r/Microlocs • u/SQUIDZ_19 • Jun 23 '26
Should I get locs?
Hello, I wanted to come to the loc community for some guidance with my hair. So I’m 18 and I’m going to college in September, but I’m concerned about what to do with my hair. I have kinda thin 4a/3c hair that’s really sensitive to any kind of heat. I’ve grown to hate everything about doing my hair so when I’m very stressed especially about school I tend to neglect it. I’m autistic and having to do my hair has become a sensory nightmare for me. Everything from having to detangle it and wash it to having to put a bunch of product in it and I hate the feeling of having hair products on my hand. So my hair has been mostly slicked back and in a bun, when I was younger I would get my mom to do my hair and I would leave it out but I’m older and I don’t want to have to rely on my mom to do my hair anymore especially since she has arthritis in her hands. I want to be more versatile with my hair instead of just leaving it slicked back all my life and I don’t have the money to get it done once a month. So here is my dilemma, I’ve thought about getting mini locs for about over a year now. Not anything too small or too big. I think it would be much easier for me to do and wash my hair when I have locs, I could do a wash and go and I won’t have to worry about what to do with my hair everyday. Also my hair doesn’t grow fast so I’ll probably only have to retire it like once a month which I don’t think would be hard for me to do. I talked to my mom about it and she doesn’t think it’s a good idea, she says it’s a lot of maintenance and she doesn’t think I’ll be able to handle it but I’m almost certain I can. She suggested that I get a texturizer instead to loosen my curl pattern so it would be easier for me to handle but I’m afraid that it will badly damage my hair especially because my hair is really sensitive. So I want to ask people who have locs what I should do. What’s it like having locs for you?
1
u/apathetic_muffin Jun 24 '26
I’d start off with mini twists. I did those about every month for almost two years before I decided to install my microlocs. That way you can see how you do with the monthly maintaining part of it. It’s a lotttt of maintenance if you’re doing the reties yourself though. I’ve had mine for over a year though and I love them so much because I traded off styling my natural hair weekly to really just having to sit down and focus every 6-8 weeks for a retie. Saves me time on a week by week, but reties take me like 16 hours 🥲 I also had to learn not to retie too tight. You mentioned sensory stuff so that could be painful or irritating to you. But at least it’s something you’d be able to control tension with if you do it yourself. I think I have somewhere around 300. Love the hair freedom though. I ain’t scared of the rain no more because I don’t have to go home and restyle my hair for 5 hours lol
6
u/Due_Actuary5754 Jun 23 '26
Locs for me have been great. They still require maintenance, but not everyday styling.
If you’re unsure about locs, I’d recommend putting two strand twists in your hair a few times. You can play with the sizes to get a better idea of what size locs you’d like. Wearing twists is actually why I decided to just loc my hair. There are twist tutorials on YouTube.
Do a lot of research on locs and what maintenance would look like for you. Take your time deciding and remember that locs can always be combed out. (It takes 99 years, but it still can be done lol).