Colouring locs

Colour on locs looks superb, and it deserves real thought first, because a loc does not recover the way loose hair does.

The first point is dryness. Colour opens the fibre, and a compacted fibre recovers more slowly. Coloured locs need more moisture, permanently, not only for the week afterwards.

The second is lifting. Going lighter than your base means bleach, and that is where accidents happen: weakened locs snap clean through, often in the middle, sometimes months later. The lighter you go, the more real the risk.

The third is rinsing. A loc holds product for a long time. Colour that was not rinsed out properly keeps working on the fibre long after you leave the salon, and it is one of the commonest causes of breakage.

The fourth is timing. Do not colour young locs that have not closed yet. Wait for maturity.

If you want colour without the risk, partial pieces and tones darker than your base give you a great deal for almost no fragility.