#dread tips

I’d prefer if you weren’t anon but yeah I’ve got a few tips. 

don’t use wax, i never did so i don’t have any horror stories or anything but imo it’s not worth the struggle. 

when they’re brand new and you’re palm rolling them every day (palm roll them every day!!), cut up a lemon and kind of slide it over the dread before you palm roll it. Don’t get too much on there cause then it’ll be sticky af but it’ll help them form. I’ve never heard of anyone else doing that but really helped mine anyway.

make sure you’re separating them! dreads looove to snuggle up with eachother to make a ultra mega dread so just make sure you’re pulling them apart. sometimes it hurts but you’ll be okay

i’ve heard good and bad news from rubber bands. a woman who had dreads for like 3 years was talking to me when mine were just 5 months and she was lecturing me cause i didn’t have rubber bands. Personally, I think they’re unnecessary and just create weak spots. 

BEADS!!!!!! get beeaads they help them form like crazy SERIOUSLY they help……..plus they look killer B)

wraps are fun but i wouldn’t recommend putting one in until they’ve matured a bit. you still can and it’ll look sweet, but the dread might be a lil funky in the future

MAKE SURE you have someone else do the sectioning on the back of your head. hahaha mine is SO FUNKY and i totally regret just going at it by myself but whatever

ONCE THEY’VE MATURED YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING IT’S GREAT so just wait it out if they’re givin you trouble.

Babe noo you have to wash your hair even if its the first week, how will it knot up if you keep your hair greasy? And thats just gross and (no offense) wont look that good anyway. 

So um anyway seriously, you should be washing your hair with shampoo or soap or whatever you like, just no conditioner until you know your dreads absolutely wont come off (i started conditioning after 8 months) 

Natural dreads are dreads formed with patience and time and nothing else. The stages they go through is simply like this: theyre loose, they separate themselves into sections, they start knotting up, they knot up, they get looser, they shrink, they knot up, they shrink more, you get massive amounts of frizz, and well in about a year you might end up with hair that look like dreads and after two years you will legit have dreads.

Long story short-wash your hair, no need to wait or anything when theyre that new, you should make sure you never have greasy hair otherwise your hair just wont knot up and you wouldnt want that for natural dreads cuz youre not doing anything to dread them up.. 

well super healthy hair is not the easiest to dread, though it’s definitely possible. it just requires more upkeep. hair that has been processed a lot (with heat, bleach, dye, etc) dreads far easier than hair that is taken care of that’s for sure.

so if you’re planning on dreading soon don’t use any conditioners, hair masks or other obvious things that make your hair soft! 

first of all, thank you very much! :) i've had them for about 8 months now, and just a quick warning first: be prepared for the possibility of losing a lot of length from your hair. when i started, my hair was nearly half way down my back. and now it's right at my shoulders, so i've lost about 7 inches or so. but i think the shrinkage can vary from person to person. so if you decide to go for it, just be prepared for that. i know i panicked at first when it started getting shorter. it can be frustrating, but it's worth it

starting out, i went and bought little rubber bands and a very fine toothed comb. a dread comb is ideal if you plan on back-combing. using the rubber bands at the roots, i separated the hair into small sections.. probably about an inch or two of hair. i combined the back-combing and twist & rip methods. as they got a bit loose over time (which they will at first) i would back-comb a little again and use T&R on the ends. since the initial tightening, i've basically let them form naturally, which is why they're not totally uniformed and have little loops. i do have a couple congos in the back.. personally i love them, they're really thick and fun. 

as for the maintenance/washing: as i said, i did the occasional back-comb and t&r. before i dreaded the hair, i tried to get my scalp used to less frequent shampooing. i started out missing a couple days, and then as my scalp got used to it, i made the dreads. now once the dreads were in, i didn't wash for at least a week or two. it wasn't too bad, although it did feel a little greasy. for shampooing while they were new, i used a mixture of baking soda and water. it gets out the grease and cleans without leaving the residue of shampoo. i started to get a bit of dandruff though, so i used that for about 2 or 3 months, then i switched to JASON tea tree oil shampoo. tea tree oil is great because it helps a lot with dandruff and seems to clean well. smells good too. my dreads seemed to become tighter upon using that shampoo. now that my dreads are more mature, i wash them once every three or so days and alternate between the tea tree shampoo and just a regular herbal essences shampoo. they're really tight so i don't have to worry about the residue fucking with them too much. 

oh and now that they're tight and thick, i palm-roll them once i get out of the shower to squeeze excess water out, and to help with the shape of them a little. make sure you rinse all the shampoo out thoroughly and ring as much water out as possible. dreads are super absorbent and feel pretty nasty when there's leftover soap in em. you don't want them getting moldy or gross either.

Bridesmaid dreadlocks! I finally figured out a nice way to wear my hair for my friend's wedding next month. There are some great things you can do with braiding and twisting, but those looks are challenging with such short dreads.

I do this look for professional business meetings, sans the flowers, all the time. All I do is take my hair into a low pony tail, then twist up and clip with the big clip pictured. Stray dreads are tucked back with the pretty bobby pins and the headband.