One morning, about 6 months into my loc journey, I looked in the mirror and notice a loc was barely hanging onto its roots! I immediately started to freak out. This was the thing I was anxious about the most. Whilst researching other people’s experiences, I came across videos about thinning locs, and hoped would never be me. Constant thoughts went through my mind of not being able to save my locs if they ever thinned – this was primarily the reason I did not want to start my loc journey whilst pregnant, for fear of Postpartum shedding and how that may have affected my locs.
Losing hair for some people is hereditary and a lot of us will go through spells of increased hair shedding/breakage depending on what is happening at various stages of our life.
In my previous post on maintaining my locs, I spoke about the need for holistic care to ensure that our locs thrive. There are many reasons for thinning hair; stress and depression, major lifestyle adjustments or changes in your diet. Drinking water, eating a well balanced healthy diet and exercise is vital to keep your tresses strong from the inside out. Be sure not to belittle the importance of minimising stress and developing healthy ways to manage stress as all of these are factors in the way our locs will respond.
I have had a few thin locs, primarily around my temple area and whenever I searched for help on the internet I saw suggestions to cut the thinning loc off, wrap Marley hair around it to reinforce the loc or to use a small crochet hook to mend it. To be honest, I was not inclined to try any of those methods.
Here are some quick tips on how to save and repair your thinning loc WITHOUT cutting it off.
- Combined locs – The front section of my hair had about 2-3 thinning locs. To be honest only one was really severe. Due to my fine hair texture, the hair at my roots continued to grow away from the twist/loc so combining them with a neighbouring loc did the trick. Since I had started my locs with a two-strand twist it was easy for it to blend in with the whole head and watch the twist pattern disappear over time.
- Wrap Roots Around Loc- This will be helpful if your hair grows away from the roots as mine did. This was my go-to for most of my locs in the front half of my hair. It’s a really helpful wash day hack when you are not going to retwist. Try not to wrap tightly around the root, instead loosely wrap down the loc until the last strand of hair is all gone. This will allow the loc to maintain its integrity without creating too much tension by retwisting often.
- Braid The Base – Some locs are special and may not stay even when wrapped around the root. For a particular loc I decided to braid the root and then wrap the small piece around the loc to hide it. Granted, it will not look identical to the neighbouring loc, but you will save the loc and as time goes by it will blend in perfectly.
- Wait longer periods between retwisting- Having a schedule for retwisting locs can be great, but the integrity of your locs matters more. Most people would suggest 4-6 weeks as reasonable gaps between retwists. I usually retwist within that time period (closer to 4 weeks) by wrapping loose hair around the locs that need it, in between washes (tip #1). This all helps to minimise the tension on the scalp and individual locs. But if your hair allows you to go a little longer go for it! Just ensure you are still washing, separating and moisturising those locs so they are not matted and dry.
- Minimize Styling – Styling your locs looks great and help a lot of us to maintain our retwists for longer. However, frequent high tension styles are not helpful for anyone, especially if you are concerned about thinning locs. Tip: Try leaving your hair down or in a very loose ponytail that doesn’t pull on your edges. Style with silk scarves, bandanas or headwraps to add some character and flair to everyday styles.
Let me know in the comments, do you have issues with thinning locs? If so what has helped prevent them from thinning.
The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
It the roots of my locs are thin smh 😒