How to make dreadlocks

The Backcomb Method

The Twist & Rip Method

Hair Length Required For Dreadlocks

A common question is - how long does your hair need to be for starting dreadlocks? What role does hair length play and what's the difference between locking long or short hair?


The length of the hair plays 2 roles:

1) Aesthetic
It should be obvious that the longer the hair, the longer the locks. The locks are always going to be shorter than the hair you started out with. This loss of length will come in 2 waves. On day one with backcomb or twist&rip you'll likely lose a little length just from the initial knotting. The main bulk of length loss usually come over the following months in the form of shrinkage (explained thoroughly in my shrinkage video). What it really boils down to is that the locks will be shorter than the hair - so if you want long locks, you'll need really long hair. Usually when you see someone with very long locks they are locks that have grown long rather than locks that have started long simply due to how impractical it is to try and grow your hair long enough to initially form huge locks.

2) Dread starting practicality.
Which ever way you try and put it, longer is better. The longer your hair = the more knots you can create. Regardless of method, longer hair is going to allow more knots to form (or be formed) and this reduces the chances that the dreads will just wash out and fall apart (simply because there are more knots that would need to be undone). Longer hair/longer locks will also mature slightly faster due to there being more hair to move around and knot.

So, how much hair do you actually need?
Different sources are going to recommend different lengths and it's also going to depend on method. For natural / neglect / freeform / organic the length is not that important - just stop brushing and conditioning. The hair won't lock until it's long enough, but it's not worth continuing to brush and condition in the mean time. For backcomb and twist&rip the length is more important - you do actually require a certain length to actually be able to backcomb or twist&rip. Backcomb is a little easier on shorter hair than T&R but for both methods I recommend at least 6 inches of hair. I will not doubt that it's possible to do it with less, but with shorter hair the risks of wash out are greatly increased and so 6 inches is the length I would recommend holding out for.

Wax And Other Dreadlocks Regrets

My Top 10 Young Dreadlocks Regrets:

1) Wax - no surprises here, wax is going to top my list. Technically it did stop the knots from loosening.. but left me with club-like backcombed lumps that never softened and eventually all had to be cut off. Biggest regret.

2) Wait on washing - I took the 'don't wash for a few weeks' too literally and wouldn't let any water (or rain touch my dreads).

3) Soap residue - I had no idea what residue was and therefore paid no attention to all the soap building up in my young dreads.

4) Young dreads stress - I used to stress out REALLY bad with my young dreads, so much so that I would get up 2 hours earlier than I would normally to straighten them neat every day! Unneeded stress and a waste of time.

5) The no washing method - I used the no washing method for a fair while when my dreadlocks were young. I didn't use it because of the myth.. just because I didn't enjoy trying to wash waxy, residue'y dreads. Didn't take long for my head to get used to it and I'm certain someone in high school would have made fun of me if they smelled bad from not washing... the only thing I really noticed is that the roots and loose hairs really don't lock well when you don't wash your hair and it gets uncomfortable in the heat. Not exactly recommended.

6) No poo method - A few years ago the 'no poo' method was all the rage on a different dreadlocks forum so I gave that a go. Pretty much the same results as the no washing method really apart from it did feel nicer to have some form of washing there. No horrible side effects, just not all that great for promoting locking. Again, not all that recommended.

7) Palm rolling - Palm rolling in itself is not really a regret as nothing terrible comes of it... but in my case nothing really came of it at all, so I regret wasting hours and hours and hours doing it for no real reason.

8) Root flipping - I thought I'd invented this myself, but obviously most people figure out root flipping at some point. Temporarily tightened the roots in question but then I was left with split roots for a few months after.

9) Dread Rot - Dreads take a long time to dry... so why not let them dry while you sleep? right? I used to not own a hair dryer and I'd sleep with them wet and so all unpleasant things happen - dry your dreads!

10) No documentation! I regret not taking many pictures of my young dreads. I took like... 0 because... well.. I kinda hated the wax, residue filled things, but looking back it would have been really useful to have the pictures for one to show what some of these regretful things do to the hair and also to show that if you leave them alone long enough you can fix most problems.




A couple of other regrets that didn't get into the video... because I forgot:

11) Trimming loose hair - I used to try and trim my loose fringe hair because... well.. it was loose. Problem is, it grows back and then you're stuck with a silly, mini-fringe until it grows back out again.

12) Grid sectioning - I had a rigid grid-type sectioning with no brick-lay overlap that didn't look all that pleasant with young dreads. After years of congo-ing it's no longer an issue, but it would have helped to start out with a more irregular pattern if I had my time again.




Ok so plenty of regrets there... but luckily I've learned from all of them. Have you made any dreadlocks mistakes? anything you wish you hadn't done? something you'd like to go back and change?

Natural / Neglect / Freeform Dreadlocks

Natural / Neglect / Freeform Dreadlocks information. What are neglect dreadlocks? How do you start the neglect process? what are the pros and cons of neglect dreadlocks?




This method requires you to do nothing... nothing!. If you leave your hair along for long enough it will in fact form deadlocks. To use the neglect method successfully you simply need to stop brushing and conditioning your hair.




Pros:

This method will create completely 'natural' dreadlocks. Their appearance will differ from those attained by other methods because the hair will not be constrained to any predetermined root pattern.

This is obviously the cheapest method because you don't need to buy anything special or pay anyone to create the locks for you.

This method doesn't require any hair or scalp work so you will not experience the sore scalp that some of the other methods immediately result in.

This method doesn't require any products / no waxes or gels are required for this method




Cons:

This is in some ways the slowest method for attaining dreadlocks. While all methods will take 1 year+ to mature, Neglect dreads take a really long time before they even look like dreadlocks.

You have very little control over how they look. The other methods have a vary degree of control over how thick or thin the dreadlocks are because you create them from the root upwards and therefore the dreadlocks will always be as thick or as thin as the root pattern you used. In the case of neglect dreadlocks you are leaving them to their own devices and this can result in very uneven looking dreadlocks. You will have to periodically pull the matted sections of hair apart yourself in order to stop them forming one huge dreadlock, but that's about all the control you will have.

Starting Dreadlocks

Click the link to be taken speedily to the appropriate page.

• Considering Starting Dreadlocks?
• How To Prepare For Dreadlocks
• How To Start Dreadlocks
• Hair length for dreadlocks
• Salon vs Homemade Dreadlocks
• Dreadlocks Sectioning And Dreadlock Thickness
• Sectioned vs unsectioned dreadlocks
• Partial Dreads Information
• Elastic / rubber bands
• Best time of year to start dreadlocks
• How dreadlocks can affect activities
• Dread wax info
• International Dreadmakers Directory 

Dreadlock Residue

Everyone runs the risk of getting residue in their locks. Residue occurs when a small amount of soap or shampoo is left behind after washing your locks. This can happen if you're not thorough enough with your rinsing or if your shampoo isn't designed to completely rinse out thoroughly - a non-residue free shampoo.

In this video I talk about what residue is, how it comes about, how to spot the signs of a residue problem and what negative effects you can get from having a residue problem:

In this second video I talk about how to remove residue and how to avoid future residue problems:

And here is a quick link to the Deep Clean video which can be used to break down and rinse out residue:

Lint, Dust and Fluff in Locks.

Ok, so the sight of anything alien, such as grey fluff in a lock is going to pretty scary, but rest assured it's nothing life threatening.

Lint, dust and fluff are everywhere. You can pick it up off of clothes, hats, towels, pillows.... you get the idea. It can sit on your locks just as easily as it can sit on any other surface. Then, just like on your clothes or other surfaces, the lint will easily wash off. Lint only becomes a problem when it's combined with a residue problem, in which case the lint won't just wash off, it can stick to the lock, building up inside the lock, in the tip or under a loop.

If you notice a grey deposit of fluff in or on your lock, do not fear, it can be very easy to overreact and worry, especially since the fluff can sometimes appear to be filling the whole inside of a dreadlock. Since lint is really just a visible symptom of residue you will deal with it in the same way with a deep clean. Deep cleaning will help to break down and remove the residue that the dust sticks to and then soaking and squeezing will help dislodge and remove the lint. If you have a particularly bad case it will take more than one deep clean. Little bits that are left over can be picked out with a needle if necessary.

You can help avoid general dust and lint by taking such measures as wrapping your locks when you sleep, using a microfibre towel for drying them and not laying on fabric surfaces while they're damp.




Residue Video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i26lhsJJdM
Deep Clean Video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X782R85mFJE

Dreadlock F.A.Qs

I'll get some FAQs going and add to it overtime as I find the need to. There is a lot of bad information regarding dreadlocks. I believe this is due to the fact that they're not all that popular in mainstream culture and therefore the rumours can run wild without anyone actually having the knowledge/experience to set them straight.

What are Dreadlocks?
Dreadlocks in their various forums are made from matted hair. That is all there is to it, hair that has knotted up so much that it has matted itself into tube-like ropes. Matted ropes of hair have been grown for a variety of different reasons by many different cultures around the world and throughout history. Given enough time all hair will matt together and so if it were not for hairbrushes everyone's hair would lock up. While matted / locked hair has been around as long as people with hair have been around, the term dreadlocks is much more recent and originates from a very unpleasant period of human history but has since become a generic term for all matted hair.

How are they formed?
If you refrain from brushing and conditioning your hair for long enough - dreadlocks will form. As the hairs rub past each other they form knots. Over time as more and more knots form, the hair will begin to become matted together. It takes a long time for this process to occur, usually 1-2 years for the hair to become fully matted and once this has happened, the dreads will take care of themselves, automatically matting the new hair as it grows from the roots. That's all there is to it. The various methods for starting dreadlocks merely control how thick the dreadlocks will be and where they will grow from, it's the time - not any products or maintenance that will cause the dreadlocks to fully form.

Are they made from real hair or extensions?
Well, as mentioned in the post above, they can definitely be made from real hair, despite the fact that many people think they are extensions. Similarly some people may have dreadlock-like extensions and other people may have dreadlock-like extensions attached to their dreadlocks!

Are they dirty? I heard you can't ever wash them... 

Some people believe that you cannot wash dreadlocks, which is ridiculous. Dreadlocks are only as dirty as the people who 'wear' them. You are freely able to wash your dreadlocks as little or as often as you like. It is in fact recommended to keep them clean as it helps accelerate the 'locking' process - greasy hair doesn't lock as well as clean hair. - remember the hair is locked together from being knotty, not from being dirty!

Do you have to shave your head to get rid of them?
Nope, I've helped remove a set of dreadlocks that were 2 years old. It takes time and patience but I successfully removed them leaving a full head of hair, I'll be making an in depth post on dreadlock removal in the future.

How long do they take? can't I just go to the salon?
Yes there are many methods offered at hair salons but they only give the impression of dreadlocks sooner. It will take 1 year+ before the hair properly begins to lock up. So while the hair salon might be able to create a dreadlock-like effect it's still going to take a long while before they start to mature. See my post on Starting Dreadlocks for more information.

What's all this I hear about Dreadlock Wax?
See my 'Why Is Wax Bad' post

How do I tighten my roots and/or tips?
See my Roots and Tips post

Loose hair?
See my Loose Hair post

Aren't dreadlocks full of lice and/or bugs?

I don't know who came up with this one but it's probably one of the most ridiculous misconceptions I've head about dreadlocks. Unless you are bound by some pre-written religious rules - dreadlocks are a choice. No one forces people to get dreadlocks, people take on dreadlocks for a different reason and because they want them. Do you seriously think that anyone would put up with a head full of bugs and lice just so they could have dreadlocks? no. If dreadlocks had things living inside of them I'd have never started them and you can be damn sure I'd not keep them. The people who spread this rumour have obviously never actually touched any real dreadlocks, because they'd pretty soon realise that they aren't hollow or honeycomb - they are fairly solid. You're going to struggle to fit anything in there anyhow.

Can I swim with dreadlocks?
See my activities post

Will dreadlocks inhibit me from any activites?
See the activities post

Can I shower without washing my hair?

Yuuup! read my showering without washing dreads post.