Success! The LOC Method for Natural Hair

On a whim, I decided to try the LOC method for natural hair, and I’m happy I finally figured out what order and product combination works for me. Inspired by a beautiful curly on Youtube named Farah, this all started with me doing an oil rinse. Somewhere after an awesome rinse session and the need to style my hair the next day, this situation happened.

Oh- let’s backtrack for a moment. What is the LOC method?

As curlies, we know one of our biggest struggles is keeping our hair moisturized. The LOC method is the process of sealing moisture in your hair with layers, using : (L) Liquid/Leave in, (O) Oil, and (C) Cream. The twists, curls and bends of our hair follicles make it harder for moisture to travel from root to tip, which is why so many naturals swear by some type of regimen to keep their situation on point. I’ve seen so many versions of the LOC and LCO methods that its hard to keep up. If you do a Google search, you’ll see exactly what I mean.

 My Experience with the LOC method

The problem I had with the LOC method is all of the variations of it that I could never keep up with. Some use the “L” as a water based leave in product, while some consider it liquid- which would count as water alone. I followed guidelines that were supposed to work better for low porosity hair, and although the results were great, they came nowhere close to the results I’ve gotten from using this new technique. To avoid confusion, I have renamed this method “WOL”, to remind myself of what I used to seal: Water-Oil-Leave in. Just to clarify, I have ONLY tried this with jojoba oil and Curl Junkie Smoothing Lotion as my leave in. My styler of choice was Xtreme Wet Line gel (review coming soon). I am confident that the stellar results I got are a combination of the method AND products I used (more about this in another post).

I chose jojoba oil because its non- comedegenic and super light so I don’t have to worry about it weighing my hair down, clogging my pores, or breaking me out. It actually has properties that closely resemble our natural sebum which is why its also the only oil I use on my face.

By day three my hair was still moisturized with defined curls and more shine than I have seen in a very long time. It survived a workout session, a run, my many tosses and turns at night, and this Florida humidity. I know I could have gone longer, but I wanted to re-do my hair for a special occasion I was planning for this week. What I love most about this technique is that not only does it keep my hair moisturized, but I’m able to preserve my wash and go for days. For a girl who used to co-wash daily, this is a HUGE win- especially now that fall is creeping up on us.

The only drawback for me is that once I apply the oil to my hair, its harder to finger detangle. Its almost as though the oil sucks up some of the water and my hair loses its slip. With this in mind, I have to have a spray bottle handy because my hair has to be styled wet (not damp). Now that I know that the LOC method IS for me, I’m eager to try different product combinations to see if any of my other favorite goodies play well with this routine.

 

My results:

Day 1.

1. Wet hair. (W/L)

2. Applied jojoba oil, massaging scalp and working through to my ends. (O)

3. Applied Curl Junkie Smoothing Lotion to wet hair (L/C)

4. Applied Xtreme Wet line gel to wet hair, raking through in small sections.

5. Shake (as if you’re saying yes, then no) smooth edges, and GO.

 

Night 1: 

1. Spritz with water, applied a moisturizer by rubbing my hands together, and placing them on top of my hair. (I didn’t want to disrupt the curl pattern)

2. Wrapped my hair in a satin scarf and hit the sheets.

 

Day 2.

1. Spritz with a water filled spray bottle.

2. Jumped in the shower and let the steam help plump up the curls.

3. Continue fluffing or gently pulling roots upward with a pic

Night 2:

ZzzZz…. Lazy night. Sad face.

 

Day 3:

 

1. “Refreshed” by standing under the shower stream, squeezing water into curls.

2. Shake, and GO. No reapplying products, no re-defining curls. That’s it.

 

Do you use the LOC method? Let’s talk about it!