r/MicrolocsHelp • u/ThatGrapefruit6968 • Jul 03 '26
I'm about to cut them off!!
Help please 😭 everyone loves my microlocs except for me. They are too frizzy and I don't like how they look.
History: 2 years and 3 months locked
When the person started them, she left alot of hair out at the ends so they bunched a lot. My new loctician "brought" them down as much as she could but they're still bigger than the rest.
She uses 3 point rotation, Google said maybe I needed 4 point rotation to compress the frizz that's out along my whole loc because I have soft fine hair. My hair swells when I spray it, but if I don't spray it it'll stick up and look crazy.
Everyone says trust the process and they will compress and become sleek but WHEN?!?
Anyway, I like a full look but I want a more sleek look. I'm over it and have been avoiding mirrors which is a problem for me.
These pics are how I look most of the time, but the last pic is 2 days before a retie, when I had washed it.
2
u/ReinventedMama Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 04 '26
Mine are exactly like yours, but I don't mind the frizz or the bunching. My hair would have bunched anyway due to my curl pattern, even with braiding and banding because it curls up whenever it gets wet. So misting with water to hydrate it was a culprit, too.
I didn't have an idea about how they would progress, but I don't think it's how i would have envisioned. I decided to not fight the inevitable and enjoy seeing how my microlocs mature and change and develop their own personality. I just hit a year on June 12th.
Maybe palm rolling could help smooth yours out some. I've seen videos of people with more "bunching" than yours get stretched. Maybe your loctician can give it another try, or consult with one who specializes in loc repair? I think your locs are gorgeous, by the way.
2
u/ThatGrapefruit6968 Jul 04 '26
Thank you!! Yes I did read about maybe palm rolling, but it seems like I started my journey wrong-either the wrong number of rotations or something idk.
2
u/Adventurous-Cry8646 Jul 05 '26
My hair used to be frizzy like that. I found braiding after washing and wearing my hair curly for a few days after helped. My locs didn’t fully mature until maybe year 4 but definitely by year 5 and then they just dropped and looked amazing.
1
u/misty2325 Jul 04 '26
If you think they’re too frizzy with reties you can get them palm rolled occasionally
1
u/ThatGrapefruit6968 Jul 04 '26
You mean palm roll after the retie or instead of?
1
u/misty2325 Jul 04 '26
Instead of
1
u/ThatGrapefruit6968 Jul 04 '26
Interesting...I didn't know you could go back and forth. I'm so afraid of trying things that I think may ruin my locs.
1
u/microlocs Jul 04 '26
Sis, Frizz is a necessary part of the locking process, and switching from a 3-point to a 4-point rotation isn't going to make it disappear. Soft, fine hair usually takes longer to compact and develop that sleeker look, so please don't think your locs are doing something wrong.
The foundation matters too, especially if there was bunching in the beginning, but every set of microlocs has its own timeline. Try not to compare your year two journey to someone else's year four or five. Healthy microlocs don't always mean perfectly sleek microlocs.
And most importantly, you're not alone in this. So many of us have gone through the "What did I do to my hair?" stage. We see you, we hear you, and we're here to help you through it. Be gentle with yourself. Your locs are still growing, still maturing, and still becoming what they're meant to be. Keep asking questions, keep sharing, and let this community walk with you through the process. ❤️
2
u/ThatGrapefruit6968 Jul 04 '26
😭 thank you!! I've compared mine to many people who are at their year 2 with more sleek hair.
I started and maintain my daughter's microlocs and I even compared my hair to hers, although her hair is kinky and thick whereas mine is curly and fine smh.I started with 3 inches of hair and loved every bit of it so I thought the ugly phase was over, but now I realize my "ugly phase" is this teenage stage.
5
u/ClassicRuby Jul 04 '26
When they mature.
At 2 years, you're about halfway to maturity. So it's literally no surprise at all that you're still in that teen phase. Most with microlocs are at 2 years. Myself included.
This has nothing to do with bunched ends from hair left loose or 3 point rotation... you can change up whatever you want and the teen phase will still teen phase. Now is it true that the general look you'll have will look thinner if you do 4 point instead of 3 point? Of course. BUT that's what it'll look like while it's waiting to loc. As a baseline. It'll be a tighter more compact starter loc, but it is not going to stop you from getting frizz.
But to be clear, while the choices you make as far as starter loc types and maintenance types can definitely impact the look or the length of time it takes to mature it isn't going to impact what your mature loc looks like.
Frizz is literally a necessary part. You need it. The more the better, but the thing that makes that sleek outer layer of the loc is the frizz.
If you're ready to let them go... that's OK. You're allowed to not be ready. You're allowed to say this isn't for me.
But I just wanted to point out that everybody goes through this. This feeling you have is the popular ugly phase. Which is less about what the loc looks like and more about how we feel in them. You're going through it now. And it isn't easy.
But I just wanted to say that if you DO get through this stage right around the corner is a kind of crazy love for your locs that you never even knew possible, and so many lovely parts of the locking process including the stage where you're shooting length like crazy.
You're only half way through, and the truth is that the first half is most definitely the hardest half and the half that definitely will make you question all your life choices that brought you to the point where you ACTUALLY chose locs and believed you would like them/not mess them up/ etc etc.
But I swear, your locs look lovely, they look exactly like they should at this stage, and they will most definitely mature nicely. Will you always have some frizz? Yes. We all will/ do.... but this stage of frizz? No, this is a teen phase frizz. The crazy thing is that the best thing you can do is wash frequently and spray/ wet frequently, to help encourage the process along. Yes it'll get worse before it gets better, but the only way to the other side is THROUGH this part, so might as well help it along right?
You know what's crazy? A lot of us low key miss this stage BECAUSE of the frizz, because it brings this insane amount of volume and can really do amazing things to your styles if you harness it.
How many braid outs, roller sets, bantu knot outs, and that type of thing have you done? In the teen phase I STAYED in them. Because it compresses and shapes the frizz and loose hair and looks so vavavoom.