Saturday 2 August 2008

How To Take Down Sistelocks

Unfortunately, I did not take pictures of the process of me taking down my sisterlocks. The process spanned a couple of weeks, probably more than one month.

To take them down, I just did the opposite of what my consultant told me to do to keep them in :-)

The first thing I did was condition my hair. That lead to a lot of them, especially in the back, coming out on their own. The others I had to pick out one by one. I developed a "routine." At night, I used a push pin to pick some out. In the morning, did a conditioner wash (co/wash) in the shower, gelled my edges and pulled it all back using a headband. Since the ends of my locks were still out, everything pretty much looked "curly."

I've heard of some taking down their locks with the hair being wet or heavily saturated with an oil based product or conditioner. That didn't work well for me. I got better results working on hair that air dried during the day and taking my time to pick them out with the push pin at night.

Initially, I tried using a rattail comb and an unfolded paper clip. They didn't work too well. I hit the jackpot when I started using the push pin. The size of the push pin was perfect and it's pointed edge really helped to get the locks untangled.

To avoid getting frustrated or damaging my hair, I did small sections at a time. I wasn't in a "rush" to get them out because I figured out a way to style my hair "around" the process. I also detangled each section after removing the locks as I went along.

That's pretty much it. It was fairly easy. It just took a long time to do.

Here is a picture of my hair taken in May.





MissTwists

4 comments:

Angela Benson said...

I didn't know you had sisterlocks. I have them, too. I can't believe you took them down. I'm goign to have to keep reading.

Vee said...

Hi,
Just stopped by your blogspot. I am a certified consultant. I'm sorry to hear that you took down your sisterlocks. I'm curious, why did you have to wash so often? Also It looks like you have really soft hair. I usually takes a while for the hair to settle with such a loose curl pattern. Looking at you pictures it appears that you instillation was done correctly. Just my two cents. Of course Locking does take great patience good luck with you natural journey. You have a gorgeous head of hair.
Vickey

3girlsmomma said...

My mom always asks me if uninstalling Sisterlocks is possible without having to shave one's head.

Well... you've proved it! Thx so much for sharing your decision to do so and why. It's my impression that you don't blame anyone. (That's great!Seems your SL Consultant did her job...that IS what the whole Sisterlocks Consultation piece is about-- soulsearching if you will.)

You just have made a decision (I bet a hard decision at that) to remove your SL at THIS point.
More power to ya'!

I plan on doing a blog on this topic. I hope you don't mind me referencing your experience with a link to your site.(Reply if you do mind.)

I wish you contentment with whatever style(s) you choose in the future.

V @ Locks-N-Motion said...

I have missed so much. Sorry you weren't feeling your locks. You had to do you. THere is no problem with that. By the way I love your loose hair!