How I Care For my Locs during the cold winter months

Loc care during the cold winter months

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During the winter months, the cold is an unwelcome change to my locs. The cold dry air and the scratchy drying hats had my locs screaming for help. I found that my locs were feeling crunchy & my scalp was always dry and itchy. I will admit that there were a few days where I forgot to moisturize my scalp. A few too many days where i let my locs “be free” to sleep without my satin scarf on. My locs had reached the point of desperation!

If I wanted healthy locs, I had to make a change. I did a little research and developed a little “Winter Loc Routine”.

While what works for one may not work for all, I am going to tell you how I care for my locs during the cold winter months. How I keep them soft & moisturized.

MOISTURIZE

It was either the frigid cold or the hot drying heater in my room, that had my locs feeling like crisps. I could actually hear them crunching.

Humectant

hu.mec.tant

adj. retaining or preserving moisture

noun. a substance, especially a skin lotion or a food additive, used to reduce the loss of moisture

Dictionary.com

Meaning it pulls in and helps retain moisture naturally from the air.

Sometimes I would add a little bit of oil to the ends of my locs and that was it. Sadly, after a few hours, Crunch, Crunch. Dry locs. 

Rose Water

I had always heard about Rose water, but I had never used it simply because, “well, what’s the difference”? 

What’s the difference?!

Moisturized, juicy locs is the difference!

Now, I just put some rose water in a spray bottle, along with my vegetable glycerin & spritz, spritz. My locs feel soft, moisturized and healthy!

OIL + MASSAGE

Since moisture was a well needed part of my loc routine, I added in a way to lock in the moisture that my hair desperately needed. 
I added oil to my scalp. And massage it in daily. I use a combination of Olive oil, Castor oil and Peppermint oil. Olive oil adds a nice softness to my locs. I use Castor oil to aid in growing thicker, stronger locs. Peppermint oil helps to stimulate my scalp to promote blood flow. Plus Peppermint oil really does make my scalp tingle!

I usually just spritz my locs and then apply the oil in eighths like a pizza! Then I apply oil to my edges and the nape of my hair. I flip my head over and massage my scalp for at least 2 minutes. When I lift my head up; tingle, tingle baby!

I then take a quarter sized amount of oil and spread it evenly throughout my locs, focusing on the ends.

While you may think that oiling my scalp daily would cause immense buildup, my over-bleached, blue coloured locs love it! For me personally, it causes no buildup.

Low maintenance

During the winter, I tend to stay home A LOT. It’s just too cold outside! I don’t do many loc styles during the colder months. After oiling and massaging my scalp, 90% of the time I’ll just let my hair be. Let the locs fall where they may. Sometimes I’ll put on a satin scarf to flatten my hair and lay down my edges. The other 10% (when i’m feeling fancy!), my locs get put into a ponytail. Fancy huh? A messy ponytail or a low ponytail. There’s no in between.

I’m trying to add some variety to my hair styles; if you have any cute loc hair styles, be sure to leave it in the comment section
& i’ll definitely try them out !

I find the less I manipulate my hair the better. There’s no pulling or tightness. No gels, creams, sprays. My locs love low maintenance.

Having not put any gels, creams or sprays in my locs has its benefits. I am able to go a full 2 weeks without having to wash my locs. 

Loc wash day

I wash my locs once every two weeks, unless I’ve done something extra to make them dirty. While my locs love water, and I actually quite enjoy washing my hair, its just not necessary. Plus, with having coloured hair, the less washing the better! 

Washing my locs used to be a breeze when they were shorter. Now, they need at least 5 hours to fully dry. I can’t imagine the drying time for those with long locs!

In the shower, I simply massage shampoo into my roots and massage my scalp. I massage till I feel like my whole head is clean. Then I rinse and repeat. I don’t usually put shampoo directly onto my locs, I just let the soapy water from my scalp run through my locs.

All clean! My hair always feels lighter and softer after being washed.

Protect the locs

My last step in keeping my locs soft and moisturized, is to protect my locs from the elements.

Meaning when I go to sleep, make sure that I tie my head with my satin scarf and wear my satin bonnet. Double the protection. I use my satin scarf to help lay my edges and baby hairs. I use my satin bonnet to keep the rest of my locs covered up and safe. As a last measure of protection, I sleep with a satin pillowcase just in case my scarf slips off my head in the middle of the night. Gotta stay protected!

Having my locs covered up during the night helps to lock in and retain moisture during the night. It’s one of the main ways that I care for my locs during the cold winter months. My locs wake up feeling soft and rejuvenated. I don’t wake up with dry, crunchy locs!

Satin under hats

In the beginning of winter I used to just throw a hat on my head and call it a day.

It’s cold and nobody has time for the cold!

I soon realized that after taking off my hat, my scalp would itch. My scalp was dry. My locs were dry. The warm cotton hat had sucked away all of the moisture out of my locs! Time and time again, my moisturizing efforts were being wasted because I wore my cotton hat. It was like I did not moisturize my locs at all!

I just stopped wearing hats all together. My head was cold.

Eventually, I just started wearing my satin bonnet underneath my hats. They’re pretty much invisible. Whenever i want to wear my warm cotton hat, i just make sure I put my satin bonnet on my head underneath the hat to protect my locs and keep them moisturized. Works like a charm!

Soft, Happy Locs

Those are a couple of my tips and tricks that I use to keep my locs soft and happy.

Plus, during the winter months I just spend more time loving on my locs. I listen to my locs and give them extra love and TLC.

Keeping my locs moisturized and healthy, doing low maintenance styles and care on my locs, and keeping them protected from the elements, are key factors on how I care for my locs during the cold winter months.

Happy Locs, Happy Rushai.

+ Pin this post to try out my “Winter Loc Routine”.

& let me know if my tips and tricks have worked for you!