When it comes to my hair, I’m always looking for something new and exciting to try. This constant need for change deters me from any style that requires a long term commitment. This is why I love faux locs! There’s no way I could commit to locs full-time, luckily with this style I can fake it ’till I make it.
Here’s what you’ll need:
• 1-2 packs of braiding hair
• 8-10 packs of Marley braiding hair (some people use only braiding hair, keep in mind that would give you a completely different look–which isn’t natural looking in my opinion)
• A cream styler (I use Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie)
• A lighter
• JAM gel (optional)
• A good movie (optional)
• A glass of wine (optional)
I wanted to make sure there wasn’t too much stress on my hair, so I started by braiding my hair with the kanekalon hair in box braids. No need to worry about making these cute or precise, no one will see them. You don’t even need to braid to the end, just enough so that your real hair is in the braid. I used my cream styler as I braided to provide additional moisture for this long term style.
In this YouTube video I break down my wrapping and sealing process. It’s pretty simple but feel free to watch and braid along with me. It’s an easy technique, but here are a few tips to getting your best, most natural-looking faux locs:
- Make sure to overlap the Marley hair as you wrap it over the box braid and down to the ends
- While wrapping, be sure to periodically push the wrapped hair up the braid. You want to make sure that there are no gaps and the loc is nice and tight. This will also keep the locs from unraveling and snagging on one another.
- After installing, run the lighter over the length of the loc to burn off any stray hairs.
Quick Facts:
- It takes about 8-1o hours to install the faux locs
- Spritz daily or every other day with a mixture of water, and your favorite conditioner, and oil to keep the locs fresh
- Try not to wear updos or tight ponytails too often (or too taut), as these styles will put an incredible amount of tension on your edges due to both the tension and the weight of the hair.
- I wear mine for about 3-6 weeks before I’m ready to switch it up!
Have you installed your own faux locs? How was your experience? Did you love ’em? Hate ’em? Let me know in the comments section!