Loctician Training in Illinois: Hands-On Dreadlock Training With the Seienstyle Process

By Ann-Marie Christell, Seienstyle

How I learned, and why I teach differently

When I made my first dreadlocks in 1996, there was no YouTube and no online course. A friend and I went to the library, found almost nothing, and tried to figure it out ourselves. The result was not beautiful. I am grateful there are no photos.

My name is Ann-Marie Christell, and I have been a professional loctician for over 26 years. In those early years, I learned mostly through trial and error. I took every course I could find, studied hair textures I had never worked with, and slowly developed my own way of working. But I also picked up habits that hurt my hands and my back, and that I later had to unlearn with great effort.

That is why I teach the way I do now. I want to give you the foundation I wish I had had at the beginning. If you live in Illinois and feel drawn to becoming a loctician, I would love to tell you about it.

Three ways to learn this craft

There are really three paths to becoming a loctician.

You can teach yourself. It is possible, but it usually costs years. Without a clear method, you stitch together pieces from many sources, some of which contradict each other. You only learn what you happen to come across, and you cannot learn what you do not yet know to look for.

You can find a mentor. This is how crafts have been passed down for most of human history, and with the right person it is beautiful. But the quality of this path depends entirely on the quality of the mentor.

Or you can take a structured training with a clear curriculum, a teacher who can see your work and correct it before bad habits set in, and a community to grow with. This is what I offer, and it is what I would have wanted for myself.

Why Illinois

Illinois is home to Chicago, one of the great cities of North America, with its lakefront, its neighbourhoods and its long tradition of music, art and creativity. Beyond the city, from Springfield to Peoria to the college towns, there are communities with their own character and their own people searching for meaningful work.

Wherever you are in the state, there are people around you who have been dreaming of their dreadlocks for years. They are not just changing their hair. They are stepping into a version of themselves they have been picturing for a long time. They deserve a loctician who has learned this craft properly, with skill and with care.

Two days, side by side

The Professional Loctician In-Person Training is a two-day, one-on-one training. I travel to you, wherever you are in Illinois, and we work together on live hair models.

This is where so much of the learning happens. When I can see your hands, I can correct the angle of your hook, the tension you use, the way you section, the way you stand. Small corrections in the moment save you years of slowly discovering things on your own.

Before we meet, you choose the services you most want to master. The options include dreadlocks on natural hair, dreadlocks with extensions, dreadlock maintenance, mermaid dreadlocks, synthetic dreadlocks and several others. Whether you are a complete beginner or an experienced hairstylist, the training is shaped around where you are.

The Seienstyle process

Everything you learn rests on the Seienstyle process, the holistic method I developed over more than two decades. It works on every hair texture, from fine, straight hair to tight coils. It is clean and product-free, with no wax, no gel and no residue. Its gentle crochet technique protects your hands and your client's scalp. And because it works with the hair's natural intelligence, dreadlocks begin to mature within two to three months, without the long awkward stage.

More than a technique

My students often tell me that I did not only teach them how to make dreadlocks. I taught them a way of working, and sometimes a way of living. We talk about protecting your body through long days, about being present with your clients when they open up, and, as a breathwork and meditation teacher, about keeping your own nervous system steady. We also talk about building your practice, sharing your work and charging what it is worth.

What formal training is, and what it is not

It is a structured path that compresses years of trial and error into a clear foundation. It is a relationship with a teacher who can see what you are doing. It is a community of colleagues who keep growing alongside you.

It is not a magic shortcut. You will still need to practise, put in the hours on hair models and grow into your own voice over time. What the training gives you is the right foundation and the clearest path forward.

Support that continues

Before our two days together, we meet on a one-on-one video call to make sure you are ready. Afterwards, you continue with coaching calls and join the Seienstyle community of locticians around the world. You also receive lifetime access to The Professional Loctician Online Course, so the whole method is always there when you need it.

So, is in-person loctician training in Illinois right for you?

It may be, if you want to learn this craft properly from the start rather than through years of guesswork. If you want a gentle, product-free method that works on every hair texture. And if you want personal guidance from someone who has walked this path for 26 years.

You can read all the details about the training here.

The Professional Loctician In-Person Training

My free ebook Becoming a Loctician explores all three paths to learning this craft in more depth, so you can choose the one that is right for you.

Read the free ebook Becoming a Loctician here

And if you would like to talk, email me at [email protected]. Tell me a little about yourself and where you are in Illinois, and we can set up a video call to see whether we are a good match.

With love,

Ann-Marie