What experiments have you tried on your locs? How did it go?
Hi! My name is Bettye. I have had DIY microlocs for fifteen months and I am obsessed with my hair. If you have locs (also known as dreadlocks or dreads) or if you are thinking about installing microlocs, you have come to the right place. Today, I am talking about experimenting with microlocs.
When you have DIY microlocs, pretty much everything you do with your locs is an experiment. Let me tell you what I mean. I started my loc journey by installing two strand twists throughout my head. I wore them for a month to get an idea what locs would look like on me. As a loose natural, I was not a two strand twists wearer. I used two strand twists on wash day as a way to keep de tangled hair separated from still tangled hair. The two strand twists allowed my hair to dry and stretched what I thought was 4C and 4B curls into a longer, more manageable curl pattern. Two strand twists was my favorite way to dry my hair.
The concept of wearing two strand twists as a hairstyle for public consumption was fine for other people. I wore them as bangs occasionally as a loose natural. But, this was not a go-to hair style, rather a last ditch “I can’t do anything with my hair” style. So, I experimented with wearing two strand twists for a month. My hair was not long. The ends of my twists touched my neck at about the 3rd or 4th cervical vertebrae. I tried a few loc hairstyles and thought maybe I don’t have to loc my hair, maybe just wear it twisted. There were actually a lot of fallacies to this line of reasoning. Fortunately, I didn’t figure that out until after I installed my microlocs.
So, why didn’t I just twist, untwist, wash and retwist my hair? It took me all day to accomplish. Locs held out a promise to make hair maintenance easier and much less time consuming. I did not count the number of twists during this first experiment. Instead I installed 96 two strand twists and decided to let them lock into that shape.
This begins the second big experiment with my locs. How does one know the right number of locs has been installed. Some will tell you it is based on the density of your hair and some will say the length of your hair or the texture. The truth is all of these are important but it is the way you feel about your locs that is the most important determinant on what is the right loc count. It is a highly individualized decision.
After 3 weeks I decided my future self needed more versatility – that is, more locs – besides I could always combine them if needed. Row by row I deconstructed 96 locs. Some of these locs I divided diagonally. I don’t recommend doing this. The smaller, pointy ends have no respect for the grid. They often don’t choose to recognize the artificial divisions I superimposed.
I thought 200 would be a manageable number of locs for me to maintain in my own. I ended up with 212 locs. I was very happy when I saw the fullness doubling my loc count gave the shape of my hair. Even though I have combined 4 locs into 2 and reduced my loc count to 210, this experiment at the beginning of my loc journey has made the biggest impact. My scalp does not show even after retwisting or maintenance interlocking. This is my preference.
In the beginning, I was excited to see how my locs would grow and develop. I am still excited. I sprayed my new locs with water daily. Sometimes several times a day. I applied oils to my scalp, sometimes several different oils 2 or 3 times a week. Within the first week I began to experience itching not flaking just itching. I now believe I applied too much oil to my scalp. I reached this conclusion after another experiment. At 7 months loc’d I decided to stop using oils on my locs. One Youtube favorite, Lauren from Holistic Flow, touted that she was not going to use oils on her locs any more. I decided to see how my locs might respond. The next time I washed my hair I did not apply any oils. No Jamaican Black Castor oil, no peppermint essential oil… no oils at all. I didn’t change any other aspect of my loc maintenance. At the time, I washed my locs every other weekend. I sprayed my locs daily with water or water and rose water or water and (strained) aloe vera juice or a combination of the 3. Adding rose water and aloe vera juice were both experiments based on comments and Youtube videos. I found rose water by itself left a build up and needs to be diluted.
After following the “no oils” experiment for 3 weeks, I noticed oil on my scalp and realized my scalp was producing sebum. This is the first time I had ever noticed this phenomenon.
I noticed the sebum while I was massaging my scalp. Scalp massage is a daily practice. I press the pads of my fingertips on my scalp while making small circles. I lift my fingers and repeat in another area of scalp. Youtuber Sammy Da Gawd recommends daily scalp massage and it’s a beloved part of my loc maintenance regimen. I have returned to adding oils on my scalp and rubbing a little oil in my palms to distribute along the length of my locs. Why? I still love the way my locs respond to Jamaican Black Castor oil and because I have oils I purchased for use in my locs. I’m not throwing those out or giving them away like I did with my other hair care products. I just use them very sparingly. I mix peppermint oil with argan oil or apricot oil and apply to my scalp maybe every other week. I will apply a little JBCO about once a week. A small amount of oil rubbed into my palms and applied while massaging my scalp is enough.
My last big experiment is semi free forming. This means different things to different people. Basically, it means not retwisting or retightening your locs for months. I have been extending the period of time between retightening since watching Yanni, the Locologist on Youtube at about 6 months into my loc journey.
In the beginning I interlocked my hair every time I noticed two fingers of new growth. Two fingers held together and placed on the scalp next to a loc. If the new growth was as long as the two fingers held together, I interlocked. This was about every 6 or 7 weeks. I was amazed at how quickly my hair grew during my first summer. I’m noticing that my hair grows faster in the summer and growth slows during the fall and winter.
In February, I retightened my hair with interlocking. I decided to see how long it would take my hair to lock with minimal manipulation. When I wet my hair in the shower I would re wrap loose hairs around the appropriate loc. On a daily basis I ran my fingers through damp locs to make sure no locs were joining together. Some tried to “marry” but I gently pulled (and when necessary pulled hard enough to snap a few strands) until all hairs are associated with the right loc. At one year loc’d, I’m not trying to make new locs with loose hair. I’m keeping the integrity of each loc.
In July, just before going on vacation, I washed my hair and noticed 3 strands of hair on my fingers as I rinsed out shampoo. It had been 5 months since I last retightened or interlocked. I have not had 3 strands of hair come out at one time since I loc’d my hair. I have not had consistent length retention of my hair until I loc’d it. These loose shed hairs told me that strands of hair held together was key for my hair to grow and retain length. So, it was time to wrap up this experiment.
On vacation I leisurely and gently interlocked. I did not interlock to the scalp. I left the locs lying in the direction I want them to fall but I did not make rookie mistakes like interlocking until I could barely get the loc needle through the loc. I believe for my locs interlocking every 4 to 5 months is sufficient. That was a great experiment! Now that my locs are more mature, they don’t require frequent interlocking. Of course this knowledge just makes my loc journey that much easier.
If you have read this far, please let me know if you have tried any of these experiments or if you have tried other experiments. This is a safe space. How did your experiments go? What did you learn about your locs?
All loc journeys are a little different but armed with information we can learn what might best work for us…and what we should leave alone.
Next time I will talk about traveling with locs.
Stay lovely. Stay loc’d.
Bettye
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