Locs are absolutely beautiful. There are so many varying ways that can start your locs to get the look that you want.
Unfortunately, not everything is always rosy when it comes to having locs. One of the problems that people sometimes face is having thin dreads.
We can all them dreads, locs, dreadlocks, essentially they are all the same thing.
If you have noticed and are wondering, why are my dreads thinning? it could be for a number of different reasons.
Let’s explore some of the reasons as to why this could be happening to you.
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7 Reasons For Why Your Dreads Are Thinning
1. Traction Alopecia
If you are someone who is fond of wearing tight hairstyles this could be a reason as to why your dreads are thinning.
Having your dreads so tight can cause traction alopecia because you are pulling your hair too tight from the roots.
When you pull your hair too tight you cause tension at the root of your hair which can lead to the follicles of your hair becoming damaged.
This continuous practise can eventually lead to hair loss.
2. Not Regularly Retightening
It’s important to make sure that you retighten your hair at the right time. Leaving your hair to grow without retightening it will cause your locs to matt and marry together.
This means that as your hair grows they begin to get intertangled with each other and join together.
If you have freeform locs then this won’t necessarily apply to you. If you like to have crispy hair partings then having your locs marry is not a good thing.
In order to separate them, you have to pull them apart or cut them loose which could lead to a weakness in the loc causing them to become thin at the roots.
3. Stress
Stress is one of those things that is a silent attacker.
You never really know how stressed you are until you see a problem comes from it.
Stress can cause many things to happen to your body. Your hair is one of those things that can be affected.
When you are stressed it affects your hair because it causes your hair to go back into the resting phase.
When this happens you will see no more growth from your hair and essentially your dreads will begin to thin.
4. Poor Nutrition
Having poor nutrition can affect our bodies as a whole but it can also affect our hair.
Your hair needs to get the right vitamins from our bodies in order to be able to grow healthily.
If we starve our bodies of getting the right things that it needs it will eventually take a toll on our hair too.
5. Overmanipulation
Over manipulation of your hair is something you need to watch out for. Doing nice hairstyles is great but it can have an effect on our locs.
If you are consistently manipulating your hair by doing different hairstyles then you can cause your locs to become thin at the roots.
This is because you are putting a lot of stress on the hair follicles each time you do a new hairstyle. Constantly doing this over time will cause your dreads to thin at the roots and eventual hair loss.
6. Genetics
Sometimes no matter how much we want to avoid it and pretend it doesn’t affect us genetics can play a big role in what our hair does.
You only need to take a look at your family to see what could be a possibility for you.
You might find that as your parents grew older their hair naturally began to thin out.
If this is the case then the same could also be true for you too.
The simple sauce behind why your dreads are thinning could be down to genetics.
7. Incorrect Products
Do not underestimate how products can affect our hair.
Yes using unhealthy products is not going to do you any favours but so is using products that your hair doesn’t need.
Let me explain.
When you have locs they need to breathe in order to be healthy. If you apply too many products to your hair it causes buildup and starves your hair of the nutrients that it needs.
This can lead to your hair becoming weak and thin at the roots.
What To Do About Thinning Locs
Now we have explored some of the reasons why your locs could be thinning, let’s take a look at some of the things we can do to fix it.
1. Scalp Massages
Scalp massages are very good for your hair and scalp. Having regular scalp massages increases blood circulation which encourages more nutrients to your hair follicles.
This helps to promote healthy hair growth and prevents your hair from becoming nutrient deficient and essentially becoming thin.
2. Biotin
Taking biotin tablets is good for the promotion of healthy hair.
Biotin contains vitamins such as B6, B12 and folic acid which are all good for the health of our hair.
If you feel that you are not getting enough biotin in your diet then adding additional supplements could help to thicken your hair.
3. Reattach The Loc
In some cases, you can actually reattach the loc in order to make it stronger. If you find a loc that is getting a little weak you can simply “sow” it back to the stronger part of the loc to help reinforce it.
4. Keep Them Moisturised
Moisture is always a key factor when it comes to our hair.
When your hair is not moisturised properly it causes dryness. When your hair is dry it becomes prone to breaking.
If you are not sure how to moisturise your dreads properly then you can take look at this article on moisture for locs.
5. Wash Your Dreads Regularly
Washing your locs regularly will not only help with moisture but it will also help to remove any product build-up that you have.
Allowing your locs to breathe is very important.
6. Use A Satin Bonnet
Satin bonnets are not only for loose naturals, they are also great for locs too because they help to prevent your hair from becoming dry as you sleep.
satin bonnets are fairly cheap to buy, you can pick one up from here.
Final Thoughts On Why Are My Dreads Thinning
Having locs does not give you a free pass at maintenance. Dreads still need to be maintained otherwise you could be faced with other more serious issues.
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