Preparing your hair for new dreads

So, you've been thinking of making dreads for how long? a month, two, three, a year, since you can remember? OK so now you've made up your mind and ready for it! And until the big day you'd be wondering if there is anything you could do to prepare your hair for the big change! Here are a few tips:

1) Stop using conditioner
Your hair needs to be the opposite of soft to lock in the best of ways.

2) If you are thinking of dying your hair, do it before the dreads
The chemicals from the dye or the bleach will actually help your hair lock easier

3) Start using a residue-free shampoo
Your hair will already have to deal with the new dreadlock style, so at least the shampoo will not be another new thing to deal with.

4) Avoid hair sprays, wax, gel, etc
These are not the type of chemicals that do your hair or scalp any good. Quite the contrary. With the introduction of your imminent dreadlocks, you cannot afford having dirty hair or a flaky scalp.

5) Decide what kind of locks suit you
Consider your hair type and also your face shape. You could browse images of different people with dreadlocks to figure out what thickness of locks you want. If you have large volume of hair you can choose 100 super thin locks or 50 thicker ones. Also, ask yourself if your hair is long enough - dont forget that the length will decrease during the dreadlock process. If it is not, decide if you will be happy with short locks or if you want to opt for extensions. You can also use extension hair to increase the thickness of the locks.

6)  Research
You will need to understand what is the best way to maintain your dreads once you have them. Prepare a set of questions to ask your loctician, check out forums and specialized websites about the best way to wash them, dry them, keep them good looking and good smelling. Get yourself informed.

Last but not least, make sure to motivate yourself for the maintenance and patience that you will need to give to your dreads.The first 6-12 months will be the toughest. Your hair will need to recover from the initial shock and adjust itself to its new style. Be ready for surprises - sometimes dreadlocks take a life of their own. No matter how much research you do and how many people you talk to, remember that every individual is unique and therefore every case is different.

You will probably notice that I have not included the point where you decide what kind of method you want to make dreadlocks with, as I believe that the best way is the crochet technique and strongly discard all the others - unless you have that kind of rough hair and you go for the neglect/natural method.

However you definitely need to decide WHO will do your dreadlocks. Make sure you choose your loctician very carefully. He or she has to be someone who is able to show you samples of previous works, and let you have comments from previous customers. Do you think it is a good idea to economize on your hair health and appearance? I don't think so! So be careful of cheap amateurs. Go for a professional loctician. And once you have found someone with a proven track record of excellence and customer satisfaction, you know your hair is in good hands.

Go for the ride!

Methods to make Dreadlocks

Across the years I have encountered quite some different methods of making and fixing dreadlocks. Most of the differences I noticed between the various techniques, were, in fact, a result of the loctician's attitude. We are all different and as such we all do things in a different way, according to our trails.

Being different creates variety, and that is, after all, one of the beauties of life. But with so much variety, we need to learn to understand why people do things differently. Are they different because they are creative and surprisingly interesting and want to inspire others? Or are they different because they are lazy and mediocre and have no wish to inspire? 

The answer is up to you of course. We have the eyes and the mind to see and judge what is good and what is not. 

The purpose of today's post is not about good or bad, however - it is about distinguishing a variety of 'good' methods, in accordance with the type of hair. And even though there are many different types of hair, in the world of dreadlocks generally, the categories here are pretty straight forward:

African Hair

and

Caucasian/Asian Hair

  

The Spin & Pin method or the Twist method

Due to its high texture, African hair is best made dreadlocks with the Spin & Pin method. It is also called the twist method. The first part is the application of dread cream to hold the hairs together. The second step is clipping each section, in order to control the quantity and size of each dread. With African hair this is important as you cannot see the hair straight down right away due to its curly nature. The third part consists of removing the clip and spinning continuously the unlocked hair around in the same rotation sequence. This will depend upon the direction that the hair is naturally already growing to. After this twisting, the hair is secured together with only the texture of the hair itself and the cream previously applied.  

The range of sizes that work with African hair is incredible, from tiny baby locks to huge rasta ones. The length of the hair to use this method needs to be long enough to be twisted together and then clipped, at least 2 inches.

The  Strand Twist method

If the hair is longer than 5 inches, then the strand twist method may be more suitable. This is very similar to the Spin & Pin method as it uses the sectioning and the clipping of each section, but instead of twisting the same section over and over again, the twisting takes place with two sections together, each crossing upon each other.

This and the previously mentioned methods only work well with this one hair type; highly textured African hair. Caucasians and Asians shouldn't even attempt this method. 

The advantages of the Twist & Pin are that you have full control over the size you want for your dreads and that is not very much time-consuming to do. 

The disadvantage is that the dreads are not locked tightly on the inside and will require very regular maintenance and daily hand palming.

The following methods are suitable for all types of hair, but each will work best with a particular type of hair, and most have interesting pros and cons. The first step is always to part the hair. Note that professional locticians need not section all the hair from the start and securing them with rubber bands. They would have enough experience to part a section at a time, usually starting from the back part. 


The Backcombing method

This is one of the quickest and simplest way to make dreads, and therefore, its the cheapest, not only in monetary terms but also cheap in result. 

The strand of hair is back-combed with a comb, starting close to the scalp and combing towards the scalp, and repeatedly the same way in the middle of the strand and at the tip. Eventually the hair packs up and becomes the locks. Usually the tips are secured with a rubber band that can be removed once the lock has matured enough. 

The advantages of this method is that the dreadlocks reaches maturity early and is much faster to make than most other methods. 

The greatest disadvantage of the backcombing method is that it shortens the length of the hair considerably, usually by half. Other disadvantages include the fact that you have little control over the size of the locks. Even if you use a comb with very thin teeth, the hair is only locked on the outside part without any tight knots on the inside. For this reason the hair requires the aid of hair wax, which ultimately makes the hair looks ugly, messy, dirty and smelly.

The Neglect method

For this method you pretty much need nothing. Except neglecting your hair. Ideally you should wash it every now and then, obviously not using any conditioner or any cream or oil, but some people avoid this altogether. It takes time, usually 3 years unless you are lucky enough to have very textured hair. 

The advantage is that it costs you nothing.

The disadvantage is that it takes years to see a good quality result, and absolutely no control over your dreads being huge or flat or skinny. You will need to rip the hair that grows over multiple dreads and that might hurt. It will require constant palm rolling with the hope of shaping them how you want them to be.


The Woolen Garment method 

For this you will need a wool sweater or a wool hat to rub in circles on the top of your head and after around 15 minutes knots will start taking shape. There is no possibility of separating the hair with this method so after you knot your hair you need to either rip them apart with your fingers or cut them with a scissors.

The advantage is that you can do it yourself, in the comfort of your own room with the sole help of a woolen garment.

The disadvantages are that it is very painful, especially if you don't want to use the scissors to separate the locks. You also have little control over the size of the dreads and you will end up with several grown out hair. This method needs constant maintenance.

The Dread Perming method

This is the only chemical method. Nothing much to say, you go to the salon and you sit under the hair machine for some minutes and voila' - you have dreads.

The advantage is that it is super quick and easy, and it is considered of medium budget.

Obviously the greatest disadvantage is that you harm your hair seriously - and you cannot apply any treatment to them once they are dreadlocks. 

The Crochet Needle method 

This method involves a small crochet needle, with a very tiny hook. The hook is the strategic factor that creates tight knots by going inside the dread and twists and turns the hair until it becomes firm and smooth. It is a natural method, that requires skill and patience, but the results are excellent and of a long duration.

The Crochet Needle method is the ideal method to use when applying extensions. When attaching loose hair to already existing dreads nothing is stronger and securer than by needle technique. 

The advantages are that this method is 100% natural and it allows you to create the exact size of dreads you desire. It will require maintenance approximately once or twice a year to pull in the newly grown hair. Furthermore, the needle is great to fix lumps and bumps as well as to make perfect tips at the end of your dreads. 

The only disadvantages are that it is a time-consuming job and requires the services of a professional loctician.