How To Care For Locs
It’s easy to think that knowing how to care for one protective style gives you the knowledge to take care of them all, but loc care comes with its own process.
Locs, also known as dreadlocks or just dreads, are a great protective style and a versatile way to wear natural hair. This hairstyle involves sections of hair being matted and knotted together to create a rope-like appearance. Although the style is fashionable, there is a lot you should know about the process and maintaining the look before you get started.
Whether you’re years into your loc journey or new to the style, there are many loc care tips to care for natural hair locs and maintain a crown full of healthy dreadlocks. Like all natural hair routines, moisturizing locs will be paramount, and surprisingly quite easy. If you prefer a low-maintenance routine, there are also products for you. Ahead, discover the best products for locs and tips and tricks for maintaining dreadlocks styles.
What Are Locs?
Dreadlocks hairstyles are braids that require stray hairs to be tucked into the dread and locked up to the rest of your hair. The maintenance routine will depend on the age of your dreads and the method you used to start them.
Typically, there are four main stages of growing or creating locs: starter, budding, teen, and mature or rooted locs.
Starter Stage
The first stage of locs is called starter or baby locs. If you’re starting locs, begin with coils and double-strand twists. If you leave your hair in these styles past the allotted time (3-5 weeks), they will start to lock over time. This stage usually lasts the first three to six months of dreads.
Budding Stage
Budding is when hair becomes matted. This is usually when people become frustrated because there is a lot of frizz and fuzz that comes in this stage. To combat it, make sure you are using a sulfate-free shampoo that will help strengthen and smooth distressed hair, including frizz.
Teen Stage
The teen stage is when there is a lot less unraveling of the locs. When your locs are in this stage, they may seem puffy, and that’s okay. The teen stage is when your locks will begin to take their true shape.
Mature Stage
Mature or rooted locs are when locs are long enough to hang, are firm to the touch, and maintain a good shape without being retwisted or manipulated.
Rooted Stage
Voila! Your locks are fully-grown and look totally fabulous. At this point, your locs are all the same length and they may feel a lot heavier than the previous stages. Since your locs are fully formed, you can style and cut them however you please.
How To Care For Dreadlocks
So now that you’re familiar with the different types of loc styles, what type of loc care is needed? What are the best products—hair moisturizer, hair oil, or others? How often should you wash your locs and how do you dry locs? And what are the different types of loc styling? Perfecting your loc game comes down to a few key areas:
- Shampooing and conditioning
- Proper drying techniques
- Routine moisturizing
- Maintaining new growth
What Are The Best Products For Locs?
It’s important to narrow down your wash day essentials. But what exactly are the best products for locs? Light oils and shampoos will be ideal for growth. Creamy shampoos will cause build-up because of their oils and conditioning agents; ultimately, they will stick to your dreads and turn into gunk.
Instead, shampoo for locs should clarify and moisturize. The most important thing to remember when selecting a shampoo is residue.
How To Moisturize Your Locs
Like any hair texture or style, the most important part about loc care is keeping your dreads moisturized. Even though the hair is tied up and locked in, dreadlocks can still get dry and break easily if not properly moisturized. Moisturizing locs will require a good scalp oil on hand.
How Often Should You Wash Locs?
Although hair is tucked away, washing your hair will still be part of your natural hair care routine. Washing, moisturizing, and protecting your dreads will ensure your hair grows well and stays healthy. You will want to regularly (every two to three weeks) wash and detox hair to remove any products, oil, or debris trapped in the strands and scalp. Of course, if you work out a lot, you might want to wash more frequently than every two to three weeks. Washing will also help restore the pH balance necessary for healthy growth.
To wash dreads, wet the locs and scalp very well. You will want your hair to be sopping wet. Next, pour a bit of shampoo into your hands and work it into your hair. Feel free to add more as needed, but focus on the water more than the product. Once the shampoo is in, massage the scalp gently but thoroughly. Then rinse until hair is completely free of suds.
How Do You Dry Locs?
You might be wondering, “What is the best way to dry locs?” The answer is pretty straightforward: stick to air drying. Direct heat can damage dreadlocks, whereas air drying will properly dry hair and prevent it from mold and poor odor. However, due to the structure of locs, drying and making sure locs don’t unravel or retain water, especially in the starter stage, can be difficult. The rule of thumb is to squeeze dreads after washing and to use a microfiber towel to absorb some of the water before styling or wrapping hair. Microfiber towels are also great because they won’t leave any lint in your locs as regular cotton towels might.
The good news is, dreads will begin to dry faster and faster after each washing, making the style very convenient and a great way to prevent mildew. Dry locs will shine better once air-dried properly.
How To Style Your Locs
When loc-styling, you want to avoid thinning, bald patches, and traction alopecia from the tension from twisting. The top methods for styling your dreads are below:
Comb coils
Use a small-tooth comb to twist small sections of the hair until they form coils.
Palm-rolling
Take small sections of hair and roll them in your palms to help tighten and lock up dreads.
Braids or two-strand twist
Great for longer hair as you can start your loc method journey by braiding.
Free form
If you stop detangling your hair altogether, it will eventually become locs.
Are Locs High-Maintenance?
Short answer: no. However, patience is a major requirement when dreading your hair. Starting dreads, figuring out your perfect product assortment, and then waiting for them to grow can be time-consuming in the beginning. But it will be worth it once you see your locs flourish. So remain patient and you will get the length and thickness you desire. Also, dreadlocks look better and better with time, and as they mature, they will become tighter and smoother — requiring less maintenance.
Do Dreadlocks Ruin Your Hair?
All in all, dreadlocks, like all protective styles, help protect your hair from environmental stressors. The only way locs styles will ruin hair, is if you don’t dry them properly or retwist them too often. As long as you invest in the right natural hair care products and look after your dreads, any type of loc-styling will yield a healthy scalp and locs.
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