Hi I'm Eileen. Having gone through pressing, curly perms, ordinary perms, back to curly perms, plaits, weaving, wigs made to fit, my hair was getting tired and weak. I went to a hair show as I do yearly at Brick Lane. The only difference was I did not realise this was a "natural hair" hair show. I ventured into the Sisterlocks tent there I was inspired by a bevy ladies wearing Sisterlocks. The speakers were convincing enough to allow me to put thought into this new concept. Previously the thought of locks would merely horrify me but this was some thing different, especially as I could see how my hair would be in six months to a year's time.The beginning of my journey was to grow out the perm process in my hair which was the hardest part.

When I had reached the level of re growth as indicated by Carol Lawrence my consultant, I could not wait to get it done. Now one year on I have a healthy head of Sisterlocks admired by all. I can't see myself going back to anything else because of its versatility and low maintenance.

Pictures 2007/2010

Hi, my name's Joan and I am a 48 year old IT Trainer. I have been wearing my hair in Sisterlocks for two years.

Carol came to my rescue after my original consultants became unavailable 15 months ago. My hair had been worn natural for the previous two years following years of relaxers, braiding and many hours sitting in hair salons.

Sisterlocks have been a revelation to me. I have no more bad hair days, my self-esteem has improved 100%. My hair has been in the best condition for as long as I have known myself. I will never go back to any other style. Sisterlocks is here to stay.

Carol has been a fantastic consultant and friend. She works long and hard to achieve the fantastic results you see in my picture. I will continue to use her services. She has been the key to the way I keep my hair. I feel and look great. I am told so many times wherever I go.

I love Sisterlocks, I have nothing negative to say… it’s all good!

Updated 3 years later - May 2010

I have been retightening my hair in the sisterlocks style for 4 years now, with Carol Lawrence as my loctician.

My hair has never been as healthy or long in all the time I have known myself. The style has been a revelation, and is so versatile now that it is of the length it is.

I retighten every 6 weeks without fail and this strick maintanence regime is what keeps my locks looking so good and healthy. Carol has been fantastic and is very professional offering advice as well as providing an excellent first class service.

When I first met Liz her hair was sooo short I took my hat off to the lady who did her hair. Here she is now sporting her fabulous Sisterlocks of nearly four years.

Hi I'm Ruth. 17th June 2005 is my Sisterlocks Emancipation Day!

I had suffered another bad relaxer and my lovely hair, that took me awhile to grow, had been culled! I was not only devastated but disappointed that I knew the risk but still went ahead anyway. I decided that I would not put any chemicals on my hair again, but what could I do with my hair in its natural state? I'd done plenty of research and found Sisterlocks. After doing some extensive research, I knew I found the answer. I met Carol and immediately knew I was in professional hands. She has been a tremendous support and has a solid knowledge base on which to draw on. It has been 2 years and 3 months now and my only regret is that I did not do this sooner.

Pictures 2007/2009

The last time I had long natural hair was as a little girl with long pigtails and ribbons. From about age 10 my hair was cut short into an afro to make it more ‘manageable’ and I subsequently used chemical processing - cold straightening, curly perms etc. Mid-twenties onwards I opted for natural hairstyles, including an afro, threading, twisting and plait extensions. I was contemplating growing conventional locks and so attended the Adornment natural hair show in late 2003. I was stunned by the ‘wow’ factor of a lady whose waist length bouncy hair ‘swished’ past me. She was JoAnne Cornwell, creator of Sisterlocks. In that moment I decided ‘THAT look is what I want’. I was impressed by its versatility, authenticity and lightness. Thanks to Carol Lawrence I started my Sisterlocks journey 3½ years ago. Only periodically do I notice how long my hair has grown, because on a day to day basis I get up, run my fingers through my hair, and go. My Sisterlocks are low maintenance, fun to wear, and reflect my identity as an African woman who loves her own God-given hair. Simply the best present I’ve given myself in a long time.

Judy started off as one of my clients in 2003 and is now a locktician herself. This is what Judy had to say way back then and it still holds true today

"As soon as I read Carol's article on Sisterlocks in Black Hair & Beauty magazine, I knew this was exactly the hairstyle Ihad been looking for. My hair is now looking good - very feminine and very pretty."

Pictures -2007/2010

Like most sisters, I had stumbled into Sisterlocks after years of chemical relaxers had irreversibly damaged my hair. Not willing to replace the straightening with the time and expenses that goes with the weave or braids, I settled for wigs. A friend introduced me to Sisterlocks and my consultant, Carol. Carol is so cool and oh so together. She is an ultimate professional with whom I can talk about all sort of materials. Needless to say she has real life experience or two to draw from for every hair locking question I seem to come up with. Above all, she has the patience of Job. I should know! I was one of those sisters who didn't fall in love with her Sisterlocks immediately after locking; in fact, for a gooood amount of time afterwards. To some extent, I was unsure that I really wanted the permanency of locks. Then I started with an inch and a half length of hair. Now that didn't lend itself to the short and sassy look I'd seen in others when I perused various blog sites. That was probably more to do with the fact that my once fairly thick hair has now thinned to the point that the crown was so 'scalpy'. I wasn't ready to reveal my new do to the world. I wasn't too sure how long a chance I ought to give it to see if I could love it some. In the meantime, the wig stayed on! Carol knew how I felt. She counselled me; shared stories of similarly disposed clients whose hair flourished in time and encouraged me to be patient. Finally, my hair was unveiled to the world at fourteen months. I thought it was ok but by no means a full head of hair that I would have loved. At around the twenty-month stage, I began to feel really glad that I stuck it out. I had always felt free and natural from the beginning but now I was feeling beautiful. Then complete strangers began to pay me compliments. Sisters would stop me to enquire what that hairstyle was, most knew it was Sisterlocks (which surprised me) and simply wanted to know a bit more, usually around costs and maintenance. I still don't have a full head of hair. I don't expect I ever will. My locks are approximately six inches long all over. Regular retightening has ensured the locks are beautifully even and they fall just right around my face. I never thought I'd feel so good about locked hair. At last, I can join the majority of the Sisterlocks community in declaring words that I never thought I would utter "I love my Sisterlocks". Thank you Carol for patiently nurturing me along this journey

There are times when several members of one family will lock their hair - how groovy they all look struttin their stuff!