Baby Loc Saturday: Deciding how to start your locs

Deciding how to start your baby locs is a very personal decision with lots of factors to think about. Unfortunately, being excited about starting locs can make thorough consideration difficult. There are four main ways people start locs including, organic, comb coils, twists and braids. But there are also other ways, less common but equally interesting. Sisterlocks are becoming more accessible in the last few years. In addition, while back combing and crochet locs have been popular for people with straight hair, those techniques are starting to be used by people with afro textured hair as well. Each method has it's benefits and problems though. 

When narrowing down your options, look at your personality. Are you a perfectionist? Do you dread working on your hair but also avoid salons? How much money do you want to spend on a regular basis? In addition, consider your hair texture, exercise routine and hair hygiene needs. If you run every morning and shampoo equally as often, comb coils will fight you unless you have naturally tight separated coils. Remember, anything your hair and scalp needs to be healthy now, it will need once you loc.

My first set was started with super short comb coils; my second set was started with 2 strand twists. My current locs began with three strand twists and this was the perfect method for me. They stayed in longer than comb coils or two strand twists and looked sausage-y sooner than braidlocks. This method allowed me to wash as often as my scalp needed to control my scalp disorder. Your choices may be completely different. I recommend reading The Knotty Truth: Creating Beautiful Locks On A Dime. In the book Michele George profiles people who started with each method and describes the benefits and disadvantaged for each. The book was written to be used as a training manual and reference. While many books on locs and dreadlocks are available, I feel this is a perfect resource for people new to loc'ing who are trying to decide which method is best for them. Over the next couple weeks, Baby Locs Saturday will profile the benefits and disadvantages of each method for starting locs. 

If you're loc'd what advice would you give a new person making this huge decision? If you are considering, what concerns do you have about choosing your method?