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What You Need for Soft Locs

Soft locs exist because traditional faux locs are heavy. They use a lighter, springier wrapping hair and a looser build, which gives a similar look with noticeably less pull on the scalp. If you've worn faux locs and found them uncomfortable by week two, this is the version to try.

What makes them softer

The wrapping hair. Spring twist or water wave hair wraps lighter and with more give than marley hair, and the finished loc bends rather than hanging as a solid rope. Many people also use a crochet base instead of a full braid base, which cuts weight again. The result moves more and sits more comfortably against the neck.

What to buy

Base hair for the braids or twists underneath, and separate wrapping hair, usually spring twist or water wave. Buy the wrapping hair generously, since it's the part people underestimate. If you're using pre-looped crochet locs as a starting point, you'll need fewer wrapping packs but a latch hook.

Keeping them light

Two decisions do most of the work: length and count. Shorter locs weigh less and pull less. Fewer, slightly larger locs weigh less than many small ones. Neither makes the style look worse, and both make it more comfortable to wear for six weeks.

Care

Wash the scalp through the parts with a diluted shampoo in an applicator bottle, and get the roots properly dry afterward. A light scalp oil with a nozzle tip along the parts. Satin bonnet or scarf at night, which matters more here because the softer wrapping hair frizzes more readily than marley.

How long they last

Four to six weeks is typical, a little less than heavier faux locs because the looser build loosens sooner at the root. Take them down slowly, unwrapping rather than pulling, and cut clear of your own hair rather than close to it.