There are a few factors that go into loc breakage.
If your locs feel dry and brittle, then you may not be all that far away from breakage. If you think your locs might be vulnerable to breakage, or if you’ve already experienced breakage, you’re going to need to figure out what exactly caused it, to prevent it from recurring in the future. Here are some of the most common causes for loc breakage and how to avoid breakage in the future.
Styling too Tightly
Loc breakage can be caused by frequent pulling and tightly styling of the locs. There are plenty of awesome loc styles out there, some may support your locs as they grow, while others can damage your edges or locs overtime. Leaving in styles that stress your scalp and roots for too long, or pulling your locs back into really tight styles can cause breakage. No matter how cute they might look, it just might not be all that worth it. If this is you, we recommend finding styles that you love that go easy on your scalp and roots to avoid breakage in the future.
Washing Too Often
Your wash routine will depend on your hair texture, the amount of dust/dirt in your daily environment and your hobbies and habits. Though you may be inclined to wash frequently to feel like your locs are always fresh and clean, washing too often can dry out your locs. Washing once or twice a month is more than enough for most.
Your hair’s natural sebum oil is the best natural moisturizer out there. If we wash too frequently we strip our hair of what it wants and needs.
We’ve heard of many people in the Dr Locs community using the Pre-Cleanse between washes, after high-sweat activities, as a way to remove dirt and sweat. The Pre-Cleanse wasn’t designed to replace shampoo, but we’ve heard many people loving it as a natural tool between washes in order to extend the time between wash days.
Brittle And Dry Locs
Oh, here’s a big one!
Brittle and dry locs is a sure way to achieve breakage. If your locs feel brittle and dry we recommend looking into your maintenance routine. Are you using the right moisturizing products on your locs? How often are you moisturizing and nourishing your locs? Maybe you need to look into the quality of water in the area you live in. Hard water is a promising ingredient for dry locs. If you live in an area with hard water we recommend adding a filter to your shower head.
To secure moisture in your locs, use our Leave-In conditioner, along with our steamer to help raise the cuticles of your hair so that that moisture gets inside the inner matrix of your locs. Essential oils, like our Yaya oil should then be used after rinsing your locs with cold water to trap in moisture - so that your locs don’t feel brittle and won’t break.
