What is the Best Method for Maintaining your Locks: Interlocking or Palm Rolling?

There are 2 basic methods for maintaining locks: Re-twisting (Palm Rolling) and Interlocking. When I started to make a list of the pros and cons for each of these methods, I personally came up with more pros for Re-twisting than I did for Interlocking. But by the end of this post, I had more pros for Interlocking. With that being said, Re-twisting is still my preferred method, but this may not be the case for you.

As I have stated before, I started my locks by installing 2 strand twists. And, I have built my locks by continuing to re-twist my hair. For me this is the simplest process.

A few months into my journey, however I learned about interlocking. Being new I wanted to try it out, so I did on one of my locks. I watched a video on youtube and worked on one lock. I had the famous "y" in the lock and this worried me. I decided I did not do something right and from the comments on the video I watched the viewers thought the person in the video did not explain the method correctly. So, I let it go for then.

After several re-twists I had a couple of locks on the left side that were a little thicker and seemed to be taking longer to lock. They unraveled easier than the others no matter what. I decided to try the interlocking method one more time on these locks.  I had been reading posts in groups and watched other videos so I felt I had the method down.  And to my surprise, this was the key to getting those stubborn locks to form!

Re-Twisting vs. Interlocking
In the beginning I mentioned that I had more pros for Re-twisting than Interlocking. But by the end of the post the tables turned, now I can see that both methods are useful. Here is my list:

Re-twisting Pros

• Simple to do
• Able to use to start locks on shorter length of hair                                               

Re-twisting Cons

• Comes undone, unravels easily

Interlocking Pros

• Does not have to be done as often
• Does not unravel, stays in place
• If done correctly, seems to build a stronger lock

Interlocking Cons

• Time Consuming
• If not done correctly can damage the hair
• Complicated (to me) to do on your own

As you grow your locks you will see that our locks can be like children. And just like when we have more than one child, we don't raise them the same because they are different, we won't treat all of our locks the exact same. Some locks will need more attention and will need to be babied more. Others will be tough as nails and grow and stand strong no matter what we put them through. That is why I love this journey.

So deciding which method is better for your hair may not be the question. The question really might be which method is better for each individual lock.  You might find that both methods are needed and serve your locks at different stages. Use the method or methods as needed to achieve a beautiful set of locks.

~Thank you.