Starter locs can be done in a variety of ways. Some people want to start their dreads as natural as possible, with as little products as possible. If you want to create homemade starter locs naturally without gels or wax, here’s a great way to do so.
When getting a new set of locs, it’s quite common for people to have many questions and concerns, which is understandable. When I first started my dreadlocks journey, I didn’t know much, but after doing a ton of research over the past years, I realized that I didn’t do too bad for a beginner.
If you are worried about using wax or gel to make your starter locs, you can simply use a natural moisturizer and water to keep them in place. The thing about natural afro hair, when you twist the hair in a certain pattern, it naturally forms a coil and will continue to grow in that pattern, unless you pull it out.
Water Helps Baby Locs to Lock Faster
One thing a lot of new people who are starting locs were concerned about, which included me back when I started, is that water would unravel newly coiled dreads. However, this is the opposite, since water does helps to lock your hair faster.
You may notice that when your hair gets wet, it starts to tangle and become hard to comb out. Well, that’s what happens to your coils when you create homemade dreads with water and moisturizer.
When to Wash Starter Locs
You don’t have to wash your starter locs until the next 2 weeks. When you’re washing them, you can’t handle them as rough as you would do regular natural unlocked hair. Just gently massage your scalp to remove dirt and grime, using a mild dreadlocks shampoo.
Transitioning From Starter Locs to Mature Locs
When you just get your starter locs, they will look smooth and neat. After a while, you’ll notice that they’re no longer smooth. They’ll become fuzzy as the strands start to coil around each other. Don’t give up just yet. The best is yet to come. Mine was a big mess at first, but right now I’m loving them.
It’s a big transition to get from starter locs to fully locked dreads. One week your hair will look one way, then the other week, there will be variations of texture, fuzz, and all the other ins and outs of getting to the matured locs stage.
One advice I’d give is, if you’re a person who love when your hair is super neat, you may need to come up with some creative ways to keep your hair looking neat enough to make you feel confident wearing your locs.