To Lock or Not....

A reader sent me this inquiry by e-mail: "I am entering the the corporate culture as an accountant and I have biased thoughts as to if I should lock my hair or not....."

Yep...I remember this one. As I stated in my previous post, one year ago when I was contemplating locks myself, I was also unemployed. So, not only was I concerned about how I would pay for my locks' installation and maintenance, I was concerned about how it would affect my job search and interview process.

I had made the decision to lock and I was certain that it would not be an issue with my current employer. Our dress code was business casual every day and jeans on Friday and a lot of the employees were African-American. However, when I knew I would have to start looking for a new job, I began to worry about my hair being yet another variable to perhaps tip the scales - and not in my favor.

What to do?

It weighed very heavily on my mind! But I decided to do it anyway. I decided - in my heart - that I did not want to work for any company or corporation that would not be accepting of my natural hair and that was that.

I would not begin to say that every work environment is lock-friendly, but I can definitely say that in my personal experience, they never seemed to have any impact on how I was perceived. I don't feel like I ever lost out on any opportunities on account of my natural hairstyle.

I do think lock acceptance depends on several factors, like the region of the country one inhabits and how many black people there are in the area. I think an even bigger factor is how the locked individual carries him or herself.

Are you otherwise well-dressed and well-groomed? Do you speak intelligently and with confidence? Do you have a stable work history, solid resume and relevant work experience? I think employers today are much more concerned about those factors.

That having been said, corporate culture varies widely from company to company. There are still accounting firms, law firms, and other organizations that have extremely conservative views on many things.

My opinion is this: if you present yourself professionally, your locks should not hinder your job search in any field. If you want to be a lawyer, a doctor, an accountant, or banker - in general - your well-maintained and tastefully styled locks should not be a problem.

However, I do add this caveat: Anyone seeking a job with a specific company (if you are set on working there) should try to do some research on their individual culture and whether natural styles are welcome. Sometimes even within a generally open company there is an individual department head who is known for holding certain prejudices. At that point it is up to you to decide how badly you want that particular job with that particular company.

My locks do still look a little bohemian sometimes when I wear them loose. (I have a fine, curly textured hair and all it takes is for a little wind to blow through and it's all over my head! And I'm in the habit of tousling them a lot and playing with them when I haven't put them up.)

So whenever I have a business meeting or event where I think my contacts or audience might be especially conservative, I do put my hair up. I wear it in a bun or french roll. Even with straight hair, I tend to think that these types of styles present a more business-like image.

I have not had one single minute of regret about having started my locks. I cannot say that they have had any negative impact on any area of my life, least of all my employment opportunities. I have found them to be a total non-issue, even though I am often the only person of color in a room. I get compliments on them all the time - from all sorts of people.

So, dear reader, I say: Go for it!

On Making the Decision to Lock (Part 1)

I was reading Cashana's blog and encountered a statement she made that I liked so much, I asked for her permission to repost it here.

She said, "What I am noticing is that if you are uncomfortable with your locks from the beginning you will feel like that for the entire process, unless you embrace the uniqueness and not compare your hair to someone else's. Locking one's hair is not a decision to be made on the fly. You need to do your research and do an inner search and know within yourself this is the path you are willing to follow. Whether others accept it or not, you have to be able to stand TALL regarding your decision to wear Sisterlocks.

"Even if you feel you have to wear a wig those first couple of weeks, when you can walk with that, 'I don't care what you think, I look good,' swagger you will be glad you can wear your Sisterlocks with pride and strength. What I have noticed from being on the group - I lurk, never respond -is that if the ladies don't do a lot of research and get the locks, they are not happy with them for a multitude of reasons.

"Reading their questions makes me wonder how much time did they put into researching and thinking about the entire process of locking. From the decision to lock, to your consultant, scheduling, maintenance, costs, styling and much more are reasons to really think about it before you lock. For example if I hadn't liked my consultant from the initial phone calls and the meetings, I would have not had Sisterlocks, because I would need to deal with whether I wanted to travel to maintain them. "


...Girl, I could not have said it better myself. It makes me sad to read about women who are not happy with their Sisterlocks, and I think you're right about why. I've thought the same thing. Deciding to lock your hair is up there with other life-altering events like deciding to move or to change careers or quit a job and purchasing a car or deciding to begin or end a long-term relationship....Not to be taken lightly at all. Things you wouldn't dream of doing without some degree of planning and introspection.

I think that is part of why the Sisterlocks motto is: It's not a hairstyle, it's a lifestyle." It's to make you stop and think. Starting and maintaining locks is not like getting braids or twists. It's not even like doing the big chop. If you don't like a hairstyle, you grow it out if it's a cut or color. If it's braids or weave, you take it out. If you're tired of your long hair or your relaxed hair, you cut it off and start over. All of which are options too, if you don't like your locks, but the process of growing and maintaining locks is not a quick fix. I think some people don't stop to think about it.

It is a journey that you embark on. It helps to have guidance and some idea of what you will encounter along the way. You do need to look inside yourself and determine if you have what it takes within to make it successfully and happily. And I'm all about inner strength and self-confidence too, but you need to have somebody in your life who is happy for you and supports your decision. You can get by without it, but it is so much more difficult.

Like I have said before and will say again: your level of satisfaction depends on your original expectations.

Cashana said, "Locking one's hair is not a decision to be made on the fly."

So true! I started this round of SL research at the tail end of January and two weeks later had made my decision to get them, so it would seem that I made up my mind quickly. But I had been considering locks on and off for about ten years. And I am so glad I didn't get them sooner. I know from my own 'inner search' that I was not ready before now.

On the importance of liking your consultant...

You must feel like you trust your consultant. You must be able to communicate with her and feel comfortable asking questions and discussing your concerns. This is more vital than mere words can convey.

My first introduction to SLs was exactly 2.5 years ago, in late November of 2004. I met a young woman with them while I was on a cruise. Hers were beautiful. She directed me to the official site, and I read up on them but I still just really wanted to talk to someone - an expert who could answer my questions. I needed more information than was provided on the site. I needed live feedback. That's what a consultant is for, right? Root word: consult. Definition: 1) to give professional or expert advice; 2) to seek guidance or information from.

The acquaintance from the cruise (who was the friend of a friend and lived about an hour away from me ) gave me the name of her stylist. The woman who was currently doing her retites was not the one who did her install. She'd had those done on the West Coast. In retrospect, I think the stylist was probably a trainee. The more I think about it now, I'm not certain she was even that. I know I got her number off the Internet, but it may not have come from the official site. My friend may have given me the name of the shop and the stylist's name and I figured out the rest for myself.

I know there are people out there who have picked up the technique from various places without having learned the customer service aspects that are taught at the seminars. If she had taken the class it seems like she would have tried to be more reliable and helpful. Her name and shop are not listed now, so either she didn't certify or re-certify, or she never was an approved consultant/trainee.

In any case I called and immediately got the impression that she was a flake. She was primarily a braider who worked out of a braiding salon. Ok, no issues there...but every time I called, no matter what time of day for two weeks, she wasn't there. Even when I was told she would be in at a certain hour and I'd call back, she wouldn't be there. Even though I left messages, she never returned them. I finally just caught her one day at random.

And then what? She didn't want to answer any of my questions over the phone. She just wanted me to make an appointment and bring $100 for my deposit. Now, I understand that a consultant can't answer certain questions without seeing your hair. However, questions like, "when is the best time to visit your shop?" and "how long have you been doing Sisterlocks?" do not fall into that category. She worked in a city 2 hours away. I didn't want to take the day off from work and drive that far only to decide we didn't click at all...or for her not to show up, so I was trying to feel her out a bit over the phone before I made an appointment and put down my non-refundable deposit.

Now, I never spoke to her again and maybe she was 'goin' thew sum thangs' at the time...I do not know, but the negativity of that experience was 50% of the reason I didn't get Sls at that time. There really wasn't anybody in my area to do them and help me maintain. I would have driven to her city because it was only 2 hours away and I had friends that I could visit. Retightening sessions would have been a good opportunity to day trip, meet for lunch, maybe have a girl's night out.

All the other consultants (all 3 or 4) that were remotely close were 3 and 4 hours away and in cities I didn't really care to visit every 6 weeks. Plus, the experience with the braider was just so negative and I still had a lot of unanswered questions. Those factors combined with my own doubts just discouraged me completely.

If I had liked her, or been able to find someone else nearby, I really think I would have started my locks then, but it's just as well. I don't feel like I lost anything, and I have no regrets because I was still enjoying my natural hair and it was healthy. (I did have one incident with a texturizer and another with a box of hair color in the meantime, but now those are neither here nor there.) I don't feel like I was limited or oppressed by my hairstyling options and routines. And I feel like I appreciate my locks more now than I would have then.

I have said before that I am not sure I will keep them for life (for some years, definitely, but I'm not yet 30 and I expect to live a long time so who knows?), but I feel like I am more likely to keep them for longer having started them now than if I had started them then. (Sorry about the weird grammar...I teach and tutor English and I am appalled at my own sentence structure as I blog sometimes. Egads!)

But I was saying that I was discouraged because I couldn't find a consultant nearby who could answer my questions and allay my fears. I brought some of those same doubts and questions with me this time. The difference was that between the research I was able to do online and the patience/guidance of my consultant, I was able to resolve most of my issues and feel very confident about my decision.