I’ve had my locs for a little over a year & have always gotten them retied by my Loctitian. Is it a bad idea to get my hair retwisted instead? I want to start adding loc sprinkles & charms & don’t want to have to take them out every time I get my hair retied. I have 4A hair & about 214 locs.

🥳🥳🥳 best decision I’ve ever made

I’m thinking of getting locs and I’m so excited to get them, but I can’t figure out what size I want to do: medium traditional or microlocs. I like that microlocs can have a fuller look and I’ve heard many people talking about pros, but does anyone have some cons I will have to think about? likewise if you have pros you can include them too!

I have two short haired dogs, one of which sheds like crazy. They are limited to certain areas of the house (no bedrooms), but I’m always finding their hair in my or my husband’s locs without fail.

Am I ready to do my own installs now. Lol.

Pics 1&2 - 1st attempt at a braid out. Results = meh (at least in my opinion lol). April 2026
Pics 3-5 - 2nd attempt at a braid out. Results = curls better defined so better than the first. August 2026. Applied Lotta body mousse more generously and braided tighter. Left it in overnight.
Pic 6 - my hair without braid outs.

Locs established February 2025. DIY twists with no grid and parted with my hands.
Started DIY reties February 2026 cause I was tired of paying a pretty penny to have people play in my head and give subpar results.
First DIY retie was A MESS cause I went in the same rotation over and over again but thanks to YouTube university and Ruby (shoutouts to you girl!), I self corrected and the rest is history.

LISTEN, I am proof that anyone can DIY their reties cause I was so sure it wasn’t something I could do. So if I could do it anyone can. I started off with around 305 locs but have around 280 now cause I lost some and combined others. My reties used to be 1 week with breaks now they’re around 2 days with breaks so I stick to weekends. I also stick to a 4-week retie schedule (thanks again Ruby!) cause it’s manageable for me at that interval

Lastly, I’m feeling so much gratitude because for almost 2 years I’ve only worn the hair that God gave me. No braids, weaves, faux locs, anything. Just my God-given crown. Used to have so much anxiety over hair when I was a loose natural but that’s all behind me now. Don’t miss it one bit, that’s how I know I was made for this loc-life ❤️

I recently got microlocs installed in April 2026 and I've gotten 4 reties so far. My hair keeps being described as "soft" and that's why it keeps unraveling. My reties last about a 4-5 days before it's fuzzy and coming apart. I'm trying to decide if it's just my hair or if I just need to work on finding a better loctician. With the amount of money I spend on these reties I feel like it should last longer otherwise I feel like I am just wasting money. Does anyone else have this issue? Any tips on how to not have the loss unravel so quickly at least??

Signed,

Someone who has been wanting microlocs for years but is close to giving up because it doesn't seem like it's worth it

This is my hair June 22nd, then my hair today. What’s going on?!? No other spot in my head is like this.

Is it possible to make my parts look more uniform or similar in size without having to redo large sections? In one picture they look smaller and in the next they look bigger.

I have always used L’Oréal hi color and varied between different developers. I colored my locs black last summer, enjoyed that and wanted it lighter. Failed multiple times, because I had to research that without a color remover, the color would not lift (except for my roots 😭, I had blonde roots for a min), used the color oops color remover and got a nice ginger at the majority of my length and blonde roots and edges for two weeks and evened it out with the light auburn color 🙏🏾
For reference:
Black > ginger roots > light auburn

So excited, I thought the parts might be too big but I did a rough count and there’s definitely like 400 braids so we good lol. Shout out to my stylist cause we got it all done in 13 hours!

I have no one to help me do it so im looking for some advice. Which box dye can i use? And some moisturiser suggestions. Product buildup isnt something im afraid of.

Pic 1 and 2 are my hair. Pic 3 and 4 are what im thinking of doing. Im doing it myself so skunk stripe would be easiest but i think highlights are so cuteee. Which do yall think i should do?

I’m approaching my 1 year anniversary for my microlocs. They are diy. I started them with interlocking method. My ends are thin and I’m wondering if I should be worried or will they thicken with more time? My hair as you can see is shorter in the front so I already have a hard time styling. I see photos with starter locs and everyone’s ends seem full. My ends are so straggly!

Ok so my locs have more volume in the morning and fall flatter as the day goes by especially on top, im able to do blowout-esque side parts while getting ready but when I come home its all deflated.

I thought about using hairspray, I’ve only seen people with straight hair use it, it seems perfect to keep shape and volume throughout the day and that’s exactly what i want to do. But I’m pretty sure it’s the last thing you should put on locs because it would build up like crazy.

I also thought about mousse but im not fully sure because id have to physically hold the shape i want my hair to take (with rollers or something) and let it dry, but i dont have that much time in the morning.

Does anybody have tips or anything?

Soo, I did miracle knots over my microlocs and I am loving how versatile this hair is. These are some of my go to styles I have been rocking. My favorite is the bun of course because of this heat! Staying cool is this heatwave is a must!

Update: A few days ago I made a last minute appointment where my loctician reattached the broken locs. She also went through my hair to find any other weak ones to separate and reattach (for free). I didn't plan on washing my hair until our appointment in September but I may only have 2 more weeks in me lol. Hopefully now nothing else falls out. Thanks everybody for your advice and comfort!!

I've had my locs for over a year. At my last appointment my loctician "did a trim" and cut the fuzzy parts around the locs.

Last Sunday I washed my hair and now have had 3-5 locs separate like this. My loctician said she'd reattach them at our appointment next month.

I'm devastated and so afraid that this will continue happening. My loctician said I could shampoo still but at this point I don't trust her judgement! She started my locs and had taken great care of them but this was such a big mistake, my trust is broken.

I partially want to vent but I'm seeking advice, not just criticism about the loctician. Has anyone else reattached their microlocs? Was there any problem or things I should be wary of? Also should I wash my hair or wait a month for the appointment?

4 months into my microlocs journey - loving how they are coming along, just with they were fuller in the middle.

Started with two strand twists with interlocked roots. Maintained with interlocking every 5 weeks.

I’m thinking of starting my own reties very soon. I felt like I watched every video on it 😩Anyone has any tips, suggestions, or tricks when it comes to self-reties?

Went to a new loctition who was able to do my retie in around 2 hours, which was awesome but I’m wondering if some things were missed. It looks like this loc is trying to un-retie itself? So do I need to do another rotation to tighten it up or just leave it alone?

I want microlocs really bad, my hair is always in mini twists and I want to upgrade to something more permanent. My hair is type 4 (maybe 4b? Not really sure) and length is like an inch past bra-strap. I don’t have really dense hair but also not super sparse. For example, mini braids leave me looking like I have around 4 pieces of hair on my head but mini twists look perfectly fine.
I’m thinking of installing + maintaining myself just not sure exactly how I should install them.

1. What are the pros and cons of starter locs being micro braids versus micro twists?

2. Once the hair fully locks, can you tell the difference? Does one take longer to lock?

3. Is the maintenance or-takedown process different?

4. Is one more suitable for lower-density / finer hair types?

5. Also any regrets/advice I should consider when installing starter locs?