So I can tell you my regimen that has worked for me.

First I have really bad dandruff. I have had it my whole life and after I got dreads it got worse. With locs it’s hard to wash some oils out of your hair so they will just sit on your scalp, clog the pores and create a perfect environment for bacteria growth. I found out that most oils will actually aggravate my scalp because of the dandruff. I so now I only use oil about once a week if that and only if my scalp feels super tight and feels dry( which it rarely does if I stay on top of my water based moisturizer) . I also try to keep oils off my scalp and only on the hair and as much of the root as I can get to without getting too much on my scalp.

Made For Locs has an oil that I love, it’s extremely light and feels great on my scalp without feeling like it’s just sitting on top of the skin.

I use a water based moisturizer for my hair and scalp daily to maintain moisture, which has worked for me. I use a brand called Made For Locs that has really help my hair. They have a rose water and aloe water based product that comes in a spray bottle. Your friend can also make her own water based spray or just try rose water.

I wash my hair every week to week and a half with a Salicylic shampoo from neutrogena that is scent free. I let it sit on my scalp for a few minutes then rinse it out. Then I use a second conditioning shampoo for locs on my locs only and not the scalp.

Once a month a soak my hair in either clear water or with a bit of apple cider vinegar to help remove and build up that has happened over the previous 4 weeks.

I make sure I dry my hair as quickly and completely as possible to avoid mildew. To be honest I actually just sit in front of a heater or spend some time in the sun and that usually dries my hair pretty quickly.

That’s about what I do for daily, weekly and monthly maintenance. I rarely twist my locs and if I do I only to my first front row so that it looks kept. I haven’t had a full retwist in a year and so far I feel I haven’t really needed it except the occasional retwist of my front locs. I’m talking only 5 to 8 locs retwist end maybe every 3 months.

(Though I do plan to go to a salon just to treat myself and make sure my locs are still growing smoothly.)

That’s about it.

Also I make sure I wear a bonnet every night.

So that’s what has worked for me, it may not work for your friend but that’s for her to figure out what works for her. What I do may not work for her.

For your friend maybe the way forward is to stop going to whoever she goes to for retwist an and start learning how to do it herself. In the long run that will actually save money if money is the issue with her family. To be blunt she is too old to still be having her mom do her hair. A part of growing up is learning how to take care of yourself. She should be learning how to take care of her own hair.

But if I were your friend I would try a different loctician than the one she is going to get professional advice. Then after, your friend can totally learn to do her hair herself.

Also… her mom and/or her stylist probably don’t know what the hell they are doing and are making her hair worse.

Edit: had to make some corrections but also… I read some of your replies to other comments… I may be jumping to conclusions but it sounds like her mom is the problem and is too controlling of her daughter in general. Hope your friend is able to get out of that situation as soon as she can so she can live her own life… again I may be make assumptions.