Four Stages of Hairlocking

I. PRE-LOCK PHASE

The hair is in thin, tightly coiled spirals. Its appearance is along the lines of either ringlets or Shirley Temple curls. This is the infancy stage (baby locks).

II. BUDDING PHASE

During this phase a small bud (like a pea in a pod) begins to emerge about three quarters down the lock. The matted, interlocking imprint begins at the bud and then expands like a bubble because it is beginning to loosely mat. It is an enlarged microcosm of a lock. At this stage the lock is no longer tight and thin. It is rebellious, has a mind of its own and is discovering its own way (teen locks). It acts like a teenager in a sense.


III. SHOOTING PHASE

After the budding phase, the entire lock begins the process of interlocking and matting. The direction is downward from the bud to the end of the hair and back upwards toward the scalp (similar to how some plants develop). The hair closest to the scalp is not locked; this is where you have new growth. During this phase, the hair increases in density because it begins to replicate itself like DNA. Your hair remains in this phase for the longest period of time (adult locks).

IV. CONTRACTING PHASE

This is the final stage in which the hair becomes mature adult locks: an airtight interlocked, spiraling, network system. The locks become consistent, tight and fairly solid at this point. It will probably be fairly long in length at this point, as the hair will grow extraordinarily once the spiral form has been established. (elder locks).


I saw this original post on Brothers Locked and it is extremely helpful in understanding the various stages of hair locking. It could be easy for a newcomer to get deceived into thinking you will get Sisterlocks and have instant locks. As you can see, the hair does go through various stages before reaching maturity. For those stopping by for research, I hope this helps. Special thanks to Ree-C for allowing me to use her as a model for the shooting phase. Dr. Jo, even though I didn't get your permission for the last photo, I hope you don't mind.