Faux Loc Frequently Asked Questions
1. It can be Temporary OR Permanent
Faux locs come in a semi-permanent form in which natural hair is wrapped with yarn, synthetic or human hair. This temporary system lasts up to three months and is often called a protective style because it doesn’t require you to alter the chemical or physical state of your natural hair. The permanent form of faux locs is just as it sounds— permanent. So don’t enter into this venture lightly. For this style, human hair is wrapped around your natural hair or actual human hair locs are attached to your roots. That’s right, dreadlocks from another person’s head are attached to yours. Our natural hair can be re-twisted and turns into a loc as the hair grows.
2. Choose the Right Texture
Since you have human hair, synthetic and yarn fiber as options, be sure your stylist evaluates the strength of your natural hair. Yarn is the most lightweight and will not pull the hair down as much. Human hair is more dense and allows a bit more flexibility. Synthetic, which is the most popular, comes in numerous textures and offers the most flexibility, but is heavy. Be sure, if you opt for a large size faux synthetic loc, you leave perimeter hair strands out to alleviate hairline stress.
3. Pick Color Wisely
Faux locs are the ultimate protective style because they literally “loc you in” for a period of time. With that said, pick your color wisely! Warm brown and red tones are great for fall and often come blended with a dark brown or black. Going darker means it will blend well with your natural color and be less shocking of a transition
4. Commit to a Manageable Length
The longer the loc, the heavier the load. Regardless of fiber, be careful when choosing the diameter and length of your faux locs. For ones like Ciara, go for a diameter of a dime or nickel and a length of just below shoulder length.
5. Maintain Positive Hair Care
The term protective style doesn’t mean neglected style. Hair care and maintenance is a must for faux locs! You should oil your scalp daily, wash and condition at least bi-weekly, and take a daily vitamin. You’ll be surprised to see the luxurious glow your hair has after its faux locs transformation!
1. Sticking Together: Faux locs DO stick together unless I constantly keep them moisturized which I do not always do. There is a way of alleviating it, however it is still a bit annoying to have to pry them apart from one another in order to complete my next hair style.
2. Fuzz Balls/ Frizziness: You can alleviate some of this frizziness by moisturizing, reburning the hair, and sleeping with a satin scarf or bonnet. However the fuzz that builds up on the hair is just out of control and unavoidable. Like I said it is cold out here in NYC which requires sweaters and scarves! Well… the hair always seems to hold on a bit to those articles of clothing leaving fuzz balls on the hair that can be a nuisance to take off.
3. Weight: Faux Locs can be a bit daunting to wear because they are a 2 for one protective style to so say. Depending on the method you choose to use when installing your hair you can end up with some serious extra LBS on top of your head which can eventually lead to neck/back pain.
4. Slipping & Sliding: My initial install resulted in plenty of touchups during the first week. However once I tweaked my methods that stopped happening. You want to make sure you properly install the hair the first time around because the hair can become unraveled from the root and or slide right off of your hair. On the extreme other end you also want to make sure you do not install too tightly around the root as you can cause too much tension which can lead to alopecia if done repeatedly in the long run.
Pros Of Faux Locs:
1. Locs without the commitment: If you been dabbling with the idea of getting real dread locs but didn’t know how it would look or how others would respond to the change. Faux Locs allows you to kill two birds with one stone without having to make any permanent decisions.
2. Very Low Maintenance: Because faux locs have the rugged natural frizzy look you don’t have to do too much to them to keep them in that “Fresh” state. Unlike Marley Braids and Box braids that can start to look a little dingy if not properly maintained the locs don’t need as much upkeep.
Install & Take Down:
The install process takes up to 12hr depending on the length, the average being 14inches. The take down process also makes it easy for removal as I just have to snip the bottom and watch it unravel all the way to the top. This is way easier than having to remove a sew in (my least favorite take down process) or box braids which can also take up a bit of time.