How to Lock Your Hair Faster

Lock your hair for a stylish, easy-to-care-for look.

Locking hair into dreadlocks is an ancient tradition reaching back before the ancient Egyptians. Dreadlocks are made by tightly knotting and forming hair into a long, snake-like roll. The Rastamen in Jamaica made the style socially popular recently, and there are dozens of ways to lock hair.

Things You'll Need

• Fine metal comb
• Residue-free shampoo
• Rubber bands
• Dread wax
• Crochet hook (0.6 or 0.75)
• Butterfly clips

Instructions

1. Wash your hair and let it air dry.

2. Plan the layout of the dreadlocks before sectioning your hair. Decide if you want a part, and if so, where on your head it will be.

3. Section your hair in approximately 1-inch sections. Use rubber bands to hold the sections. Start with a chunk of hair in the back of your head and feel the texture of the clump at the center of the strand. Your initial dread will feel a little thicker than this when completed. Make your sections not only by measurement, but also by feel.

4. Make a practice lock at the back of your head to get the hang of it. Remove the rubber band and back comb or tease your hair with the metal comb. Tease only about 1/2 inch at a time, pushing the knotted hair toward the scalp. Continue to tease that section all the way out to the end. Place a rubber band at the base of the dread to hold it in place.

5. Dip the back of one of your fingers into the wax and take a little ball in the palm of your hand. Rub both hands together to warm the wax and then rub your hands together on the teased hair to form a long, fat roll or dreadlock.

6. Use the crochet hook to pull the loose ends of hair at the outermost end of the dread back into the dread, which will anchor them in place. Alternatively, attach a small rubber band to the end of the dread.

7. Start at the top of your head after making a sample dread in back, and continue to create similar dreadlocks around your entire head.

Tips & Warnings

• Some people say it's better to wash your hair right before putting in locks and others say to wait a few days. Try it both ways to see what works best for your hair type.

• Don't wash your hair for at least a week after locking it. Sleep with a nightcap to protect the rolls and keep them from unraveling.

• Wax your new dreads about once a week initially. After a month, cut back until you are waxing only every three months by the beginning of your second year.

• Wash your dreadlocks once a week to better maintain them and keep them clean.

• Unless you are very patient, you may have to cut your hair off if you decide you no longer want dreadlocks. If you are patient, you can soak them out using hair conditioners and a wide-tooth comb.

References

• Dreadlocks: Dreadlocks History