August 6, 2015lovingmyroots

Working Out and Slippage with Sisterlocks: An Update

Next week is my 15-week reti and I tried really hard to prevent slippage this time, but alas, I came up short. By my count, about 7 sisterlocks have slipped out around my crown due to the excess moisture.

I’m starting to wonder if it’s even possible to completely eliminate slippage while maintaining a consistent workout regime. I currently do some form of exercise 3-4 times a week. I hope I don’t have to give up my workouts for 4-6 weeks to allow my sisterlocks time to ‘set’. (sigh) I did some Google searching and found a post that discusses the same issue. The author suggests using a special scarf when working out to trap in the moisture. Another article talked about a client who worked out daily and had bad slippage the first month after her installation. Unfortunately, it didn’t provide tips on preventing the slippage so I’m back at square one.

Most of the posts I’ve read say that a little slippage is to be expected, so here are a couple of things I plan to try after my reti next week:

  • Use my moisture wicking Save Your Do headband to lay down and de-sweat my edges during workouts
  • Twist or pin suspect locks together to help them from slipping
  • Continue using Witch Hazel to clean my scalp, but cut back on oil (especially around the crown)

It’s a learning process and I’m up for the challenge. I just hope I don’t have to sacrifice my workouts to prevent slippage.

9 comments

  1. I’m having the same issue. I workout on he daily and my little baby locks are struggling to hold on. I swim often too, so I’m trying to find a balance. Please let me know if you do! I love your blog ☺️

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  2. I’m struggling with the same thing! I workout on a daily and swim often too. I’m still trying to find a balance and save my struggling baby locks in the back and around my edges. Let me know if you find so,etching that works! I love your blog :).

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    • Samoyaa, I hope your loc journey is going well! I ended up finding hair clips do the trick. I braid or twist the shorter locs together and secure them with a hair clip. That way, they can’t unravel even when I’m sweating. I don’t remove the clip until my hair is dry.

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  4. I workout 5 to 6 days a week too and I’m having the same issue with my sister locks. I have tried braiding my locks together and then putting a scarf on my head to prevent slippage and it seems to help. Is time-consuming to braid the whole head before I go work out so the next time I’m a try just braiding those that seem suspect or have the potential to slip and then tie my hair down. I go for my first really time tomorrow which is July the 14th 2017 so hopefully I can prevent having as much slippage as I did this time after my retightening.

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    • Tanessa, What ended up working best for me is to use clips on the shorter locs, Similar to these Hair Clips I braid or twist the short locs together, and clip them so that they can’t unravel from the sweat. I also use this same process when I go swimming. I hope it helps. Good luck!

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  5. Thank you for the suggestion. I’m gonna go buy some today. I didn’t even think of that. I use some when styling my hair but it never crossed my mind to use them for slippage. Do you also tie your hair up too? Or you just use the clips?

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