Imagine walking into the beauty supply store to purchase products for your new locs and instantly feeling overwhelmed.
The shelves are stocked with beautifully designed shampoo bottles and brightly colored locking gels. You reach for a product that says “for locs, braids and twists” and open it to indulge in how it smells. The scent is fragrant and you think to yourself— I wouldn’t mind my hair smelling like this. You hold on to this product and keep browsing because you really aren’t sure if this is the best product for your locs or not. Ultimately you purchase a few products that smell great, claim to be for locs, and highlight the natural ingredients right on the front of the package. Now fast forward 3 months later and you find your locs filled with buildup and dry. 😳 Can I share with you what went wrong?
Using store bought products on locs
The majority of products for locs at the store are trash. And I say that respectfully. It is unfortunate that for so long naturally cultivated locs have been disregarded as a way to wear your hair. As a result, most “products for locs” are just natural hair products that include the words locs and braids on them. However, the reality is locs are not loose natural hair and as such all natural hair products will not automatically work for locs. In fact most do not. How this shows up in your locs is with dryness, product buildup, and lint$mdash; in the best case scenario.
Which store bought products are safe for locs
To better help you navigate the beauty supply store for products for locs you want to be aware of 3 things. Ingredients. Consistency. And marketing language used. When you grab a product off of the shelf review the ingredients (on the back), look at the consistency, and read the description of the product. You can find out which products I believe are “safe enough” for locs that you can find at the store in my latest YouTube video.
And share your favorite loc products in the comments!
Share this:
Blog Comments
Peter
March 3, 2023 at 5:27 am
Hi Digital Loctician,
First off, I hope this comment reaches you well. I believe you’re doing an amazing job in the Loc community and wish you nothing but consistent success.
RxssgxtRvnk
1 second ago
Hey Loctician,
I’ve replied to your “Can you split locs if it’s too thick” video but in case you don’t see it here’s my question:
I’ve had 20 thick locs for about 2+ years but the person that crocheted them initially was an amateur. With that being said, not only are they thick but they are lumpy and uneven (just badly crocheted) as you could imagine. I cut them about 6 months or so ago and I’m ready to apply them. However, this time I want 40 locs instead. Would it be possible and/or okay to split them (i guess undo them with a crochet needle) and “reloc” them with a crochet needle? Or is t best to just crochet the 24 as is so they look more uniform/even? My only concern with crocheting them as is into a smaller width is that they’ll be too stiff therefore losing all of its softness… If you could let me know what are my options I would greatly appreciate it.
Jocelyn Reneé
January 13, 2024 at 7:59 am
it would be best to purchase new locs that are the size and amount that you want.
Paulet
July 5, 2025 at 1:35 pm
Hi Jocelyn,
Thank you for your invaluable advice.
I am going towards my 5 month loc journey, I did a lot of research and I gave away the products that I used previously. A lot of products that are unhealthy for locsnI never used them before I had lots I tried my best to avoid certain ingredients. Plus what put me off a lot of products was I could see no use by date, and all products claimed to grow your hair no such thing.