Starting your loc journey is one of the most exciting decisions you can make for your hair. I've been a loctician for over 20 years, and in that time I've watched people have the most beautiful, transformative experiences with their locs — and I've watched others struggle, not because anything went wrong with their hair, but because they went in unprepared.
The difference almost always comes down to one thing: intention. The more intentional you are going in, the better the experience.
So before you book that first appointment, here are the 10 things I want every future loc lover to think about.
1. Your Lifestyle
Your hair doesn't exist in a vacuum — it lives in your life. So think about what your daily life actually looks like.
Do you work in an environment where your hair needs to look a certain way? I want to be clear: "professional" doesn't mean what it used to. The workplace has changed dramatically over the last 20 to 30 years, and locs are welcomed in spaces where they simply wouldn't have been before. But you know your environment better than anyone, so be honest with yourself about what flexibility you have — or don't have — especially in the early stages of your journey.
Also think about your activity level. If you're working out frequently and sweating a lot, you're going to need to wash your hair more often. That's not a problem — but it does factor into which starting technique makes the most sense for you. Some methods are more wash-friendly early on than others. Your loctician needs to know this about you.
2. Your Expectations — and Your Patience
Some people have a lot of patience. Some have none at all. And some aren't sure where they fall — which is perfectly fine. But before you sit in that chair, get honest with yourself about it.
During your consultation, make sure you have a real conversation about every starting technique that's available to you, and what the journey looks like with each one. How long will it take for your locs to reach a mature stage? When will they start looking the way you're envisioning? What does the in-between look like?
The more you understand the full timeline before you begin, the less likely you are to get frustrated or feel caught off guard somewhere in the middle. Ask questions. Get specific. Your loctician should welcome that conversation.
3. The Products You'll Use
A lot of the products people use on their loose natural hair are not going to work for locs. They're too thick, too heavy, or too coating — and over time, they create buildup inside your hair that's very difficult to remove.
This is actually the reason Dr Locs exists. Fourteen years ago, my clients were going through exactly this — they didn't know what to use, and they didn't know who to trust. I formulated products specifically for locs, so they would have something lightweight, effective, and buildup-free they could count on throughout their journey.
Whether you use Dr Locs or not, make sure you're asking the right questions about what's going into your hair. Buildup might not be something you notice right away, but it will catch up with you — and it's worth getting ahead of it from the start.
4. Your Circle
This one doesn't get talked about enough, and I want to be direct about it.
Over 20 years of doing locs, I've watched people abandon their journey — not because anything went wrong with their hair, but because of the people around them. Family members. Friends. Coworkers. People are going to have opinions. They won't always understand what you're doing, what the process looks like, or what you're working toward. And sometimes, the people closest to you will say something that gets in your head at exactly the wrong moment.
You have to go into this with a clear vision and a grounded confidence in yourself. Know your end goal. Hold onto it.
Having a loctician by your side through this process helps more than people realize. Part of this work — a big part, honestly — is holding people through those moments of doubt. I've seen clients stop locking simply because someone in their life said the wrong thing at the wrong time. Don't let that be you.
5. Your Budget
This is a practical one, but it matters.
During your consultation, ask two specific questions: How much does it cost to start my locs with the technique I'm interested in? And how much will ongoing maintenance cost — and how often will I need to come in?
If your loctician recommends coming in every four to six weeks, you need to understand what that investment looks like over the course of a year. Make sure it fits your finances before you commit. There are also options for people who want to learn to maintain their own hair — which brings me to point seven — but either way, get the numbers on the table early.
6. The Health of Your Hair
Locs don't lie.
When your hair is loose, it can take something pretty dramatic for damage or breakage to become visible. But with locs, your hair is essentially a timeline — individual sections, matted and defined — and anything that affects your hair health will show. Stress, pregnancy, nutritional changes, hormonal shifts — it will eventually appear in your locs, and it will be more visible than it would be in loose hair.
This is not a reason not to get locs. It's a reason to make sure your hair is in a strong, healthy state before you begin. If your hair is currently dealing with significant breakage or damage, I would genuinely suggest waiting until it's restored before you start. Give yourself the best possible foundation for the journey.
7. Whether You'll Maintain Your Own Hair
This is something worth deciding before you start, not after.
Are you the type of person who will go to a loctician regularly for maintenance? Or do you want to learn to care for your own hair and take some control over the process yourself? Neither is the wrong choice — but they require different preparation.
If you're interested in maintaining your own locs, look into taking a loc class or finding a professional who can teach you properly. Knowing this going in shapes the experience, affects the products you'll need, and ultimately impacts how long and how well your journey lasts.
8. The Size
This is one of the most important things to discuss during your consultation — and it gets overlooked more than it should.
Don't just walk in and say "I want locs." Know what size you're looking for, and be able to show your loctician what you mean.
When you're searching for inspiration photos, pay attention to hair density. If you have very thick hair and you're looking at photos of someone with fine hair, the locs are not going to look the same on you — even if the size appears similar. The comparison needs to be realistic.
My suggestion: go on Pinterest, search for locs, and collect three to five photos of different people whose hair density looks similar to yours and whose loc size matches what you're envisioning. Bring those photos to your consultation. It gives your loctician something concrete to work toward and makes sure you're both on the same page from the very beginning.
9. Who You Choose to Do Your Hair
Your loctician matters — probably more than any other factor on this list.
You want someone who has walked alongside clients through multiple years of their loc journey, not just someone who knows how to create a loc. A seasoned loctician understands what your hair will look like six months in, a year in, two years in. They've seen the full arc of the process, and they know how to guide you through each stage.
For example: in what's often called the "teenage stage," hair tends to lump and swell before it settles. Someone who hasn't seen this before might panic — or worse, make you panic. A loctician with real experience will recognize it immediately, reassure you, and know exactly what to do. That kind of knowledge and that kind of calm only comes with time and repetition.
Ask about their experience. Look at their work. And make sure they're someone you can actually talk to — because this journey requires trust.
10. This Is a Process — and That's the Beauty of It
Throughout your life, you've probably paid for hair services where you walk out looking exactly like the result — done, finished, complete. Locs are not that. And once you really understand that, you'll realize it's not a limitation. It's actually what makes this journey so special.
Every stage has its own look, its own texture, its own energy. The baby stage. The teenage stage. The full, mature stage. What I've seen consistently over 20 years is this: the clients who take time to understand the process have a better journey. A calmer journey. They're not shaken when something shifts, because they expected it.
Go into this with patience. Go into it with ease. You can absolutely have a vision — you're investing in your hair, and you deserve to love what it becomes — but give the process the respect and the time it needs to get there.
And here's one more thing worth knowing: even if two people with the exact same hair type started their locs on the same day with the same technique, their locs would still look a little different from each other. Because it's their hair. That's not a flaw. That's what makes this journey yours.
Chimere Faulk is a loctician with 20+ years of experience and the founder and formulator behind Dr Locs, a premium vegan loc care brand. She created Dr Locs for clients who needed products they could trust — lightweight, effective, and free of buildup. Learn more at drlocs.com. Chimere is open to new clients in Sandy Springs, GA. You may schedule consultations and loc services here: drlocs.setmore.com
