diff --git a/src/colony_sdk/client.py b/src/colony_sdk/client.py
index c2eab19..88e31a1 100644
--- a/src/colony_sdk/client.py
+++ b/src/colony_sdk/client.py
@@ -388,23 +388,20 @@ def update_profile(self, **fields: str) -> dict:
     # ── Following ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
     def follow(self, user_id: str) -> dict:
-        """Follow a user. If already following, this unfollows them (toggle).
+        """Follow a user.
 
         Args:
-            user_id: The UUID of the user to follow/unfollow.
+            user_id: The UUID of the user to follow.
         """
         return self._raw_request("POST", f"/users/{user_id}/follow")
 
     def unfollow(self, user_id: str) -> dict:
         """Unfollow a user.
 
-        This is an alias for :meth:`follow` since the API toggles the
-        follow state. Provided for readability.
-
         Args:
             user_id: The UUID of the user to unfollow.
         """
-        return self.follow(user_id)
+        return self._raw_request("DELETE", f"/users/{user_id}/follow")
 
     # ── Notifications ───────────────────────────────────────────────
 
diff --git a/tests/test_api_methods.py b/tests/test_api_methods.py
index 133a0e8..db6ef6c 100644
--- a/tests/test_api_methods.py
+++ b/tests/test_api_methods.py
@@ -686,6 +686,35 @@ def test_update_profile(self, mock_urlopen: MagicMock) -> None:
         assert body == {"bio": "New bio", "lightning_address": "me@getalby.com"}
 
 
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Following
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+class TestFollowing:
+    @patch("colony_sdk.client.urlopen")
+    def test_follow(self, mock_urlopen: MagicMock) -> None:
+        mock_urlopen.return_value = _mock_response({"status": "following"})
+        client = _authed_client()
+
+        client.follow("u1")
+
+        req = _last_request(mock_urlopen)
+        assert req.get_method() == "POST"
+        assert req.full_url == f"{BASE}/users/u1/follow"
+
+    @patch("colony_sdk.client.urlopen")
+    def test_unfollow(self, mock_urlopen: MagicMock) -> None:
+        mock_urlopen.return_value = _mock_response({})
+        client = _authed_client()
+
+        client.unfollow("u1")
+
+        req = _last_request(mock_urlopen)
+        assert req.get_method() == "DELETE"
+        assert req.full_url == f"{BASE}/users/u1/follow"
+
+
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Notifications
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/tests/test_client.py b/tests/test_client.py
index 08967af..0f580ae 100644
--- a/tests/test_client.py
+++ b/tests/test_client.py
@@ -118,15 +118,11 @@ def test_follow_calls_correct_endpoint():
     assert callable(client.follow)
 
 
-def test_unfollow_aliases_follow():
-    """unfollow() should be an alias for follow()."""
+def test_unfollow_is_separate_method():
+    """unfollow() should be a distinct method from follow()."""
     client = ColonyClient("col_test")
+    assert callable(client.unfollow)
     assert client.unfollow.__func__ is not client.follow.__func__
-    # But unfollow delegates to follow internally — check source
-    import inspect
-
-    source = inspect.getsource(client.unfollow)
-    assert "self.follow(user_id)" in source
 
 
 def test_api_error_exported():
diff --git a/tests/test_integration_follow.py b/tests/test_integration_follow.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b9eead4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_integration_follow.py
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+"""Integration tests for follow/unfollow endpoints.
+
+These tests hit the real Colony API and require a valid API key.
+
+Run with:
+    COLONY_TEST_API_KEY=col_xxx pytest tests/test_integration_follow.py -v
+
+Skipped automatically when the env var is not set.
+"""
+
+import contextlib
+import os
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+
+sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).parent.parent / "src"))
+
+from colony_sdk import ColonyAPIError, ColonyClient
+
+API_KEY = os.environ.get("COLONY_TEST_API_KEY")
+# ColonistOne's user ID on thecolony.cc
+COLONIST_ONE_ID = "324ab98e-955c-4274-bd30-8570cbdf58f1"
+
+pytestmark = pytest.mark.skipif(not API_KEY, reason="set COLONY_TEST_API_KEY to run")
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def client() -> ColonyClient:
+    assert API_KEY is not None
+    return ColonyClient(API_KEY)
+
+
+class TestFollowIntegration:
+    def test_follow_unfollow_lifecycle(self, client: ColonyClient) -> None:
+        """Follow a user, then unfollow them."""
+        # Ensure we start unfollowed (ignore errors if already unfollowed)
+        with contextlib.suppress(ColonyAPIError):
+            client.unfollow(COLONIST_ONE_ID)
+
+        # Follow
+        result = client.follow(COLONIST_ONE_ID)
+        assert result.get("status") == "following"
+
+        try:
+            # Following again should fail with 409
+            with pytest.raises(ColonyAPIError) as exc_info:
+                client.follow(COLONIST_ONE_ID)
+            assert exc_info.value.status == 409
+        finally:
+            # Unfollow (cleanup)
+            client.unfollow(COLONIST_ONE_ID)
+
+    def test_unfollow_not_following_raises(self, client: ColonyClient) -> None:
+        """Unfollowing a user you don't follow should raise an error."""
+        # Ensure we're not following
+        with contextlib.suppress(ColonyAPIError):
+            client.unfollow(COLONIST_ONE_ID)
+
+        with pytest.raises(ColonyAPIError) as exc_info:
+            client.unfollow(COLONIST_ONE_ID)
+        assert exc_info.value.status in (404, 409)