Dealing with Dry Locs

One thing that I feel happens when someone wears the locked hairstyle is that there is a feeling that certain things are no longer needed for your hair.  Mainly moisture.

I am not sure if its a fix it and forget it hair philosophy...meaning you no longer have to do anything to your hair for it to maintain healthy...or what but that it simply not the case.

Locked hair is still hair and it needs love and attention the same way loose hair does.

One of the barriers loc wearers have is the fear of buildup. One of the main reasons people don't want to use a certain product is the fear that it will cause a buildup in their locks. I guess that is a legitimate fear, but it can not be the reason for not wanting to take proper care of your locks. Neglecting them will cause problems in the long run.

One thing to remember is that dry hair breaks. If you don't want your locks to break off you will need to maintain the proper moisture in them. Water is the main source of moisture. If you wait too long to wash your locks or use a dry shampoo too often you can cause severe dryness in your hair.

Should you Condition your Locks?

When I first started my locks I used a conditioner every time I shampooed.  And I was adamant that you should condition. That was before I knew much about build up issues. Now I don't really use a conditioner but I am not saying that it is wrong to or that I will never use conditioner again. I just have not felt the need. I use a gentle cleansing and conditioning shampoo and I use a daily moisturizing spray on my locks along with an oil moisturizer so my hair stays moisturized.

The longer your locks get the more important it is for them to stay moisturized.

Itchy Scalp Itchy Locks: Updated

It has been a little over a year now since I started growing my locks.  During this time I have tried various products and continue to work on designing the best regimen for my hair.

Sometimes I think that I should just stick to what works and stop trying a bunch of products....but I still keep trying new things.

One of things that used to work really well for me was the Jamaican Black Castor Oil.  This was (and may still be) my go to product.  I loved this product for a few reasons, the main one being that it was said to help your hair grow.  But what I found was that it made my scalp feel great.  I could go a little longer between shampoos without my scalp itching really bad. But, I'm not sure what happened. It just does not seem to work like that anymore.

I am not sure if its because my locks are getting longer or some other reason. I have tried to go back to my earlier regimen of applying the JBCO to my scalp a couple times a week. But it has not helped with the itching...

I asked on the Black Girls Lock Facebook page and got some advice on what to do. Using oils seemed to be the most popular suggestion.

Today I went to the beauty supply store and saw this No More Itch Grow Spray and thought I would give it a try. This says it will help eliminate itching and also help your hair grow longer faster....hmmm??
Of course, I expect immediate relief, however, I used it tonight and I am already wanting to wash it out...:-/

I may just need to give it more time. But, my scalp seems really sensitive. I have to be careful about what I use.  I waste a lot of money getting products and then have to leave them alone because they don't work well with my scalp or hair. 

Have you used this product? If so, how did it work for you?

Update:

I have been using this product about once a day since I first wrote this post. Instead of using it in the spray bottle I put it in my color applicator bottle so I could get it directly on my scalp easier. This seems to work well for me.  Its crazy but when its first wet, it itches a little, but after it settles in my scalp it feels really good and has relieved the itching. 

I may try the medicated next just to feel more of a tingle. 

I have heard some say they no longer use this product because of the possibility of build up.  I don't know, I'm finding that every product has some who are  for it and some who are against it.  You have to use what you feel is best. 

Combining Thin Locs:Updated

So, I just finished watching a few videos on YouTube because I wanted to find out more information on combining locs. So far I am not feeling that great about what I have found.  My hope was to find a good video, maybe a couple of good videos to share with you but...I did not see anything I felt that great about.

Let me just say, the whole process of loc combining is new to me.  I have just recently celebrated my 1 year loc anniversary last month. I have not had the need to combine locs.  However, the last time I re-twisted I did notice a couple of locs that looked a little thin at the base.  And just a side note, I don't really think that this is from re-twisting too often. Since I do my own hair I haven't always been the best at getting my parts perfect so I think it comes from my partings not being the same and some locs have become smaller.

An excuse? Maybe. But, at this point in my journey I don't think so. The reason I don't think so is because even people with super long locs and who claim to not re-twist too often have to combine their locs. I just think that no matter what we do or how hard we try, the need to combine thin locs is inevitable.

The Methods are Madness

I just re-twisted my hair a few days ago and I started the process of combining a few locs.  My method? Well before I even really knew a certain way to do it I just took 2 locs together and re-twisted them at the base. Then, I took a rubber band and combined them. My thought was that I would go back and then sew them together.

A couple of days later,  I still have not sewn them. And some of the rubber bands have popped.  Since watching the YouTube videos I am feeling that I was on the right track and I should feel more confident in my own way of doing things. :-)

The most disturbing method I saw was the one where you twist 2 locs together at the base, either by interlocking them or rubber banding them at the point where the re-twist stops and THEN CUTTING OFF THE THINNEST LOCK OF THE 2!!!  WHAT ? !

I'm sorry, this sounds horrible. I don't want to cut anything off.

The Only Method that Makes Sense
At this point, for me the only method that makes sense, is the one that I initially started but just need to finish. The method of sewing 2 locs together to create one stronger loc.

For me, being the way that I am this was kind of deep. In my search I learned a new word for locs---dragons or 2 headed monsters...I think that's right! oh my!

Now once I do it, maybe I will change my mind. But, I plan to at least try it. I want to combine my locs by sewing them together. I think I will use yarn instead of weave thread as the videos suggests though. Once this is done I will let you know how it turns out.

Update:
Sewing my locks together worked out okay. although, I did not do the 2 strand twist first so the ones I sewed together are flat instead of round. If you try this method, you may want to do the 2 strand twist first and then sew them together to keep the roundness of your lock.

The others I have not sewn together, I just combined them at the base and are letting them remain "two-headed."

Does Too Much Re-Twisting Really Cause Thin Locks?

Every time the subject of thinning locks comes up, the advice given to stop the problem is to stop re-twisting so much.  So with that there is a continuous debate on how often you should re-twist your hair.

I have seen people who re-twist their hair anywhere from every 2 weeks to once a month, to never.

When I first started my locks I started a regimen of shampooing my hair and re-twisting every 2 weeks.  This worked really well for me. But then I started to see information about too much re-twisting causing thin locks. And, being a lock newbie I got nervous.  I did not want to cause harm to my hair.

So, I tried to wait longer to re-twist. The longest I have gone so far is 3 weeks.  I guess the reason is because for me, a shampoo means its time to re-twist.  But, I have learned that its not necessary to re-twist every time you wash your hair. I tried the method of washing without re-twisting.

The first couple of times I did this my hair was dry and rough feeling because it was not sealed with the gel I use for a re-twist.  Even though I put product on, my hair still looked frizzy and dry.  This made me feel like there was no way I could go without a re-twist every time.  But, I kept trying and I think I finally figured out the key to at least make my hair soft and look nice without re-twisting after a shampoo.

For my hair the key to getting it to stay soft and look better without a re-twist is to add oil, not grease to it while its wet. Then when it dries, it dries soft.  Sounds real simple but this journey is a process.

With all of that being said, even though I have experimented with the frequency of re-twisting, I'm still not completely convinced that re-twisting my locks every 2 weeks will cause them to get thin.  At least not the way I do it.  I never twist tight.  I'm not really a believer in tight hair styles since they can cause worse problems than thin locks...too tight hair styles can cause alopecia.

Even though I am not convinced I still hesitate to take the risk. But right this minute while I type this, I'm thinking about re-twisting my hair.  The puffy hair at the base of my scalp is telling me its time.