How to Wash Locs (and How Often to Retwist Them)

Before anything practical, there is a question that sits underneath every one of these searches. The distinction is not a hard one:

"Are locs and dreadlocks the same thing? They can be. Both terms describe hair that has locked into rope-like sections, but the difference often comes down to language preference and the cultural [context]."

Instant Arewa Hair

So the two words describe the same physical thing. What differs is the word. The reason for the shift is about the word rather than the hair:

"You might be wondering, 'aren't they called dreadlocks?', but that term is a bit problematic (the word dread certainly [does]…)."

Byrdie

The dread in dreadlocks carries a negative charge, and that is why many writers and wearers have moved to locs. But the same article is careful not to overstate it: plenty of people still proudly call themselves "dreads," and the recorded history of the word is itself a matter of debate.

The point goes beyond vocabulary, though. The term being loaded is not the only thing that matters, and that the style's more recent history sits behind it too. We are quoting it rather than paraphrasing, because this is not our argument to summarise:

"That doesn't mean it's appropriate for people of all cultures to wear locs, particularly without respect to the more recent history of the style."

Byrdie

That is quoted rather than paraphrased. It is not a recommendation we are making, and this page is not the place to adjudicate it.

The reason locs need a different care routine from braids is that they are not a finished object when they are installed. They are a process, and the first months are the fragile part:

"Locs go through a series of stages, typically five, but the forming process happens during [the early period]."

Perfect Locks

That is as specific as the published guidance gets: there are usually five, and the forming happens early. We are not going to name them, because the number is given without the names, and inventing names for the five stages is the kind of thing this blog tries not to do.

What is quantified is how long the whole thing takes. Full maturity typically takes 18 to 24 months, and that figure varies significantly with hair texture, the method used to start, and how the locs are maintained. One detail to know before you start: type 4 hair generally locks faster than looser textures.

There is also more than one way to start. Locs can be begun by coiling, braiding, twisting, or palm-rolling. There is also a freeform route that involves no manipulation beyond washing and separating, producing an organic shape that varies from person to person. A third option is interlocking, sometimes called latching, where a tool pulls the roots through the previous section, which gives a tighter and more secure structure at the root.

This is the query that brings readers here, and unlike the retwisting question below, it has a clear answer. Wash every one to two weeks, using a residue-free shampoo, and the technique matters as much as the frequency.

Why wash at all, given the effort? The reason is not subtle: buildup, sweat and product residue cause odour and scalp problems. Skipping washes to protect the locs is self-defeating.

Those four lines are not in conflict, but they are easy to misread together. The weekly clarifying wash is for buildup, not a replacement for the regular shampoo, and the deep conditioning is specified for locs that have already matured, not for ones still forming.

Buildup is the specific problem that makes locs different from any other style. Loose hair sheds what it does not need; a loc keeps everything you put on it. Conditioners, gels, oils and the residue they leave all stay inside the structure, and over time that is what produces the smell and the scalp irritation the previous section mentions.

The published answer is a clarifying shampoo once a week, which is a stronger cleanser than a regular one and is aimed at stripping what has accumulated rather than adding anything.

The guidance here is specific: a lightweight water-based spray or a loc oil, every two to three days, applied to the scalp first and worked through to the ends.

The frequency is the part to slow down on. Every two to three days is more often than loose hair is usually moisturised, and the reason is structural: sebum from the scalp cannot travel down a locked length the way it travels down loose hair. The oil that would normally coat the strand is stopped near the root. So moisture has to be applied along the whole loc rather than relying on the scalp to distribute it.

That also explains the emphasis on lightweight and water-based. A heavy product applied every few days to a structure that does not shed is how buildup happens in the first place. The two sections above and this one are really one system.

Here is where the guidance falls apart, and it is worth showing rather than smoothing over. The frequencies published for starter locs differ by a factor of three:

That is not a rounding difference. It is one camp saying roughly monthly and the other saying quarterly, with no indication that either is describing an edge case. We are not going to average them, because the midpoint of two contradictory schedules is a schedule nobody published.

What we can do is give you what explains most of the gap.

There is also a stage effect. Mature locs are described as far more forgiving. Once mature, you can retwist as often as you like to get the look you want, because the structure no longer depends on the root staying tight. The whole disagreement is really about the forming period.

For how twists compare to locs, a different construction with a different lifespan, we covered that on its own page:

Twists, locs, and how long each lasts →

Most locs care guides skip the night section, and there is a reason: there is not much to say. No pillowcase recommendation worth making, no tying method, no cap.

The one thing that matters follows from everything above. Locs dry slowly from the inside, and a loc that stays damp holds moisture against the scalp. Combined with a structure that keeps whatever is in it, that is where the odour and scalp problems come from. So the practical move is drying them properly after a wash, not managing them at night. It is the one part of a locs routine where being slower is straightforwardly better.

Everything above is maintenance of your own hair. There is one point in a loc journey where added hair enters. Perfect Locks, which sells loc extensions, describes it this way:

"Loc extensions: If you want to begin your journey with instant length, loc extensions are installed by wrapping or crocheting 100% human bulk braiding hair into your natural hair."

Perfect Locks

That sentence carries two points. First, the method is wrapping or crocheting, the same two techniques that turn up across protective styling generally. Second, the material named is bulk hair, meaning loose hair sold by weight rather than hair sewn into a weft.

The reason the "how often should you retwist" question is so contested is that the answer is not just a date. It is hours. Budget the time, not just the date:

The number that changes decisions is the first one. Two to four hours per session, at an interval that may be as short as fortnightly during the forming stage, is a significant recurring commitment, and it reframes the retwist-frequency disagreement as a real trade-off rather than a technicality. Retwisting less often saves you hours. The guidance that warns against retwisting too frequently is telling you that those saved hours are not free of consequence either way.

There is no reliable published figure for retwisting costs, and rather than guess we will point you at how salon pricing works in this category:

Braid prices, style by style →