I Tried DIY Boho Locs & This Is What I Thought

There are not many hairstyles I wouldn't try. I've had weaves, braids, twist outs and wigs; I've worn my hair natural. But since hair salons have been closed for over a year, I have been forced, along with other Black women, to take matters into my own hands.

Last year I gave myself a Big Chop followed by a DIY balayage and, miraculously, I didn't ruin my hair. So this time around I've decided to go bigger: DIY Boho Locs.

Boho Locs was founded back in 2016 by British entrepreneur Lulu Pierre after a Brazilian blowout "murdered" her natural hair, leaving it so damaged that she had no other option but to put it in a protective style. Lulu decided to install individual faux locs but the first attempt took her three days to complete. She then tried crochet locs but didn't like the ones available because they were too springy, too shiny, too heavy or too uniform.

So Lulu created her own crochet loc and customized it to make each one unique. At first she created the locs for herself but they later blew up on Instagram. Now the brand has over eight collections, more than 80 products to choose from and prides itself – like Unbothered – on being made by Black women, for Black women.

When I discovered Boho Locs on Instagram, I instantly fell in love with the Iced Latte Boho Mermaid Locs, a 22-inch pre-looped loc and wave mix with touches of dirty and platinum blondes mixed with brown tones and sun-kissed blondes. Each pack costs $226 and includes 120 22-inch Goddess Locs and 20 strands of Mermaid Hair, which are all made from synthetic hair that can be reused, washed and worn for up to 12 weeks. The pack doesn't come with a crochet needle, however, so I had to order one from Amazon for $6.90.

Before I cracked on with the install, I watched Lulu's in-depth YouTube tutorial on how to layer and double wrap the individual locs onto my hair. In the 11-minute video, Lulu made it look super easy and according to her, these locs cut the time you'd spend in a salon chair by four hours.

I had to cainrow my hair before installing the locs. Disclaimer: I had to ask my friend to cainrow my hair because, unfortunately, I am one of those Black girls who never learned to cainrow my hair growing up. I know there are a few of you out there and I stand in solidarity with you.

Once my hair was all in cainrow, I started the install. At first it was hard to understand how to loop each loc onto my hair but once I managed the first few, I got the hang of it. It was similar to knitting, and obviously crocheting, and before I knew it, I had added most of the locs to my hair. My cainrow was perfectly hidden underneath my locs, there was no pull and it looked absolutely stunning.

The front part was the hardest because I have fine, 3C curly hair, which meant that I didn't have a lot of hair to braid and therefore loop onto the loc. I wanted to try Lulu's technique for the front, in which she splits a loc to wrap around the braid, but I couldn't work it out. So I looped the loc around my braid and then tucked the remainder of my hair inside the loc.

The whole install took the same amount of time as watching Judas and the Black Messiah, which is unbelievable considering I would usually sit in a salon chair for eight hours and spend upward of $690.

For $226 (plus $3 for the crochet needle), I'm really, really pleased with the results. I have a whole head of faux locs that look gorgeous and can be styled multiple times and it's a protective style for my natural curls. The locs don't weigh down my edges, they look surprisingly natural and they have been designed with Black women in mind. I'm really surprised at how easy they were to install from the comfort of my home and I can't wait to rock my locs throughout the summer.

This story was originally published on Refinery29 UK. Prices have been converted from GBP to CAD.