Interlocking or Latching

if your locks were a bit younger, i'd say, go for it.  but they're not.  let me explain what interlocking does...

first, healthy hair is naturally elastic.  if you take a hair strand and pull on it gently, it will stretch like a rubber band and eventually break.  the longer it takes to break and the more it stretches, the healthier your hair is.  relaxed or chemically treated hair for example has less elasticity than natural hair. 

say you have 3 people, an interlocking, a palm-roller and a freeformer.

interlocker:  i'm oversimplifying but, interlocking stretches the rubber band.  it pulls on our hair in a way that elongates and compacts it.  so overtime, someone who has interlocks will appear to have longer hair than someone who palms or freeforms.  as long as they're careful and using the tool correctly, they're good to go.  if they're overdoing it, they'll snap the rubberband...they will put too much tension on the hair (stretch it out too much).  interlocks are therefore more prone to breakage.  in appearance, they will be smaller than palms/freeform locks that were started with similar sizes on the same head.

palms:  when you palm-roll, you're encouraging compression of your hairs which result in locks that are inevitably smaller and longer than if you freeformed but not quite as small/long as interlocks.  palm-rolling is a good way to maintain consistency in width and density down the length of the lock. 

freeform:  when you allow the hair to lock naturally, you generally end up with locks that are more porous, thicker and more inconsistent in shape down the length of the lock.  if your hair bunched up for a period of time, part of your locks may show a "fat" section that reflects that period.  if you lay on one side while sleeping, locks on that side may be flatter than other parts of your head. 

your answer:

if you go from palming to interlocks, there will me a marked difference between the two sections.  the palmed area will be fatter and spongier.  how vast the difference...that's a difficult one.  it really depends on your hair type and the thickness of your locks to begin with.

when i first started, i would do my hair every 10-14 days.  i wasn't palm-rolling then.  i didn't start palming until about a year or so into my journey.  for the first 5 years or so, i stayed with this 2-week palm-roll routine.  the last 5 years however, i've been far more inconsistent.  it takes longer to twist them so i cheat.  i still shampoo them every 2 weeks or so but in terms of twisting, i usually twist the front and ignore the back.  and if i'm being really lazy, i'll wash them and wear a wrap/scarf for a week or so until i can wash them again and twist.  the point is, i'm not palm-rolling as much.

what i've found is, my locks are fatter.  they seem to be growing slower.  in reality, my hair is bunching more which causes them to be thicker and shorter.  without the process of palming them which smoothes and elongates the hairs...encouraging them to stretch out, there is a difference between the area that represents the first 5 years and the second.  HOWEVER!  the difference is more to the touch in my case.  i can feel the difference in width...it's not necessarily visible to the naked eye.

HOWEVER HOWEVER!...there are those who have switched between methods where you can see a change that's not so subtle.  how/why/where it occurs and on which lock is a toss-up.  take these pics of naanimodel hillarylynn.  she started with two-strands, palmed for a bit then freeformed for most of her lock journey.  my suggestions would be to continue what you're doing.  it's one thing to make the switch early on as she has...you're 10 years in and the end result...toss up.

 I orginally started interlocking my hair probably a year ago.. and when I noticed it growing longer to my ears I then was suggested to start palm rolling due to the length. So my questions is: should I continue palm rolling? even though I'm noticing my locks getting smaller in width which is fine to me, I just want to make sure it won't continue that way, like would it get thicker gradually while growing.

I'm still new to this so bare with me... I have gone to a lot of loctricians and they have all told me different things and I just want to find someone who can look at my hair and really give me proper advice/suggestions that will work for me. I did read your response to the article questions and maybe I should interlock with the tool cause I have noticed some of my locks unravelling due to the root coming out.

Please help Naani... if you do have facebook I can add you on there and you can view my pictures of my dreads. So you have an idea of what I'm talking about.

Bless

it depends on the age of your locks.  in general, unraveling/frizzies are common in the beginning.  interlocking helps curb the unraveling but you will still have to contend with frizziness to a degree.  for some, the frizziness NEVER goes away regardless of the method used.

if your hair strands are coming out, if the loose hair strands have the root bulb attached to them and you're interlocking, it sounds like you're using the tool too often or tightening too much.

interlocking places pressure on the hair strand and if pulled too tightly, you're literally ripping your hair from the scalp.  it's akin to tweezing your eyebrows but pulling at the hair very, very slowly.  eventually, the hair is going to give.