Aftercare

Now that you have your fresh retie/retwist, there are a few things which you can do to extend the refresh. Keep your scalp and locs hydrated, healthy and happy by following these simple guidelines: Stay hydrated by drinking sufficient water; Moisturise your locs and scalp by spritzing with a hydrating water based liquid all over and use a light oil _sparingly_ into the scalp. Suggested light oils: Grape seed Oil, Sweet Almond oil, Jojoba oil, apricot kernel oil. Avoid heavy oils on their own (mixed with lighter ones is ok) like: caster oil, coconut oil, shea butter/oil, coco butter/oil. These heavy oils often attract build-up in locked hair. When washing your locs, use transparent shampoo only which is slightly watered down to aid rinse-out. Please avoid all products that are white in colour as the white substances can accumulate in locs and can look like lint in your locked hair. Mainly, Enjoy your locs always! Congratulations for nurturing your roots.

Congratulations on your new born locs! Like babies, your locs must be handled with care but you don't have to do much because in time your locs will form by themselves. Your hair has not lost length- the coils are now being wrapped makes it appear shorter: your locs will drop in approximately 6-18 months and you’ll “suddenly” see new length. Keep your locs and scalp moisturisered by spritzing all over with a hydrating water-based mist and use a light oil sparingly in the scalp (do this every 3 days as a guide). Tie your new starter-locs/dreadlocks down for bedtime (bonnet or du-rag). Do NOT use any heavy grease and avoid sticky/gunky hair gels because this will introduce buildup and lint in your starter locs/dreadlocs. If possible, do not wash your locs until just before coming back for your re-twist in approximately 4 weeks time. If you must wash them sooner, focus on cleansing the scalp with a clear watered-down shampoo and afterwards very gently, separate and palm roll the locs (clockwise only!)- avoid pulling on the roots too much as this will encourage follicle stress. Most of all, enjoy this early stage in your journey: this is a once-only time!

Due to the nature of interlocking, the hair at your roots will be tighter afterwards. Some areas may even feel tender- we try to put follicles-first but sometimes a few end up tighter than intended. Keep the scalp moisturisered by spritzing with a hydrating water based spritz and use a light oil sparingly in the roots. Do not try to style or heavily manipulate your locs! After 3 days, any tightness should have eased off and you can go ahead and use soft loose fastenings to tie hair out of your way if needs be. After TWO WEEKS, your interlocked hair can be happily styled if you wish (feel free to contact us for styling). When washing your locs, remember to only use transparent shampoo which is slightly watered down to aid rinse-out. Please avoid all products that are white in colour as the white substances can accumulate in locs and can look like lint in your locked hair. Enjoy your locs!

Caring for your new microlocs is simple but it’s not necessarily easy. Returning for your first re-tie in four weeks is crucial. Avoid getting your hair wet in the first four weeks (do not saturate it). You should lightly spritz the locs all over with a hydrating water-mist and apply a light oil in the roots of your hair. As a guideline, do this every 3-4 days if you need it. Use fingers to gentle separate any locs that might be matting at the root if necessary. If you absolutely must wash your hair, plait your locs into sections and place a band on the end of each section; whilst washing, be sure to use a clear watered-down shampoo and do not use conditioner. Thoroughly rinse the hair and allow to dry naturally where possible. When almost dried- remove the braided sections and separate any matting locs from each other. Mostly, enjoy this beginning part of your journey- it’ll only be here once!