Here is another Bradelocz question from one of our customers…
“How long does it take for the braid pattern to go away and the hair look more like a loc than a braid?”
The braid pattern seems to wanna “hang in there” longer for one of three reasons:
- You start off with long hair that is 8 inches or longer
- Your hair texture is softer and curl pattern looser
- Both
If you start your locs with roughly 3-6 inches of hair, the braid pattern doesn’t seem to last as long.
Same if your hair is more coarse in texture and tighter in curl pattern.
My eldest daughter started locking with about 8 inches of hair AND she had a loose, wiry curl pattern. She kept that braid pattern for a LONG time. In fact, as we were taking her locs down, you could still see her braid pattern very distinctly under the fuzziness.
On the other hand, my braid pattern was gone after about the first six months to a year or so. I started out with shorter hair that was about 4 inches at the longest, and while my texture wasn’t tightly coiled, it wasn’t as loose as hers either.
A Few Things to Consider
If you have a softer texture or hair and/or a looser curl pattern and you feel the braid look will be bothersome to you, then you may consider starting with 6 inches or less.
If you have a more coarse texture and tighter curl pattern, then you should be good either way but you might want to start with no MORE than 8 inches of length.
But at the end of the day, I want you to think about what I market Bradelocz as…
Permanent Braids!
So if you go into starting Bradelocz with the mindset, “I’m getting permanent braids” or “I have permanent braids!“… then the whole issue of when the braid pattern goes way becomes a non-issue. 😉
Blessings & Warmest Regards,