30 Inspiring Soft Locs Ideas for 2025

While soft locs are gaining momentum, many of us feel confused about the fancy term. How does this protective style differ from others, and what do those proverbial pieces really look like?

Don’t fret, girls, since we have answers to both questions backed by a nice collection of pictures to take to a salon.

What Are They?

They are a fancier version of fake dreads made with hair extensions. Due to the installation method and hair used for creating these pieces, they don’t feel stiff, as is often the case with other variants.

How Long Do They Last?

Some girls manage to wear them for over two months, but hair experts don’t recommend leaving them in for more than 4-6 weeks because of the stress they put on the growing-out roots.

What Hair to Use?

You will need both pre-made crochet hair extensions and wrapping hair. Many stylists prefer working with synthetic afro kinky or water wave hair for the authentic texture and affordable price.

30 Tips on How to Style Them and Look Chic

Now that we are done with the terms and choice of extensions, it’s time to dive right into inspirations that have already deserved many shares and likes.

1. Long Pecan Brown Delicate Dreads. The shine of these light brown pieces illuminates the girl’s face beautifully and brings the texture into the spotlight.

2. Tight and Tiny Crochet Pieces. Add the parting size to the list of factors affecting the final look of your coif.

3. Carefree Textured Comb Over. Don’t you feel bohemian vibes radiated by this mane with a fabulous lived-in texture?

4. Cascading Endless Half-Up Pony. This gorgeous pony complemented with a cascade of soft ropes along the sides creates a stunning dimension while opening up the face.

5. Smooth Comb-Over for Polished Ropes. Although a big portion of similar styles comes with a textured finish, you are free to choose a more polished look like this.

6. Butt-Length Vacation-Ready Mane. These lend themselves to longer lengths perfectly, creating a sexy look with no additional effort.

7. Wavy Dreads with Ombre. This adorable style proves that those fancy dreads can completely mimic the seamless color transitions of the classic ombre.

8. Honey Blonde Fuzzy Ropes. This coif boasts a fascinating texture mix, thanks to the spirals of hair inserted into the ropes.

9. Lengthy Pearl Blonde Tight Pieces. While many girls prefer to leave their natural hair color intact when installing colored extensions, this sis shows an alternative approach.

10. Half Updo with Accent Baby Hairs. Make your baby hairs a valuable addition to your style, shifting the focus to the face.

11. No-Frills Chocolate Brown Style. The muted yet yummy shade of these delicate dreads plays up the fullness and length of the simple style.

12. Center-Parted Knotless Ropes. Give your face a bit of framing with front pieces placed right at the center part.

13. Sky-High Bun. This gal has combined two protective styles into a voluminous and authentic look.

14. Silky Waist-Length Twisty Dreads. Depending on the extensions used for your style, you can enjoy a matte or glossy finish of your ropes.

15. Fun Half-Up Half-Down. Their flexibility allows for creating whimsical styles like this high bun with statement face-framing strands.

16. Crimson Red Jumbo Kinky Dreads. You get quite another look when playing with sizes, gaining more volume with jumbo ropes.

17. Intricately Twisted Upstyle. This version of a high pony is full of cool details, but we want to point out how the smoothed crown sets off the volume and texture of the distressed dreads.

18. Kinky Brown Ropes with Color Pops. With this style, you don’t need to commit to one color and can spice up your look with just a couple of bright strands.

19. Multi-Colored Loopy Lob. Here is another tip on customizing delicate dreads, this time with the help of brown and golden accents.

20. Neon Pink Twists and Wraps. Embracing a bubblegum pink is a bold move, but it can really flatter your complexion, apart from striking the eye.

21. Meandering Ropes with Metallic Shine. This version of dreads doesn’t run flat down but starts winding midshaft to ends for extra movement.

22. Funky Space Buns. You can replace regular space buns with strands half pulled through elastics to arrive at such a fun style.

23. Butterfly Pieces with Glitter. This awesomely knotted half-up coif gains another point of interest with the added sparkling pieces.

24. Long Kinky Caramel Twists. There is always a way to derive extra texture from those pieces, for example, by getting them double-twisted.

25. Endless Wavy Dreads. Make sure to discuss your part with a stylist if you prefer to wear your mane swept to one side for better lift and fullness in the front.

26. Twists Around the Crown. It seems this girl is happy to rock a halo as a part of her feminine half-up style.

27. Vine Red Flexible Dreads. This style uses both color and texture to showcase the fancy ropes in a unique way.

28. Mesmerizing Burgundy Waterfall. Here we have a whole flow of twists and bents brightened up with a rich color.

29. Irregular Thigh-Length Ropes. This mane delivers the signature freeform look of shiny dreads through haphazard spooling all down the length.

30. Bombshell Knee-Length Pieces. Yes, dreads can be that long, but you need to keep the length and fullness in balance.

How to Do Them?

The most common method starts with plaiting box braids throughout your head. Then, you need to pull crochet hair through the braid base with a hook, drag the braid through the pre-made loop of the extension hair, and secure it with a knot. The next step is to prepare your hair packs for wrapping by separating the bundles into smaller pieces. You should wrap the pieces around the extensions until the end of your hair and, finally, seal the ends with hair glue or by making a knot and wrapping the rest of the extensions upward.

How to Take Them Out?

Cut your dread braids a few inches below the end of your natural hair, and unravel the extensions moving from the bottom up.

We hope you are inspired enough to start searching for a tutorial or a nearby salon where you can get one of those wonderful styles. We wish you good luck in your endeavors and will see you on Instagram!