Top 5 Secret Tips For Flawless Microlocs in The Summer

There’s no better feeling than having a fresh re-tight on a bright and sunny day.

Let me tell you, the top five tips to keep those microlocs looking fresh and preserve that happy feeling all month long, even in between re-tights. Whether you have microlocs or  Sisterlocks here are some of my top secret tips:

You should be scheduling your retights every 4 weeks, but to give yourself some grace I’ll say every 4-6 weeks because I know life be life-ing at times. If you are pushing it out longer than 6 weeks, then you are a different kinda breed and definitely not someone who honors her grid. You would probably end up on my non-compliant client wall (a fictitious invisible Wall of Shame that I threaten my clients with whenever they constantly skip appointments and do unauthorized things to their hair in between retights) You're probably wondering “What does she mean by unauthorized things?” Those are the things that your stylist did not give you permission to do but you do it anyway. This article is all about how you can keep that hair looking tight and right, to not start a fight with your loctician when you do come back in the salon.

Top Secret Tip #1 – Keep your hair dry (as much as possible) in between retight sessions.

The first two weeks following your install is the most important time. Interlocking is a technique where we are weaving the hair into a microloc formation. The moment you go home and start introducing water and other liquids to your hair to soon, the new growth baby locs will begin to rebel, and eventually they will wiggle their way out of a microloc formation. Bye, Bye Microlocs!

Keep them dry and give your microlocs a fighting chance to work their magic. We actually want this hair to knot up, and that's where action begins to happen for our microlocs.

Note: So keep the silky, shine conditioners and wetness away and the locs will stay... in formation that is.

Top Secret Tip #2 - Remember to tie your hair up every single night!

Most of my clients are fighting that gremlin, shall we call her first name Peri, last name Menopause. I need to you to how you can not let her get the best of you. Something as simple as tying your hair up before bed is the best self care step you absolutely cannot skip. Imagine this. You're tossing and turning in bed all night (even if you are not a night-sweater) and your hair now is having the opportunity to shuffle around any way it likes, only because you haven’t secured it in place.

Our hair needs protection but it also needs guidance. If you want your locs to obey, you have to put it up before you lay it down. Now I know someone reading this is probably saying “Why cant I just use a satin pillow case?” Satin Pillowcases are cool for some instances, but while we are in the process of training our locs to stay in formation, that requires a bit more restraint.

My go to sleep cover devices are a satin lined beanie cap or bonnet. Most of my favorite loc covers come directly from black owned businesses. One of my favorite is the satin lined beanie cap is made by the brand Always Covered (www.always-covered.com) she has wonderful patterns and offers fast shipping.

The next favorite is the original Loc-Soc (https://soclocsoc.com); not only are the amazingly comfortable to wear at night, they are stylish enough to wear out in the daytime as well.

Note: Be sure to pick one that has a thick headband, and gathering on the end. Stay away from the thin and tiny elastic band bonnets, they don’t stay in place on your head will tend to slide off while you sleep. In addition to covering your hair at night, make sure your hair is up in a ponytail/ bun or a pineapple/ puff.

Top Secret Tip #3 - Keep your hair bundled up unless you are going out. 

As a loc girlie who still loves to have a head of curls, the best way to keep them looking fresh all month long is to roll and set your hair BEFORE you get a retight. Most locticans, will advise you to shampoo your hair at least 24 hours before the session. However, the best way to totally take advantage of that time, is to roll your hair up while its wet, let it dry in the rollers and go to your appointment for a fresh new curly style. Not only will curling your hair before your appointment prevent you from wetting your locs after the retight, but pulling your hair up in a bun daily will help to preserve your curls.

Curling your locs is the real secret sauce to keeping that retight fresh because your hair will truly be molded in formation and less like to slip and slide while in it. Yes, we locked our hair to have “Hair Freedom” but there are still parameters that we must abide by in order to have our hair in top tier shape all month long.

Note: Our hair is like a magnet so it can attract little fuzzies that are a pain to get out of locs, or the friction from being in contact with certain fabrics can be damaging. Give your hair its best fighting chance and pull it up when you are ready to go down, curls or no curls.

Top Secret Tip #4 - Shower caps are non-negotiable.

You absolutely MUST cover your hair when going near the water. Remember from Tip #1 we have to train our hair to stay in the formation that we installed it in. Once we introduce water to our locs, over and over, will only encourage slippage and cause our retight to look older and unkept sooner. Do yourself and your loctician a favor and grab that shower cap each time you hit the shower. Now, I wouldn’t dare give you this advice without telling you my fave shower cap on the market right now.

I have a few variations of water-repelling caps on my amazon storefront, but my absolute favorite is yet again from the black owned business- Always Covered (www.always-covered.com)! This lady just gets it right every time. Not only do I use her sleep caps, but I have been using her satin lined shower caps before I even discovered she made things for nighttime. She has different sizes that fit everyone’s head size and hair length. Give them a try for yourself and tell them the Sparkle Coach sent you. And this is not a sponsored article but I feel like it should be, because I am such a fan!

Top Secret Tip #5 “Baby Tights”

I know you are not expecting this one but I’ve gotta say it anyway. Those little 2T/3T nylon tights are going to be a lifesaver when you want to keep those tiny little perimeter hairs in place in between retights. We have to go the old school methods that I still live by. Jutst grab you a 3 pack from out of your local kids section and slap those babies on your head at night, keep the feet on or cut them off, it's optional. Choose whether if you want tie the extra legs together in a knot on top of your head, or simply cut the extra tights off and wear them like a headband/"loc soc". I love using baby tights especially in summer because they are lightweight and breathable, but do not squeeze my head. However, grabbing the right size is key, you don’t want to have little lines on your forehead.

Note: If you cut off the feet, you will still need a bonnet of cover of some sort to protect the rest of your locs hanging out. Don’t fret friend, the baby tights is always a win.

So I hope you found these tips helpful and be sure to leave me a comment and let me know which was your favorite tip or which will you be trying in the near future.