Journey of Loc Hairstyles: Stages, Care Tips, and Handling Bumps

The Journey of Locs

Starting the journey of locs can be an exciting and transformative experience. As your hair begins to loc, you may wonder about the process and what to expect along the way. Whether you are new to locs or curious to learn more, understanding the stages of the locing process can help you better care for your hair.

The First Steps

If you have tightly coiled or curly hair, the locing process can begin naturally on its own without having to do anything special to your hair. However, many people choose to give their locs a head start by using the twist or palm roll method. This involves sectioning the hair into square parts and twisting or rolling each one by hand so they start to mesh and form loc buds.

During this early stage, many people experience lots of frizz and loose hairs at the roots as the hair begins to tangle and mesh together. This is completely normal, though keeping your locs separated and neat in these beginning stages can help encourage quicker progress.

Budding and Maturing

After about 2-4 months, you will notice the individual locs starting to form distinct buds at their bases. Each loc will begin to swell and thicken, creating a rounded or cylindrical shape rather than staying flat and limp.

Over the next several months, the loc buds will continue to tighten and mature. Slowly but surely, they will hang down rather than sticking out and acquire a visually straighter, neater look. As the locs drop, you may also notice them starting to develop raised ridges or bumps along their lengths.

Having some bumps along the loc shaft is usually an indicator of strong, healthy maturation. These raised ridges tend to naturally occur as the hair grows out but loc styles that encourage matting like palm rolling can sometimes cause faster bump and ridge formation.

Filling Out

By around 6 months in, your locs should be fairly well-defined from root to tip with clear cylindrical or rounded shapes. As they continue maturing, locs often start becoming thicker or fatter to match their length better.

Often between 9-15 months into the journey, locs go through a key transitional stage where growth really speeds up. The locs will rapidly start getting longer, fuller, and heavier during this time. Staying on top of your wash, separate, and retighten routine becomes extra critical now to prevent potentially losing progress.

Some locs may thin out instead along parts of their lengths rather than widening. They can reform with time but keeping these strands held tight to their bases during washing is important. Otherwise, it becomes easier for them to unravel and require restarting.

Fully Formed

Once your loc journey passes the second year mark, the locs should have a very mature, developed look. The actual time it takes to reach this point can vary greatly though depending on your hair type and how you care for your locs along the way.

At this stage, the locs will look tidy, plump, and hang with clearly defined cylindrical or cuboid shapes all along their lengths. You can still expect to see new bumps and ridges form even on mature, older locs as they continue growing out healthily.

From here forward, it becomes about keeping up maintenance and allowing your locs to hang to their full glorious lengths! Length largely becomes a test of patience and avoiding breakage over the long term.

Caring for Locs

Washing

Keeping locs clean is essential for maintaining progression, stimulating growth, preventing buildup or mildew smells, and allowing your hair to loc most efficiently.

Focus first on keeping your scalp clean between washes by gently massaging it during daily rinsing in the shower. The steam will help loosen any debris or dirt so it can rinse clear.

Doing a full wash too often, like daily or every other day, can actually cause more harm than good. Aim instead to fully shampoo and deep condition your locs once every 1-2 weeks. Use residue-free natural shampoos to prevent product buildup.

Drying

Allow your locs to air dry naturally rather than using heat from blow dryers or flat irons. Air drying prevents extra friction and breakage to the hair strands inside each loc.

Blot locs gently with an old t-shirt or microfiber towel to soak up excess moisture when fresh out of the shower. Avoid rubbing back and forth vigorously as this can cause frizz and unraveling.

If needed, use a hood dryer on a cool setting to speed up the drying process. Just avoid touching or disturbing the loc formations until they fully dry.

Retightening

As your new growth comes in, you will need to periodically retighten or re-twist the loose hair near your roots. Generally, aim to retighten your locs about once every 4-8 weeks.

Palm roll each loc between your palms to encourage the new growth to form up neatly with the existing hair. You can also retwist, interlock, or crochet as alternative techniques for tidying up the roots between washes.

Retightening locs regularly helps prevent extensive slippage by keeping loose hairs contained to the loc they belong to. Letting new growth stay loose for too long can cause fraying along the loc shaft, leading to thinning or breakage higher up.

Common Bumps in the Road

On any journey, it helps to be prepared for potential obstacles you might encounter along the way. For the loc process, some common bumps can include:

Frizz

Frizz is incredibly common throughout the loc journey, especially in the first 6-12 months. As loc buds and strands mature at different rates, the loose hairs protruding out can create a frizzy halo effect.

Be patient and keep palm rolling the frizzies down gently during wash days. Avoid over manipulation daily or roughly smoothing them, which could risk breakage.

Buildup

Product buildup from heavy oils, waxes, or styling creams can start forming quick and cause slippage issues. Always apply these products lightly and keep buildup in check with clarifying washes.

Use apple cider or white vinegar rinses as needed to dissolve waxy deposits and prevent mildew smells from forming over time.

Thinning

Some thinning along the loc shaft is normal but extensive thinning can happen from too much manipulation, rough washing, or delaying retightening excessively.

Get on a good wash and retighten schedule right away at the first signs of thinning to prevent full breakage higher up the loc.

If thinning is extensive in multiple locs, you may need to combine locs or restart the process fully by cutting them to re-loc.

Embracing the Journey

Caring for locs requires time, dedication, and understanding the unique needs of your individual hair type. But embracing all aspects of the journey with patience and positivity makes reaching your hair goals ultimately rewarding.

FAQs

How often should I wash my locs?

Wash your locs once every 1-2 weeks using a natural, residue-free shampoo. Over washing can cause frizz and breakage while under washing leads to buildup.

What’s the best way to dry my locs?

Air drying is best to prevent damage. Gently blot with a shirt then air dry fully. Use a hooded dryer on cool setting if needed to speed up drying time.

Why are some of my locs thinning out?

Minor thinning can be normal but extensive thinning results from too much manipulation, rough washing, delayed retightening, or weakness from chemical processes.

How do I get rid of frizz?

Gently palm roll frizz down during wash days. Avoid over manipulation between washes. Accept some frizz as part of the early stages. Stay patient as frizz lessens over time.

Should I combine thinning locs?

If thinning is extensive along the length in multiple locs, combining with thicker neighboring locs can help prevent further breakage.