How to Style Dreadlocks
With dreadlocks, a little maintenance goes a long way. Just a few minutes of care will keep your dreads looking clean and styled instead of ratty and dirty. Get rid of loose flyaway hairs, smooth and shine your dreads and experiment with fun styles that non-dreadheads could never achieve. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Shampoo your scalp once or twice a week, preferably with an all-natural dreadlock shampoo. Dreadlock shampoos are made to deal with issues that people with dreadlocks often have to deal with, like dandruff and a tight, itchy scalp. The essential oils will soothe your scalp. Just let the suds run over your dreads as you rinse--you don't have to work the shampoo into the dreads themselves.
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Skip the conditioner, which will cause new dreadlocks to slip out and can build up inside and create a sticky gunk.
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Grab any loose hairs that appear and roll them together in your fingers until they mat up. Stick them inside the base of the nearest dread. Repeat with all the other loose hairs. It will give your dreadlocks a cleaner look.
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Allow your dreadlocks to dry fully before applying wax. Use a blowdryer if necessary--you don't want the insides of your dreads to stay wet, which can cause funky smells and even mold growth.
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Take a small amount of all natural dreadlock wax into your hand and run it over each of your dreadlocks. Roll each dreadlock between your palms to work the wax in. It will condition them, give them some shine, pull in loose hairs and keep the locks together.
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Add style elements to your dreads to give them a little more personality. Get creative with this--you can use ribbon, dread bands, barrettes, beads, charms, or anything else you have around.
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Experiment with different ways to create new looks with your dreads. Often, with dreadlocks, you don't even have to use elastics to hold styles in place--just keep a few dreads loose to wrap around your up-do and tuck the ends inside. You can get even more creative for special occasions (see Resources below for ideas).
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Resources
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Comments
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pxl1723
Jul 11, 2009
I agree about the wax; it makes your locks feel like candles, and melts all over the place in hot weather, as well as helping seal in moisture. Wax is just something else for a hair product manufacturer to con people into buying. And dread shampoos aren't necessary; aside from being difficult to come by other than via the interwebs, they're usually more expensive than necessary and do very little a well-selected (regular) shampoo can't. If you have dandruff problems- get some Head N' Shoulders or something (Neutrogena also makes very good hair products, some of which have no artificial scents or perfumes if that's a factor for you). Dr Bronner's Magic Soap works very well if natural oils are a factor for you- try the Tea Tree Oil. -
noteworthybyjaz
Jan 28, 2009
This article is absolutely horrible. CONDITION!!! Your hair is dry, you need it. Feel free to use Daily Doctor Leave-In Conditioner. If not, use a moisturizing shampoo like Motions and occasionally get hot oil treatments. NEVER USE WAX!!! It promotes mildew, builds up, is heavy, and all together gross. If somebody suggests wax or tries using wax in your hair, they are a complete idiot and you should run. The pomade is applied while your hair is wet or dry (doesn't matter) and is used WHILE tightening the hair, not after. It is used to moisturize and hold it. For the record: Wax does NOT condition. It is the worst thing you could ever slather your hair with. use virgin olive oil or Daily Doctor leave in conditioner. You can always use oil sheen as long as it is alcohol free. Alcohol will dry your locs out.
