• Child with locked hair"a boy and his basketball" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: Michele Eve (Michele Sandberg) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
  
  

Types of Locks

• While all locks require the fusing process, the type of lock you desire will affect the styling technique that you choose. Dreadlocks range from maintenance-free locks that fuse naturally to Sisterlocks that can only be created by a trained stylist.
  
  

Free-form Dreadlocks

• Most people can create free-form locks by essentially not grooming their hair. By not brushing, combing or styling your hair, and washing infrequently, your hair will naturally become matted. With the free-form method, you have little control over the size and shape of the lock. Locks will fuse and form naturally, Free-form locks are often larger and have a messier appearance than other types of locks.
  
  

Single- and Double-Strand

• You can create locks through single- or double-strand twisting. To create single-strand twists, part your hair and coil several strands around one another with a rat-tail comb or finger from root to end. With double strand twists, part hair and divide each section into two small sections of hair. Begin twisting, wrapping one section around the other from root to end until the twist is formed. Apply a lock gel or cream to hair before twisting to hold locks in place.
  
  

Sisterlocks

• Sisterlocks can only be created by a trained Sisterlock stylist. Stylist create Sisterlocks by taking very small sections of hair and twisting them from the end up toward the root in a unique pattern. Individual Sisterlocks are typically smaller in diameter than other types of locks.
  
  

Maintenance

• Unless you are following the free-form method, you will need to maintain locks regularly to preserve their appearance. As your locks grow, the ends of the hair will fuse together leaving the roots, or new growth, free. To maintain locks, wash hair and apply locking cream or gel to the new growth and twist at the root. Until locks have fully fused, avoid scrubbing the scalp vigorously while washing to prevent pulling strands free from the lock.
  
  

Time Frame

• The time that it takes for locks to fully form varies greatly based on hair texture and locking method. People with coarser or curlier hair textures can usually achieve locks in a shorter time period than those with straighter hair textures. Locks can take anywhere from six weeks to more than a year to form.