Braidlock Info/Questions

Hi everyone!! Omg, Long time see or hear right??

I got a couple of questions from someone who apparently stopped by the blog and I thought that I’d answer it here as it might be questions that others may have who are considering getting Braidlocks.

“….Comment: I wanted locks for 12 years now. I didn’t know there was so many kinds of them. I do like the Mircrolocks.I saw a ad online there was also Braidlocks. I like them much better.
I wanted to know when they lock do you have to get them every 4 -8 weeks? I been without a relaxer for 12 years, I don’t want to go back.

With Braidlocks do you have to wait 3 months before you wash your hair? I check out a book on dreads it said that in there, I said that is so nasty…

Let me first say congratulations for being without a relaxer for 12 years!! Bravo as that is worth acknowledging!!! Also thank you for the questions as I am using it is an opportunity to come out of (thought it may be brief) my hermitage in terms of writing. lol

Ok, now let’s get to the rest of the comment/questions.

Microlocks, Braidlocks, Sisterlocks, Traditional, Freeform, etc…they are all dreadlocks/locs. However, in the last 12 years or more actually, there are many more methods/techniques to start and make dreadlocks than there were in the past have come about and in my opinion, that’s a good thing!!

Now Braidlocks specifically, is a method for starting dreadlocks by sectioning off one’s hair, but instead of twisting the hair into comb coils as in the case of Traditional locs or interlocking the length of the sections as in the case of Microlocs, the hair braided and left in that state to lock up. As time goes by the braided section will do its magic, looking less and less like a braid and more like a loc until they fully mature and get to the point where no one will be able to tell that you started your locs with braids. As the hair grows, in other words the new growth, is maintained using a method that suits the hair and the person’s lifestyle. This leads me to the next part of your question.

How do you maintain the Braidlocks?

The new growth can be maintained using a variety of methods ie freeform (no maintenance of the new growth aside from pulling them apart to maintain a certain size if desired), using the same twisting method that folks with Traditional locks use, or interlocking which is my method of choice.

I interlock my new growth because my hair texture is very fine, thin, soft and loosely curled in many areas of my head. The frequency will be very personal to you, according to your hair growth and density. If you have a lot of hair that is quite dense, you may need to interlock the new growth every 4 weeks. If your hair texture is similar to mine and is slow-growing, you can go 8 weeks or maybe more. It also depends on how small or large your locs are as well.

The last question; Do you have to wait 3 months before you wash?

The answer to that question is a big fat NO!! That is one of the advantages of braidlocks as the hair tends to stay braided and therefore together during washing and so the hair is encouraged to lock. This is a great thing if you have fine and/or loosely textured hair and if the braidlock comes undone, you can easily braid that one or the few back up yourself without having to wait until your next trip to the loctian if you are using one. Also washing encourages the hair to tangle, merge and, marry with the shed hair, which is what dreadlocks essentially are. So you can wash you hair as much as you need or want to.

Now I am by no means an expert, nor am I a loctian or cosmetologist. What I am telling you is based on my experience of having braidlocks for almost 10 years.

Wow, it does not seem like it has been that long.

Thank you again for the questions and I hope that this post answered them. For my long time readers, thank you so much for still hanging with me and new folks to the blog…I will try not to stay away for so long. 🙂

I got this email from one of my readers or possibly YouTube subscribers and decided to answer it in a post or two as they are the “issues” I mentioned I had with my locs in my 5 year Braidlock post. Here is part of the email:

“….however, I have failed to find an answer as to why the loc tips lose colour – they look tinted. how can I avoid that. Secondly i am in the process of removing one of daughter’s locs due to unsightly lint, so much that when i look at it, i lose the joy! Yet, I don’t have any except at the back row. Please help!..”

Now I am not a scientist of any kind so what I’m about to say is strictly my opinion based on a bit of research and putting stuff together in my head! Results are not guaranteed. lol

Having said that, I think the reason the tips look tinted is due to oxidation of the hair which is a natural process but can be inadvertently hastened. It just looks more prominent on locs probably due to all the hair strands being wound together thus making it a lot more noticeable than on loose hair. If one observes, it’s there on longish loose hair as well but you must be looking at it at the right angle in sunlight, ie the red-ish tint you can see on someones hair that you know does not dye or henna their hair. The other reason I say on long-ish hair is that the oxidation is on the ends which is the oldest part of the hair and takes awhile to show up. You more than likely will not see it on shorter hair because the old ends have been cut off or broken off.

I’ve noticed this on my braidlocks/dreadlocks as well and of course on the bottom 1/3 of the locks. I really noticed it today with my hair in a half-up, half down style.

Not sure if you can see the color difference in the pic but I can definitely see it.

Now, I bet you’ve heard of people naturally bleaching their hair with lemon juice and sunlight. Yeah the same process is going on with our hair without the lemon juice thus at a slower rate.

Can this be prevented? Again, I’m not a scientist but I don’t think so. However, we may be able to slow down the process. Wearing a hat while outside is probably one way. Though not always practical especially in the middle of summer in the very hot regions of the country where temps can get above 95 degrees. Diet always places a big part in how our hair looks so start there by making sure you are getting enough vitamins and nutrients like protein, vitamins C & E.

Vitamins C & E are known as antioxidants. Hmm… antioxidants. The last part of that word should ring a bell. Oxidizing is what the sun and air is doing to our hair so it makes sense to me to put things on the hair that contain some version of these two vitamins to help slow down this natural process.

I also stumbled upon something while researching what herbs to put in my herbal coconut oil to make it like a leave in conditioner for my locs. One ingredient that is added to conditioners is called a sequestrant. From Wikipedia:

” A sequestrant is a term for a food additive. Sequestrants improve the quality and stability of the food products. Sequestrants form chelate complexes with polyvalent metal ions, especially copper, iron and nickel, which serve as catalysts in the oxidation of the fats in the food…”

The reason for this additional ingredient in conditioners is so they will function better in hard water. Ok, the bolding of the word oxidation is mine. Now I know they are saying “the oxidation of the fats in food” but why would I want to put something on my hair that causes oxidation of any kind when that’s one of the things I’m trying to prevent or at least slow down in the first place? I’m all about prevention, not having to fix the problem after the fact. Plus, I don’t want to oxidize the oils which are fats on my hair. Even natural sebum contains fatty acids. This is probably done so that the conditioner can bond to the hair as they’re designed to leave a tiny bit of the conditioner behind on the hair even after it is rinsed it out.

Needless to say, this is one of the reasons I stopped using conditioners. For the brief period I was using them I noticed that “ashy brown tinted’ look on my locs. I must note that I was in the sun a lot more back then as well.

So since using oils and herbs to condition, I’ve noticed the ashy brown has gone to a little darker brown. Still there, but looks a lot better and almost deliberate. Hibiscus is a great source for Vitamin C and I bet that’s why it’s used in Indian hair care. Grapeseed oil has Vitamin E and of course my personal favorite, coconut oil! So this maybe something to think about.

I’ll address the 2nd question in the next post.

Related Articles:

Make Your Own Nyle Herbal Coconut Oil

How I Use Coconut Oil on My Locs

Why Does Hair Lighten in the Sun But Skin Darken?

Coconut Oil for Out of Control Curls and Lack-Lustre Locks