I am not retwisting my locs, why aren’t my locs getting thicker?!
Well, not retwisting your locs can actually cause thinning if your hair texture and hair health cannot withstand the process. In fact, it is a common misconception—one that I’ve subjected myself to in the past— that not retwisting creates thicker locs.
What is causing the thinning?
The process of not retwisting your locs is typically referred to as semi-freeforming. Semi-Freeforming is the process where you choose not to retwist your locs for an extended period of time. For some people practicing semi-freeforming will result in thicker or fuller roots. For others, unfortunately, semi-freeforming can negatively affect their locs. Usually, with soft, curly or fine textures of hair, not retwisting your locs is damaging. One of the biggest problems you’ll encounter if your texture is not able to semi-freeform is your hair growing away from your locs. As the hair grows away from the locs, you will experience thinning and sometimes breakage.
In my recent video, “Not Retwisting Causing Thinning” I share the experience of one of my salon guest’s that experienced thinning and breakage from not retwisting their locs consistently for several months. One of their locs was hanging on by strands of hair, and another fell out completely. While these issues can be repaired, I hope this video encourages you to think twice before not retwisting. You want to make sure that you locs are healthy, at least at the roots, and that your hair does not grow away from the locs. You can also check out the article “How to Semi-Freeform Your Locs Properly” for tips and advice if you do still want to semi-freeform.
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Blog Comments
Sharon Brown-Albright
July 5, 2020 at 10:28 pm
I’m experiencing thinning at the root of my locks. My loctician wouldn’t even touch them for fear of them popping( breaking off) instead she gave me some grease to use to thicken my hair. My question is should I get them interlocked or not. I really think my hair does better interlocking vs twisting. As long as I was interlocking my hair never thinned, only retwisted twice and the front and around the edges thinned alot. What should I do?
Jocelyn Reneé
July 20, 2020 at 3:46 am
Interlocking is a stronger locking method and works great for repairing thinning locs— when done properly.
Shirley Slaughter
July 6, 2020 at 3:13 pm
I was scheduled to go in for my first re-loc since Covid 19 tomorrow but had to cancel due to an eye infection crisis. I don’t like having to depend on someone to keep my locs up because I don’t have the expertise to do it myself and therefore I am thinking about getting rid of them. What do I do next?
Irma j Parham
July 27, 2020 at 11:10 am
what can i do for thinning locs that does not cost the world to buy. help
Shirley Slaughter
October 2, 2020 at 2:09 pm
This is the first I heard of the term re-twisting and it would have been nice to see a demonstration. Maybe you did and I just don’t know what it is. A loc fell out of my hair and I still have it and don’t know where it fell from. I’ve been braiding my hair periodically and then unbraiding and that keeps it tame. It is becoming tangled. I want to get rid of it because of not being able to get into a salon. I cannot stand the chemical smells of bleach and cleaning products so I have stayed away from the salon. I’ve been trimming it periodically hoping to just cut away the locs.
Blessing
June 9, 2022 at 8:41 am
What if you are transitioning from retwisting to not retwisting at all? Do you just leave the ones thinning to thin out and leave your locs to do its thing?
Jocelyn Reneé
June 24, 2022 at 12:55 am
You could do that if you are freeforming, they’ll just eventually breakoff.