Keeping your locs neat and tangle-free isn’t challenging, but it does take some know-how, time, and commitment.
Caring for your locs is a combination of how you wash, dry, moisturize, and maintain them. Luckily, by making a few small changes to your routine, you can get tangle-free, fresh-looking locs in no time.
Here are our tips and tricks for keeping your locs neat and tangle-free!
Want to keep your locs tangle-free the easy way? Try our loc growth oil, designed to keep your locs healthy, strong, and neat!
Related: What Sea Salt Spray Does for Your Locs
Keep Your Locs Clean
First, you need to check how you’re washing your locs — are you following the right steps?
- Thoroughly soak your locs and scalp in the water.
- Using loc wash, massage the shampoo into your locs and scalp.
- Let the water run over your locs for at least a few minutes. You want to ensure all of the shampoo is out, and you don’t want to play with your locs too much while washing.
Washing your locs the right way helps keep them tangle-free, neat, and healthy!
Condition Your Locs
There are two ways to condition your locs: regular conditioning and deep conditioning.
Conditioning your locs is an excellent way to help them look neater, reduce frizz, and increase softness. However, regular conditioners won’t penetrate your locs; instead, they work on the surface.
Deep conditioning your locs, on the other hand, helps keep them tangle-free by penetrating even deeper. Both are crucial to neat, tangle-free locs.
We recommend using a loc wash and conditioner combo every time you wash your locs and doing a deep condition every 2-3 weeks. This routine will ensure your locs always look their best and don’t get tangled!
Note: Don’t deep condition starter locs! It can cause them to unravel.
Keep Your Locs Dry
Drying your locs properly is crucial to keeping them healthy and avoiding the dreaded dread rot. After washing and conditioning, it’s time to get drying!
Here’s how to dry your locs without damaging them:
- Squeeze out the water after washing (but don’t twist!) by hand.
- Use a towel (preferably microfiber, not cotton) to squeeze out any water that’s left.
- Wrap your locs with a towel for an hour or two.
- Shake your locs to get rid of excess moisture (be careful not to whack your locs on anything!).
- Let them dry the rest of the way naturally. Or if they are still pretty damp, use a hairdryer on its cool or low setting for about ten minutes.
- If there is any moisture left when you go to bed, spread your locs out over your pillowcase and turn a fan on if possible.
Following these drying tips will help ensure there isn’t any moisture left in your dreads after washing, which can lead to damage and other issues!
Use Oil On Your Locs and Scalp
Another way to ensure that your locs stay neat and tangle-free is to keep them oiled. Using a high-quality loc oil helps keep moisture in, softening your locs to keep them looking great and help ensure they don’t tangle.
You can use our loc oil daily to keep the tangles away, reduce frizz, and boost your shine! We combine lightweight and heavier oils to provide moisture to the outside of your locs and penetrate deep into your hair to seal that moisture in, keeping your locs looking neat all day long.
As a bonus, you can say goodbye to dandruff, itching, and scalp irritation!
Related: Benefits of Oiling Your Locs
Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize!
Keeping your locs moisturized is one of the best ways to ensure a neat, tangle-free look. There are many ways to add moisture to your locs — our favorite is with a rose water moisturizing spray.
Using a daily moisturizing spray helps keep the tangles away, adds shine to your hair, reduces frizziness, and prevents the overproduction of natural oil that results in itchiness and dandruff.
If you want strong, tangle-free locs, hydration is key!
Use the Right Products
Unfortunately, the hair care products at your local store likely won’t cut it if you want your locs to be strong, healthy, and tangle-free. Having the right lineup of loc products is crucial, whether you have baby starter locs or long adult locs.
Regular shampoos and conditioners contain ingredients that will leave residue in your locs and potentially cause significant damage. Ultimately, they’ll gunk up your dreads.
Instead, look for hair products designed specifically for locs that don’t leave build-up that can make it difficult for your locs to dry and tighten properly, leading to a tangled mess.
Don’t settle for drug store hair products — get your organic, vegan-friendly, and residue-free loc products here!
Cover Your Locs at Night
If you don’t want to wake up to tangled locs in the morning, you have a few options.
You can use a satin or silk scarf, bonnet, or durag to cover your locs as you sleep. These are excellent for keeping your locs neat and tangle-free. They also protect your lovely locs from drying out and getting damaged from friction as you move throughout the night!
If you’d rather not cover your locs, a satin or silk pillowcase is the next best option. These won’t snag your hair during the night, produce lint, or weaken your locs like cotton pillowcases.
Brush Your Locs
Finally, you can reduce product-build op, control messy frizz, and keep tangles away from your locs by brushing them. However, the process is different than brushing other hairstyles.
You’ll want to get a boar bristle brush — generally, the softer, the better. A soft bristle brush will help strengthen your hair, make it look neater, and help prevent tangles.
Loc brushing has many benefits beyond detangling your roots; we recommend picking up a brush and giving it a shot!
Don’t Let Tangles and Frizz Get You and Your Locs Down!
If you want your locs to grow strong, healthy, and tangle-free while looking fresh all the time, following these eight tips is key.
So double-check the products you use to wash, condition, and moisturize your locs, rethink your bedtime routine, and start brushing your locs, and they’ll be neat and tangle-free in no time!
Related: Best Plant-Based Loc Products