Grooming Sisterlocks - Should You or Shouldn't You
1:26 PM |
| Newbie VS. Maturity - No Grooming Was Done Above |
Grooming is done via a separate appointment that addresses several "maintenance" issues and usually takes about 2-4 hours to do. The hourly rate would be the same as getting a retightening done. When a Consultant is doing a grooming, she goes to each lock and individually "trims" stray hair that is not forming around the locks for a more manicured look. She will also look to see if you have any bunching or any weak spot on the locks and repair those as well. The consultant should NOT be cutting into the locks or doing them in batches.
Who Needs It?
The debate on this varies. From the sound of it, it is usually done on individually that have gone a long time not maintaining their locks or for looser hair types. Note: There are some that have gone through this, and they have stated that their locks got weak from doing it, and saw no benefits. There are others, who did it, and got great results (an example can be found here). It all boils down to who is the doing it, and does she KNOWS what she is doing.
Current View on Grooming.
Currently, many consultants do not offer grooming, and do minor adjustment during the retightening appointment which includes "pulling down loose tension" that is not excessive etc.
Who is Against It?
They are many who are against it, and the main reason is that so few consultants know how to do a proper groom! There are some consultant that do it right, which involve the trimming of the stray hairs, but they are others that just run scissors along the locks, and cutting off the loops, and hairs that are sticking out the locks. Another reason that people are so against grooming, is the belief that the stray hair will individually warp around the locks, as your lock mature, and that the grooming session is not needed.
Conclusion
Getting a grooming done comes with high risk, so first you have to figure out if the risk is worth it. Is grooming something that you have decided that must be done, because you are unhappy with the fuzziness of your locks? Will getting this done impact your decision on whether or not you will cut your locks? Those are the questions that you should ask. If you do decide to do the grooming, you have to make sure your consultant knows what she doing. They need to know whether the hair is a loose end or a stray loop.
August will make me 4 years sisterlocked, and my consultant has NEVER asked me to schedule a grooming appointment. I highly suspect is due to my hair type, which reduces the chance of me needing to do a grooming. So far my locks are maturing nicely, and I do maintained religious, due to the size of my locks.
Note: JoAnne (the creator) chimes in on the "grooming" topic and most of the information is from her. I create this post to keep the information out there for anyone that is concern about grooming and what it entails.
10 comments
I've never had to schedule a separate session for grooming either. As far as i'm concerned, my loctician does what grooming may be needed at my re-tightening sessions. And in relation to trimming stray hairs, I definitely don't think that's necessary
ReplyDeleteEven if I was asked to do a separate session, I would have politely decline. I don't have that kind of money anyways, and I think my locks looked cute with fizz and curls in the beginning.
DeleteAnyway, I totally believe that those stray hairs will form around your locks eventually. You just have to be patience.
my loctician has groomed my hair twice in a 4-5 month period. she says its becuase of the frays..it has been a year and my locked are not fomed. I dont want her to contunue to trim my locs but she jnsist it is necessary.. I'm not sure what to do but I feel if she keeps trimming it will never lock.
ReplyDeleteAll lock will eventually lock, so that you don’t have to worry about. I’m wondering though if your grooming session is set at a different appointment? If it is, you can tell her you not interested; she can't force a grooming session on you. If she grooming while she is retightening your lock, that may be something totally different.
DeleteShe is grooming almost every time she is retightening. The last time I asked her NOT to and she didn't. This last retightening she insistead. It just seems that she pulls the shears out every time she retightens.
DeleteThat is so strange for her to groom every single retightening. If you truly don't like it, tell her you don't want her to groom your locks, and that you asking her to please stop. I don't understand why that would be a hard task for her not to obey on. My consultant rarely pulls out the shears and when she does it usually to cut ends that are hanging by a tread.
DeleteI worked in a salon the first year I got my certification. I cant count the amount of times I saw people accidentally cut peoples locs off and then hide it. So no I do not groom nor allow anyone else to groom my sisterlocks. Plus I love my fuzzy look.
ReplyDeleteI love my fuzzy look as well (now I miss them). Thanks for sharing this Zakkiyyah, because this may help others make the right decision.
DeleteHey! I wanted to chime in on this discussion. Depending on one's natural curl pattern probably should dictate grooming. A tradition White woman with locs probably can not expect her straight hair to naturally warp around itself. So anyone with loose, wavy, less kinky hair probably will have a harder time with Sisterlocks because their curl diameter may be bigger than the sisterlock sizing. What do you think about my theory?
ReplyDeleteYour theory is why I think grooming was thought off. More on the line of the client though. If they are not happen with the look of it, they may want to do the grooming to force the issue. I think in the end if you don't force the issue, it will do what it was supposed to do. I believe anyone hair can lock, but the appearance of the lock may look different until it is fully mature and that may take a longer time.
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