It’s been just over two years since I last updated this blog (time flies!), and I’m back with my latest Sisterlocks update – and a commitment to post more regularly and return to creating YouTube videos.
As you can see, I still have my Sisterlocks, and they are thriving. It’s now been just over 7 years since I had them installed.
Length and growth
My locs have definitely grown, though my hair grows slowly, so you’ll notice a difference but not a dramatic transformation. I continue to nurture them with natural oils – a mixture of my homemade amla oil combined with shop-bought oils and shampoos.
Between washes, I use a refreshing spritz, especially after sweaty gym workouts. I rotate between two simple recipes: one is water with rosemary essential oil, and the other – which I keep in the fridge – is a mixture of aloe vera juice and water.
My evolving wash day routine
I’ve been washing once every two weeks, but I’m changing that routine to alternate weekly between shampooing and co-washing. This cycle (shampoo one week, co-wash the next, then shampoo again, and so on) will help keep my scalp and hair clean and fresh-smelling – especially important with my intense, sweaty gym sessions!
Combining thin hairline locs
About six months ago, I noticed that some of my locs were thin from root to tip, particularly along my hairline. To prevent breakage as they grew longer, I decided to combine them. The base is now thicker, and along the length where I twisted them together, the locs have merged. After cutting off the thinner of the two “fishtails,” those combined locs are now thinner at the ends compared to the root and the areas where they were joined.
Retightening experiments
Throughout the last couple of years, I maintained a retightening schedule every 4 weeks. However, mid-December marked a change – it’s now been almost 8 weeks since my last retightening. I’m experimenting with extending the time between sessions, and I’ll share more about this in a future post.
Henna
My henna routine has remained constant, though I now apply it as needed – which tends to be more frequently than before as the greys at my front hairline are coming through faster. After years of using henna, I can see a real transformation in my hair colour. I love how naturally it covers the greys, with the henna taking to different parts of my hair at varying intensities. The grey hairs reflect the brightest reddish-brown tones, while my darker hair absorbs the colour in more subtle ways.
What’s coming next
That’s my hair story in a nutshell, but I plan to dive deeper into each topic in upcoming posts and videos. For example, applying henna now that my locs are longer requires more time and patience, and I’ve discovered some helpful shortcuts I’m eager to share. I also haven’t forgotten my promise from my last post – the wedding hairstyle reveal is coming!
I’d love to hear from you in the comments. What topics would you like me to cover? What’s your Sisterlocks journey looking like?
LTL