Locs are a gorgeous natural way to protect your hair and add character to your look. And whether you have just started your loc journey or you’re somewhere in the middle of it, it is important to remember that our locs form part of our identity, so it is best that we cultivate good habits and learn how to properly care for them. So here are five simple tips to help you keep your locs healthy and looking luscious!
*DISCLAIMER: I am a hair drama specialist (read my diaries) not a hairstylist or professional consultant. The information below is a guide for reference only and are the things that work for me on my loc journey. I am not affiliated with any company whose products you may find within this post and I do not receive any incentive.
#1 Love your locs
Loving your locs is the first rule of the game. It’s so easy if you have starter locs to envy the girl at the local market stall with long and mature locs. Or if you are at the budding stage, it’s easy to get frustrated with the uncontrollable amount of frizz! But it’s important to understand that the loc journey is a process. It takes time to grow locs and that requires A LOT of patience. There’s not much you can do about how long your natural hair will take to grow, but embracing your locs, building a relationship with them and spending time to nurture them could help you focus less on time. Before you know it, your locs will mature and you’ll know they are beautiful because you cared well for them. Not one set of locs are the same. Our locs are all unique and individual to us. So no matter what stage of the journey you’re at, learn to show your locs some TLC.
#2 Don’t be a product junkie
Do your locs a favour and reduce how much product you put in it. There are so many products on the market these days with so many positive reviews and its tempting to try them all but not all are designed for locs so you have to be careful and choose wisely. Don’t be packing all that junk in ya locs! Keep it simple. Too much product in your hair will cause residue which build up overtime in your locs. To stay healthy, locs need to be hydrated and moisturised. To add moisture to your locs use water or a water based product. Then apply oils to seal in the moisture.
#3 Avoid excessive styling
I know styling is important to maintain your locs looking fresh and on point. But please be careful not to overdo it. Each time our hair is pulled from styling, the scalp may endure some damage from the tightness. So it can get sore and tender. But thankfully, overtime the scalp will naturally heal itself, But if you restyle again before this healing process is complete, you risk damaging your scalp. Basically if your scalp does not heal properly, overtime it wont be able to hold healthy hair and constant manipulation on weak damaged scalp can eventually lead to your locs breaking off! So be gentle and avoid excessive styling.
#4 Keep your hands out of your hair
Do you often catch yourself just randomly playing with your locs whilst catching up on your favourite Netflix series? 📺 Or maybe you twist it round and round your finger while you send love messages on WhatsApp to a special someone ❤️. This habit is popularly known as ‘hand in hair syndrome’ and if you do this you better just STOP IT 🚫 right now cos this is one of the main culprits for loc breakage. In loc tip #3 I covered not over styling/re-twisting your hair. So constantly putting your hand in hair is similar. By doing this, you are constantly applying pressure and manipulating your locs even though this is often done unintentionally.So please, leave ya hair alone. This is part of building a healthy relationship with your locs. Sometimes a little distance is required.
#5 Wrap up at night
To reduce frizz, lint and help your locs retain moisture, keep them wrapped while you sleep. Using a silk or satin scarf/bonnet is one of the best ways to do this. Depending on the fabric of your sheets and pillowcases, moisture can be sucked out of your locs. Your locs can also attract a lint army while you sleep. So to avoid such issues, invest in a simple scarf/bonnet to protect your locs at night.
Hope you found this post useful. And if have any questions or suffer from hand-in-hair syndrome and want someone to chat to, please let me know. I’d love to help a sister out.
Connect with me on Instagram: @girl_vs_nature
Main image source: Pinterest