How To Prevent Hair Loss With Dreadlocks

Use Essential And Carrier Oils

Using oils on your hair and scalp is very important if you have dreads.

They have anti-inflammatory and moisturizing properties which help with skin irritation, dry scalp, and even prevent infections caused by bacteria and fungus.

Its important that you give your hair and scalp some much-needed TLC to ensure that it remains clean and healthy.

Some essential oils that you could try are peppermint, tea tree, and lavender.

Make sure to always dilute them with a carrier oil before putting them on your skin!

Dreadlock Maintenance And Care Products

Keeping your dreads looking great is easier with a few basic products. Youll need the following products to properly maintain and care for your dreads.

• Dread Tightener: Also called locking accelerator, a good dread tightening spray is key to forming and maintaining nice locs. These products force your hairs outermost cuticle layer to open up, making the surface rougher to increase friction and accelerate matting and locking.
• Dread Cream: Moisturizing dread creams are essential to keep dreadlocks hydrated and supple while avoiding breakage and frizz. These products coat the locs in a moisturizing cream that delivers nutrients and hydration deep into your dreads. Look for one that doesnt contain wax.
• No-Residue Shampoo: Residue-free shampoo is key for keeping locs clean. Look for formulas that dont contain silicones, which leave a residue and buildup in the hair. Youll need a clarifying shampoo that leaves your hair squeaky clean.

Should You Wax Your Dreads?

Dread wax is often recommended to help start and maintain dreadlocks. But wax products are actually the enemy to forming clean, shapely, and lightweight locs. Wax doesnt dissolve in water and its impossible to completely remove the buildup it leaves behind.

It can also attract lint and dirt to your dreads.

Traction Alopecia Treatment Options You Should Know

There are many types of hair loss, medically known as alopecia. Traction alopecia is caused by repeated trauma to hair follicles or from pulling your hair back into tight hairstyles. But there are treatment options available to help you.

If you have traction alopecia, you may have some of these common symptoms:

• Itching
• Multiple short broken hairs
• Thinning hair or hair loss

Itâs important to act quickly to avoid further damage to your hair. Although there is no cure, hair can regrow if treated early. Treatments include behavioral modification, topical applications, and injectables.

Behavioral Modification â Hairstyles that cause traction alopecia include:

• Braiding
• Tight ponytails or buns
• Hair extensions

âHairstyles should be changed regularly to avoid strain on any area of the scalp. Chemicals such as relaxers may contribute as well and should be limited as much as possible,â Hadley King, MD, a dermatologist in New York tells WebMDâs Connect to Care.

According to a 2019 article in theInternational Journal of Womenâs Dermatology, breakage increases when traction is applied to chemically-treated hair, such as with relaxers or dyes. Dancers who often wear their hair in tight buns may also experience traction alopecia.

Topical Applications â According to the Skin of Color Society, scalp tenderness, bumps, or inflammation can be treated with topical antibiotics or topical corticosteroids.

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Is My Hair Too Thin To Loc

Thinner hair means there are fewer strands of hair per square inch on ones scalp. This also means you will have to do larger sections to lock so that the dreads have the right amount of hair to form a solid coil. Hair density also usually varies over different areas of the scalp because of genetics or hair follicles that no longer produce hair. The challenge with uneven density and thinness of hair is trying to balance it while sectioning the dreads so that they have a uniform size.

In some cases, naturally thin or thinning hair can be hidden by dreads, while in others, it is accentuated. The dreads would need to be larger than usual because a loc needs enough hair for it to hold itself together and look decent. If your hair is so thin that you end up with only 12-20 dreads, then it will only call more attention to the sparseness of your hair.

If your hair is thinning, its recommended to figure out the reason first before going ahead with getting dreadlocks. If its because of age or something else that is inevitable, you can actually use dreads to compensate for the thinning areas.

Symptoms Of Dreads Balding

• Bumps and itching.
• As the roots get thinner your dreads become weaker.

With dread balding, your roots become thinner, the dreads that are lock already maintain its original weight and will continue to pull as it did with your healthy roots. In time, your dreads will fall out since there is no support at the roots to hold the loc.

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Do Locs Cause Baldness

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One of the most iconic hairstyles of all time is dreadlocks. Unfortunately, if you dont know how to look after your dreads properly, locs can cause long-term problems for your hair such as baldness, root damage, and scalp infections. Luckily, these side effects n easily be prevented and reversed with proper care and management.

So, do dreadlocks cause baldness?

Locs may cause baldness and lead to hair loss in some people. When your dreads begin to recede, appear to be thin or shed in noticeable volumes, its possible that you could be suffering from a hair loss condition called Traction Alopecia. This is often triggered by styling your hair in dreadlocks.

However, there are a few simple steps to maintain healthy locs and in this article, we reveal 10 great ways to prevent dreads balding so you can enjoy the hairstyle you love.

• Do Locs Cause Baldness 10 Great Ways to Prevent It From Happening

How To Help The Dreads Lock

The following pointers help in successfully helping the dreads to be locked.

#1: Roll the dreads once a day.

It is strongly recommended to roll the dreads between the hands periodically to maintain the smooth shape of the dreads. Start at the scalp and work down till the hair ends. Make the ends look rounded by smashing them against the palm of the hand to encourage the hairs to roll up into a dread.

Note:

• Rolling tends to aids in new growth dread faster or also helps in achieving a more neater dread.
• Overdoing the rolling is seen to unravel the dreads.

#2: Moisturize the dreads on a daily basis to prevent breakage. Mix three parts of Aloe Vera juice to one part of the natural oil that can include coconut or sweet almond oil. Add up to five drops of any essential oil like tea tree or lavender oil, for a perfumed flavor. Pour the mixture in a spray bottle and lightly spritz the dreads every day.

Note:

• Spraying the dreads in the morning aids in hydrating them post sleeping.
• Special dread moisturizers are also available online or at some beauty stores in cases where an individual cannot prepare her or his own moisturizer.

#3: Shampoo the hair once a week.

Post 2-3 weeks after making the dreads wash the hair. This helps in preventing them from unraveling. Then, shampoo the scalp. When one rinses the scalp, the water is seen to run down and clean the dreads without causing them to fray.

Note:

#4: Tuck in the loose hairs.

#5: Rub the roots to aid new hair growth dread.

Note:

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S To Follow When Dreadlocks Are Causing Hair Loss

Seek Treatments for Hair Loss or Thinning

There are a few treatments out there to help with this type of hair loss, so here are our top suggestions

• ProTress Essential Scalp Therapy Energising Shampoo This is a treatment pack that you use for up for three months, which helps to encourage your growth cycle great for regrowth. It increases the rate in which blood flows around your scalp, which restores hair growth and stops hair loss.

• The Patented Formula This is a formula which contains all the nutrients your hair needs to be thicker and more robust, which will encourage natural hair growth.

Be Sure to Be gentle When Caring for Your Dreadlocks.

Its essential to follow a hair care routine when it comes to caring for your dreadlocks. You need to regularly watch your hair, but as dreadlocks are delicate. This needs to be gently and not too often because this could undo the structure of the dread you have built.

When you wash your dreads, avoid rubbing the scalp and merely rubbing the shampoo or conditioner gently stroking each dread, which avoids undoing the dreads. Make sure you pat your hair dry never use a hairdryer as this will cause too much heat damage.

Consider The Length of Your Dreadlocks

When you choose to let your dreadlocks get longer, there is an increased possibility that hair loss will occur due to the heavyweight the dreads are causing to the scalps.

It may be better to keep them shorter rather than longer to prevent the weight.

Styling Dreadlocks loosely

Misunderstanding The Dreadlock Process

Dreadlocks are like six-pack absthey dont happen overnight! What many people fail to understand prior to locking their hair, is that its a journey.

We go to fast food restaurants because we want food now. We text our friends expecting to get a response in seconds. We have Amazon Prime because we cant wait a week for delivery.

Our culture is shaping us to forget what its like to wait. But no matter how fast-paced our world gets, dreads will always require us to wait! Theres no way around that.

WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT: Dont get discouraged during the first two years of your dread journey.

It may look to you like your hair is getting worse by the day when in reality, its shifting, transforming, and knotting like its supposed to. Expect there to be looping, frizz, and loose hair in many places. Its your hairs way of adjusting to the new style, so let it do what it needs to do.

Need some encouragement? Here are 17 tips for staying patient during the beginning stages of your journey.

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Styling The Locs Too Tight

Constantly putting your locs in a ponytail or bun puts too much stress on your scalp. If your scalp is sore after wearing your hair up all day, its a clear indication that it was under too much tension.

If you do this too often, your hairline will start to recede over time. Your locs will start to thin out in the areas that have been stressed by the crease of the ponytail.

In extreme cases, you could get alopecia- a condition where you start balding because the tension on the scalp was severe enough to disrupt the hair follicle.

WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT: Dont style your hair at all. I understand the first few months are going to look funky, but you need strong roots to grow strong locs. If you have to keep them neat for work or formal events, wear a headwrap, headband, or loose ponytail instead.

How To Maintain Dreadlocks

Dreadlock maintenance is vital for keeping a polished and modern look. Rather long or short, but keeping the dreadlocks tight and groomed is a must. Dreadlocks can be beautiful and striking, but a regular maintenance routine is essential for keeping up with the look.

Hair that has been dreaded, if left unmanaged, can become matted and coarse. This makes dreadlocks unmanageable and can be a hassle. If left unchecked, hair breakage and hair loss can occur. Not only can the style become unattractive, but the hair can also develop an embarrassing smell.

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Protect Your Hair Now

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Balding Thinning Roots And Hair

We have received and responded to many questions and concerns regarding whether its a good idea to have locks when a thinning hairline or baldness is present or a potential. When facing thinning-related issues, from male-patterned baldness to simply fine, breakable hair, we recommend you consider carefully the fact that dreadlocks are heavy ropes of hair locked up with the thousands of hairs you normally would have shed and lost. This extra weight and added movement as they swing around is not going to do any favors to your already delicate hair-line. If you already have locks and aren’t ready to say goodbye to them, but want to minimize the damage, its a good idea to protect the roots with a strong, stretchy dreadband, hair wrap or hat to prevent excessive yanking and snapping of the hairs at the roots. We also do not recommend skinning your locks back into a ponytail for this reason, as all that weight is now hanging off a few already-fragile roots around the hairline. For more information about dreadlock-related thinning and baldness, Google ‘traction alopecia’ where you will find a considerable amount of information about this hair-loss condition suffered by both women and men.

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How To Save Thinning Dreads

Just to recap

A healthy intake f vitamins A, C, E nd biotin wll help reverse hair nd scalp issues. Visit your doctor first to have blood work done and determine if you have any nutritional deficiencies.

Avoid vr exposure t harmful UV rays f th sun. Cover ur head wth scarf r carry n umbrella bfr stepping ut n th sun.

Change your favorite go-to hairstyle if its creating too much tension on the hair follicles or requiring you to use too many hair products that block healthy hair growth.

To Save A Loc Thats Thinned Out: You can use a few techniques to repair a thinning dread.

Sew it back onto the mother loc with needle and thread that closely matches your hair color. Be sure to thread through the thickest parts of both sides of the locs to ensure a secure re-attachment.

If the loc is almost ready to snap, go ahead and cut it. Then loosen the end of the mother dread and the beginning of the fallen dread. Proceed to braid the two together very tightly. Coax any remaining loose or frayed hairs back into the loc by palm-rolling or threading it.

Purchase additional human hair that closely resembles your hair texture and add it to the dreadlock. One way to do this is by wrapping the thin section of the dreadlock multiple times around with the human hair. Then secure it onto your dread by weaving the top and bottom points of the human hair into your existing dreadlock with a needle or interlocking tool .