Colored locs are a beautiful hair trend in 2022. The fact that you’re on dreadlocks doesn’t mean your hair game has to be boring.
Coloring your locs is a fun way to change your looks from time to time.

This has become a fun trend recently, with different colors to choose from. Personally, I’ve come across blonde, red, green, ombre finishes, and various shades of brown dreadlock hairstyles.
This trend shows how versatile dreadlocks are, so if you’ve been skeptical about getting your locs, here’s your sign!

While colored locs are fashionable, there are some factors you should consider before getting your locs colored. Let me walk you through them.
Are my Locs Healthy?
You must ensure your locs are free of damage and healthy enough for coloring. You can carry out this assessment by yourself, but it is advisable to visit a loctician to be on the safe side.
Locticians are adequately trained in maintaining and caring for dreadlocks, so they’re your best bet for hair assessment.

What Products are harmful?
Loctitians are professionals, no doubt about that. While letting them do their job, don’t be afraid to ask questions or speak up.
If you have allergies, feel free to inquire about ingredients in the color you want to use on your hair to avoid scalp irritation or hair damage.
You can also ask for a strand test during the consultation to be sure it’s the color you want to achieve.

Budget
While coloring is not so expensive, extra care is required for colored locs.
Coloring your locs is not a one-time thing unless you want to go back to your natural hair color (which you still have to dye, by the way)
If you were going in for maintenance once in three months, visits to the salon would automatically increase to at least once a month after coloring your locs.
Why?
Colored locs tend to require more care because once hair dye is applied, your locs will get dry more often, so you’ll need to hydrate more than before and include protein treatment into your haircare routine.
Also, you’ll need to reapply color frequently as the new hair grows.
With this in mind, are you ready to throw in extra funds for locs maintenance?
How To Care For Colored Locs
- Prep your hair before going in for coloring. You can do this by carrying out at least four hot oil treatments on your dreadlocks before having them colored.
- Avoid permanent hair dye as much as you can. Permanent hair dye uses strong chemicals that’ll bleach your hair, and this causes more damage. Instead, use vegetable dyes or henna.
- Once you’re done dyeing your locs, rinse thoroughly to get rid of all traces of dye on your locs. Do this to prevent hair breakage.
- When washing, ensure the shampoo and conditioner you’re using will not ruin the color of your hair by draining it of dye.
- To prevent dryness, cover your dreadlocks with an old cotton t-shirt or a silk scarf.
- Change your pillowcases to ones made from silk or satin material.
- Moisturize your hair regularly to prevent it from being too dried out. This would be common after dyeing.
How To Properly Moisturize Colored Locs
Colored hair tends to become more dry and brittle after coloring, the same goes for colored locs.
To keep your locs healthy, you should moisturize often.
Here’s how to do that correctly.
Purify Your Hair
The first step to properly moisturizing locs is to use the right shampoo. This will rid your hair of all the old products still sitting in your hair and allow any new product you’re using to function effectively.
Use a Water-based Moisturizer
Although oil is a good hair product, it doesn’t moisturize your hair. To properly moisturize your locs, you need more water than oil.
Apply the water-based moisturizer to your hair first, after which you apply oil to retain moisture.
Regular Hydration Treatments
Visit the salon for regular steam and hydration treatments. This is one of the best moisturizing treatments for colored locs, especially during cold periods of the year.
You should do this at least once every month.
Apply Aloe Vera
Aloe vera is one of the best ways to hydrate your hair naturally. This is because aloe gel is made up of 99.5% water. It helps preserve your locs and nourishes the scalp.
Use Satin Pillowcases
Cotton pillowcases are one of the common causes of hair dryness, so ditch them and use satin pillowcases instead.
Conclusion
I hope this was helpful!
If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to use the comment section, and I’ll reply ASAP.