After a lot of debating, research, and saving Pinterest pages of women in gorgeous locs, you are finally ready to embark on your own loc journey. For some, they want to be solely responsible for their hair throughout the loc process while for others, they think that having locs is an easy process that can be simply done by friends or themselves.
However, the journey to long beautiful locs requires a lot of patience, intense labor, and a structured system for successful maintenance and growth. A loctician plays an integral role throughout the whole process. A loctician is a hairstylist who specializes in locs. They will guide you in starting, growing, maintaining and styling locs effectively.
Here are reasons why everyone, no matter what stage of their journey, should consider a loctician:
1. Correctly Starting The Journey
There are many factors to consider before starting your loc journey. From the get-go, a loctician is able to control the trajectory of how your locs will look when they are long in the years to come. They are best suited to guide you in the right way to begin the loc process. For the most part, locs are a permanent protective style. You want a strong foundational groundwork in the initial process of starting your loc journey to ensure its continuous growth and health.
Uniformity of each individual loc is hard to achieve if you are not a loctician. Whether it is micro, small, medium, or large locs it will be difficult to guarantee a consistent size throughout the whole head if you do it yourself. The installation is an intricate time-consuming process and for many, they may take shortcuts to quickly finish the process, get fatigued or they will not have consistent precision throughout. As for parting, it makes a huge impact on the progress of your locs as they age. To correctly part the hair, you will need a professional loctician.
2. They Are The Experts
“I know my hair.” Yes, you do, but not in locs! Many loose naturals have maintained a healthy hair care routine and are confident they can do it all on their own with locs. However, locs are not a one-time installation style. They take months to form and go through different stages throughout the years, which will be unfamiliar to you. Locticians have handled and cared for locs in all stages and can advise you through each one. Relying on a trained expert will save you from regret in the long run. Trust the experts as they know how to attain the desired loc look you envision.
3. They Can Assess The Condition Of The Hair
The loc process is a long journey that needs regular assessment from the start. Even before installation, consult with a loctician to assess the health of your hair and scalp. Locticians have dealt with a vast number of different types of curl patterns and hair densities. They have the expertise to tackle any problems that may occur in one’s loc journey. Itchy or irritated scalp, thinning locs, or hair breakage are some of the issues a loctician can identify and help you find a solution.
4. Beginner Stage
The starter phase of the loc journey is an exciting and sometimes frustrating stage for many newbies. New growth is visible at this stage and retwisting by a loctician is necessary (if you’re not free-forming), to keep the roots growing with the locs. Additionally, a lot of shedding happens during this stage, especially on your wash day. With you leaving the hair to grow as it pleases, the hair will not look its neatest. Locticians have developed systems and techniques for this very process to ensure that your hair is is at its best.
5. Correct Use Of Products
What product is being used to loc your hair? It is not unheard of for non-locticians to use unfriendly loc gels, shea butter, cream-based products, and other harmful products to loc the hair. The locs may look neat, but this can be damaging to the hair later in your loc journey. There is a higher risk of product build-up that will get stuck in your locs. When locs are unable to receive moisture, they will eventually dry out, thin, and break. Locticians have the knowledge on how to use products. They know which products are beneficial, rather than harmful to the health and growth of locs.
6. Technique
Interlocking, palm rolling, and retwisting are amongst the different techniques used to create locs. You should consult with a loctician so they can identify the best technique for your hair and styling your locs. For example, sisterlocks are a type of micro locs that should only be done by a trained sisterlock loctician. They are trained with the right technique to interlock the hair per sisterlock guidelines. A wrong technique or D.I.Y can cause more damage.
7. Hair Maintenance
Locs provide the comfort of minimal hair care, but you need to take care of the health of your scalp and locs. Cleansing your hair is extremely important to remove buildup and keep the scalp clean to regulate sebum production. A consistent and well-balanced cleansing routine will be determined by your loctician to prevent damage during the locking process.
8. Styling
When it comes to styling locs, the possibilities are endless. They are versatile, can be well-styled, and may require intricate styling techniques to achieve flawless looks. Locticians are excellent in helping to attain beautiful loc styles for you to wear on any special occasion.
You may want to try coloring with your loc journey. Yes, hair coloring can be easily done at home, however, when it comes to locs it can be tricky. A loctician is ideal for this process as they will be able to ensure proper color distribution despite the hair being locked. Also, the color will be consistently vibrant which can be challenging when the hair is in locs.
Locs are a commitment and it is crucial to structure your loc regimen by entrusting a loctician to walk you through the journey of growing locs. You should consider CurleeMe where we have a wide catalog of locticians in the US & Canada. With CurleeMe, finding a loctician who will help you maintain and grow healthy strong locs, will be stress-free and convenient.
