Reader Question - From Thin Loc's... to Free Form

Question from Christy, Naturally Beautiful Hair Blog Reader:

"I've had my locs for 7 years and 8 months. They are the size of a pencil or smaller, and although they don't feel heavy, some of them have thinned at the roots. I presume it is from over twisting (in the past three years or so I've moved to twisting every 5 to 6 weeks which still seems to be a stress on my locs) when it is dry, or the small size of them in the first place. At any rate, to solve this I'm thinking of moving to free forming" in the hopes of slowing down the thinning of my hair, by not constantly re-twisting my roots. "I thought about cutting them but at this point, but I am not ready to let go of my length. If free forming doesn't help to strengthen and thicken my roots then I'll think about cutting them, to see if that helps with thinning. Also, I don't know if  I'll totally committ to free form for the duration of my loc journey. That being said, for those of you who free form,  are there any tips/advice/stories/products you use? Anything you can share with me, to help me start my free forming journey."  Please email "any comments, suggestions, advice to cskipperl@yahoo.com."  - Christy