How Would I Restart My Dreadlocks?

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? 

My 95 Month Dreadlocks Update!

Greetings! Salutations! Hello!

Welcome to my 95 months of dreadlocks update! Checking out some of the changes over the past month of having my dreadlocks!

Considering Starting Dreadlocks?

Thinking about starting dreadlocks but still trying to decide whether they are right for you? Check out the pros & cons here!

My 94 Month Dreadlocks Update!

Dreadlocks update for month 94!

94 months into my dreadlocks journey, checking in for a quick update on what's been going on over the last month.

Why Start A Dreadlocks Timeline?

\

Today I want to talk about a tool which I think can be invaluable when you’re starting out and that’s maintaining a dreadlocks timeline. I’m sure many of you already have a timeline of some description, but I just want to talk about why I personally feel that it’s one of the best things you can do for yourself and your hair - especially during the early weeks and months.

International Dreadmakers Directory - Available Now!

The international dreadmakers directory is live and available now! - what is the international dreadmakers directory? ... well it's a list of dreadmakers ... and it's international! 

You can view the directory through the following link:

http://www.lazydreads.com/2014/11/international-dreadmakers-directory.html

Using the directory you will be able to search out people to help start your dreadlocks (should you need it!).

If you are a dreadmaker and you'd like to add your details to the directory - you can! All you have to do is email the following info:

Name:

Location:

Methods used:

Since: 

Website/Page link: 

Other contact details: 

to Lazydreads@live.co.uk

My Hair Before Dreadlocks

One of my most requested videos - what was my hair like before I had dreadlocks? - lets find out.

Crochet Risks? + More! (Dreadlocks Q&A #42)

Episode #42 of my long running dreadlocks question & answer series, where I answer YOUR questions!

DarkestHoursxxo

Question: What method did you use when you started dreading your hair? 

Holly Bright

QUESTION: I have a month old dreads. I used the twist and rip method, back combed over the top then crocheted. I also put extensions in but when ever I wash my hair the link, which is fairly tight, gets loose and starts to come out, along with my natural hair. I want to wash them but have been avoiding so for this reason. My dreads aren't as loose as I'm making it out to be. They are just a pain in the bum. 

Garrett Smith

QUESTION: i have had dreads for 8 months, and i have a few lumps and loops. will palm rolling help get these out? i read your blog, so i know that you personally dont use wax, but will it help with the lumps to use the wax? thanx. awesome channel.

Maisiesquire999

Question: my dreads seem to be tightening everywhere except the roots, i hav about 3inchs of normal hair until the actual dread starts on some of them ! is there anyway i can encourage my roots to dread up ?? - ur vidz r amazin :P

Sayuri Mei Murasaki

How does a crochet hook damage dreads? 

Twist & Rip Dreadlocks Information

Twist and rip, rip and twist, twist and pull, twist and tear... it goes by many names and despite the name, there is no ripping or tearing in involved (thankfully). Twist and rip (or T&R) is becoming one of the most popular methods for starting dreadlocks. It's low on cost, low on difficulty and low on damage to the hair.

Dreadlocks - Salon Vs Homemade

There is a choice that every would-be dreadhead has to make - are they going to get a professional start their dreads, or are they going to do it themselves? Arguments can be made for both sides as there are pros and cons to both options.

The most popular dreadlocking methods - backcomb and twist & rip are both relatively simple, it only takes an evening of watching youtube demonstrations and before you know it you'll be able to make dreadlocks. This makes it possible for pretty much anyone to make dreadlocks on anyone and paves the way for the homemade dreadlocks!

The most obvious benefit to DIY dreads is that it's quite a lot less expensive than those made by a professional. It'll only set you back the cost of a friend or two's weekend.... which is roughly the price of a couple of take out pizzas! and maybe a little extra for a backcomb brush - not exactly break-the-bank sums.

With DIY dreadlocks you also have complete control - you choose the methods, whether any products are used, whether any tools are used and how long you work on it at a time. You're also learning a new skill that you can help you if you need to redo your dreadlocks - or create them on friends!

DIY dreadlocks can also be considered more personal as you and your friends created them and you will always have the memory of the time spent making them intertwined with the dreads.

The downsides of DIY dreads is that while the starting methods are relatively simple, there is still a skill to it. The dreadlocks you make first won't look as good as the last ones you make - you'll have learned and improved your technique - not everyone is that happy to be the guinea pig for their friends to learn how to dreadlock on.

This leads me onto salon/professional dreadlocks. A dreadlock professional is someone who has created dreadlocks before, they've got the skills, the technique and the knowledge. They'll be able to create consistent dreadlocks without the trial and error and also have advice on care and maintenance. They may also be able to help you if you need any physical maintenance in the future.

The downsides to pro dreads are: well the big one is the cost. Dreadlocks can take a full day of work to create and that time is not cheap as it's intensive work. The costs will vary depending on who's doing the work but it's a lot more than DIY lets put it that way.

Salons also often get a bad reputation because many will often heavily promote wax use. When you pay a lot of money for dreadlocks.... some people expect them to be instant and when it turns out that dreadlocks actually take months of patience regardless of the starting method.. well then some people might go and complain to the salon that they're not happy with how their young dreadlocks look! So many salons will use wax to help avoid this resulting in more "together" dreadlocks at the start but often leading to negative effects further down the line. - I do not recommend wax use.

My advice is to fully research whoever is going to make your dreads - check out their website if they have one or facebook page, check out the methods they're going to use, whether they use tools or products and make sure you know exactly what they're going to do to your hair and only proceed if you're 100% happy with what they're going to do.

An important thing to remember is that all this is about STARTING the dreadlocks! Either way they're still going to require months of patience and after they've matured it'll be very difficult to tell whether you or a pro started them (depending on the method and techniques used) so it really comes down to how you want them started.

Dreadlocks - Sectioned Vs Unsectioned Dreads

A common question is - what are the benefits of sectioning your hair before starting dreadlocks. This question is often asked after someone has started their dreadlocks...

What usually happens is this: Someone decides they'd like dreadlocks, they get excited about dreadlocks, they do a little research about dreadlocks and learn how to make them, they create one test dreadlock just to see whether it works... then they create another and another and before they know it, they've got a whole head! Creating dreadlocks is fun and addictive, so once you've started, it's hard to stop. The problem that then arises is that spontaneous dreadlocks are rarely ever sectioned. Sectioning is boring and creating dreadlocks is fun... so.

Anyway, after a little time the differences between sectioned and unsectioned dreadlocks start to become apparent, leading the people with unsectioned dreadlocks to worry and wonder whether they've done the right thing. So I'm going to go through the main differences between sectioned and unsectioned dreadlocks.

First a quick introduction to sectioning for those who don't know what I'm talking about. Sectioning is when you well.. section off the hair into... sections for creating dreadlocks. What this basically means is you carve up the scalp into (usually) squares and these squares of hair are what go on to form the dreadlock, they become the root of the dreadlock you're forming. Sectioning can either be done one at a time - create a square section, create a dreadlock, repeat. Or all at once by creating a whole head of sections, held with elastic bands and then going back to create the dreadlocks.

So what are the benefits of sectioning? Sectioning allows you to decide where the roots are going to go and therefore decide where the dreadlocks are going to go - you can position the dreadlocks wherever you like. You can also decide how large the sections are going to be and therefore you have some control over the thickness of the dreadlocks. If you do not section, you do not have quite as much control - you still have more control than you would with the natural/neglect/freeform method, because of course you still choose which lumps of hair you're going to create the dreadlocks from, but it's not as accurate as having sectioned first. Some people might prefer the more randomised nature of non-sectioned dreadlocks.

The main problem with not sectioning is that the young dreadlocks are far more prone to congoing/fusing/merging together. When you section the hair you scoop up all the hairs that grow in one particular section and form them into a dreadlock. A perfectly sectioned head would have every single hair neatly stored away in it's correct section - which would be underneath the dreadlock that it should grow into. If you don't section you can end up with very strange sized roots that can overlap. One dreadlock might be pulling in hairs that really should be growing into it's neighbour dreadlock. There can also be little patches of hair that have not been included into a dreadlock at all! All these non-sectioned roots can greatly increase the chance that the dreadlocks will start to stick together at the roots. Now let me say that sectioning, even perfect sectioning is by no means a guarantee that the dreadlocks won't stick together, but it really, really helps.

So if you have unsectioned dreadlocks, is it recommended to take them out and start over sectioned? I would recommend starting over if you are unhappy with the size or positioning of the dreadlock or if you have a low pain threshold (I'll come back to that). Dreadlocks take a long time to start and to then spend all the time required to take them out, section and restart is only worth it if you are unhappy with the fundamental layout of the dreadlocks. Having unsectioned dreadlocks will mean that more separating is required, now this involves taking dreadlocks and pulling them in opposite directions to stop them sticking together - this can be quite painful. Once you've separated them enough you'll have split the dreadlocks right down to the roots and they'll grow the same as sectioned dreadlocks - so it really comes down to how much extra separating you can really deal with.

My recommendation is to section whenever possible. Any measures that can reduce the amount of separating you have to do to young dreadlocks is a bonus in my book. There are no rules that state you have to make the sections neat and uniform, you can make them as different as you like to still achieve a random, disorganised look, but while still saving yourself some of the stress involved from unsectioned dreadlocks.

Lazydreads - Frequently Asked Questions

My 100th video! Answering some of my most frequently asked questions:

1) How old were you when you started your dreadlocks?

2) What method was used when you started your dreadlocks?

3) Who started your dreadlocks?

4) How many dreadlocks do you have?

5) How did your family/friends/school react?

6) Can you show your hair tied back?

7) What soap do you use?

8) Will you ever dreadlock your beard?

9) Do you ever think about removing your dreadlocks?

10) Will you ever remove your dreadlocks?

Dreadlocks - Best Time Of Year To Start Dreads?

Okei, so when is the best time of year to start getting knotty?

Considering Dreadlocks Video

Maintaining Dreadlocks

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

• The best Dreadlocks advice
• Dreadlocks maintenance
• Palm rolling
• Crochet hooks?
• Wool rubbing
• Clockwise root rubbing
• Tip rubbing - tip blunting
• Dreadballing
• Sea Salt Spray
• New Growth
• Beads and decorations info
• Loose hair, loose roots, loose tips
• Lumps, bumps, loops and shrinkage
• Flat Dreadlocks
• Conjoined / congo Dreadlocks
• Dreadlocks sticking together at the root
• Lint, dust and fluff
• Dreadlock residue
• Mold/ Dreadrot
• Trimming Dreadlocks
• Thinning Roots
• Elastic bands
• Why wax is bad for Dreadlocks
• My dreadlocks regrets
• International Dreadmakers Directory 

Preparing for Dreadlocks

If you're contemplating dreadlocks then you'll want to take a look at my article: "Things to consider before starting Dreadlocks". After that you'll want to choose your dreadlock starting method, the most popular being backcomb, twist and rip or neglect. I have info on that in my "Starting Dreadlocks" article. But if you've already decided you want dreads you've decided on your starting method, then you'll want to get your hair in a dread-ready state and have a few essential items ready for when your head gets dready.

Getting your hair ready:

Now for dreadlocks to properly start to form you're obviously going to need hair! The longer, the better! If you're going to use the neglect method, it doesn't really matter how much hair you have, you just need to stop combing and it'll dread as it grows out, but for the other two methods: backcombing and twist & rip it really helps to have a good length of hair. I would recommend having around 5-6 inches or longer, I know it's possible to start dreads with shorter hair than that but: they're more likely to unravel faster, they're going to be very short after shrinkage and also you have less control over the dreadlock thickness as shorter hair can only really be locked into fairly small sections. So ideally I'd recommend growing your hair out to atleast 5-6 inches.

Ok, so you've got the hair length, next thing you need to do is change up your hair washing routine. Dreadlocks form best in clean hair as greasy hair inhibits locking (greasy hairs slip past each other, whereas clean hair knots up). You're going to want to relax how often you wash your hair to prepare your scalp. Dreadlocks are usually washed at least once a week, some wash them a little less often, some a little more often, it really depends on where you live and how active you are. I personally wash mine every 2-3 days. You want to slowly ease into washing your hair using the new routine so your scalp gets used to it. If you go straight from washing the hair every day to washing once a week, you're really going to feel it and you'll get an itchy scalp because your head will still be producing oils at the rate required to keep your head healthy for daily washing! You can still shower every day, like you can with dreadlocks, but just don't wash your hair every day - use a shower cap over your hair, or a plastic bag. I just use a t-shirt tied over my dreads and lower the shower head when I want to shower while keeping my hair dry.

Around 2 weeks before you start your dreads you're going to want to change what you actually wash your hair with. Cut out the conditioner and get a residue free shampoo. Conditioners kill knots and therefore are really bad for dreadlocks. Freshly conditioned soft hair won't dread as well and will be more likely to come loose. Starting with the residue free dreadlock shampoo as early as possible will make sure your hair is in a good dread-ready state and get your hair and scalp used to the shampoo. N.B: If you're going to be using the backcombing method for starting your dreads you will want to keep brushing your hair normally up until the day you start the dreadlocks.

Getting yourself ready for dreads:

Even if you've gotten your hair ready you still need to get yourself prepared. The day you start your dreads using backcombing or T&R is going to be a long one. It can take anywhere between 3-7 hours to section off and backcomb or T&R a head of hair, it depends on your hair length, the experience of the person doing the work and how big your sections are. So you'll maybe want to get a book or two ready or some movies. Also get stocked up on food and drink for you and whoever is helping you with the dreads so you don't have to go out to shop with half a head of dreads! I would recommend maybe having some headache tablets at the ready because it can be quite painful having someone pull at your scalp for 3-7 hours and it can leave your scalp sore for a day or two afterwards. You will also need to be prepared for the attention you're going to receive with new dreads. People are going to notice you, look at you and your hair and maybe even come and ask you questions about them. When dreads are new they can really stand out, it's normal for freshly backcombed dreads to really stick up and give you a Sideshow-Bob look. Also be prepared for them to look messy for a few months before they start to mature!

Things to have ready:

Ok, here is a list of things you should already have before you start your dreadlocks.

• Residue-free soap / shampoo
• Microfiber towel / a towel for drying your dreads that won't flake into your hair
• Hair dryer

Optional:

• Dreadlock tam
• Backcombing brush (if you're going to use the backcombing method yourself)
• Bicarbonate of soda / baking soda
• Headband(s)
• Sea salt
• Lemon juice

Things To Consider Before Starting Dreadlocks

I thought it was necessary to create a post with a little bit of information that could be important for you before you start. If you're on the fence, this should help you decide.

Dreadlocks, to begin with, can be a lot of work. They're going to do what they want to do and if you try and fight them, well... good luck with that. I'll elaborate - every set of dreadlocks is different, you can get dreadlocks, but you cannot get dreadlocks identical to a musicians, celebrities or friends set. It's just not possible. Everyone has different coloured hair, different thickness, curly, straight etc etc. You have some control over how fat they're going to become if you start with a method other than the neglect method. (If you go neglect then the only thing you can do as far as shaping them is ripping the strands apart to stop huge dreads forming). So, you know you don't have as much control over them as 'normal' hairstyles, as they're going to lock and grow however gravity and various frictions deem fitting.

After you've started they are going to be MESSY. 'Tidy' tight dreadlocks take time to acquire and I mean TIME. On average you're going to be looking at an easy 1 year+ before the locks start to mature and knot/lock up by themselves. The only thing I can recommend here is to grit your teeth and bear it. You can wear hats, use headbands or tie them back (if they're long enough), but you won't be able to escape the fact that you've got loose hairs, tips and roots and that there isn't a huge amount you can do about it. See my Loose Hair, Roots and Tips post for more information on this. So yes for the first year to year and half you're going to have a bit of a birds nest / rats tails, BUT once they start to mature and lock up, well then you can relax a little because your patience will have paid off and they will only continue to mature and tighten more and more!

They take a long time to dry. Each dread is like a little sponge and so they soak up water and cleaning them will involve squeezing them out and drying will also require more of this. The dry time is also obviously much longer than with normal hair. How long depends on the thickness, length and maturity of the dreads. More on washing and drying HERE.

Dreadlocks can also affect some hobbies and activities. More info on that HERE.

But..... dreadlocks really are a get up and go hair style, the extra time lost in washing and drying is more than clawed back when you consider the hair doesn't need brushing, straightening, conditioning.... you get out of bed in the morning and it's good to go. When they're young and messy you can just tie them up (if they're long enough you can tie them back with themselves!) and get on with your day.

Dreadlocks are a fun process, there are active online communities full of like minded dreadlocked people. Unlike with most things you do to your hair dreadlocks don't wash out and once they've gotten going they just get better and better, so you can make picture timelines and really see how they're progressing, getting stronger and longer.

Once you've got dreads they're cheaper than 'most' other hair styles. You buy just one shampoo or soap or bicarb... or whatever you choose to wash with and that's pretty much it. No expensive shampoo and conditioner combos. No expensive trips to the hair salon etc. Once the dreadlocks are left to mature they will do their own roots and tips and will lock in the loose hair by themselves, completely free.

Also, to set your mind at ease - dreadlocks don't attract bugs like some myths would suggest. They aren't inherently dirty (they're as clean as you make them). You CAN remove them without shaving your head.

Other things to consider are the various negative and usually false stereotypes that accompany dreadlocks which get tiresome: No I'm not homeless, I probably wash my hair more often than most, I definitely shower as often as anyone else, I don't listen to reggae, I'm not a stoner, I'm not uneducated - working towards a Physics degree, etc etc, you get the picture.

Still interested?! continue onwards to the Starting Dreadlocks section to choose the method of starting dreadlocks that suits you best and the Preparing for dreads section to get your head and hair ready for dreads!