisterlocks that were very neat and styled by rolling on perm rods.  It’s been 4 1/2 months now since that date and below are photos that show what Felecia’s locs look like currently. 

Now, for those of you who have gray hair (I prefer "silver hair") or a straighter and smoother texture…don’t fall off your chair when you see the photos below.  Felecia was very well prepared via her consultation, her own research and continual dialogue with me on what to expect during her transition into locks.   Her texture and journey is so different from any of my other clients that we will continue to share her journey with you.

Felicia’s groomings are every 2-3 weeks and takes 3 hours.  When she shampoos her hair, the slippage is severe and retightenings take almost 5 hours!  The up side though is her hair is starting to settle (mat within the lock).  Her ends, some of which and especially on top, still have about an inch or so of perm on them.  Since Felecia’s curl pattern is long and wavy and  not "coily" at all, her ends are just loose and open.  They will eventually mat together as well and close up.

I really thought that since Felecia works in a professional office atmosphere and is very active with her church activities, she would be  curling her hair with the perm rods on a regular basis and be more self conscious about the appearance of her hair.  To my surprise and excitement, however, she rarely curls her hair at all!  So what you see in the photos below is pretty much her true texture and wave pattern taking over her locks.  I just LOVE IT…and she LOVES IT EVEN MORE! 

So check out the pictures and please feel free to share this post with other bloggers and your friends on Twitter (press the RETWEET  button above)

See Felecia’s initial loc installation  and video here.

Click on each photo to enlarge it and again to see magnificent detail.

    

    

  See…you wouldn’t even know they were Sisterlocks if you didn’t part the hair and check near the scalp.  Know that Felecia would definitely have a more manicured look to her locks if she curled them - Provided she rolled them correctly and making sure her ends were smoothed and wrapped around the rods very neatly.  They would look pretty much how they looked after the first day of installation.

But I’m really proud and delighted that she is going with the flow and embracing her natural beautiful texture.  Felecia is definitely representing!  Thank you Felecia!!!!

 

“When Can I Style My New Sisterlocks?”

This post is in response to a question I received from a reader with newly installed Sisterlocks.  She wanted to know if she could start roller setting her new locks.  I decided to make a post and respond to her question here so that more readers can benefit from the answer I gave her.  You can read it below.

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Hi Darlene.  The only time I ” roller set” the Sisterlocks is after the initial installation and only if the locks are straight.  Some of my clients have very coily,  highly textured hair and require no roller setting after the initial installation.  I then encourage my clients not to do too much additional styling during the first several months so that the locks have a chance to settle. 

Over the next several weeks your new Sisterlocks will change in their appearance.  They will loosen and “draw up” giving a shorter appearance to your locks.  Your hair will become more full and your parts will be less noticeable (until your next re-tightening).  Your locks may develop little spirally ringlets on the very tips and overall your locks will be more “fluffy”.  This is normal.  But, if you continuously style, by roller setting, plaiting, twisting, pulling it  back, or any type of additional styling, you may be stressing the locks and hindering the locking process.   It’s best to leave your new Sisterlocks alone doing the least amount of styling as possible.  When you’re manipulating your new Sisterlocks to obtain a style, you’re pulling and stretching at the lock that should be in a natural “contracting” stage, which is a stage that occurs before the hair starts to mesh together to lock.

So in a nutshell…less is more when it comes to your new Sisterlocks.  Enjoy them at this stage and allow them to develop so that you will have healthy, uniform and consistent looking Sisterlocks down the road.

Just a little side note…hair that is highly textured, kinky and coily - You know, the good ol’ “nappy” hair, can withstand more styling early on than hair that is smoother and softer in texture.  I have a few clients that have been able to curl and style their hair from day one.  I also have one client that comes to mind who suffers from major slippage because of the smooth, silky texture of her hair.  Click here to read her story

It has been my experience, however,  that the more you  manipulate your new Sisterlocks, the more slippage, unraveling and stretching of the locks will occur and you don’t want your locktician upset with you, especially when she’s already in you head for hours:)  Great question, Darlene.  Have a great hair day!

Installing New Sisterlocks - A Video Journey

Hey Gang…Great Video Below!

I’m going to enjoy sharing this post with you.  You’re about to meet one of my newest Sisterlocks client, Felecia.  Felecia, a very attractive woman, has been plagued with pre-mature graying of her hair since she could remember.  Because of it, the people who don’t know her assume that she is much older than she actually is.  And when going to a salon to get her hair done, they would always give her, “old fashion” styles.  Felecia shared with me that she has always permed and dyed her hair and was a very regular customer at the traditional beauty salons.  So like most of us prior to locking, Felecia had a regular routine of perming and coloring her hair, which translates into many hours in the salon, dry damaged hair and lots of money spent on a style that’s only going to last until the next humid or rainy day.  Permanent black dye was the only dye that would give complete coverage of her gray, but as her gray hair grew in, Felecia says that within a week and a half, you could see the conspicuous line of demarcation, which was literally “white going to black”.    Felecia, who works in a professional office atmosphere and who is very active in her church, chuckles as she recalls how her hair looked and was perceived when she was not only growing out her perm, but also growing out of her black dye.  She literally had black hair on top of a halo of white new growth, which she confidently wore in a straight afro. (Interesting.  I wish I had a picture of that.)  Also, as we get older, we desire to take better care of ourselves and Felecia realized that all of that chemical processing so often, needed to stop.

  It’s funny when sisters decide that they’ve finally had enough hair drama.  For most of us, once you decide to go natural, you become very determined about your hair and how you will deal with “non-naturals”.  People closest to you can’t understand for the life of them why anyone would come out in public with their hair like this…

 

I have to give it to Felecia.  She did her homework and actually interviewed two Sisterlocks consultants before finding me on YouTube.  On the day of her consultation, she rang my door bell, and as I opened the front door, I was greeted by THREE people -  Felecia and her two adult, natural-haired daughters.  The younger of the two had natural twists, which she maintained herself and she was just as excited as her mother.  The older one, however, who was more guarded and serious, had a head full of beautiful thick traditional locs that cascaded down her back.  She had been growing them for over 8 years.  During the actual consultation that lasted approximately 3 hours, they peppered me with lots of great questions in between the many questions that I had for Felecia along with watching videos, viewing pictures and asking her about her current hair regimen and her lifestyle. 

By the end of the consultation, everyone was relaxed and confident that they had received thorough and accurate info about locked hair and Sisterlocks.  It was during this time that I turned to the eldest daughter, smiled and asked, “Did I pass your test?”  They all chuckled and agreed that I knew my craft and admitted they wanted to make sure that Felecia (their mother) wasn’t going to be talked into anything and that the person installing her Sisterlocks knew what she was doing – we’ve all heard of the horror stories. 

That was funny to me and I occasionally tease Felecia how she came to her consultation with her “posse” and “both barrels loaded”.  But at the same time, I had to convey and re-iterate to Felecia that her locking process would definitely be challenging because of the smooth and straight texture of her hair.  She would probably experience a lot of slippage, plus she still had a few inches on top that were permed that she wasn’t ready to get rid of.  All my experience with gray hair confirms that gray hair has a mind of its own and will almost always work itself outside of the loc.  So I really wanted to prepare her for whatever technique she chose for locking.  Her process would be a lot longer.  Felecia’s hair won’t even resemble locs until close to 2 years in.  It will look more like a bushy afro until then.

 I will continue to document Felecia’s journey, so visit often.  I love the challenging heads.  You learn a lot from them.  Enjoy the video and wishing everyone a great hair day! 

After you watch this video, check out Felecia’s updated video and see what her Sisterlocks look like after 4 1/2 months!

 

 

                   

 

Curling & Styling Your Dreadlocks Sisterlocks & Locs w/Pipe Cleaners To Create Gorgeous “SpringLocks”

Hey Gang…Just a quick post to let you know that I’m just days away from officially launching  the SpringLocks instructional video!  Look up above and click on the tab for "Instructional Videos".  I put up a short page  and a great video.  Go check it out now and please "TWEET" and share with your friends.   Enjoy the mini gallery of my SpringLocks above.  Have a great weekend!  Click on each picture to make it larger. Click again to go even larger and one more time for EXTREME  details!  Click on the back button a few times to get back to this page.  Enjoy! Phyllis NEWS FLASH!!!!!!   The Springlocks Instructional Video Is Ready For Shipping.  Get Your Copy TODAY!!!   Click  this link to go directly to the page.  http://videolocktician.com/instructional-videos

Conditioning Sisterlocks/Locs With the Soul Purpose Shea Body Balm

Hey Gang!

This video is #3 of the 3 part series on shampooing and conditioning long locks, dreadlocks and natural hair.  If you’re doing any type of clarifying shampoo first, you will be thoroughly washing away all of your natural oils.  Well, those oils will need to be replaced.  Now the natural oil that your scalp produces (sebum) will work to help condition the hair closest to the scalp, but if you have any length to your locks or if your locks are color-treated, the rest of you locks will become very dry over time.  Since I and my clients have always “dry conditioned” our locks and use lock-friendly products, dryness is not really an issue.  Healthy locks are clean, supple and have a naturally soft sheen when well moisturized. 

As always, if you’re currently using products that you absolutely love and are working for you, then by all means continue to use them.  But if dryness continues to be an issue for you, then try a few of the Soul Purpose products along with the Healthylocks Conditioning Mist.  I highly recommend them.  Enjoy the video!

Have A Great Hair Day!
Phyllis Johnson
Your Video Locktician

Lisa’s Sisterlocks Video Reveals Benefits of Parting, Grooming and Retightening Techniques - 600 Locs On One Head!

Hey Gang,

Let me introduce you to “Lisa”.  Lisa has been a client of mine for the past 7 months.  I first met Lisa at one of my natural hair seminars that she attended with her aunt.  Although her aunt immediately became one of my loyal and appreciated clients, Lisa however, waited to begin her lock journey for 2 more years!  So I knew she was ready when she came to me for her Sisterlocks.  Lisa’s hair texture was very soft, wavy, and dense, and it produced a head full of endless beautiful natural coils.  It was 3-4 inches on top and almost 3 inches on the sides and back. 

Lisa is one of those “perfect clients”.  She was very dilligent with her hair care in between retightening sessions.  We had one set back though.  During a shampoo, she accidentally grabbed a moisturing shampoo and  most of her locks became extremely loose and many unraveled completely.  What normally would’ve taken me 3 hours to complete her grooming, took me almost 6 hours! 

Because of the softness and looser curl pattern of Lisa’s natural texture, she was on a “shorter” re-tightening schedule until her locks settled.  She’s currently on a 4 week schedule and the goal is 6 weeks.

Although 7 months has passed, Lisa’s hair has not begun to lock yet.  They are more settled though, and make for a great transitional style while waiting for her hair to lock.  I don’t encourage any additional styling or manipulation.  This is hair that you can just tousle and go!  Lisa absolutely loves her Sisterlocks and cares for them meticulously in between her visits with me…and it shows!

This was a spur of the minute video.  Lisa is one of those clients that I thought would never be open to sharing on video.  I asked, and to my surprise, she said, yes!  The lighting wasn’t all that great and the video has an orange hue, but the the content is amazing!  I’m forever grateful to Lisa for allowing me to document this part of her Sisterlocks journey and sharing with all of you!  Enjoy!  Thanks Lisa!

Dreadlock Interview Part 3 of 3 - Phyllis’ Dry Conditioning

Here’s Robin returning the favor!

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