Palm rolling is a technique used to maintain locs where you or a loctician roll your dreads in between their palms. This process twists the new growth at the root of the dread. Whereas, interlocking is a method where the loc is pulled through the new growth and is repeated until it tightens the loc down the scalp.
Palm rolling vs. interlocking, which is the best? It’s a personal preference and depends on the texture of your hair. Plus, you must weigh in with the pros and cons of each technique.
The Advantages of Palm Rolling And Interlocking
So, which one is the best- palm rolling vs. Interlocking? There are always advantages and disadvantages to two different techniques. On the one hand, palm rolling is an easy method. Anyone can do this. Once you can roll your hands together and has access to YouTube, you can do this yourself.
Another advantage of palm rolling is- it takes a shorter time to finish compared to Interlocking. According to the thickness of your locs, you can take approximately thirty minutes to an hour to complete. Compare to Interlocking, which takes an hour or two, depending on your locitican.
Interlocking is the perfect method for people who frequently wash their hair, especially if they go to the gym regularly or have a scalp condition. Interlocking is excellent for any hair texture, especially if they’re afraid their hair will not lock.
Another benefit of Interlocking- is it last longer than palm rolling because unraveling can happen with the palm roll method.
The Disadvantages
One disadvantage of palm rolling is the possibility of unraveling. This is a common issue with palm rolling if you don’t have super kinky hair. Because this process involves training and molding your locs, if this occurs, try interlocking. With interlocking, there is little to no unraveling because the dread has already been woven into the new growth.
With palm rolling, you’ll commonly use products such as a locking gel, which causes buildup. Now, with interlocking using products is a preference through the mechanics of interlocking, the loc will stay in place.
Unlike palm rolling, which is easy to do, you can mess up your locs if you don’t interlock properly. There are a specific technique and a pattern to follow, and if you don’t do this correctly, you can create holes in your dreads, thinning, and breakage.
It’s all About the Look
Lastly, the look, with palm rolling, your dreadlocks adapt to a cylinder shape while interlocking has a more of a rope and compact appearance. Now that you have the pros and cons of both methods, you can decide which is the best for you?
Read more: Best products for retwisting dreads.