loc journey. You may be just learning about
your African heritage and decide that starting locs
will be a great way to connect to your roots.
You may be reaching a turning point in your
life as a mature adult where you’d like to try
something new with your look.
You may be a person whose hair has been
weakened and damaged from years of putting
chemicals in it and going natural would be the
only way to save your hair.
GETTING STARTED
1) Cut the chemically altered part of your
hair off if you have a perm or some other
chemical in your hair. Leaving the chemically
treated hair in will slow the locing process
and cause your hair to look damaged instead
of healthy.
2) Start your locs from scratch with a head full
of your natural hair texture. That way as
your locs begin to form and grow out they
will look healthy.
3) Inspect your hair to see if you may have
some sections that are thinner than others.
The right side may be thinner than the left
or top thinner than the back. If you have a
section of hair like this, it helps to make the
locs in that section a little thinner than the
rest. This will give a full look to that section
helping to camouflage the thinness of the
hair.
4) Shampoo and condition your hair with
natural hair care products. You’ll know a
product is natural when you can pronounce
the ingredients and the list is not the length
of the back of the bottle.
5) Use blends of essential oils mixed with a
carrier oil such as jojoba, almond, avocado,
or olive to massage your scalp after washing
it, but before twisting it. Only do this when
you are not doing a hot oil treatment.
Massaging with essential oil blends can aid in
stimulating hair growth.
6) Start your locs by using one of the following
methods;
Braids - splitting one section of hair into 3
sections with your fingers and crossing each
section one over until you reach the end of
the newly formed braid.
2 strand Twist - dividing one section of hair
into 2 sections with your fingers and twisting
one section around the other until you get to
the end of the twist.
Single Twist - twisting a section of hair
between your fingers (some use a twirling
motion around the fingers) until the hair
forms into a cylinder or straw shape.
Palm Roll - placing a section of hair between
your palms and rolling the hair either toward
or away from your face until a cylinder or
straw shape section is formed. Used by
people who are starting their locs with hair
that is finger length or longer.
7) Use the Single Twist or Palm Roll method
after the first time you form your locs. Using
either one of these two methods will help
your locs to form as they are supposed to
over time.
8) Ask the people you see with healthy natural
hair about who does their hair if you decide
to let a stylist do yours for you. This is
the best way to find a loctician or natural
stylist.
9) Make sure the loctician or natural stylist you
use is known for using natural products on
their client’s hair. Go to a natural stylist
who understands that the more natural the
product the healthier your hair will be.
10) Find a loctician who knows how to put in
extension locs if you can’t bare the thought
of cutting your hair. This will allow you to
start your locs from the length of your
current hair.
11) Understand that if you decide you no longer
want locs you will have to cut out the
extension locs just as though they are your
own hair. After the first year of having them,
your extension locs will be intertwined just
as your natural hair would be had you grown
it from scratch.
12) Find a loctician to help you start your locs if
your natural hair texture is straight to very
soft curls. The kinkier your hair the easier it
is to start locs.
13) Let a loctician help you start your locs until
they are in a mature stage that you may be
able to maintain on your own at home. This
is especially important if your hair is on the
straight to soft side naturally.
SHAMPOOING AND CONDITIONING THE NATURAL WAY
14) Go to your local health food store or search
on the internet to get a natural shampoo and
conditioner. There is no point in going natural
and having locs if you’re going to mistreat
them with chemically loaded shampoos and
conditioners.
15) Purchase the most natural products to use
on your natural hair so that it can look and
feel as healthy as possible. This goes for any
natural style even if it’s not locs.
16) Use a separate shampoo and conditioner. A
single product that is a 2-in -1 shampoo and
conditioner will dry your hair out.
17) Apply a conditioner that must be rinsed out.
Leave- in conditioners will cause your hair to
dry out and cause build up in your locs.
18) Use hair care products that contain no
alcohol. Alcohol will dry your hair out.
19) Wash your hair every two weeks on average
if you are just starting your locs. This gives
your locs a chance to form and intertwine
without too much interruption. As your locs
mature you will be able to wash them with
more frequency without having to worry
about them coming apart.
20) Clean your hair as often as you feel it is
needed once your locs are in their mature
stage. The mature stage is when your locs
no longer come completely undone when
washed.
21) Add a small amount of Tea Tree Oil to your
shampoo to help relieve dandruff should
it occur. This also helps to avoid mildew
forming should you decide to air dry your
hair.
22) Rinse out all of your shampoo and conditioner.
Any left over cleansing product in your hair
can also lead to build up that will eventually
leave a grayish residue in your locs.
23) Blot the water out of your hair with your
towel after washing it. Most people tend to
rub their hair dry with a towel. Rubbing your
hair dry causes it to tangle. You’ll also risk
breakage.
24) Change your shampoo or conditioner if you
experience dry scalp or excessive dandruff.
Even though you are using a natural product
you could still be allergic to something in
it that could be causing the dry scalp or
dandruff.
25) Wash your locs as soon as possible after you
leave the beach so you can remove the salt
from the water. Allowing the salt to settle in
your locs causes your scalp and your hair to
dry out.
26) Cleanse your locs after spending time in a
swimming pool. This keeps the chemicals
from the water from settling in and drying
your hair out.
27) Blend essential oils with carrier oils and
apply the mix to your scalp while your hair
is still wet. Put a plastic cap of some kind
over your hair and sit under a hood dryer for
10 to 15 minutes. Afterwards wash your hair
to remove the oil treatment. This is what’s
referred to as a Hot Oil Treatment. It helps
to deep condition your locs during the winter
months when your hair can feel extra dry.
Doing this more than once a month can cause
your hair to have oil buildup.
MAINTENENCE AND CARE
28) Use your oil blends to massage your scalp
in between washings if your scalp feels dry.
Massaging with essential oil blends can aid in
stimulating hair growth.
29) Apply a water soluble loc butter, gel, or
aloe vera gel to twist or palm roll your locs.
These products wash away more easily than
a petroleum or beeswax based product when
it is time to freshen your locs. There are
loc twisting gels and butters on the market
now, making it easy to find one that you are
comfortable using in your hair.
30) Start at your scalp and twist down to the
tip when twisting or palm rolling your locs.
This encourages your new growth to begin to
form its cylinder form which will eventually
form into a mature loc down the line.
31) Twist or Palm Roll your hair in one direction.
That means either towards your face or away
from your face. This helps set the pattern in
which your locs will grow. Twisting back and
forth will cause your locs to eventually pop
off.
32) Twist your hair only after washing it. Too
much twisting causes your locs to have a
weak foundation which leads to the loc
popping off from being too thin at the base.
33) Let your hair air dry after oiling and twisting
it so that it is not in danger of getting dried
out from the heat of a hand dryer. Using
a hand dryer can make your hair too dry
because you won’t be able to dry all of your
hair evenly at once. This will cause you to
over compensate by drying your hair too long
in certain areas.
34) Use a dryer that you can sit under. Set it on
a low heat setting so that you won’t dry out
your nourished hair if you can’t do your hair
early enough to prevent sleeping on wet hair.
Purchase this dryer at your local beauty
supply stores.
35) Tie your locs above your head with a silk or
satin scarf when you are taking a shower if
you are not washing your hair. Once your
locs are shoulder length you do not want
them to constantly be wet everyday when
you are leaving your house.
36) Cover your locs with a silk or satin scarf at
night to help minimize lint deposits in your
hair. Too many lint deposits can cause grayish
build up in your locs.
37) Color your locs with a natural coloring
product such as henna to help camouflage
lint deposits if grayish build up occur. Most
health food stores carry natural hair coloring
products.
38) Visit a loctician should you have a loc
that pops off that you would like to have
reattached. They will know how to reattach
it in a way that will camouflage the fact that
it broke off to begin with.
39) Wrap one loc around the other when you
have a loc that is thin at the root that you
would like to attach to the loc next to it.
Eventually they will grow together forming a
stronger loc at the root.
40) Pay attention to the shedding of your hair.
Shedding is part of the hair growing process.
There’s no need to panic if you see a strand
or two on your clothes. Too much shedding
could be the result of a poor diet. Consult
your physician if you are experiencing heavy
shedding.
41) Trim your locs a few inches if you begin to
experience neck pains or if your head feels
heavy. Everyone can’t necessarily wear locs
down their back. Your body will let you know
what a comfortable length is for your neck to
bare.
42) Have patience with your hair. It is not going
to be down your back over night. Different
hair textures grow at different speeds.
43) Eat healthy foods. Your system is healthier
when you eat fresher, non-processed foods.
The more fruits and vegetables the better.
Proper nutrition helps your hair be its
healthiest by receiving nutrients from the
inside of your body.
44) Drink at least 2 liters of water a day. Keeping
the body properly hydrated also helps your
hair grow to be healthy.
LOC ADORNMENTS
45) Find a local ethnic shop that sells Africanrelated
products. In these shops you’ll find
different types of hair sticks, berets, or bands
used for putting your locs into different styles
such as a ponytail or a French roll. They will
also have cowry shells available which are
the most popular type of loc adornment.
46) Go to the fabric store and look for light
weight fabrics in your favorite patterns.
These can be wrapped or tied around your
head to give yourself a new look with your
locs.
47) Look for an arts and crafts store to find
different types of beads that you can adorn
your locs with. Some people prefer beads
over shells. An arts and crafts store will have
beads in every color you can think of, giving
you great variety in how you accessorize your
locs.
Follow the tips in this booklet and your hair
will be long and healthy before you know it.
Everyone with locs does not keep their locs down
their back. Some would just like the healthiest
head of natural hair they can have regardless of
the length.
http://healthylocs.nyrajuskincare.com/download.php
