Winter is here and so are the enemies, dryness and frizz. Due to dry weather in winter, your hair need more moisture than other seasons. So, no matter how many times you moisturize your hair it still craves for more moisture than usual. In situations like this, your best bet is the LOC method.
What is LOC method or LOG method
LOC stands for “leave-in, Oil and Cream”. As the name suggests you apply products on hair in this order. By following this order you make sure that you are sealing your hair using oil or butter so that hair does not lose moisture easily. Other variation is LOG (leave-in, Oil and Gel). Leave-in conditioner provides the required moisture in this method. Moisture prevents your hair becoming frizzy and makes it softer and less prone to breakage.
This method works great on high porosity hair that always looks dry and loses moisture easily. If you have low porosity hair which does not take up oils well and looks greasy, then this method might not work for you. If LOC does not work for you, then you can also try the LCO method meaning leave-in, cream and followed by oil.
How to follow the LOC method
To incorporate this method in your existing routine is very simple. Follow these three simple steps that you must already be doing in the order mentioned below.
Step-1: Leave-in conditioner
Wash you hair as usual with shampoo and conditioner then apply a leave-in conditioner to provide moisture to hair. You can use a small amount of silicone-free rinse off conditioner like The Body Shop rainforest conditioner, Giovanni Tea Tree Triple treat conditioner etc after diluting it with water as a leave-in conditioner in this step. Apply product in smoothing motion on all sections of hair for better clumps. I take a small amount of silicone free conditioner and water in my palm, mix it and then apply it.
Step-2: Oil
Apply thin layer of oil in smoothing motion on hair strands. Do not apply oil on the scalp here. Oil will work as a sealant and help to lock the moisture in. Your selection of oil would depend on your hair type. If your hair looks greasy easily then you can use light weight oils like Argan oil, Sweet almond oil, Grapeseed oil, flex seed oil etc. And if your hair does not weighed down easily then you can use oils like Jojoba oil, Coconut oil, whipped shea butter. Apply the quantity according to your hair and do not be heavy handed while applying. I used whipped Shea butter in this video.
Step-3: Cream
After the oil, finish the job by applying a styling cream or gel. Again, apply it in smoothing motion as we apply all the products after wash. I used homemade flax seed gel in the video.
And you are done!! Leave you hair to air dry and once it is dry completely then give it a final scrunch and fluff your hair.
Hair styled using LOC method
LOC method definitely gives moisturized looking curls. In initial trials, the quantity of products could be here and there and you might see your hair weighed down but learn from your trials. Try it out and tweak it accordingly and also try the LCO method as well.
If you try this method then do not forget to leave your feedback in comment section below 🙂
Hi!
Finally an Indian blog for Indian curly hair! Thanks a million.
Question: I love my curls but the most irritating thing about curly hair is baby hair that sticks up when dry (the front end, from the forehead, right up to the center of the head). I see those only in one pic of yours,, which are otherwise invisible.
(I hope you understand what I mean – those annoying, tiny hair bits either just single hair or worse, in clumps.)
Thanks Priya!!!
I do have short hair on top and which are not much visible in pics. Also on day one or two when I have good curl definition, then these do not bother me much and whenever I want to make a bun then to settle these I use set wet casual hold gel (blue color one) to smooth the top part. These strands are either breakage or new growth after the hair fall. So take measures to prevent breakage like gentle detangling using fingers and by keeping hair moisturized. Giovanni root 66 max volume is pretty good for detangling. Seal your ends after wash using oils to prevents knots. I follow the same routine of applying styling products as I have shown in the article above like smoothing motion but you can also try twirling your hair when you apply the styling product to see if these get clumped with rest of the hair.
Hey you can use hair wax a lil bit n apply with fingers or toothbrush! Just give it a try!
hi
after using flaxseed gel it leaves back a white casting on my hair 🙁 i followed the same procedure but still . what to do?? i tried 4 to 5 times n i loved the results but cant take this white snow flakes all over the over the head it didnt even go after scrunching.
May be it is your leave-in conditioner. Try changing the leave-in conditioner and proper dilute it if you are using a silicone free rinse off conditioner as a leave-in. Please let me know if your try it.
Nicceee
Hi Asha,
In step no 2 above on applying Oil- Jojoba Oil.
Do we need to apply the oil directly or dilute it.
Does it need to be a few drops or it can be a generous dose, the way we do will applying coconut oil.
Thanks in advance.
Preeti
Preeti, the choice for step two can be jojoba oil, coconut oil, almond oil or whipped butter. Quantity would depend on your hair type as for some hair starts looking very oily and weighed down if used too much. Like for me, I use a pinch of my whipped shea butter on each section of hair and mostly I section my hair in four. So try and figure out how much your hair needs and feels good with.
Hi asha ..love ur blog it’s interesting..am having long curly hair ..how to do style in long curly hair..otherwise I have to cut my hair..which type of hair cut ll be good for our type of hair..
Supriya, lots of layers or graduated layers work perfectly in curly hair. There are lots of curly hair styles you can try in long hair like twisting the front hair section and pin them at the back or a messy bun in hot weather etc. A few hair styles you can find on my blog. But you can search you tube also for different curly hair styles. There are many easy to do hair styles you can find there. If you have not trimmed your hair for a long time then I would be a good idea to get rid of dry ends.
Hii asha ,
When to use LOC /LCO method means after each wash or when we refresh our curly hair ?? I want to make my hair moistured during wash days so I thought to use LCO method but afraid to do so ? Does the oil accumulate on my hairs if I use it each day ..
It all depends on your hair how it reacts to different routines. You should keep trying different methods because you never know which one will suit you better. I myself use the LOC method sometime I go without the oil part. On Non-wash day I think you should skip oil as you have low porosity hair so it might get weighed down. I have suggested one refreshing method in your other comment, please check that one too.
Hi,
Are we using a normal conditioner and diluting it water and leaving it on the hair and not rinsing it?
Is that safe for the hair if it’s not a leave in conditioner?
Priyanka, a leave-in conditioner and a regular conditioner mostly have the same kind of ingredients like water, conditioning agents, humectants, preservatives. They differ in concentration of these ingredients. Like a rinse off conditioner will have more amount of conditioning agent than a leave-in conditioner. When you use a rinse off as a leave-in use it only on hair and skipping the scalp. Some people sometime allergic to some preservatives like Methylisothiazolinone present in products. So might want to test it first. If you dont have any allergic reaction like rash with rinse off then it should be fine.
Can I use Giovanni Invigorating Conditioner Tea Tree Triple Treat as Leave-in conditioner…
Yes you can use it.
This one works perfect for me and the hair looks moisturized even on day 4!!
I am glad it is working for you 🙂
Hi Asha,
Am new to the group and want to know the night routine to detangle the hair on wash day… Through posts I got to know that we can refresh it the next day with styling products.
So what about night, if I try to detangle with hands, I tend to loose my curls…
Suggestions please
We detangle hair only in shower with the conditioner. Other times if you will detangle hair then it will become frizzy and lose definition. Just sleep on satin pillow and tie your hair over top so that it does not get frizzy. Next day if you need to refresh then refresh hair with water or styling products.
I am new to the curl girl method. wanted to know if I can use henna on my hair for coloring.
Thanks in advance
I do not have any personal experience in using Henna. So cant say how it affects in longer run.