Loc'd 4 Leisure

Healthy locs starts with a healthy scalp. Discover a loc wash routine that fits you best.

To make a long story short,

there is no right or wrong answer.

How often you wash your locs all depends on your lifestyle, environment, scalp health, and overall preference.

The key to growing healthy locs starts with a clean scalp, so building a solid wash routine is crucial in your loc journey.

In today’s blog post we’re going to talk all about how often you should wash your locs based on what loc stage you’re in, how to correctly wash your locs, the best products to wash locs with, and more.

After reading this post, you’ll have a clearer understanding on your locs needs and how to correctly go about your wash routine.

This blog post is all about how often you should wash your locs.

Table Of Contents

How Often To Wash Starter Locs?

After starting your locs, it’s best to stick with whatever routine you had with your loose natural hair. Whether your wash days were every 2 weeks due to having an active lifestyle, or every month for preference, do what has been working for you.

However, a good rule of thumb is to wait at least 4-6 weeks before washing your starter locs. Understand that your hair will be very fragile in this state and can easily be manipulated, so giving them time to settle in is key.

Whether you started with coils or 2 strand twists, they can and will unravel with the wrong movement. The goal here is to not prolong the locking process, so following these steps are necessary.

Consulting with your loctician or doing your own due diligence with research, will help you navigate what will fit you best for your new locs.

How To Wash Starter Locs

Once you’re able to wash your new set of locs, you can either use a wig cap or mainly focus on the roots of your locs.

Wearing a wig cap will help keep your locs in place, restricting them from unraveling while you throughly wash them.

Steps To Wig Cap Method

• Apply shampoo
• Put wig cap on
• Add water to top of head an began scrubbing

Your second option would be to mainly focus on the roots, avoiding the shaft of your locs, so they won’t unravel. However, I do highly recommend letting your loctician, if you have one, to wash your starter locs because it is a very tedious job to do.

Recommended Youtube Video: FIRST TIME WASHING & RETWISTING STARTER LOCS!! | 2 STRAND TWISTS!

How Often To Wash Teen Locs?

You have officially entered the stage of freeness. No more tedious wash days or constant thoughts of possible unraveling. As of now your locs should be at least 50% loc’d, and you should have a hang of this thing.

At this stage, you are now able to wash your locs as often as you’d like, but ideally every month should be just fine. At this point though, you want to make sure you are throughly washing your locs, by opening up the roots before applying shampoo to ensure you are getting a deep intensive wash.

The teen loc’d phase is a good mix between firm and soft in some areas through the shaft, so you want to make sure you are getting as much product build up out now, rather than waiting until it’s too late.

Using a clarifying shampoo first will help cleanse the scalp deeply, breaking down excessive oil and lifting residue. Then afterwards, follow up with a hydrating shampoo to restore moisture and hydrate locs.

Recommended Blog Post: Leisure Favorites: A Lazy Loc List

How Often To Wash Adult Locs?

You are now a loc OG, give it up for yourself! At this point, it is up to you on how you want to go about washing your locs. The longer your locs get the more time it’ll take to wash them, so it’s understandable if you start going longer without washes. Implementing a dry shampoo to your wash routine and loc products is a great way to extend retwists, loc styles, or if you’re just feeling a bit too lazy to wash them (trust me, I know).

In the adult loc phase, you should be gearing up for your first loc detox if you haven’t already had one. You can book an appointment with your loctician or do it at home, it’s super simple to do.

DIY Loc Detox Steps & Ingredients

• Fill pan or inflatable bowl with warm water
• Apply baking soda to scalp and locs all over
• Apply generous amount of apple cider vinegar
• Optional: apply lemon juice
• Let locs sit for 30 minutes to an hour depending on thickness and length
• Rinse, shampoo, and hydrate

Recommended YouTube Video: LOC DETOX + LOC PETAL STYLE 

Best Shampoo For Locs

Now that we know what type of shampoo we should be using, clarifying and hydrating, let’s talk about which shampoo is the best for locs.

Clarifying shampoo:

• Difeel Rosemary Mint Strengthening Shampoo 
• Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Liquid Soap (I used for the first time and I could feel my thoughts, I loved it!)
• Derma Zen Cleansing Dandruff Shampoo (pricey but perfect to treat seborrheic dermatitis)

Hydrating Shampoo:

• ORS Shampoo Olive Oil Sulfate-Free Hydrating
• Design Essentials Natural Almond & Avocado Shampoo (pricey but has the perfect consistency)
• Difeel Argan Hydrating Shampoo 

Recommended Blog Post: A Simple Guide to Maintain Healthy Color Treated Locs

Final Thoughts

During this journey, everything is trial and error. Finding out which products agree with your scalp and what timeframe you should be washing your locs in is what makes this a true journey. Nothing is one size fits all. Take the time to understand your locs needs and watch them grow right before your eyes.

Blog Posts You’d Like

• How To Oil Locs The Right Way
• These 5 Unpleasant Signs Means You’re Due For A Loc Detox
• Loc Anxiety | The Unspoken Truth.
• Retwist Locs Yourself In 11 Simple Steps

INTRODUCING OUR

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This post is all about how often should you wash your locs.

*Disclaimer: This blog post contains affiliate links. That means that if you click a link and decide to make a purchase I will receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Youtube and blogging is a stream of income for me, and those purchases help support this channel and my family. Thank you!