How Damp is Damp? How Dry is Dry?

Anonymous Wrote:
"Your hair looks great!!!My sisterlocks are 7 months old and I look forward to eventually having enough length to curl. You mentioned that you set your hair overnight with it partially damp. I have a huge fear of developing mold in my locs and I understand that mold can develop when the hair is not allowed to completely dry in a reasonable amount of time (not sure how long that is). Any information you could provide would be greatly appreciated."

Hello Anonymous,
This is a really good question and I’ll try to answer it as best I can. It’s the kind of thing that’s so much easier to demonstrate in person. Damp is a relative term, and depends on thickness of hair and drying time. So the phrase "partially damp" might be misleading.

My Sisterlocks air dry rather quickly, but I would never wash and set them too close to bed time. At least two hours is a comfortable cushion for me. I use a Turbie Towel to soak up the excess water. I’m also not adverse to using a blow dryer on a low setting to speed up the process. I won’t roll my hair until it’s almost dry to the touch.

On a scale of one to five -- five being dripping wet out of the shower and one being completely dry -- I will begin rolling my hair (and feel comfortable sleeping on it) when it’s at about a two.

More often than not, about midway through, I end up having to use a spray bottle of water to lightly spritz the locks I haven’t rolled yet.

I hope this helps.