It doesn’t matter whether you’ve got dreads or not, lice suck.
Despite what some people may have you believe, lice aren’t more common among dreadheads. Lice cannot fly and they cannot jump, they can only be transmitted through surface-to-surface contact - and they don’t specifically seek out dreads. If your dreads don’t come in contact with the lice… then you ain’t getting em - that’s not to say that you can’t get them though… and… well…they are trickier to deal with when your hair is locked, as you might imagine.
Removing lice from regular hair is usually a two step process - there’s the application of a special shampoo that kills the lice and then this is followed up with using a fine toothed comb to brush out the as of yet unhatched eggs. Some of you may have noticed the flaw here when it comes to dreads… you’re not going to be dragging any fine toothed combs though locked hair. Instead you have to repeatedly apply the lice killing shampoo. If you repeat the process every 3 days you will kill the new lice as they hatch, and you’ll kill them before they mature enough to lay new eggs. How many times you find yourself having to repeat this process is going to vary greatly from person to person, but I would personally recommend repeating until you’re 110% sure you’ve got em all… otherwise you’ll find yourself having to start over.
What you choose to use for the lice killing is up to you - there’s no dreadlock-specific or dreadlock-preferred product, it’s going to depend what you have access to at your local pharmacy. Those who are against the application of harsh chemicals may want to look alternatively into using rubbing alcohol to kill the lice - instead of applying lice shampoo to the scalp, the dreads are soaked in rubbing alcohol and covered over for 30 minutes with a plastic bag to trap the fumes… don’t breath in the fumes… or smoke around the fumes… but it should do the same lice killing job as the shampoo… the repeating every 3 days process remains the same.
With lice… it’s easiest just not to catch them… they can only be picked up through surface to surface contact… so just be vigilant… don’t share towels or tams if you’re concerned… they tend to be more common among school kids… so don’t go rubbing your dreads on kids… I think that should probably just be a rule in general. But if you do find yourself in the unfortunate position of contracting them… don’t immediately run for the scissors - there are options!
The biggest complaint when it comes to dreadlock shampoo seems to be it’s availability - it’s not something that you can just pick up at the grocery store… it’s kind of a niche product and so “regular” stores just aren’t going to stock it. While some people have positive experiences using “regular” shampoo on their dreadlocks, I personally prefer and recommend using shampoos that are designed specifically with dreads in mind. Dreadlocks have rather specific requirements from their soaps and shampoos, and while you may get lucky and find off-the-shelf shampoos that fulfil these requirements… it’s safer to go with a proper dreadlock shampoo.
Here are some links to online stores that I recommend checking out for dreadlock shampoos - the source is by no means exhaustive, but they’re stores that I’ve personally dealt with and so am happy to recommend.
So this is a different one, and I’m going to try to be super serious throughout… yea, good luck with that. So I can only talk about this from my perspective… as otherwise this is gonna get real weird, real fast, but in my experience they’re sometimes annoying, but generally not too bad. Like, if they’re at a problematic length where you can’t control them, then they’re gonna bug you, but generally dreadlocks, once they’re long enough can be sorted out fairly quickly and easily, even if it’s just tying them back with themselves - and I’d say you’re probably gonna want to tie them back in some way as… no one wants to get in hit in the face with dreads… or, I don’t know… maybe some people do?
I’d say that if they were too long they’d probably be kind of awkward too… but I’ve seen an “interesting” interview with the woman who has the longest dreads in the world and she was asked the same question… in fact, I’ll link to that video in the description below and you can check it out for yourselves.
Ever wondered what the world's longest dreadlocks look like?
Asha Mandela has the longest dreads... in the world! Coming in at a crazy 92.5 feet and certified by the Guinness Book of world records. She's been the holder of the world's longest dreadlocks title since 2008.
If you’re having hair problems I feel bad for you son, I got 99 problems but the dreads ain’t one.
I’ve been doing this a while now… a little while, and sometimes I get asked to break it down, to answer simply, ‘what’s the greatest piece of dreadlock advice you can give?’. Now despite having a page filled with tips and advice, my number one is an easy pick, and that is: stop worrying about them.
Now that may at first seem like a cop-out, but stick with me here. When my dreads were young, they were just like everyone else’s young dreads - loose, frizzy, MESSY, and just like most people with young dreadlocks, I worried about them. Every day I’d be checking them out, stressing over each loose root, every patch of loose hair. All this worrying made me pretty uninspired, and made the progress seem impossibly slow, if not nonexistent… then one day, I just stopped worrying.
I’m fully aware that telling someone to stop stressing usually has the opposite effect, and to truly become comfortable with something takes both a combination of time as well as persistence, but only once I stopped worrying over the small stuff was I able to appreciate the big stuff.
What you’ve got to remember is that dreadlocks don’t NEED you, they’ll go about their business fine on their own as long as they have their time and space. I always advise to just to make sure you’re washing and drying the dreadlocks properly, separate as required, and anything else is just an extra. Treat it like any other hairstyle… and by that I mean generally ignore it while you’re getting on with your life, and things just go a lot smoother. When I stopped antagonising over each and every detail and actually let time do it’s thing I was able to actually notice the positive changes when I did take the time to check things out… and when the changes became noticeable they became a lot more encouraging, and so you replace the negative stressful cycle with a positive encouraging cycle. So there’s no doubt in my mind that the greatest thing I ever did for the progression of my dreadlocks was to stop over analysing, to let my hair be hair, and just to get on with my life, trusting that they’d do their thing.
The horror, the horror! Yes, we’re talking about Dread rot… and yes that introduction was potentially more enthusiastic than it needed to be… but what’cha gon’ do?!
So, few things seem to strike fear into the hearts of dreadheads more than that of dread rot - I mean come on, it has ROT right there in the name?! So today’s video is going to cover dread rot, mould, mildew, all these wonderful sounding things… because someone has to talk about it.
Right, I guess the place to start would be with the question as to whether dread rot is a real thing… or whether it’s one of those myths invented to make dreadlocks sound more scary and unattractive. Well, unfortunately in this case the myth turns out to have basis in fact, dread rot is a real thing, you can get mould in your dreadlocks… however, on the positive side, if you take care of your dreadlocks it’s probably something you’re never going to come across, and even if you do… it’s treatable, and not a death sentence for your dreads.
What is it and how does it occur? Well I find the easiest way to explain it is in terms of towels… stick with me here, it’ll make sense (I hope). If you use a towel and fail to hang it to dry properly, if you just ball it up on the floor, leave it in the bottom of your laundry basket or throw it to the back of your locker… it’s going to start to become unpleasant. The same thing can happen to dreadlocks if you fail to dry them properly. Now usually if your towel starts to become unpleasant… you stop using it and give it a good wash on a high heat to freshen it back up again… unfortunately with dreadlocks you can’t throw them in the washer with some detergent and so instead they will continue to get wet when washed, and if you continue to fail to dry them properly the unpleasantness will become more and more noticeable.
Dread rot is most easily identifiable through the dreadlocks having an unpleasant odour while they’re damp, even if they’ve just been washed. As dread rot gets more severe the odour will get worse and will start to even be noticeable while the dreadlocks are dry.
All starting to sound rather dark and negative, isn’t it? Fear not;
The thing is, it takes quite a lot of poor care before the dreadlocks will start to exhibit these negative attributes… it’s going to take more than one rushed drying session to get them into such a bad state. Dread rot occurs after extended periods of poor drying, it comes about if you repeatedly fail to properly dry the dreadlocks again and again, and so for most people it’s going to be entirely avoidable. However - even if you do find yourself in a situation where you fear your dreadlocks are becoming mouldy, all is not lost - dread rot can be treated with deep cleaning. Soaking in bicarbonate of soda and rinsing with apple cider vinegar can treat dread rot - simply replace your regular washes with deep cleans until you’re sure that the symptoms have dissipated… and then take the tie to make sure that you’ve embedded the routine that allowed the dread rot to occur in the first place… because it’ll return again should you continue to fail to change your behaviour.
Steps to help avoid dread rot:
Always dry your dreadlocks thoroughly - don’t tie them up in a bun or wear a tam when they’re still wet, and don’t sleep on them before they’re dry.
Make sure you’re using an appropriate shampoo, high quality shampoos will help fight off the risk of mould and will also leave behind less residue - shampoo residue inside dreadlocks can trap moisture and further increase the risk of dreadrot.
Don’t wash your dreadlocks if you know you won’t have time to dry them properly - the drying is as important as the washing.
Look for products containing tea tree - e.g soaps and sprays
Deep clean semi-regularly to keep the risk of dread rot low.
Keep on top of these things and dread rot is unlikely to ever be as much of a worry as it’s name would have you believe.
The long fight between those who are for crocheting dreadlocks and those who are against - who will be the winner? you decide.
There are several questions you’ve got to decide when it comes to starting dreadlocks things such as freeform or backcomb, salon or homemade, to crochet to not crochet, and it’s this question of whether to crochet or not that really gets people.
There are online dreadlock communities, forums and facebook pages, places where people converse about all things dreadlock-related, sharing knowledge and experiences, when it comes to most questions there’s either a straight forward answer e.g - should I wax my dreadlocks - “no”. For other questions you’ll get a balanced response such as whether to go for backcomb or twist & rip - people will usually state which they chose and importantly why they chose it, giving the individual some options… however when it comes to people asking about whether to crochet or not, everything explodes, lines are drawn, people take sides and vicious arguments erupt, with one side claiming that their dreadlocks don’t work without crocheting and the other side that crocheting will destroy the dreadlocks and that they’ll fall clean off of your head.
There is a great degree of bullying when it comes to the topic of crocheting - from both sides. You can find those who crochet criticising the look of those who neglect, while those who neglect may claim a form of “cheating” or corner cutting on the side of the crocheters. I personally find such arguments to be non-productive, especially when most dreadheads spend a great deal of their time arguing for equality and their right to express themselves with their hair in their own way, to then be unaccepting when someone else decides to express themselves with their hair in a slightly different way... well that doesn't seem like it benefits anyone.
As you can imagine, a significant section of my inbox is then devoted to questions on this subject with people asking me to decode these arguments and just get through the arguments and down to the answer to the question that as originally asked.
For those that don’t know, very briefly crocheting involves the use of a crochet hook, which is a long needle with a little hook on one end - this is pushed through a dreadlock, loose hair is “hooked” and then the needle is pulled back through the dreadlock, pulling that loose hair in with it in the process, the loose hair is then deposited inside the body of the dread. In this way loose hairs, loose tips and loops etc can be pretty much instantly pulled into the body of a dreadlock. So whereas most maintenances are slow processes that gradually encourage hairs to lock up, crocheting provides pretty much instant results. Depending on how much crocheting is done to a dreadlock the results can range from subtle tidies, to total sculpts.
The change that occurs from crocheting can vary from temporary to permanent depending on the individual’s dreadlocks, very young loose dreadlocks can loosen back up again if the bodies of the dreadlocks are not yet really strong enough to hold the crocheted hair and the bodies of the dreadlocks themselves may continue to change as they develop, whereas with tougher more mature dreadlocks hairs that are crocheted in can remain crocheted in almost indefinitely - although that’s not to say that other hairs will not fall loose.
The instant and usually fairly permanent changes that occur allow people who are unhappy with certain aspects of the dreadlocks to change those aspects which can be helpful for those whose dreadlocks may potentially go through stages which simply are not acceptable for their current situation or whose dreadlocks form in a way which is simply not in line with the look that they’re after.
Onto the argument surround risks, problems, damage and destruction. There are a few potential problems that you can run into if you crochet dreadlocks, several of them are most likely when working with a lack of experience - such as there is the potential for over tightening which can leave dreadlocks stuffed and stiff and overstuffing dreadlocks in this way can hinder their natural progress a. Another potential problem that can occur when the hook is in inexperienced hands is overworking of the roots. Young dreadlocks will be loose at the roots and it will take time for that area to mature and start locking on it’s own as the hair grows. There is a great temptation to go in a crochet that area, however working on the roots not only risks pulling on the root hairs so tightly that scalp irritation can occur, but if the roots are crocheted up tight they will become unable to continue to develop on their own again until they loosen back up - and often as they’re loosening back up again the temptation to crochet returns and so a cycle may ensue with the roots being maintained over and over instead of them having matured and locked on their own.
Anyway, the main risk and the topic for debate and straight up argument is the risk of breaking hairs and damaging the dreadlocks, anytime you’re introducing friction to the hair - pushing or pulling something through the body of a dreadlock, there is the potential that hairs will get broken in the process. Pushing the needle through may potentially break hairs, pulling the needle back through may potentially break hairs - the pulling on the hooked hairs may potentially break them.
The words which I use when it comes to crocheting are ‘risk’ and ‘potential’, I use these words very deliberately. Risk does not mean that something is certain of happening, risk relates to the likelihood of it happening, the potential for the negative effects to occur. This means that sitting down and crocheting your dreadlocks once does not instantly issue some sort of death sentence, of course it doesn’t (though some will certainly try to paint that picture), but every time you push the hook through and pull it back you are increasing the chance that negative effects will occur and that they will have a noticeable impact.
The potential for damage depends on a few things - the size of the crochet hook, the smaller the hook, the fewer hairs you’ll be able to hook in one go, but the easier it will be to pass it through the dreadlock without damage - if you go in trying to jam something the size of a knitting needle through the dreadlock, you’ll end up punching holes straight away. The number of times the dreadlocks are crocheted will also have an effect, obviously the more the dreadlocks are crocheted, the greater number of times the needle will be passed through the dreadlocks and the more chance there is of seeing negative effects, as once hairs are damaged, they cannot self repair, and so it has the potential to accumulate over time. Another factor is the skill and experience of the person doing the work, now this one is harder to quantify, but someone with experience will be able to choose the right needle and apply it appropriately, not just jabbing and ripping away, and should also help manage the risk of potential damage.
I find that both the temptation to crochet and the risk as a result are at the highest when the dreadlocks are young. Young dreadlocks will be loose, messy, lumpy and bumpy. Having young dreadlocks can be tough and for some people the temptation to crochet can be overwhelming. However while the dreadlocks are young and immature the bodies of the dreads will be loose and so hairs that are crocheted in will not necessarily hold up as well, and lumps and loops may continue to keep forming as the dreadlocks have not yet locked. This can be a really dangerous combination when someone picks up a crochet hook for themselves trying to constantly “fix” the dreadlocks. There really is a huge scope when it comes to crocheting, from people with dreadlocks that they’ve allowed to mature who get tips blunted or loose hair tidied by a professional a handful of times per year… to people with brand new dreadlocks crocheting by themselves every day - and I’m sure you can see where the greatest risk of damage resides.
My personal view is that I look at crocheting hair in the same way as I look at bleaching hair - when you’re bleaching hair you’re aware of the risks, you know that bleaching can damage the hair, the potential for damage depends on the product that you’re using and the skills and experience that you or the person doing the work has - and the risk for damage increases the more times you bleach the hair. However bleaching hair produces results that can only be achieved through bleaching - you can sit in the sun for a whole summer and you’re still not going to get bleached blonde hair - and so you have to weigh up the risk of hair damage against the reward of bleached blonde hair. I look at crocheting in the same way, the results are unique, and there are certain looks that can only be achieved through the use of a crochet hook - these are looks that some people aspire to, and some people don’t - some people love the natural, neglected look, some people want the smoother, uniform, crocheted look. Following the path for one will not provide you with the results of the other. You can go full freeform neglect for 2 or 5 or 10 years, but if you want them to have a look that can only be achieved by crocheting, then you could be waiting forever. If you want your dreadlocks to look that way, like with bleaching you have to weigh up the risk of damaging the hair against the reward of achieving that appearance. It’s your hair, you should be able to make it look the way that you want - you’re growing the hair for you and you’re the one wearing it - but at the same time, you’re responsible for the long term outcome, and you’re the one that has to live with the results for better or for worse.
I think each person has to decide for themselves whether crocheting is correct for them - I think each individual needs to be presented with the risks and the benefits, they should be in a position to weigh them up for themselves and then decide what they think will be best for them and their hair in the long term. I think the problem a lot of the time is that a lot of people seem to be dead-set for or against crocheting depending on how they maintain their own hair and then when someone asks for advice they get a straight one-sided answer rather than being put in a position to decide for themselves. What’s right for one person who wants one type of results and who is in one type of situation is not necessarily going to be right for another person who may want totally different results. Maintaining via crochet is not going to give natural looking dreadlocks… but at the same time going total freeform is not going to give neat, even, crocheted looking dreadlocks… you have to decide which way you want to go.
I will say that I understand why people are so strongly opinionated as on the one side the potential for damage is real and permanent and can manifest itself very quickly - I’ve come across people who’ve gone into crocheting blind of the risks and ended up hacking their hair to pieces. I’ve met people who wanted natural looking dreadlocks but didn’t want to wait for them to mature and didn’t realise how permanent the crocheting results can be. I’ve had messages from people who’ve had sections of dreadlocks weaken, thin or break off from over crochet use with very little they could do to reverse the process - and I’ve also come across people who’ve tried to brush out their dreadlocks after long term crochet use to find that the hair left behind was incredibly broken and damaged… however on the other side it is completely undeniable that there are thousands of people out there living happily with dreadlocks maintained via crochet - dreadlocks that are either maintained this way because it’s required for their situation, be it job or school - or simply because that’s how they want their hair to look. Countless people will go their entire dreadlocks journeys without ever experiencing the potential negative effects.
I think it’s pretty common knowledge that I don’t personally recommend crocheting dreadlocks. If you’ve messaged me and asked whether I would recommend crocheting or how often to crochet etc, my personal advice will have been to hold out and let the dreadlocks develop more on their own - But if someone has weighed up the risks and decided that crocheting is right for them then I don’t try to put them down or to stop them. The reason that I don’t recommend crocheting is that I have a responsibility for the advice that I give - I feel responsible for the results that come from the advice I give and while many people will get away without noticing negative effects from crocheting, some won’t be so lucky - and you can never be 100% certain which side you’ll be on - everyone thinks they’re the one who’s doing it the right way… right up until the moment they notice something’s wrong. I wouldn’t feel comfortable being responsible for those people in those situations. So if someone has weighed up the risks and rewards and decided it’s for them, then I think they should be able to do as they feel best for them, but the responsibility will also be their own - and I hope my position on this is an understandable one.
Ok so hopefully that helped demystify the situation surrounding crocheting dreadlocks. When it comes to a permanent decision like crocheting, no one should decide for you. Don’t allow yourself to get pushed one way or the other before you’ve been able to decide for yourself. Do the research, you can never do too much research - explore the longterm risks, explore the longterm results - and remember they are longterm. When in doubt, wait. Don’t rush into such permanent decisions if you’re unsure - dreadlocks can’t be un-crocheted again later if you change your mind - but if you give them more time while you decide, the dreadlocks will continue to develop on their own, reducing the amount of work you would need to do should you later decide. The longer you wait, the more mature the dreadlocks become on their own, the less crocheting you’d need to do - or be able to do, the more likely it would be for the results to hold and the less overall crocheting you’d need to do anyway - which would make it less risky.
Today I’m talking about dreadlocks dreams… and nightmares!
Ok, I’ll beat the comments to it - this is certainly one of the strangest things I’ve made a video on… at least on this channel! When I got my first question about ‘dreadlock dreams’ I kind of dismissed it as just ‘one of those’ types of questions… but I’ve continued to receive similar questions for quite some time now and I think they’ve even made their way into a few Q&As.
Now the only reason I’m deciding now to go a little into is is because something happened the other night that freaked me out - actually, I think it probably freaked my girlfriend out more, but we’ll get to it. I figured the experience warranted sharing.
So this is a trip that I've wanted to take for a long time - It's the sort of trip that I'd say is "once in a lifetime"... but I really don't think that's going to be the case, as I'd head back out again tomorrow if I could - so I certainly think I'll be back!
This video covers the first part of my trip to Longyearbyen, Svalbard. Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago within the Arctic circle. The city of Longyearbyen is the northern most city (northern most settlement with a population above 1000) in the world. We set out for a short trip to camp just outside Longyearbyen.
In this video I cover what dreadlock-related things I packed to take with me on such a trip, the travelling experience - and some of the sights and scenes I took on once I arrived.
I'd like to add a special thanks to Kristin Burdal who composed and performed the accompanying music for this video:
Today I’ll be reviewing Dollylock’s Limited Edition ‘Pear and Rum-spice’ liquid dreadlocks shampoo.
Dollylocks Shampoo: http://amzn.to/1LNWAbQ
Dollylocks are a Florida based company that make a wide range of dreadlocks products from shampoos and soaps to sprays and dry shampoo. All their products are 100% vegetarian/vegan, with no animal testing, artificial colours, artificial preservatives, no MEA/DEA dyes, parabens, phthalates, propylene glycol, they’re gluten free, SLS free, SMS free and free from GMOS.
The shampoo itself - the shampoo comes in a decent sized bottle (8fl Oz) and it ships with both a screw cap that can be used while traveling or storing the shampoo - and a dispenser top for when you’re actively using the shampoo.
Ingredients:
Distilled Spring Water, Saponified Coconut Oil*, Olive Oil, Castor Bean Oil*, Almond Oil*, Tea Tree Essential Oil* and Spearmint Essential Oil*, Grapefruit Seed Extract -*ORGANIC
In use - in my experience Dollylocks products do not foam and bubble in the same way as some other shampoos and I would account this to the shampoo’s more natural formulation - you do however get a lot of coverage out of only a small amount of shampoo, which can take some getting used to. I find that it doesn’t take as much shampoo to cover my whole scalp compared to how much I use from other brands. On the one hand this means that I can get more washes out of a bottle, but on the other hand it means that people who’ve not used the shampoo before can very easily find themselves applying more than they need to.
After wetting my hair through I dispense around two pumps of shampoo, lather it between my hands and apply it to my scalp - starting at the front and working my way back, massaging it in. I will then use around half a pump extra and work it in from my neck, working upwards. I will then bring the bodies of the dreadlocks up and rub them around to help work in the shampoo. I will usually let the shampoo sit for around 30 seconds before starting to work it through as I find the Dollylocks shampoos have a pleasant cooling effect on my scalp. I will then start rinsing the hair, squeezing the soapy water in and over the dreadlocks as it flows down and out.
The shampoo does carry it’s scent into the shower, but it’s not too overpowering - certainly not strong enough to cause annoyance.
Once I got used to the amount of shampoo required I found no great difficulty in rinsing out of the shampoo - however when I was new to Dollylocks shampoos I did find myself using far more than was required and then needing to spend quite a long time to make sure I’d gotten all the excess out.
I found that the shampoo left my head fresh and clean - working well to keep my scalp comfortable and dandruff controlled. It leaves my dreadlocks soft and bendable - in fact I would say that I find that the shampoo leaves the hair slightly on the soft and conditioned side - which with my mature dreads I find quite pleasant as it makes sure that my dreads don’t get too rough and stiff, but if you have naturally soft hair and you’re just starting out, you may find it a little off balance.During my long term testing I found the results to be consistent with no noticeable increase in discomfort or dandruff over time. I have also not noticed any signs of shampoo build up - and having now actually used the shampoo for a consistent 2 months I’d be comfortable knowing the residue does not buildup in noticeable amounts in the time I leave between deep cleans.
My conclusion: My experiences have found Dollylocks products to be high quality and consistent, this shampoo is no different. I found it to work well with my hair and scalp and to work well consistently for weeks at a time. While it’s consistency and the amount of cleaning you get for such a small amount took me a little by surprise at first, once I was used to it I found I was able to get quite economical results - and a bottle of Dollylocks, if used correctly should last a very long time - even for someone who washes their dreadlocks as regularly as me. The shampoo also lends itself nicely to when you’re traveling away from home as you’re able to carry only a small amount and still have it last the whole trip.
The main drawback I think people may come across is that it is more softening than some other shampoos - for some people this may be positive, especially for those with drier hair or more mature dreadlocks, but I can potentially foresee that it may be a little more softening than is needed for people with younger dreads and softer hair - although that’s something that will vary from individual to individual. Fortunately, and I find this to be a major plus when it comes to Dollylocks products - most of their products can also be purchased in small travel sized samples, this allows you to test them out and see how they work for you personally without having to invest in a whole bottle.
Welcome to episode #61 of my Dreadlocks Question & Answer series! You post em' I answer em'.
Abby Carpenter
Question : How often to you separate your dreadlocks? BTW you're my dreadspiration!
MissMotionless
Question: I decided that I want to dread my hair to test my ability to be patient. The only problem is that my hair is in layers, and the longest one reaches my shoulder when straightened. I have really curly hair, and it turns into an afro type thing. Should I wait for my hair to get longer before I dread it since it is so short in it's natural state of being?
Amber Pants
Question: is it not a good idea to just not wash young dreads till around the 6 month mark or is that bad for them?
Groznov13
QUESTION: I'm just got my dreads backcombed, would it help to sleep on a wool pillow case
Max Vitale
Question: I'm trying to go with the natural/neglect method. Im about 2 weeks in and my hair already smells. Im washing with knotty boy shampoo. Im wondering if i should do a deep clean already or how i could get rid of the smell. Thank you!!!
Today we’re going to talk about dreadlocks… and neck pain!
Some people get the impression that dreadlocks are incredibly weighty - I mean look at them, big, thick, bulky things anchoring down their wearer’s heads! Surely these things must result in a significant force bearing down on my neck - potentially leading to discomfort and neck pain.
While it’s true that dreadlocks do have a weight to them, they’re not as heavy as they may at first appear. Simply, dreadlocks are made from hair - at least mine are! and so they only weigh as much as the hair that they’re made from (most of the time - I’ll come back to why it’s only most of the time later). So while they might look bulky and massive… it’s still only hair - if you sit down and start a set of dreadlocks, the resulting dreadlocks will weigh just the same as the hair that you started out with… so as long as that hair didn’t cause you discomfort, the dreadlocks shouldn’t cause you discomfort (obviously the situation is going to be different if you add extensions onto the dreadlocks). Now it might be a little deceptive in that you might start out with hair that’s chest length and end up with dreadlocks that are shoulder length - as dreadlocks may shrink up significantly as they lock, so a length of dreadlock doesn’t weight the same as a length of hair - it weighs as much as the hair that it’s made from - which may be significantly longer than the length of the dreadlock… but again, it’s still hair - mass only gets added at the rate which the hair grows, so generally so slow that you’d never notice them getting heavier.
Now obviously there are extremes - the weight does increase with length - grow them long enough and you’re going to be aware that you’ve got them - though you’d notice regular hair if you grew it out long enough.
Let me return now to where I said they only weigh as much as the hair, most of the time. The real issue when it comes to dreadlocks and weight is not so much the dreadlocks themselves, but the water that they can hold when you wash them - I tried to show this is my weighing dreadlocks video… but it’s not so easy to weigh dreadlocks!. Dreadlocks can soak up water like a sponge - a dry sponge doesn’t weigh all that much, soak it up with water and you’ll be able to tell. Slow weight changes as a result of the hair growing are not noticeable - instant weight changes as a result of soaking up water, those changes are noticeable. It’s when the hair is wet that you may experience discomfort - which is one of a few reasons why it’s advisable to try and dry dreadlocks in as timely a manner as possible. The longer the dreadlocks, the more water they will soak up, the more they’ll weigh while damp, and the longer they’ll take to dry - and so the issue with dreadlocks and neck pain is not so much down to the dreadlocks themselves, but more down to the weight they can gain while being washed.
Choosing a dreadlocks starting method can sometimes be quite difficult - many of the methods have quite similar results, and trying to decide which will work out best is tricky. I am often asked, if given the opportunity, which method would I choose if I had to start my dreadlocks over again?
Welcome to the 59th instalment of my 'Dreadlocks Question & Answer' series.
This week's questions are:
Lyndon Watkinson
Question: Is it possible that i could get a nicely scented teabag to put in the sea salt spray as is contains no lubricants? Cheers
robert ruiz
QUESTION:
Lazy dreads rocks :D I have 4 month dreadlocks and was wondering how to keep my tips blunted some stay others get loose, with the crotchet hook I'm noticing split ends so I stopped as soon i as I could help D:
Mello
Question: So I really want to start off my dreadlocks soon. But my hair length is weird, my fringe and sides are about 7-8 inches and the back is about 4-5 inches. Is there any point waiting for my back to grow the extra inch or should i just start now?
Santana Arce
QUESTION:Well I just started the neglect or freeform method to my hair a couple days ago an I was wondering what would be a good time to wash it should I wait or is it ok to go ahead and wash it.
Lexy Stegall
QUESTION: my dreads were done yesterday I'm a girl and my hair is thin I don't have a lot of dreads and I feel like they are huge ! Is it possible to make them thinner or will they thin out? I back combed
Introducing the 'Dreadlocks of the Month' for March 2015!
The dreadlocks of the day pictures are compiled entirely from submitted pictures. The pictures are posted daily on the Lazydreads Facebook page and the @Dreadlocksoftheday Instagram account.
If you want to submit your own dreadlock pictures you can email them in to Lazydreads@live.co.uk along with any information you also want featuring.
