Is Interlocking Locs Bad? Which Type Of Interlocking Dreadlock Is Better?
Interlocking or palm rolling has been a controversial topic for people with dreadlocks when it comes to choosing the best method for maintaining your dreads shape and strength.
Some prefer palm rolling as it’s pretty easy to do it themselves and it’s pretty safe for your locs. Some will love interlocking because their locs will be firmed and not easy to unravel no matter how many times of washing or how harsh they are washed.
So, who is the winner? Keep reading to find out.
Should You Interlock Your Locs?
As mentioned in a previous article about the pros and cons of using the interlocking method to your locs, there won’t be an exact answer that you should or should not latch hooking your hair.
If you are a gymer who wants permanent dreads that can be washed on a regular basis, interlocked dreads will suit you well.
If you only need to have temporary dreads that can be detangled when you want to revert to natural loose hair, palm rolling or backcombing are the safer options.
Can You Undo Interlocked Dreads?
If you have straight and strong hair, it might take quite a lot of time for undoing interlocked dreads. You need to pick out the hair in four directions and then comb them dreads out.
For the kinky hair texture, it’s quite impossible to unravel dreads. You might need to consider cutting off the dreads if you want to go back to natural hair.
Is Interlocking Better Than Palm Rolling?
Each method has its own pros and cons that we have listed out below for your better reference:
| Methods | Interlocking | Palm rolling |
| Pros |
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| Cons |
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How Long Does It Take to Interlock Dreads?
While palm rolling can take you about 45 minutes to one and a half hours to have fully rolled dreads, the interlocking method might take you triple that amount of time.
There are 4 main factors that affect the interlocking time:
- Dreads’ length: If you have starter locs, the process will be much shorter than those who have mature locs.
- Your hair texture: People with fine hair might need to pay more attention in the interlocking process to make sure there won’t be slippage or breakage. Also, thick dreads people need to put more effort on the root latch hooking step so that there won’t be any weak spots created.
- Using tools or by hands: The latch hook might save you much time to complete the maintenance process than just do it by hand.
- Technique: Following the North – West – South – East positions technique might take you more time than just threading randomly. But that method keeps your dreads tightly and ensures the locking process can happen smoothly.
Is Interlocking Dreadlocks Good or Bad?
Overall, interlocking is not recommended by professional hairstylists or locticians since it’s not easy to be done correctly, and the bad results it brings to your dreads seem to out stand the benefits.
Instead of interlocking, you can consider using the crochet hooking method as it’s easier and safer for both your scalp and your dreads. Check out the details on how to do crochet hooking here.
Conclusion
Since different people have different hair texture and purposes, there is no one-size-fits-all dreadlocks maintenance method. Instead of using only one method for the whole time, you can switch among the maintenance methods.
Or, if you are not sure which one suits your hair well or which one you can do it at home, simply ask for the consultation from a professional stylist or go to the reliable hairdresser.
What are other methods that you want to take a deep dive into? Tell us in the comment sections below.
See also:
Aida
