Cleansing locs…

Hello beauties!

Cleansing locs can be a bit of trouble for a lot of people with locs. I know for me, in the beginning stages of many past loc attempts, the idea of washing my hair was quite daunting. I read so many things about unraveling and I was also afraid of straw hair. I knew that cleansing locs was important to prevent build up, but using a heavy duty cleanser meant to me that I would have to have crunchy, dry locs for the rest of my life.

Anyway, I have learned a lot and at this point I am truly grateful for Youtubers and other bloggers who sprinkle their hair secrets onto the masses, which includes me. I have learned you don’t have to have crunchy locs for the rest of your life. There are ways to cleanse your hair without causing build up and stripping natural moisture from your hair.

Here are some tips on washing your locs!

1) Try picking a natural shampoo that doesn’t have tons of moisturizing ingredients. Sodium Lauryl Sulfates and the like are a big no no in the natural hair community. I know this because I have suffered the drying effects of this stuff. I actually went out tonight and bought this Shikai Tea Tree oil infused shampoo. Tea Tree oil is supposed to be an astringent and shouldn’t be much of a cause for build up. This Shikai Tea Tree oil shampoo I found at the local market called, Sprouts! However, there are so many brands out there to try. Just try to avoid buying shampoo on a whim at the regular supermarket because they only tend to carry the highly commercial shampoos that all usually contain Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. The less ingredients the better! That’s what I think, anyway.

Here are the ingredients for this shampoo: Purified Water, Aloe Vera (Aloe Barbadensis) Gel (*), Acacia Consinna (Shikai extract +), Olefin Sulfonate, Cocoamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Cocoamide MEA, Tea Tree (Melaleuca Alternifolia) Oil, Peppermint Oil, Glycerin (vegetable), Panthenol, Diazolidinyl Urea

If you use something like a Castile Soap be sure to dilute it with water because I read online that Castile Soap can lead to build up!

2) Try using Lemon Juice! Lemon juice helps me tremendously with build up. It’s cheap. It doesn’t smell bad like Apple Cider Vinegar does and it isn’t as messy as baking soda. All you have to do is buy a spray bottle and put lemon juice inside of it. Spray your hair with it. Massage and scrub it into the scalp. Then Rinse. If you notice build up the next day, repeat. This should help get rid of it! It works very well. I found out about this from Jessica D on Youtube. I also find that the acidity of the lemon juice helps my ends curl better.

3) Get in the habit of washing your hair in the day time. It’s important that you don’t wash your hair at night because when you sleep with your hair wet it can cause mildew to form. This is so much more important when your hair starts maturing, but you want to get in the habit of not washing your hair at night.

There you have it! On your way to nice, clean, and hopefully not dry locs!