Wednesday 13 July 2016

Moisturise Those Dreads!


Let’s talk about moisturising those dreads!

Moisturising and conditioning are not words that usually go hand in hand with forming dreads, in fact when it comes to forming dreads people often look to do the opposite and actively try and dry their hair out to help encourage knots to form. In practice it’s actually all about balance - keeping your hair in that nice sweet spot between too soft and too dry - you want the hair to be dry enough so that the knots don’t loosen, but conditioned enough that the hair doesn’t become brittle and damaged.

Everyone’s hair is different, some naturally have drier hair than others and some live in drier environments than others, but personally I tend to find that conditioning becomes more of an issue for people with older, already mature dreads. When the dreads are still forming then you’re generally just looking to keep the hair in a state that will allow the dreads to lock as fast as they can, but once your dreads are already fully locked and mature you’re more likely to feel the need to moisturise the body of the dreads so as to keep them from becoming rough and potentially brittle.

There are many ways that you can moisturise dreads, from more moisturising shampoos to applying oils directly or in soaks or sprays. Each method has it’s pros and cons - a more moisturising shampoo is usually the simplest way as you have to shampoo the hair anyway, but it will affect all the hair, including the roots and can potentially over soften the roots. Applying oils directly seems to be the most effective and targeted, but it’s easy to over do it. Oils in sprays may conversely not be effective enough and oils in soaks… well soaking isn’t always the most practical. As everyone’s hair and situation is different you’ve just got to find what balances best for you.

Personally I like sprays for a little softening and for scent, but for proper conditioning I favour Dollylocks’ Dreadlocks Conditioning Oil which is designed with this task specifically in mind.

6 comments:

  1. "to somewhat some of you" ^^

    This was actually SO VERY HELPFUL, Christian! Thank you! And you EVEN mentioned Dollylocks, which was going to be my next question. Seriously, very grateful. Like, like, like! XD

    ReplyDelete
  2. Suuuuper helpful!!! Thank you!!! I use dollylocks also and definitely think I've had the best luck with this!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ah! I realize it hasn't been that long since getting this information, nor have I exhausted every solution but...in the spirit of laziness, and given my current situation here (partials all at different stages), well, sadly, I think I have come to the decision that I have to comb out a few more dreads. These are just sooo dry and brittle and by doing all of the moisturizing soaks and conditionings (which, btw, gave me dread burn on my fingertips trying to apply conditioner and oils), well, it isn't worth it to lose my developing healthy dreads to try to salvage these. Plus, I also want to look presentable by next week, and these particular partials are in a pretty conspicuous location...one happens to be the one I dubbed LD/DT. Well, Christian, you will know what this means, I think. So,...it is with heavy heart that I have come to this decision, and has been considered thoughtfully for a long time, but yes, I believe it is time to say goodbye, goodbye for now. Maybe I will start again new after some time, but this just feels right.
    Never ever felt-like crochet people! And if you must crochet your dreadlocks, be very careful and do it sparingly. And find folks like Lazydreads and follow their advice and...eh, of course, I would have done this had I found you sooner, but, well, thanks for everything from now. I have learned SO much for the next time. ;)
    And now to implement your dread removal advice. LD/DT and you other one...FAREWELL! ^^

    ReplyDelete
  4. *Not brittle (slip of the tongue), but dry and rough and also hard, which makes it difficult to apply the conditioners and oils throughout the dread, causing frantic squeezing and rubbing all to know avail, apparently. Ah, yes, rough (haha, no pun intended) night! ^^ So, well, might be waiting another day or two to begin the removal, but they are definitely going. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. when are dreads consider mature? Mine are only 11 months. they look nice and I don't think they need to be moisture but I want to know. I also took my beads due to the incident i had with one of my dreads. I don't know if it's normal but i think that bead was choking it because when i was washing it and the tip kind of fell off, right under the bead. It's that normal? I don't think it supposed to do that. Please advise. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete