7 Best Practices to Maintain Your Faux Locs at Night

Maintaining faux locs can be a bit of a challenge, especially when it comes to keeping them looking neat at night. It doesn’t matter if you’re a newbie to faux locs or have been rocking them for a while, it’s important to know how to properly care for them to ensure they last as long as possible. Let’s go over some tips and tricks for maintaining your faux locs at night, so you can wake up looking fabulous every morning.

Faux locs are a hairstyle that mimics the appearance of dreadlocks. They are usually made by braiding synthetic hair, yarn, or other materials into the natural hair, and then securing the ends with a crochet hook or a latch hook. 

They can also be made by using a technique called “interlocking”, which is similar to traditional dreadlocking, but without the use of wax. Faux locs have gained popularity in recent years because they offer a low-maintenance alternative to traditional locs and can be worn by people of all hair types and textures.

Faux locs comes in different unique variations such as butterfly locs, goddess locs, and soft locs.

Faux locs offers various benefits not limited to the following listed below:

• Low-maintenance: Faux locs require less upkeep compared to traditional locs, as they can be retightened or redone as needed.

• Versatility: Faux locs come in various sizes, textures, and colors, allowing for a wide range of styling options.

• Protective style: Faux locs can protect your natural hair from breakage and damage caused by daily styling and heat use.

• Variety of hair types: Faux locs can be worn by people with all hair types and textures, including those with naturally curly or straight hair.

• Less commitment: Unlike traditional dreadlocks, faux locs can be removed after a certain period and your natural hair can be worn out again.

• Cultural representation: Faux locs have gained popularity among African American communities, they are a way of embracing and expressing one’s cultural identity.

• Cost-effective: Faux locs are usually less expensive than traditional locs and can be done at home with the proper tools and instructions.

7 Easy Tips on How to Maintain Faux Locs at Night 

One of the challenges of maintaining faux locs at night is ensuring that they stay in place and maintain their shape. Without proper care, the braids can become loose or unravel, causing them to look disheveled in the morning. 

Additionally, sleeping with faux locs can put pressure on the scalp, which can lead to discomfort or pain. Another challenge is keeping the hair moisturized, as the braids can dry out and become brittle over time. You should be careful with your bed sheets, pillows, and fabrics that you sleep on, as they can get tangled with the hair, which can cause damage to the hair and the braids.

Here are some tips for maintaining faux locs at night:

1. Use a satin or silk scarf 

These materials are less likely to cause friction, which can cause damage to the hair and braids. For a silk scarf, you’ll need to bun your locs up in a manner you’ll find comfortable afterward, grab a hold of your scarf, smoothen it, and connect the ends to form a triangle.

Drape the scarf at its center point over your head with its sides dangling, grab a hold of them, and secure them nicely by making a knot at the nape of your neck. 

This is by far the easiest method, if you did a high bun with your faux loc, then the pineapple method would suffice. The pineapple method is easy to do as well, you’ll bend your head forwards and drape the scarf at its center point at the nape of your neck. Afterwards, you take the ends at the sides and make a knot at the front after ensuring the bun is nicely tucked in. 

2. Secure your hair

Use a hair tie or bonnet to keep your hair in place and prevent tangling. A silk or satin bonnet is the easiest way to keep your locs protected but it can also be done wrongly, to wrap your locs up in a bonnet. 

Grab a hold of a silk or satin scrunchie and do a loose bun. You could go off to bed with the scrunchie on as it allows for less friction or very gently with your head tilted forward draping the bonnet over your locs and if you worry about the bonnet staying in place through the night you could secure it with bobby pins at the sides.

3. Moisturize your hair

Carrying faux locs doesn’t negate the need for moisturizing treatment. Your main priority should be your hair health. Use a light oil or moisturizer to keep your faux locs hydrated, especially in the ends. 

Lightweight oils such as jojoba, almond, argan, and olive oil are recommended for their weightless and buildup-free outcome. With these oils, massage directly to the scalp on the application; this would encourage blood circulation to the hair follicles and inevitably promote healthy hair development. 

4. Avoid sleeping on one side

Try to alternate your sleeping positions to avoid putting too much pressure on one area of your head and scalp.

5. Keep your hair clean

Faux locs should not be passed off as dreadlocks. It should be clean to protect and care for hair, if you worry about damaging your hair due to frequent wash, you shouldn’t!

To wash your faux locs, wet your hair under lukewarm water. Grab a moisturizing shampoo, they are milder on the hair as they do not typically contain harsher surfactants. Take a dollop size amount on your palms, rub your hands together, and massage into the scalp directly, rubbing gently with care and avoiding the locs. Have a good rinse afterwards, as you rinse, the lather washes down the faux locs cleaning the locs in the process.

A hydrating conditioner should be applied next to add moisture to the locs and negate the negative charge from the shampooing process. A leave-in conditioner is the last and essentially vital stage that concludes the wash process as it ensures all-day hydration. Creating a nighttime care ritual that involves keeping your locs clean before bedtime is a great way to wake up looking fabulous!

6. Be mindful of your surroundings

Avoid sleeping in humid or damp environments, which can cause mildew to form on your faux locs. This care tip is also advised for dreadlocks to prevent the formation of fungus that can develop within the center of your locs which will lead to a mildew odor. Not to mention, removing the mildew odor can be a very tedious, sometimes unachievable task.

Sleeping with damp locs can be a breeding ground for bacteria leading to scalp diseases, dandruff, and acne. Even though it is advised to limit heat styling, constantly air drying locs especially at night time would do greater harm than good. After a wash, use a bonnet dryer to effectively dry out the locs.

7. Sleep on a Pillowcase!

A silk or satin pillowcase offers great protection and helps extensively in preserving the hair and its freshness. If you are a crazy sleeper and you’ll not feel protected with a head wrap then this would fit right in. You could also tie your hair in a scrunchie and sleep on the pillowcase.