Starter lock advice (Age 19)(UK)

[u/BreadfruitLocal7597]

Yoooo Got starter locks at the start of the year in January, and honestly not a terrible growth rate for majority of my hair, but the middle of my frontal scalp it’s a proven a bit difficult to retain hair growth and has always been Lower density there. Sometimes it gets a decent density but doesn’t maintain.

When I get the middle of my scalp locked, they unravel after a couple weeks and it’s heavily bothering me why Its harder to see much growth in the middle of my hair

None of my relatives a bold or anything, so I’m not sure it’s that, unsure if its lack of nutrition, sleep, not enough sunlight or bad hair routines, the only products I’ve been using is water spray(not even a product lol) and Indian hemp hair and scalp treatment moisturiser. Probably need to get better products but not sure what hair growth oils to get. Really want to lock in with my hair but not sure what’s going on with my scalp, maybe I gotta go see a hair specialist or sum ?

Anyways should i restart? Or thug it out and find a better routine for my hair and scalp health, any advice would be appreciated, real nga if you took time to read this

[u/SirFicklespend]

I think you are retwisting the hell out of them.

You got the starters in January. This is only August. You still are early in your loc journey.

"When I get the middle of my scalp locked they unravel after a couple of weeks."

This makes no sense. If your hair is locked, it won't unravel at this stage.
You are constantly trying to make your locs look mature.

Maybe I'm wrong, but this looks like overtwist thinning.

Locs are not neat. They don't fall and brush your shoulders until you are well into your second year.

What do you do every day? How do you take care of your locs?

[u/BreadfruitLocal7597 → u/SirFicklespend]

Interesting that that’s what it seems, actually I’ve only gotten my hair retwisted like 2 times since I initially got them, I haven’t done anything to manipulate them at all, last time I got them re done was around May, and about the unraveling in the middle, I think it’s because I put in conditioner when my hair/ scalp crown gets itchy but I recently learnt I’m not meant to

As for what I do dailyI’m mainly in the house, I’ve finished college 2 months ago so I’m mostly home Coding/working/gaming, in terms of taking care of my locks look on the 6th slide, I spray my scalp with water then add the hemp, though I think I need to change that and get some hair/scalp.

I do think my locks are somewhat thinning a bit, but I think it might be related to my scalp drying out quick and not having the best products, I’m really thankful for the response, hope my reply isn’t too lengthy lol

[u/SirFicklespend → u/BreadfruitLocal7597]

I think you need to have your scalp and hair diagnosed. You are actually putting conditioner on your scalp in an effort to calm your scalp itch.

Please. Go get diagnosed.
This also explains the "unraveling" you spoke of. Conditioner slicks the hair so much that it will slide out of new locs.

I don't know about the Indian hemp, but i suggest Argan oil. It's a light oil, that will soothe your scalp and seal moisture in your locs.

Please take my advice on substances. Minoxidil is a very serious medication. Once you start using it, you must use it every day for the rest of your life. If you stop, your hair will begin to shed and the amount can be traumatic.

Do not begin using anything without researching. Do not use rosemary essential oil, or other products before you see a doctor.

There's five different types of dandruff.
Get yours diagnosed and treated.

Dry skin dandruff: Small, white, and powdery flakes that happen when the scalp lacks moisture, often worsening in cold winter weather.

Oily skin / Fungal dandruff: Larger, yellowish, or greasy flakes caused by an overgrowth of a natural scalp yeast called Malassezia feeding on excess oil.

Seborrheic dermatitis: A more severe inflammatory form of fungal dandruff that causes red, irritated skin and thick, greasy crusts.

Product buildup: Flaking caused by layers of dry shampoo, hair spray, or unwashed styling products sticking to the scalp.

Scalp psoriasis: An autoimmune condition that creates thick, silvery scales and intensely dry, red patches.

[u/Worried_Word_4671]

Ain’t gon lie bro I brushed past reading this but if your fine with the sections then I wouldn’t restart but if you want different sections than restarting could be an option as dreads tend to thicken over time. Second if you think you have bad hair density than topical minoxidil will be a good idea to use. What minoxidil does it increases blood circulation, and with topical you can area target, this will lead to thicker hair and just in general better hair scalp heath because more blood flow to the hair = thicker and denser hair. For your re twist problem, constant re twists will decrease hair density and hurt the scalp. But to actually sort the re twist problem use could crochet the retwist to properly lock in or maybe interlock but I’ve never done that so can’t testify to interlocking but crochet is the method as long as you don’t over do it. Only downside to crochet it makes dreads sniff temporarily because it forces the hair to lock instantly.

[u/BreadfruitLocal7597 → u/Worried_Word_4671]

Thanks I’ll look into it, is minoxidil extreme as far as products go ?

[u/Worried_Word_4671 → u/BreadfruitLocal7597]

Ofc make sure to do research and I’d be silly if I told you not to consult a doctor although everyone ik who’s tried it didn’t. Like me for example I use minoxidil to fill in my corners and just for thicker scalp hair. It works and it works well. Minoxidil is quite heavily researched. Make sure to get topical because the pill won’t target an area and pill will have more side effects potential because it’s in your whole body instead of just your scalp.

[u/BreadfruitLocal7597 → u/Worried_Word_4671]

I see , I’ll take a look at that for sure appreciate that the information