Switching from Palm Rolling to Interlocking
If you are currently palm rolling and experiencing thinning locs or hair loss it may be time for you to consider another method of maintaining your locs and interlocking may be a better option for you.
Hair loss can occur for a variety of reasons, including medical or hormonal reasons, however some of the main contributors to hair loss is the way how we maintain and style our hair and this type of hair loss is easily preventable.
Maintaining locs
With locs that are palm rolled one of the common reasons for hair loss is tension. When locs are palm rolled tension is created at the base of the loc. If locs are twisted too tightly or frequently then this can cause weakening of the loc and breakage.
Another important factor is the products used to palm-roll as these can also cause breakage. Many products aimed at the loc community contain parabens, mineral oil and other harmful chemicals that do not strengthen your locs as they proclaim to do; these products provide a temporary illusion of softness and moisture however they cause long term damage and weakening to your locs.
Many of these products also contain butters, waxes, silicone's and a host of other ingredients designed to give hold and shininess. This only leads to one place - build up. Build up leads to your locs becoming heavy, which eventually causes breakage as the root cannot support the weight of the loc.
If you have been using products to palm roll, unless you did your research before purchasing and you know that they are natural I urge you to look at the ingredients lists and make the necessary changes.
If you go to a loctician to palm roll your locs you should insist on natural and organic products free from butters and waxes. If your loctician is not very compliant then maybe walk with your own products. Ultimately maybe you should be starting to look for a new loctician as a loctician that is not interested in your health and the health of your locs is not healthy for you!
Styling Locs
The way how we style our locs is also a contributory factor to hair loss, the tension applied and the length of time locs are held in this position will undoubtedly weaken your loc base and lead to breakage. When locs are over-styled the hair loss is often more noticeable around the hairline.
If styling your locs is important for you, maybe you need to find styles that have low tension, such as curling your locs. Setting your locs in braids or curlers after washing and then releasing them the next day is a brilliant way to achieve a free-flowing style. You can also wear your loc curls in a loose bun to achieve a petal crown. This option is much better than twisting your locs into intricate up updo's. As beautiful as they are if you want to save your hairline save the intricacy for special occasions.
What should you do?
The first thing is to consider is switching to interlocking. Interlocking can be a solution to breakage, as new-growth is locked with almost no tension and there is no need for over-use of products. Interlocking is almost a product free way of locking your hair. To maintain healthy interlocks all you need to do is follow the Cleanse ~ Moisture ~ Seal method, read more about this method in this post about how to moisturise locs.
Interlocking helps to strengthen the root of your loc by pulling all the loose hairs into the loc, increasing the strands inside the loc will create a stronger root-bed.
The ability to wash and go without worrying about unravelling means that you can wear your hair down more often, rather than in styles that create tension at your roots.
This is the first step, there are also other steps that you may need to take to prevent further breakage and to strengthen your locs.
Re-build your root bed...
Increase diameter of loc base
Sometimes the parting of your locs may be too small to support the loc, you can increase the size of your loc partings by joining two locs together.
Reduce colouring or look for natural alternatives
This is a hard thing to do when you want to cover those greys right? Colouring your hair causes chemical changes and damage to your hair strands, this impacts on the strength of your hair. As a locker if your hair strands are weak, then they are not going to support all that shed hair of what we call a loc. The only real solution to this is to stop colouring, which is a no no for many so we have to look for more natural alternatives such as Henna or organic based hair dyes.
Protect locs
Always wear a satin or silk scarf to bed or when lounging around the home. As when your scalp rubs on cotton sheets this causes friction, causing your roots to become dry which will lead to breakage.
Wash your locs regularly
This is where I think interlocks serves as better maintenance method as you can wash your locs when you feel like it and not worry about re-twisting. It is important to cleanse the scalp regularly to remove shed skin cells and dirt. If left, dirt and dead cells can become embedded in your locs causing build up. Just like the rest of the skin on your body, your scalp needs to be clean to thrive. Just as an unwashed face will clog your pores, a dirty scalp will suffocate follicles and inhibit growth.
Use botanical sprays or water sprays daily on your scalp
Boil green tea or moringa tea then add some essential oils such as peppermint (stimulant), transfer into a spritz bottle and spray your scalp daily, your scalp will love this!
Massage nourishing oils around the site of hair loss
Hair growth promoting oils such as Jamaican black castor oil are renowned for promoting growth and increasing the body of your hair.
Reduce build up by using natural products that wash out of the hair easily
Only use water soluble products on your locs as these products are naturally consumed, evaporated and washed away.
