As more naturals fall in love with locs, crochet faux locs have recently become a popular trend. Because they resemble dreadlocks and are simple to take off when you no longer want to wear them, crochet locs are the trend at the moment!
This hairstyle looks difficult to install from a distance but with the right direction and step-to-step guide you’d achieve your desired look.
What Are Crochet Locs?
Crochet locs are artificial hair locs that are used as hair extensions. It’s referred to as “crochet locs” because it is installed using a crochet hook. Even though this hairstyle is do-it-yourself friendly, you should research the skills of a loctician before getting them to do your hair. As if done incorrectly, this could be harmful to your hair.
Serving as a protective style, crochet locs shield the hair from harsh environmental factors and manipulations, and the older it gets the more beautiful it becomes as a result, there are varying opinions that it requires little or no maintenance, this might not be far from the truth.
Pros and Cons of wearing locs as a protective hairstyle
- It is cost-effective and could stay on for up to 6-8 weeks.
- It is very lightweight and could get a bit heavier above 20 inches.
- The older it gets the more beautiful it becomes.
Cons
- Wearing certain styles can put tension on your nape, edges, or sides. Be sure to avoid over-styling.
- The bulk of the hair makes it difficult to shower and sleep.
- The wrapping hair could snap on your jewelry.
- If the locs are not installed correctly, you would experience difficulty taking them out which could be damaging to your hair.
There are several ways to keep your crochet locs neat, beautiful, and fashionable even when you’ve had them on for a long period and still maintain your hair health. I’ll go over easy techniques for crochet loc installation and maintenance. This is helpful for beginners who want this hairstyle or for those looking for crochet loc maintenance tips.
Preparatory Steps To Install Crochet Locs
Before installation, make sure your hair is free of product buildup and clean. Additionally, since it would be tucked into faux locs, you want it to keep moisturized and nourished.
Start By Using A Sulfate-free Shampoo To Wash Your Hair.
Sulfate in shampoos helps in removing product buildup and dirt from the hair. The only drawback is that they do their work so well that they remove all the moisture and hair oils that the hair needs to keep healthy. Using a sulfate-free shampoo allows your hair to stay moisturized.
Intensive Conditioning
Utilizing a deep conditioner is a certain approach to give your hair the hydration it needs. Deep conditioners penetrate the hair cuticle’s inner cortex and work their magic from the inside out, as opposed to regular conditioners, which are made for everyday use and can only penetrate the hair cuticle’s outside layer.
Apply your deep conditioner to your hair shaft after shampooing, working your way up from the tips to the roots. Conditioners shouldn’t be applied at the roots because the scalp doesn’t necessarily need more moisture. But when shampooing, always remember to focus on the roots. The conditioner should then be distributed evenly into the hair ends using your fingers.
Detangle completely
Without causing hair damage, gently disentangle and smooth out knots in conditioned hair using a brush, your fingers, a wide-tooth comb, or anything else.
Sectioning
Start by dividing your hair into individual singles after finishing the washing process. You decide what parting style you want to section your hair. It could be square, triangular, diamond, U-shaped, circular shape, or none at all. Whichever choice is totally up to you!
Depending on the length you want and the thickness of your hair, you’d need between 4- 8 packs of loc extensions.
How to Install Crochet Locs
Step 1: After properly dividing your hair into sections, take one fraction and braid it, do it for all sections. Spray hair oils on the scalp once the braiding process is complete to keep it hydrated.
Step 2: Insert the crochet hook at the root of the braid. Open the loop of the loc and attach it to the hook of the crochet, pull it through.
Step 3: Open the crochet hook, insert the end of the crochet loc into the hook, close it and pull through the loop of the crochet loc.
Step 4: Make sure the loc is firm and secure. You’d find that your braid and crochet loc are separate which is good.
Step 5: Insert your crochet hook into your locs, attach the braid ends and pull it in, repeat this process till the entire length of hair is covered.
Protective styles won’t function as intended if left alone without any maintenance. Hair breakage from being too dry will stop your hair from growing. You still need to take care of your hair to keep it nourished and healthy even if you have crochet or faux locs on.
Ways to Care for your Crochet Faux Locs
- If you plan to keep your locs in for more than four weeks, wash your hair as usual.
- If you don’t intend to wash your hair, use a dry shampoo or an apple cider vinegar hair rinse to get rid of dirt and product buildup on the scalp.
- Apply mousse to your braids to tame flyaways and occasionally add shine.
- Oils and leave-in conditioners work hand in hand with protective styles.
- Apply mousse to your locs to tame flyaways and occasionally add shine.
- Focus on the health of your scalp by misting hair oils on it to seal in moisture, encourage the growth of healthy hair, and combat frizz.
- As cotton or other fabrics wick away moisture, wear a silk cap or scarf while you sleep to keep the faux locs appearing fresh.
Is crochet locs washable? Yes! It’s not as challenging as it seems. The best way to wash locs is to keep your fingertips on the scalp only, allowing the shampoo to wash down the locs. This will prevent you from applying too much friction, which will eventually cause the locs to loosen and fall out.
How to remove crochet locs
There is no need to worry about the removal process damaging your hair if the installation was done correctly.
But you must be careful when taking out the locs to avoid breaking your hair. Retrieve the braid and pull out the loc, this is a simple procedure, the next step is to undo the braids below. To avoid hair loss due to product buildup, I advise massaging the braid roots with oil or water.
Conclusion
Crochet Faux Locs doesn’t take much effort and merely has to be crotched in and by far takes the least amount of time to complete.
As much as this article is DIY friendly, it is still recommended that you do the necessary research and consult a loctician or hair stylist for the installation because they are more knowledgeable about how to style and what products to use for the procedure.
Crocheting also requires patience to avoid damaging your hair. The goal is to protect the hair in the first place.