Washing and Grooming Twists and Locs

If you desire neat and orderly locs, then regular maintenance is required. Here are some basic tips:

Short Locs- If you have short twists that are buds or at least 2 inches of twists special care must be performed. First and foremost, you want to ensure that you are not disturbing the twists too much. You don't want to do this because they can come down, and locing will be prevented. When I first started and I had around 2 inches of hair I would cut off the legs of a pair of stocking and knot the end. I would place the stocking cap over my head and step into the shower to wash my locs. I used a shampoo that I picked up from Wild Oats. It lathered really great, and smelled wonderful!

I did not condition my hair at that stage, because conditioner would soften the hair, and it would make the process of locing harder. After a good shampoo and rinsing, then the real work begins. With your freshly towel dried hair you need to retighten your locs. I used real shea butter, and ampro protein black gel. I mixed the two together, mixing until softened. I grabbed the already sectioned hair and retwisted them lying them down against the scalp. To train the hair and keep the locs in place, and possibly to go into one direction I used silver clips at the base of my twists to keep them in place. This was important to me because I wanted my locs to grow going towards the back. Then I sat under a hooded dryer until dry. Also, keep in mind the clips are metal! So great care must be used when drying the hair, you don't want to burn your scalp! The dryer needn't be that hot, just a medium heat.

Medium Locs- At this point you don't need a stocking cap to wash. Your locs are beginning to loc and won't easily come down. Therefore, you can stand under the shower head and wash your locs and scalp with a good clarifying shampoo, and you can start using conditioner. After about 3 good shampoos, and twenty minutes of conditioner, towel dry hair and get ready to retwist. At this point you should use a leave in conditioner, Infusium is ideal. I started using a lighter gel at this point to retwist my roots. I began using aloe vera gel to retwist, and clamps only in areas that are still relatively not locd. Other than that you can just retwist, sit under a hooded dryer, and go :).

Long Locs- With long locs you really have to use great care when shampooing and retwisting. The locs are old now, they clump together on thier own. They may start thinning around the edges and root. At this point you will stand under the head of the shower and shampoo with a great clarifying shampoo, that will take you a good 20 minutes to do just because of the length. Condition for about 25-30 mins. You can get out of the shower now, its cold :) put on a plastic bag of some sort and get busy doing something else. When its time rinse out and get ready for the tedious task of retwisting the roots. Before you retwist you need to inspect your hair and respond to whatever it is trying to tell you.

• Thinning around the edges? Take it easy on the hair in those areas, maybe don't retwist that area at all, or do it loosely. Allow the hair to grow back there.
• Ends uneven, or breaking off? Its okay to trim the locs, with a pair of scissors trim the unevenness, or breaking point. Its okay your aren't losing anything here, it will grow back!
• Trim the fuzzies as well. With the scissors go down the sides of your locs and trim to make it look even and neat.
• Locs about to break at the scalp? Put two together and twist, you can put a small elastic rubber band to keep them together. Pretty soon they will grow together and you won't be able to tell where one begins and one ends.

Remember at the long stage you still must fully dry your hair or at least 95% or else you will experience mildew in your locs. You don't want mildew and mold to form because it produces smell, and it can grow! So always try to fully dry your locs, and don't fall asleep when wet.

To prevent dryness you should use a lightweight oil, like Jojoba oil. At natural food stores you can purchase this and even add a little natural fragrance to it. This is pleasant to smell all day long, as it is aromatherapy for your hair. Right now, I am inhaling Jasmine in my hair! Just what I need with the daily stress I encounter.

I hope this helps, any questions please don't hesitate to comment or email me!

Happy Locing!

The dreaded products question...

Despite contrary belief, locs are work. You have to take care of them just like any other hairstyle to ensure healthiness, and uniformity. What to use on your locs to start or maintain is a personal decision. However, depending upon your hair type and stage of dreadlocks careful consideration must be used to prevent product overload.

To begin the locing process you must decide what type of locs you would like to choose:

Organic Locs-The hair is washed regularly, but not combed, allowing the hair to mat with no interference. This typically results in thick locs of different shapes and sizes - these are the locs most often associated with Rastafarians.

Freeform Locs- Freeform locs are similar to organic locs in that they aren't "tightened" or "maintained." However, freeform locs are cultivated to a degree, as the hair is separated (not parted, just pulled apart in "chunks") into fairly uniform sections after washing. There is no parting, palm rolling, twisting, or latching.

Cultivated Locs-Cultivated locs are formed using various methods. What sets them apart from organic locs and freeform locs is that they are parted into sections of about equal size and regularly maintained, using one of several methods to tighten the new growth. Cultivated locs are usually relatively neat and uniform in appearance.

Traditional locs:

• BradeLocz


• Nappy Locs
  
• Sisterlocks (tm)
  And others.

I have Cultivated Traditional Locs which I started by going to a trained loctician. After about 2 months, my loctician trained me how to do my own hair(which is rare). He started my locs with simple, AMPRO protein gel mixed with 100% African Shea Butter. This helped to train my locs, and to help with matting. After about 6 months, I switched to Carol's Daughter, Loc butter. This formula is lightweight, has a pleasant smell, and organic ingredients. My locs had already begun to matt, which afforded me the opportunity to stop using shea butter as my primary ingredient. Shea butter is great but it can cause product buildup, which makes it extremely difficult to cleanse from the hair. In the beginning I had my hair washed and retwisted every 2-3 weeks. After they started matting I only washed my hair every 4 weeks. Whenever I wanted to refresh my scalp I would use an astringent like Seabreeze with a cottonball. In the beginning you will experience itching, as your scalp is getting used to the idea of being washed less frequently. This is why its important to cleanse the scalp. I also believe in using some type of leave in conditioner. For me I used Infusium, it kept my locs somewhat soft, and I believe it helped in hair growth.

When your locs are fully mature which can take up to a full year depending on your hair type, you can stop using shea butter all together. Now that my locs are fully matured except new growth, I use aloe vera gel, or another lightweight gel. Sometimes nothing at all.

If you have any particular questions on products depending on your hairtype please email me and I will try and answer you quickly.

Happy Locing!