Dreadlocks and Balding

Few things scare dreadheads more than the thought of hair loss. In this video I cover some of the leading causes for hair loss among dreadheads, the symptoms and what can be done about it.

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.

Thinning Dreadlock Roots

Are the roots of your dreadlocks seeming a little thin? Are your dreadlocks growing thinner over time?

Normal deadlock roots themselves are going to be thinner than some might expect. The roots are going to just be normal, straight hair and it's surprising how thin those loose hairs may seem when compared to the thick rope-like dreadlock that grows out of them. So most of the time with young dreads, what may at first appear to be thinning roots is likely just to be undreaded loose root hair that's not matured tight yet.

There are two main causes for roots to actually thin out overtime resulting in the dreadlocks growing thinner and thinner over time and these are:

General hair thinning / hair lose.

It's no secret that as you get older your hair will thin, guys especially. The hair already in your dreadlocks will stay in your dreadlocks but as the hair on your head thins out, so will the roots of your dreadlock resulting in the dreadlocks becoming thinner overtime. Unfortunately there is no cure for baldness at this time so if you are losing your hair... your dreadlocks are going to thin.

The other cause of root thinning is excessive root maintenance. Working on your roots runs the risk of damaging hairs there. Any hairs that you damage are going to no longer be a part of that dreadlock and although they will continue to grow and will likely rejoin the dread again once they're long enough, the dreadlock will be permanently weaker at the maintained point. It's unlikely you'll notice much damage at the time, but since dreadlocks are a long term commitment and you usually have them for years at a time, those breakages can add up leading to thinned roots and dreads.

If you're experiencing thinning roots from maintenance I would advice to stop the maintenance - at the least reduce the frequency and take more time and exercise more caution to help avoid breakages. Try to keep the root hairs strong and healthy and not dry - this may mean avoiding salt water spray (which I don't recommend getting on your scalp anyway) and bleaching the roots. Changes in diet can also promote healthy hair growth.