ladies. I suffered with dry hair for the first 11 months of my natural
hair journey. I couldn’t go more than 2 or 3 days without having to
moisturize. I experimented with everything to try and keep my hair
moisturized: olive oil, coconut oil and every type of butter you could
think of! It also doesn’t help that I have low porosity hair.
I came across a thread for keeping hair moisturized. The women in the
thread were discussing using the L.O.C. method and how it helped them
keep their hair moisturized for 4 to 5 days! Each letter in the title
makes up the steps:
L-Liquid: You first use a liquid on your hair.
O-Oil: You seal the liquid with an oil or butter.
C-Cream: You then put a cream over the oil and liquid.
The purpose is for each layer to seal the layer before it, i.e. the oil seals in the liquid and the cream seals in the oil.
Knowing my situation, I wanted to look into this method more to see
if it could work for me. So, off I went to YouTube to find a tutorial
and more information. I landed on the Trendy Socialite’s video and
decided give the method a try.
via TrendySocialite
I will be honest, I was skeptical. Nothing else had worked before.
However, after my first application, my apprehension turned into
excitement. It worked!! My hair stayed moisturized for a week … A WEEK! I
hadn’t been able to go more than 2 days without having to moisturize. I
started using the L.O.C. method in November and I haven’t looked back.
When I first started, the products I used were water, Jane Carter Nourish and Shine and Bioteral Curl Creme or Lacio Laci0! High Shine Leave-In Conditioner.
Since then, the products I use have changed as I no longer like Lacio
Lacio because it contains silicones and I no longer use them in my hair
anymore. Being the product junkie that I am, my products are constantly
changing and I’m forever experimenting to find the right combination.
I’ve used:
- Oyin Handmade Whipped Pudding and Burnt Sugar Pomade as my oil
- PuraBody Naturals Murumuru Moisture Milk, Oyin Handmade Hair Dew and Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk as my cream.
The one thing that has never changed is using water as my liquid.
Water is always the best moisturizer for hair, so there’s no need to
mess with a good thing. But, no matter what I’m using, I always do the
L.O.C. method.
If your hair's dry, not retaining moisturizing and with porosity, I don't see any problem about using this technique.
May have been the from the plaits…
I do this on wash day. Let my hair air-dry a bit, add Giovanni direct leave-in, then grapeseed oil, then Shea Moisture deep treatment masque. Sometimes for more hold I'll lay ORS twist and lock gel over those three. Shiny, defined, moist twist- and braid-outs that last a week.
~CurlyBlasian
I've been doing this forever and I didn't know it had a name! Anyway I love it. It's the only thing that has kept moisture in my hair for more than half a day. I only have to do it twice a week. Love, love, love this method.
Does anyone know what technique she did for her curls to come out like that? It looks like a twist out
On the hair boards u learn to use oil last as a sealant…
@Infinity: The L.O.C Method is for anyone of any ethnic origin who's having problems retaining moisture
I found this method a few weeks ago when I notice how dry my hair became after using henna. It works great for any hair type. Just use the amount appropriate for your hair. @Alana use the cream the ends of hair, if not the entire head. You're sealing in moisture with the oil anyway. The cream is the added bonus.
Well, I'm Caucasian with curly hair. Will this work on me too? What adjustments, if any, should I make?
Ive been doing this for abt two years now. But doing L.C.O. instead of L.O.C. Has worked well.
In the L.O.C. Method, wouldnt you be wasting product? Wouldnt putting a cream (which is most likely water based) over an oil provide no benefit?
Can this method work with locs too?
Wow, your hair looks shinier and more defined. Thanks for sharing. I have been doing a version of this for months now and didn't even know it. When I do my braid/twist outs I do 1) leave in conditioner,2)grapeseed oil/water mixture 3) light moisturizer such as Carol's daughter hair milk (lite or regular) 4) seal with a moisturizer (Now I use design essentials stretch cream) 5) when I take the braids down I use just a drop of grapeseed oil rubbed into my hands to prevent friz. My hair is super porous so it takes all of this but it leaves my hair shiny for days. I usually spritz a little oil/water in my hair at nite but that's it. It lasts for a few days. When my hair starts to look old, I just rebraid/twist using the oil/water mixture, carols daughter, and retwist. All the while concentrating on my root, scalp and ends. When I touch my hair instead of dryness it feels soft.
This is great..My hair is super try and have to moisturize daily but I think I have somewhat been using this method but minus one products. and I put them on the opposite way. I use a softener and oil. So I guess I need to try it with a liquid like a leave-in, moisture and then oil. I will try the L.O.C method instead. Thanks everyone. I learned something.
This sounds like a new plan for me! I have been battling with this very issue. I will try it and share my findings on my blog!
I've incorporated this method into my M & S routine for about the past 9 months with phenomenal moisture retaining results…
L- Butters N Bars Organic Amla Spritzer
O- Mozeke Amla Herbal Infusion
C- AfroVeda Shea-Amla Whipped Butter Cream or Qhemet Biolagics Amla Olive Heavy Cream
Very good tip. Just like Jackie I usually need to re-moisturize after 2 days as I was doing the reverse, LCO. I will try the above and hopefully this will keep my hair moisturized longer and save me some products. Thanks for the great tip!
A much less expensive and simpler way to do this is just with 2 steps, the first being fairly wet or damp hair using water, the second being a pure light cosmetic mineral oil like baby oil. It does not seal in moisture (you do not want hair to be "sealed" as that creates more dryness)but it does slow moisture evaporation down and slows down access to the hair from humidity and can result in moisturized hair without frizz that can last several days to a week or more. Referenced information can be found here, http://ktanihairsense.blogspot.ca/
Sorry…I meant to say seal with GREASE. LOL. My bad.
OK. I'm gonna definitely try this. I've been dealing with that as well and came to the conclusion that my only solution was to seal with oil. I'm open to trying this though. Thanks for this post!
I just washed my hair now and I'm going to try this and see how it works. I'll be back later with some feedback! 🙂
I'm going to use leave in cream on damp hair, coconut oil and shea butter.
I am a believer now!!! Thanks!!!
I'm glad this is working for you! But I'm sad to say…it's not the L.O.C method because your cream is not supposed to contain any water. Just a heads-up to other curlies who may do it. The cream is not just any creamy substance…the cream is the butter or grease…oil is well oil…and liquid is anything that contains water whether is be a spray or water based cream. I don't know where the miscommunication is happening, cuz I'm pretty sure I was all up in that thread. But if you want to try the method and aren't sure why it's not working the same for you, check the ingredients and make sure you are applying in the right order! AND THAT YOUR CREAM DOES NOT CONTAIN WATER. The method is awesome…thanks for the article!
When doing this method, do you put the oil on from root to ends?
Love it
I defintely use the LOC method and it works. Each time I wash or co-wash, I use water and KCKT as my liquid (L can also stand for leave-in), but reverse the oil and cream steps. I will use OH Hair Dew then top off with coconut oil. I have recently been using the Shea Moisture Raw Shea and Argan Oil oil blend formula for babies for my body and hair. Great smell.
@Anon 11:18p Yes. You can use the Giovanni Leave in. I've been using GDLI for almost a yr now while doing this method.
I learned about the LOC method awhile ago after struggling w/ my low porosity twa. It was a complete lifesaver though I still have to moisturize almost everyday.
Can Giovanni Leave in be used in this method?
Pretty sure I do the exact opposite of this lol… I use an oil first, then a water/oil mix, and thennnnnnnn seal with a cream. I have fine hair that is very thick, so I only use the cream every couple of days. This keeps my hair moisturized, but after reading the comments, I wonder if my process is ass backwards lol
I use to retwist/braid at night after spritzing it with a water/conditioner mix and a dab of aloe vera gel, but I've noticed my hair slowly but surely needing to be respritzed every couple of hours. So for the past 3 nights I've been doing the LOC method and loved it. I even started that EASE method. My hair is more than moisturized lately.
I would definitely try this because my hair loses moisture sometimes. However, I need to find a good cream that will work well with my hair and hopefully wont break out my skin.
Ashley L.
I have the same problem with dryness. I tried it last night when I retwisted & fell in love. I co-washed this afternoon & used the method on my briadout. L-Oyin's Hair Dew /O- Aragon Oil /C- SM Curl Enhancing Smoothie
This is interesting. I either mist my hair with water or use a water-based cream to 're-wet' my hair and then seal with an oil mixture or pomade made w/ oil/butters my hair likes. I hadn't thought of adding the cream after the oil. It's like wetting, sealing, and then wetting again so to speak. Huh, interesting.
I tried this last night on my 9 day old braid out, and my hair is SOFT! I used the Shea Moisture Mist,some Bee Mine scalp & hair moisturizer(oil), then some Bee Mine Bee Lovely Daily moisturizing conditioner.
I just learned something new. I always have a problem with keeping my daughters and my hair moisturized. I have 3c curls but my daughter has 2a hair so I was wondering does this work for all curlies. I will try it on me and then my daughter and let you all know ;).
I do this too! My hair is Fine And Thin, but I am still able to use the L.O.C. method successfully. I use the following lightly:
L- Water mised with a little Curls Creme Brulee and aloe juice in a spray bottle.
O- castor or WGHO
C- shea butter.
Like many hair care methods, this one's only going to work for certain people. In this case, if you have a looser texture and/or finer strands, you might be able to get away with using just two of the three, or use really tiny amounts of all three. I have mostly-4b hair (tight texture) with very fine strands; I can get away with L and O together but the C part usually ends up being overkill.
I saw this post yesterday and commented that I'd be doing it tonight. I washed my hair the previous day and it was in need of moisture. So I used purified water with a little Rosemary oil, EVOO to seal, and Camille Rose Moisture Milk to seal the oil. I'm heavy handed with products but that's because my hair is highly porous. And when I have a little weight I don't get flyaways. Today my twist out is amazingly shiny and soft.
i heard this on chicoro but I didn't want my hair to get too greasy so I put it off- any tips?
Thanks for explaining this. People are always like just seal with this and that but never really explain how to do it or what to use first. Thanks I will definitely be trying this!
Thank you everyone I really appreciate the comments. For those concerned about this weighing your hair down, I only use a pea sized amount on product. Also I use most of the product on the ends of my hair as to not weight my roots down. It took me a while to discover the perfect amount that gives me moisturized and voluminous hair.
@lolo This is a flat-twist and curl. I have post on my blog about it if your interested: http://engineeringnaturalbeauty.tumblr.com/post/22699790573/twist-and-curl-revisted
Great tips thanks. Love the after pics – did you do a twist-out or was it a wash and go?
Awwwww! I didn't even know this was up until someone posted it on my timeline. Thanks for the shoutout. I've been doing this for a year and it's the thing that works best for my hair. My hair can actually take a lot of product, so I don't really run into any issues.
OMGGGGG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is what i do now. And i didnt even know it was a method !
L- OYIN JUICE AND BERRIES ! (courtesy of CURLYNIKKI, thankss so much)
O- EVOO mixed with a little glycerin
C- Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie (SO MUCH SLIP ) OR Curls Curl Souffle
Just in this order i apply in small section at a time, detangle the same section, then bantu knot or do some twists. My hair lovvesss it !
I tried the LOC method, but it didn't quite work for me or maybe I was using the wrong products. I now do water (L), shea moisture's moisture retention leave in conditioner (C), and then Jojoba oil(O)?! LCO method, lol. A little switched around, but it works for me…my hair is super soft now.
Great suggestions, but I could never do this to my hair as it would
1. Weigh it down too much
2. Break out my skin (too much oily stuff )
3. Take too much time
I agree with anon 12:32pm (water, water, water then sealant), though whatever works. It's always good to hear what works for others, as I can always pass this info on to someone else who may benefit.
Thanks!
I've had the same issue. I can't wait to try this method when I take my kinky twists down.
This is right on time. Thank you!
I do this too! I had no idea that it had a name. I did the BIG CHOP 2 months ago. I had barely 1/4 an inch of hair. I'd never been natural before so really didn't know what to do.
My TWA/Fade thing was only dry for one day, and that was the first day. I spray it with water every morning. I used to do two times a day but I figured out that's overkill. If I do it at night, it shrinks super tight.
Next I seal with olive oil and use either Shea moisture leave in or Shea moisture smoothie. Sometimes both, it depends on my mood.
If I get lazy, it lasts a few days. I'm terrified of dry hair so I generally do this L.O.C. everyday. My hair looks and feels great so I think I'll keep up my routine. But then again, my hair likes damn near everything so far. I may see if your routine works because that can save me money : )
Thanks for the post. I've heard of the L.O.C method. Thanks for breaking it down. Will give it a try tonight!!
Wow, what a difference. Your hair looks really nice and moisturized in the after shots. I have never heard of this method, but might want to give it a shot.
I have 3c-4b hair and I tried the loc method before, and it weighed my hair down. My hair is thick but it just does not like a lot of product.
I have found that moisturizing nightly with water first, sealed with a very small amount of shea butter infused with oils works best for me. My hair stays moisturized, shiny, and fluffy without feeling weighed down and/or heavily coated.
You do have to find what works best for you!
I like using a lotion-y leave-in conditioner with a moisturizing cream layered over it. This leave my hair more moisturized that if I were to use either product alone. I also seal my ends and edges with castor oil–it keeps them moist and supple.
Soo smart. I cant wait to get my hair out of braids to try these things.
I've been using this method before even knowing that it had a name!
It's always what's worked best for my hair, and it keeps my hair soft and bouncy for a week or sometimes a little longer.
I always say you gotta do what works best for your own hair, which is as unique as the person wearing it.
Stacey
your hair looks great! I came across this method a little while ago and decided to try it. It really is the best. there's a common misconception that products alone will offer long lasting moisture but a combination of water, oil, and cream definitely is the greatest elixir