I did a post on this back in August of this year and was requested to speak
more on the subject. There are many people that have dreadlocks and suffering from hair loss or thinning. What starts out as an exciting journey, can become a battle with time, lifestyle and eating habits.
The points I brought up that could make have dreadlocks and suffering from hair
loss or thinning an issue with suggestions on how to fix this are as follows:
Hair loss in your DNA: This means you could be experiencing hair loss or thinning because of
your genetics. If your father, grandfather or even an uncle on your mother’s side of the family has a bald spot or their hairline went away with age, you could get this trait. No one knows what they will take from their genetics, so eat your veggies everyone!
Use the neglect method of making dreadlocks and “neglected” to sort the tangled roots:
Those who do the neglect method for dreadlocks do so to be natural and let the hair lock on its own. In doing so, they feel they should not do anything at all. This can result in dreadlocks where some are thin, medium or thick. Over time, the thin dreads either get taken over by the others or break off. If you choose to do this method, you should still check the roots and make sure each dreadlocks has enough hair to grow stronger..
Bad Eating Habits: Quite a few people with dreadlocks are or become vegetarian, vegan etc. From
my experience, if you grew up eating red meat e.g beef and chicken and suddenly stop, your hair will thin out. You have to replace the nutrients like “iron and protein” that you got from eating meat with a vegetarian alternative. Green leafy vegetables like kale help with this and you have to get it in adequate amounts to keep your hair in good shape. Essentially, your body will use what nutrients you put in your body for energy and give what little is left to your hair.
Have a stressful lifestyle: If you have a stressful job, are in school and working, always wear your
hair in a ponytail or you burn out, your hair will suffer. Many people do not practice self care and only when the hair has broken in a large area, do they finally try to get some help. If you see the hair has broken off in a particular area, ask for a professional opinion and do something about it!
Bridge-in Method: In simple terms, this is adding dreadlocks extensions to bald spots as a temporary
way to cover it. The extensions are attached between other dreads usually by thread. This works better if the spot is not at the top of the head so it can be covered. The extension cannot be too heavy for the dreads it is anchored on. The area needs to be checked bi-weekly to see if it has become tangled with the hairs around it.
Refusing to change your vision: I left this out of the last post but see it so often. Not everyone is
meant to have thin locks. If you decide to make thin locks: (a) you have to be prepared to get it done regularly, (b) The person who does the locks should be experienced enough to know if you need to join two locks for it to stay on your head. Many of the work I do for lock repair is strengthening locks that are falling apart because they are too thin. Your hair texture dictates how thin your hair can be to have thin locks so forget that Influencer if her/his hair does not look like yours.
To those of you who have dreadlocks and suffering from hair loss or thinning, I hope this helps to get you back on track.
By Paula Barker, Silkie Locks Hair Design
Call (613) 789-2179 For An Appointment If You Are In The Ottawa, Ontario Area.
Recent Comments