Typically, when you are growing locs the desire is for the locs to become round in shape and relatively smooth along the surface. However, as your locs are maturing you may notice that instead of the typical cylindrical shaped locs you now have flat locs or areas that are flat along the shaft.
Flatness is expected with young dreads. It's normal to notice this in the morning after you sleep with them. Don't worry though, if the knots are good and the sections are pretty close to square your new dreadlocks will eventually grow round. For now you can help them out by palm rolling them round when you wake up.
Palm rolling Dreads
When your Real Dreads have just been applied, it's very important to palm roll them every day for about two months. After these two months, you can palm roll your dreads twice a week. By palm rolling them, you'll make sure that they get a nice round form and you'll prevent them from getting flat.
As your hair mats and locks together and becomes dreadlocks, your locs will protect hair follicles. Dreadlocks can damage your hair, it's true. But about 99% of such damage is mainly caused by people who don't know how to properly groom, style, or even grow dreadlocks.
Well, I'm here to tell you, yes, dreadlocks can be combed out, especially ones that have been properly cared for during their life, including regular shampooing and conditioning. This is very important! If you decide to comb out your 'locks, it's critical that you approach the process with much patience.
Tension along the hairline or anywhere else on the scalp is, unfortunately, a big contributor to hair thinning and loss. 1 It's important to vary your hairstyles. If you wear a tight ponytail each day, it can eventually lead to your locs thinning along the hairline, and even at the base of the ponytail.
Dreadlocks undergo constant transformation — as your hair starts to tangle and knot, each dread adjusts to those changes by becoming loose and thin in some spots and tight and thick in others.
Throughout the stages in which dreads mature, they will get thicker AND thinner. The thickness and length will fluctuate a lot during the first year or two because the hair is becoming matted. Healthy dreads should be a little bit thicker than when you started them once they're fully mature.
As for physical differences, locs have a well-kept and tidier look to them compared to dreadlocks, which have a more natural appearance. Additionally, locs have a more defined root compared to dreadlocks. Dreadlocks and locs don't have to be for only natural hair.
They Sometimes Get Thicker Over Time
No matter what your locs look like when you install them, they'll most likely look radically different in a couple years time. A lot of the time, the locs will thicken up as they mature. This is why many people with locs urge you to appreciate each stage in your journey.
As compared to loose hair, particularly afro-textured hair, locs seem to grow far faster. It isn't really true that loc'd hair grows faster; it just maintains all of its growth. Hair that is normally shed in the growth process and hair that breaks off at the ends due to manipulation are all retained within the loc.
If you want to grow thicker locs, you'll have to groom them far less frequently. Your locs don't need to be retwisted any more often than every six weeks (at least).
When you leave your hair alone, your locs are able to flourish and thicken up because they're not constantly “made” into condensed retwisted or interlocked bundles. The ideal timeframe for a retwist is between 4-6 weeks— no earlier!
For thin and fine hair, starting locs with two-strand twists is an ideal choice.
If your dreadlocks are new (less than six months old), then it's very likely that you'll be able to comb them out with relative ease. However, if your dreadlocks are older (more than six months old), then it's much less likely that you'll be able to comb them out without causing significant damage to your hair.
Let me warn you however, that you will shed an incredible amount of hair during this process. I found that with each loc that I combed out, 50% of the loc contained dead hair. I had bags and BAGS of dead hair and was completely shocked at how much hair I still had left on my head!
The average Loc Comb out price starts around $500 and can be reduced or raised from this depending on length, size, and amount of locs. It can take anywhere between as little as 2 hours to 50 hours to comb out but again this depends on length, size, and amount of locs.
Rose water is the best toner to moisturize the scalp, control frizz, and hydrate the locs. Also, rose water is an excellent alternative to using water to hydrate the natural hair because it nourishes the hair at the same time too. It may increase the shine of hair too.