We all know that dryness is the enemy of longer healthier hair. However what products to use and what order to use them in is constantly debated. The two most common methods are L.C.O. and L.O.C. Both methods encourage applied a combination of water, a creamy moisturizing leave-in, and oil, just in a different order.
L.C.O = Liquid + Cream + Oil
L.O.C = Liquid + Oil + Cream
Which Prevents Moisture lost?
To figure out which one works best, I filled 3 glass jars with equal amounts of water then grabbed my Herbal Essences Touchably Smooth Split End Protector (Creamy moisturizer) and some Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (sealing oil). Jar 1 serves as a control with only water. I'm convinced that this is my hair when I don't moisturize after washing. Jar 2 is my L.C.O test; it's what I think my hair strands feel like on wash day after detangling, moisturizing, and sealing. Jar 3 is my L.O.C test; perhaps this is how much moisture (water) my hair could retain by reversing order in which I apply my leave-ins.
As you can see, if you ditch moisturizing after wash day---your hair secretly hates you. Whatever you do, do not do this to your hair! Jar 1 lost about a 1/4 of its water in a week. It's very difficult to tell how much water remained in the LCO and LOC jars from the picture. So I scraped off the conditioners and oils then poured the remaining water into a measuring cup. A smidge less than a cup of water remained in both jars; I started the experiment with a cup of water. <shrugs> Both methods seem to retain the same amount of liquid. Perhaps this is a place where trial and error comes into play.
My Experience With L.O.C.
Winter has been a harsh mistress on my hair. I attempted a bantu knot out about 2 weeks ago using the L.C.O method. It looked and felt great for about 2 hours but later that night it felt like a dry tangled birds nest. I was not a happy camper! Hence why I'm at the point where I'm willing to switch things up. Last wash, I applied a palm full of Extra Virgin Coconut Oil then covered with a satin scarf to let my hair dry a bit more. About 30 minutes later and I was surprised by the ridiculous shine and manageability of my hair slightly damp hair. I applied my leave ins (Jessicurl Too Shea Extra Moisturizing Conditioner, and my kitchenista Tangerine Vanilla Whipped Hair Butter) and bantu knotted my hair. The softness and fluffiness from lasted for 4 days! My hair didn't feel like it needed to be moisturized and sealed daily nor did I feel compelled to co-wash for manageability. I even did twist out with satin rollers and it was uber cute! Anything that makes my 7 month post hair happy makes me happy! It looks like L.O.C.B. is my Winter Winner.
The plan is to continue using the process on wash days for a few more weeks then see how my hair feels. I'm curious to know if you've experimented with both processes and which worked best. Be sure to mention what you're hair's porosity is too! Link up experience below!
Besitos!
KLP
I think I like LOC, I know we've been told to seal the moisture in but someone was onto something when they said LOC. Just purchased Avocado oil again, I think this will help even more because it penetrates
ReplyDelete7 months post, your twist out and bantu knots look great!
DeleteGreat post! My hair works well with LOC method. I love the bantu knots results on your hair.
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Thanks Evalyne. I certainly wished that they'd lasted longer!
DeleteThe experiment is an eye opener. I'll be trying these two on my hair to see the winner. My hair is a moisture driven entity lol
ReplyDeleteSame here girlie! I must do whatever I can to keep my hair moisturized and happy or it will be breakage city!
DeleteI tried LCO first and it did NOT work. I always needed to pile on butter to retain moisture.
ReplyDeleteI've been LOCing since the first week of January and I haven't had to use butter aside from styling since!
WOW! Now that's a testimonial girl! I need to you tell me more about what you use and what differences you've experienced.
DeleteI promise you are the bantu knot queen! I think my hair, surprisingly to me, likes L.O.C.O. the best. I need to try it with a butter at the end to be sure tho. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI'd be afraid that LOCO would leave me with oily hair! Does that happen to you?
DeleteMy hair feels fine but the gym is killing all hair styes. Doesn't feel dry on the length of my hair. I need to moisturize my scalp but I think between the cold and the sweating everything is drying out faster.
ReplyDeleteThe gym is no joke girl! The good news is that working out will benefit your hair in the long run!
DeleteI pretty much always do LCO but I don't think it really matters as long as you're using something to seal in that moisture. This winter weather is awful! My hair is fine up and a bun but if I wear it down, mine too after a couple of hours feels so dry! x
ReplyDeleteAgreed chica! As much as I love my bantu knots and twist out, I think that I'm going to be in the bun life for the next few weeks!
DeleteI have tried LOC and it left my hair hard. Later, I tried LCO (not know I could modify) and it seemed to work much better. Oil on my hair is funny in general, so I am not surprised the LCO would work better than LOC. Either way, I still recommend both to people.
ReplyDeleteSeeing that both methods prevent moisture loss was an eye opener for me. The moral of the story is that you've gotta try both and see which one allows your hair to retain a little more moisture than the other.
DeleteI was always an LCOer, bcuz it just seemed to make more sense to me. But I recently tried the LOC method and I think it may have been a bit more moisturizing. I'll try again for good measure, because it could have been some other factor like different products used in the wash process.
ReplyDeleteAbbi of BelowtheWaist
I'm doing the same thing this wash chica!
DeleteHmmmm, i'm gonna do my test and let you know.
ReplyDeleteWoop! I'm excited to see which works best for you chica!
DeleteI'm a huge fan of the LCO method. I'm glad you found something that works for your hair during the winter though. This weather is no joke!!
ReplyDeletePolar vortex=hot mess hair! Ha-ha! Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteMy heavy hand works against me with both methods, I have been meaning to try them again with lighter products.
ReplyDeleteThat's happened to me several times but because my hair was air dried I didn't mind the weighed down hair.
DeleteI think both methods work for me because I have normal porosity hair. I've been told the LOC method is meant more for high porow hair and the LCO method is meant for low porosity hair, hence why both work for me.
ReplyDeleteI've never really thought about the porosity expect of it Tequila! Great tip!
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