Purchasing info will be available on 31 December 2015 on this blog…

I enjoyed spending time with this little princess today. It took 2 1/2 hrs to retighten her Sisterlocks. We’re looking forward  to 2016!

My most favorite time to retighten my Sisterlocks is when I’m traveling. Whether I’m traveling abroad or in the good old  USA I make sure to retighten my Sisterlocks. My most memorable times have been while traveling in Zimbabwe,  during all three of my visits there I’ve made sure I retightened my locks. The beautiful landscape helped the time to go by faster. It takes approximately six to seven hours to complete my entire head so I pace myself, I normally work at two hour intervals or until my arms get tired. I start in the back, the locks in the back are larger than the front so I can knock those out quicker.  Finishing in a day is a feat that I seldom undertake.The longer I wait the longer it takes to get the job done. Sounds familiar…Right??? I use my pointer finger to gauge  when its  time to retighten my locks, for some this might be too much new growth. Some  may be wondering how I retighten my locks without a mirror, at first  it was really awkward  but practice overtime increased my comfort level and speed. I’ll never forget the time I joined two locks together while traveling home from Arizona. I was new to this whole business of retightening my locks so I freaked out a bit, fortunately I was able to untangle them once I got home to my mirror.  If you ever accidentally  combine your locks don’t panic, they can usually be untangled with a little work.  I just arrived home from a road trip, my goal is to  finish my entire head before 2016, I’m halfway there, wish me well!  Till next time be blessed.

If your grid is a little off your Certified Sisterlocks Consultant can often times correct minor parts that are not straight over time, this can be done during your retighening sessions. When the hair is loose at the roots it makes it easier to straighten out parts that aren’t so straight.  If the grid is really skewed it’s best to adjust what can be adjusted and leave the rest alone.  Grids may be off due to low density, hair loss or infrequent retights. Keep in mind that the grid only shows when the hair is styled in certain styles so a grid that’s not well established won’t take away from the beauty of your locks. The posted picture is of a client whose grid was compromised in the nape area. Her grid was established properly  but because of her active lifestyle and her need to wash her mature locks once a week her grid was almost none existent . It wasn’t difficult to reestablish her parts it just meant more time in the chair for her.  In order to keep this from happening in the future a few recommendations were made..

1. Come in to get her locks retightened at shorter intervals…every five weeks instead of six  weeks out. Once the slippage is controlled  her retightening intervals can be adjusted.

2. Use the Sisterlocks Starter Shampoo, the Starter Shampoo roughens up the cuticle, a roughened cuticle aids in the locks not moving around as much.

3. Bundle or secure the locks that are more prone to slippage during shampooing and working out. Sweat will cause certain hair types to slip and move around just like water does.

Pardon the blurred pictures…You get the picture:)

What’s under your Sisterlocks? Hopefully a well established grid. For those of you who’re just learning about Sisterlocks and don’t have a clue as to what a grid is, it’s the parting system we use when establishing Sisterlocks. The Sisterlocks grid is one of many things that sets Sisterlocks apart from other lock styles. A well established grid is what we consultant take great pride in. When your grid is on point you reap the benefits. Here are five main benefits to having a well established grid.

1. Greater styling flexibility  and ease in styling. You can rock that part on the side or wherever you desire, when your grid is on point even freestyles rocks.

2. Your retightening sessions are not as long, grids that are established properly facilitate the retightening process…Less time in the chair means more money in your wallet.

3. If you need to transfer to another Sisterlocks Consultant a grid that’s properly established enables the new consultant to retighten your locks quickly and efficiently.

4. Grids that are established properly allow for combining or splitting locks when necessary.

5. Properly established grids that are properly maintained will last for the duration of your locks.

I would like to add that there are times when a client may have low density, hair loss, thinning or breakage, when these conditions are present a trained consultant can provide you with a grid that will work best for your specific need.  As Certified Sisterlocks TM Consultants one of our main goals is to provide you with the absolute best foundation for your Sisterlocks to grow to infinity and beyond…What’s under your Sisterlocks my dear???

After seeing my post that it took only two hours to retighten the locks pictured below I got a message from one of my clients wondering why it took me longer to retighten her locks and they weren’t half her length…Well, I’m all for transparency. The amount of time to retighten locks can vary for many reasons, some of the most common ones or as follows…

1.The experience of your consultant, in the beginning there’s a huge learning curve that no one gets around, as consultants we’re taught techniques that facilitate our speed not impede it. These techniques take time to master, it took me over a year to get my speed up. Keep in mind that speed isn’t everything, you want a consultant that does a thorough job and won’t take shortcuts when retightening your locks.

2. Separating your locks is crucial to cutting down on the time spent in your consultant’s chair. For some reason many clients forget about the instructions to separate their locks at the root after shampooing. Locks that aren’t separated must be carefully untangled before they can be re tightened. This takes valuable time, you actually end up paying more for your services.

3. The number of locks you have, a client with 600 locks will undoubtedly take more time than a client with 350-400 locks.

4. Getting your locks done in a timely manner will cut down on your length of time in the chair as well. If you miss an appointment reschedule as soon as possible, otherwise you end up with more new growth which will take longer to retighten.

5. For those that feel they must oil their scalp and hair prior to re tightening please expect to spend more time in the chair. Oily locks are slippery and causes your consultant to drop her tool as well as slows down the entire process. Keep in mind oils can build up on your locks and scalp as well, this can lead to your locks not being as bouncy and light as they should be.

6. The circumference of your head also plays a role in how long it takes in retightening your locks, smaller heads take less time…well, it varies because if a smaller head has a thousand plus locks…due to low density, okay, not a thousand but you get the picture, it could end up taking just as long as a person whose head is larger with an average number of locks. Keep in mind that all heads aren’t created equal.

7. Consultants that talk with their hands and clients that move their heads when talking can slow down the process, now you know why your consultant doesn’t have a lot to say while working…LOL!!!

8. Certain hair types are more prone to slippage, slippage increases your time in the chair. Following your consultants instructions on how to care for your locks can minimize slippage and decrease your time in the chair.

9. What you do in the interim can increase your time in the chair as well…

a. Coloring your locks before it’s time can cause movement and slippage at the root due to the amount of water it takes to rinse out the chemicals, that’s why we recommend coloring before your locks are established or waiting until you get the green light from your consultant. If you must color seek out a licensed cosmetologist.

b. Not following your consultants instructions to bundle your baby locks can cause your locks to move around and bunch. Slippage and movement of the locks  will increase your time in the chair.

c. Using the wrong products on your locks can cause them to be greatly compromised, shampoos and conditioners that are laden with ingredients that don’t rinse out completely can cause your locks to slip and in some cases come almost down, this increases your time in the chair immensely. I personally have found the Sisterlocks products to work well in my locks, they rinse out completely.

As consultants we’re always trying to improve our game, we work hard at what we do and love every minute of it. We enjoy our time with our clients but want to minimize their time in the chair without compromising the integrity of what we do, therefore we’re always striving to beat out last times, that way you spend less time in the chair and we get to see more clients. Everybody’s happy!