There are so many things to get excited about for starting locs. But before starting your journey you may wonder if it’s even healthy to have locs? More so, are locs bad for you? Take a look at some common loc health concerns and their answers.
Hair Loss From Locs Parting
Probably the biggest concern is if locs will make you loss your hair. The parts in your hair when you have locs are permanent. Thus, the question is will the tension from constant loc parts cause traction alopecia to form around locs part?
The answer to that is they don’t have to. If you take a look at long locd naturals you can see long locs and healthy scalps. The important things here are to not touch and pull your hair/partings 24/7 as well as to be careful with retwisting.
Hair Loss From Locs Retwisting
If not from the natural hair parts existing, does retwisting cause hair loss/stress? It definitely can and does. But don’t end your loc journey dreams just yet.
You can avoid stress on your hair parts by a few ways:
- retwisting less frequently (earliest every two months)
- Interlocking instead of palmrolling
- Retwisting gently (if your head hurts or scalp is tight after retwisting, it is too tight)
Keeping those 3 simple things in mind will prevent hair loss from retwisting.
Back/Neck Pain from Locs
Another problem people may hear if it’s neck/back pain. Locs, by their nature, are heavier than loose hair. However, most people won’t notice any weight until their hair is mid back length or longer. If you feel pain due to the length of your locs, and still want to have locs, the best thing to do is cut them shorter. If you don’t want locs anymore then you can start the process to remove them.
Even if your locs don’t feel heavy on the daily, they’ll likely feel much heavier when it’s wash day. To prevent stress on your head, neck and back there are a few different things you can do:
- Wash your hair by sections and be sure to keep the section you’re not washing rung out and resting on your shoulder
- Wash your hair in a salon type basin. You don’t need to go to a salon for this or a second person, although you may find those options easier. What’s nice with this method is you can rest your locs in the basin while being washed.
Locs and Bacteria/Mold
Another negative that locs are associated with that people fear is inevitable is an unhealthy scalp/hair. This is completely preventable. Locs are not by nature dirty or unhealthy. Where you see issues is due to people who do not know how to care for their locs, don’t care to, or are unable to due to health issues.
A basic routine with a clarifying shampoo and the absence of products that cause buildup, will leave your locs fresh and healthy.
For people who suffer from severe cases of dandruff or psoriasis, they should try to get it controlled prior to starting locs. While you can have healthy locs, starting with a healthy scalp foundation is the best way to go.
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So to sum it up, locs by their nature are NOT bad for you or your or your scalp and hair health in general. You can have an equally or even more healthy hair journey with locs compared to natural hair. On the flip side, your journey with locs can be worse if you don’t care for your hair well.
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