How to care for dreadlocks?

Washing: Quite a controversial issue – dreads are often associated with dirt which is a myth unless their owner really doesn’t care about personal hygiene. How often you wash your hair depends on you only. After making dreads it is recommended to wait with hair washing for about a one -two weeks, however it is optional. You should really wait with first washing as the process of arrangement of dreads and their gradual expansion take time. If you treat dreads as your dream hairstyle, don’t torture yourself – wash them. This is what I always say to my customers. Of course we all know it is better not to wash your hair on the following day, it is better to wait a while until the hair in the dreads curls up and gets used to the new hairstyle. If your hair is not very stiff you may try to wash it after 2-3 weeks. For new dread owners the worst part is to get used to rare washing and to make the head skin get used to dreads. I don’t recommend hair washing every day as then hair escapes from the dreads and they soon become „hay” and has to be curled into dreads again. It is best to wash your hair every 1 – 4 weeks initially and after several months skin on your head gets used and hair stops to get greasy. An agent with which we wash our dreads is also important. In general the best shampoo for each type of dreads is shampoo for children – it doesn’t contain any additives – and this is what we want. Hair in dreads is not shiny as in shampoo tv commercials. The more matt they are the better they stick to each other and create a prettier dread. You can also washing hair with mere soap. I doesn’t have to be any special soap. I use soap in bar – it foams very well and after washing, hair is coarse which makes dreading it easier. Remember to rinse the soap carefully. Soap is not recommended to people with very sensitive skin due to a possibility of occurrence of dandruff – soap dries not only the hair but also the skin. Shampoos for dreads – they are an interesting alternative however except for the price they do not differ much from shampoos for children. 

 

Drying: An important issue related to hair washing is an absolute prohibition of drying dreads with a hairdryer – hot air makes hair come out of a dread – and hair becomes more shaggy then normally. Drying should be slow, it is best to squeeze the dreads against a towel and wait patiently until they get dry. It is not recommended to wash dreads in the evening as during the night wet dreads get flat under the weight of one’s head. Flattening of dreads is a natural process however it occurs after many years of growing dreads without proper care (curling up).

 

Dundruff: Occurrence of dandruff is a natural reaction of head skin to irritation. Usually after a while it should disappear. If not you should buy special anti-dandruff shampoo like Nizoral to solve the problem.

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Itchy/dry scalp: I recommend to use: Tea tree oil, Argan Oil, Avocado Oil or Chamomile Oil. Best to apply with a homemade spray bottle.