QUICKIE: Faux Locs

César Ramirez (@cesar4styles) styles some of the biggest pop stars in the biz—Demi Lovato, Ciara and Rita Ora, just to name a few. He’s also MIZANI’s Global Artistic Director and a texture guru who’s mastered everything from braids to waves to natural curls.

We caught this faux loc quickie from Ann Marie Betances (@hairartist_lovelysmilesz)—a stylist under the direction of César while at Cosmoprof North America—and it’s an updated take on styling dreads. Watch the video and get some tips below.

While César’s vision was more avant-garde (see the photos above!), this technique can be done in the salon. Here are a few things to know when creating faux locs in the salon:

Schedule Out Your Day

• Creating these looks will take time. The first step is to braid the entire head and then go back and wrap each braid. 
• Ann Marie told us she has spent 16 hours on clients to create this type of look.

Use Different Materials

• You can use all kinds of materials to wrap the braids. Synthetic hair, real hair or yarn can all be used when wrapping. 
• Different materials will give a slightly altered outcome on the finished look.

Seal The Ends

• There are multiple ways you can seal faux locs—try using a flat iron or styling product to keep them in place.
• Another (more fun) way to seal the loc is to use fire. You can use a lighter on synthetic as long as you’re sure you’ve wrapped the hair completely. Check it out.