Why You Should Consider Getting Goddess Locs This Spring & Beyond

While the options are already limitless, we all look forward to when a protective style trend emerges. We've fallen in love with passion twists, mastered at-home knotless braids, and now, we're fawning over goddess locs. The style is a fresh take on traditional faux locs and its natural, distressed look is "carefree Black girl" personified. As the effects of the DIY period everyone had in the past year or two, many are still eagerly learning new tricks of the hair trade to perfect at home and brands are finding ways to make executing the sought-after look easier than ever — even for novices.

Stars like Ciara, Eva Marcille, and Meagan Good have given the distressed look their stamp of approval, putting their own unique twists on the style. Ciara often wears hers super frayed with varying shades of blonde and honey brown for a highlighted look. While Eva Marcille love to embellish hers with gold rings, charms, colored strings, and cuffs for the ultimate boho look. The beauty of the style is that the older the hair looks, the more beautiful and natural it appears — though freshly done goddess locs hold their own special allure. The saying holds true, getting a new protective style can completely refresh your look and lift your mood and that couldn’t be more true of goddess locs.

So if you've been looking for a style to break the monotony and hit a little spring refresh, goddess locs may be the look you've been waiting on. Keep reading for everything you need to know about the style.

What Are Goddess Locs?

"Goddess locs are a form of faux locs, with more 'dramatic' styling," Bonita Rebel, hair influencer and founder of Bonita Locs, tells TZR. The most notable difference, Rebel notes, is the hair used is much softer than the traditional hair used for faux locs. "For faux locs, the hair is very kinky and it’s usually human hair, meaning you can dye and bleach it," Rebel says. "The hair for goddess locs is more than likely synthetic so that it can have a hi-shine, silky luster."

Goddess Locs Vs. Faux Locs

Rebel says that finding the proper hair can make or break the goddess locs; that's what sets them apart from traditional faux locs the most. While faux locs are marked by a low-luster look, goddess locs have a much silkier finish. "Not every hair works," she says. "It took me six months to find the perfect hair, and that’s why finally I just decided to create my own line. I was always returning bad hair because it wasn’t kinky enough, or was too silky, or didn't wrap properly. There was always something off about either the texture or sheen." Rebel says that the hair used to create goddess locs should be lightweight, yet mold to all natural hair types without sliding off the shaft. To achieve that, find a synthetic blend with a light kink to it to ensure hold and shine.

How To Install Goddess Locs

Unlike passion twists or box braids, the process of goddess locs may be a bit more difficult. "The most common way is to first section the hair and braid it," Rebel says. From there, you loop the loc hair through the base of the braid and begin in a wrapping motion all the way down to your desired length. "Some people also may use fake braiding hair at the root if the natural hair is too silky to hold the loc," Rebel says. "Others may have really short hair, so they have to do the rubber band method — where you place a rubber band at the root of the braid as reinforcement. Locs as a whole is more advanced than a regular braid because they can slide out so it’s all about the stylist knowing that and knowing how to work with the client's texture."

But thanks to brands like Boho Locs, you don't have to be a pro to get it right at home. To apply most styles, you simply use the crochet method, which means you can have a full head of locs in no time. "You cornrow the hair straight back first," Lulu Pierre, founder of Boho Locs, instructs. "The locs are pre-looped, so using a crochet needle, you hook each loc onto the cornrow. It takes roughly two hours to install." If you want it fuller, however, the look will require more hair and closer placement of the locs. "For a more natural look, you can also install individuals at the front with our styles." For Rebel's locs, however, they may take a little longer, as the hair needs to be styled more traditionally. But no fear, her Bonita Loc kit comes with a full tutorial and pre-separated locs. "It'll take you about five to nine hours without help," she says. "With help, probably six hours tops."

How To Maintain Goddess Locs

When styled traditionally, the locs can last for months. They can last permanently if you continue to work with the hair by retwisting your new growth to make them look fresh. "Rather than loosening up like lots of hair, after two or three weeks, the hair locks even tighter, creating a stronger loc," Rebel says. "So the longer you keep it in, the more it forms to the strands of your natural hair." But if you do choose to remove them and give yourself natural hair a break, the hair can be reused after first washing lightly with lukewarm water, and allowing to air dry before reapplication.

To extend the life of your locs, the pros suggests avoiding complete submersion in water. Instead, use a lightweight leave-in to hydrate the scalp when dry, and spritzing lightly with dry shampoo to get rid of any buildup.

Ahead, check out the kits created to make at-home goddess loc styling a breeze.

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