how to dread naturally

How to dread hair naturally

Dreading hair naturally is easy as can be. However some tips will make your natural dreadlocks journey easier and faster.

Dreading hair naturally tips:

  • Clean hair dreads best– wash your hair often but not every day. use a non residue dread friendly shampoo or the baking soda deep cleanse, and wash at least weekly, at most every 2 days.
  • Dry hair dreads best– dry hair dreads faster, however african hair gets brittle if too dry so should be moisturized throughout the process, other hair types it helps to reduce oiliness and dry the hair out somewhat, sea salt sprays and soaks can help. baking soda without acv afterwards will slowly make oily hair less oily, also, washing slightly less often will also reduce oiliness slowly.
  • Longer hair dreads best– if hairs too short it is harder to hold in knots, (african textured hair however will dread short) the longer the hair the faster it can dread typically, but longer hair also shrinks more, and may try to congo more as it dreads.
  • let it dread don’t make it dread– try not to play with it much, don’t twist roll or mess with it. when washing, if you use shampoo just scrub the scalp ignoring the hair. if you use the baking soda soak dont scrub. when drying shake it out and air dry.

 

Phases of hair dreading naturally

When hairs allowed to dread naturally it goes through fairly predictable stages.

  1. Sectioning stage: the hair separates into sections, groups of hair begin to cling together in groups typically this happens within days to a couple weeks of stopping combing.
  2. baby dread formation stage: the sections begin to get tangled and knot, loose knots but still the sections are held together by many knots forming baby dreads. This can begin in days, but more often in weeks, sometimes it can take longer.
  3. Looping wild teenager stage: the dreads will get loops, bumps, kinks, and change dramatically day by day. this stage is fun and exciting if you dont worry about your teen dreads misbehavior. this is the stage where they develop personalities that make them unique, typically in the 3-8 month stage.
  4. shrinking stage: as loops become tighter the dreads shrink drastically, longer hair can shrink from hips, to ears, shorter hair will lose about 1/2 the length typically or more.this is also the tightening stage leading to maturity
  5. mature stage: they change less noticeably over time
  6. growing stage: once mature they will begin to grow, slow until fully mature then faster.

Natural dreading dos and don’ts

do wash them

don’t force them

do enjoy the journey

don’t worry

optional seperate as needed to prevent congos (dreads combining)

tips sea salt sprays and soaks help sea water is 3.5% salt content. don not leave it on too long, it only needs to be in the hair 10 minutes to 2 hours  then can be rinsed out, any longer and you over dry the hair and scalp.

Wool  tams, wool sweaters or blankets put over your pillow will help encourage knotting.

feel free to post questions in the comments.

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1,378 Responses to how to dread naturally

  1. DeJuan Cole says:

    When it said do not comb, can i still pic my hair out? Or not

  2. roger says:

    It’s winter, and I was reading the comments and you suggested blow drying the hair, does it matter which direction I blow dry it?

  3. branbranv says:

    What do I do to my hair in the morning? I usually wet it and style it but i’m not sure if that’s messing up the freeform. I have a afro and it’s starting to loc. Im a boy btw

    • soaringeagle says:

      shake it out if anything wet it if u want don’t style it just let it be
      the more they are left loose the better
      once mature u can style as much as u want..till when ur really need to for as short a time as u have to

  4. Jamar says:

    Why do you prefer free form dreads over salon made dreads? Are free form dreads better than salon made dreads? Just curious.

    • soaringeagle says:

      extremely
      salons use extremely damaging methods to create dreads instantly
      then they do excessive maintenance that causes balding and a ton of other extreme issues
      literally everything they do is wrong and les then 1% globally has any ethics at all
      some use wax crochet interlocking and 1 even used liquid latex
      freeform dreads, or close to it (twist and rip then not maintained excessively) are healthy as can be
      salon dreads can also cost up to 30 thousand dollars in creartion and maintenance by the time your balding and realizing your mistake
      1 member of dredlockssite even had 10 grand in medical bills caused by salon abuses
      wax causing infected breakouts requiring surgeries
      literally every problem people have with dreads is caused by what they do,not by what they don’t do
      so leaving them alone to dread on their own is problem free
      plus freeform look real salon look fake and manufactured
      no personality no uniqueness

  5. Jamar Lee says:

    Why do you choose free form dreads over salon made dreads? Are free form dreads better than salon made dreads? Just curious.

    • soaringeagle says:

      extremely
      salons use extremely damaging methods to create dreads instantly
      then they do excessive maintenance that causes balding and a ton of other extreme issues
      literally everything they do is wrong and les then 1% globally has any ethics at all
      some use wax crochet interlocking and 1 even used liquid latex
      freeform dreads, or close to it (twist and rip then not maintained excessively) are healthy as can be
      salon dreads can also cost up to 30 thousand dollars in creartion and maintenance by the time your balding and realizing your mistake
      1 member of dredlockssite even had 10 grand in medical bills caused by salon abuses
      wax causing infected breakouts requiring surgeries
      literally every problem people have with dreads is caused by what they do,not by what they don’t do
      so leaving them alone to dread on their own is problem free
      plus freeform look real salon look fake and manufactured
      no personality no uniqueness

  6. Chrispaulo says:

    Hey soaring eagle! I had just started my journey and I understand the do”s and the don’t for going natural, though my work requires my to wear a hair net for 12 hours straight… I could probably take it off for an hour on my break bt that’s about it! Would this affect the dreading process??

    • soaringeagle says:

      somewhat yes but if its looser so the hair can move within it its best

      • chrispaulo says:

        thanks! i made my own hair net for work so that my hair has more room to move around in now,
        i got a question about drying…my hair is straight-wavyish down to shoulder length and I’ve been taking all my hair and wringing it to dry it faster and i use a towel to rub it in between my palms and after that i wrap it all up in a t shirt for about 10 minutes then i let air dry..
        is this method a bit rough?? I’ve read on some posts that people dab the towel instead of rubbing cause it might undo the process??
        sorry for the late reply and noob questions but I’m only about 17 days of no combing and i was actually about to go get it back-combed until i came across this site.. hopefully you get this reply and get back to me!!

        • soaringeagle says:

          stop using the towel altogether
          shake it out, then air dry ..with winter here blow dry gently not too hot not too long moving it around quickly..do short bursts instead of all at once…if able
          a towel can erase 3 months progress in a few minutes

  7. karan says:

    How i can dread my haier naturally without making the use of shampo etc…tell me the proper procedure

    • soaringeagle says:

      why would you not want to use shampoo clean hair dreads fastest and best plus its ore hygienic
      just stop combing that’s all you need to do to dread..period
      but a good all natural dread shampoo is really highly recomended

    • soaringeagle says:

      ps sorry we weren’t sending emails oit right, just fixed it

  8. James says:

    Iv been reading like every comment,soaringeagle your a real badass getting back to everyones questions and everything your alot of help.but heres my question im a week in on my free form dread journey, im a white male with straight hair ita about 7 inches long.how should i dry my hair iv been drying it how you normally would, messily.and then i push it back because i would like it to go back.my hair is already joining ecother little by little im pumped.and i would hate for myself to fuck it up (,:

    • soaringeagle says:

      air dry and don’t touch
      when you towel dry 9 times out of 10 it might make it knottier, but that 1 time out of 10 might completely erase several months progress all at once
      so shake it out gently to get the excess water out then air dry (sun dry is by far best) drive with windows open ..if it winter and you must blow dry but gently and in short bursts so you don’t cause heat damage
      the less you touch it the better

  9. bRude says:

    How much for that Shampoo Eagle? Im after two months and nothing significant does happen.. 🙂 Greatings

    • soaringeagle says:

      bars 10 dollars (they are hefty and last long if you use a soap saver) liquid which helps (non African) hair dread a lot faster 15 bucks
      switch to the bars once mature or if you have african hair use the bas from day 1

      shippings flat rate you can get 4 liquid (i think) or bars (i think) in the same box for same shipping fees
      so its cost effective to get 6 months to a years supply at once..if your able

  10. Dego Alas says:

    HEY I READ THAT WOOL HELPS HAIR KNOT
    BUT AS A STRICT VEGAN THAT ISN’T A OPTION
    WILL HEMP PILLOW WORK AS GOOD?

    • soaringeagle says:

      wool helps not only cause of the texture but i think because of the lanolin content and perhaps also its static charge so no hemp won’t have the sme effect
      but its not needed at all

  11. Shibby says:

    Are the shampoos vegan?

    • soaringeagle says:

      yes 100% vegan and as ethical as they get

      • Shibby says:

        Got some, thanks. Hope it’ll help and how do I make sure they don’t “congo” bit worried I’ll get one giant mass. Also how long until they really become noticeable? Its been a few days already seeing knots without the shampoooooo.

        • soaringeagle says:

          separate by pulling any that are joining together apart, or any sections that form and start to knot too big
          if it dreads fast you will have to separate much more often
          i let mine congo at wi for years with as many as 6 thin ones becoming 1 thick 1 but never let them get over 1 inch thick
          when i get too much loose hair i switch from bars to liquid ..only 1 wash.. and get a dozen new dreads but also have to separate every single dread cause they all want to congo overnight just from washing with the liquid once
          if you find they are dreading too fast and you separating daily or even a few times a day then switch to the bars and it will be little slower but more managable

  12. Flower__child97 says:

    Hey I have waist length curly hair and I’m wanting to dread I stopped brushing and using conditioner and my hair dreads really easily. At the moment I am unable to get actual dread shampoo is there any alternative shampoo that I could use?

  13. Killymaloo says:

    Yo soaringeagle ✌?️
    I’ll be at 10 months in 2 weeks on my natural dreads journey ?(Eek! ) super stoked about it haha. Anyway really all I’ve ever done is stop brushing my hair, separate, and shampoo my hair with the baking soda mixture. They’ve turned out amazing if I do say so myself. Anyway when I started my hair was about to my waist. Now it’s at my shoulders and some are even shorter. Which I totally cool with! It’s all part of the journey. Though I am wondering if you know of any ways to promote growth and length? Or if I’m getting to the stage where they start growing? If I could post a pic I would but hey are pretty damn locked up now and all the loops are starting to flatten out on their own. What do ya think?

  14. Myles says:

    I have a problem of twisting my hair too often and it ends up breaking off or becoming little tiny wringlets from twisting too much. How can I stop twisting so much?

  15. Kayla S says:

    Hello! I started my dread journey on 10/12/2016
    My hair is more than shoulder length and I have very fine and somewhat wavey hair.
    I’m unsure of what shampoo to use. I purchased Organix Shampoo, Coconut Water from Walmart.
    I also have been washing my hair with Jason Pure Natural Long and Strong Jojoba Shampoo.
    I am washing my hair every 2-3 days and only washing my scalp. I have not used a brush or comb in my hair since I started. I feel a couple of little baby dreads forming. Am I using shampoo’s that are slowing down my process? Or do I just need to be more patient with the process and continue to let my hair do its thing? Also, you mentioned everyone dreads differently, which is understandable. The couple dreads I have felt forming are very thin, should I be worried about that or is my hair just doing its thing and doing it correctly?

    • soaringeagle says:

      well you had several questions there if i miss 1 ..ask again haha 1st you started a month ago that’s nothing they are definitely barely going to start in that time if at all
      but the shampoo jojoba is a very good conditioner ..that will prevent dreading both shampoos are no good
      www,dreadlockshampoo.com is by far bet liquid till mature then bars the liquid contains sea salt which will dry the hair out so it dreads much much much faster
      dreads tend to start off real tin and thicken as they shrink up
      don’t worry about thinness at least till they are mature, once you know how thick they will be when mature you can let some congo
      just switching shampoos will make a big difference though..but you do need a lot more time

      • Kayla says:

        Is there a specific shampoo from the website that will work better than the rest? Or are they all on about the same level?

        • soaringeagle says:

          all the liquids (except the detox which might not yet be up) encourage dreading like crazy. the diference scents are mostly just to preference although some like teatree rosemary help dandruff etc
          the bars are best for mature dreads or African hair or any other that tends to be very dry by nature
          the most feminines goddess but dragonsboods lovely too sweet but not overly feminine
          i love nag champa the most personaly but i use em all
          (except goddess though i know guys who have)

  16. gringo says:

    I use Ultra Doux for my hair, should i consider changing shampoo?

    • soaringeagle says:

      absolutely
      some people get away with using regular shampoos but its risky and pretty much all are designed to prevent the hair from dreading
      http://www.dreadlockshampoo.com is by far the best
      though theres some things to consider.. African type hair tends to be dry so the liquid shampoos have sea salt and dries out non African type hair so it dreads faster
      if your African ammerican use the bars from day 1, if not use the liquid till they are mature.
      if you are, the bars will almost eliminate the need for oils and such (if you wash often enough)
      Caucasian hair that tends to be dry you might want to get both liquid and bar use liquid when you want to speed dreading bar when the liquids dried the hair out too much

  17. xaviermc says:

    But I use light products like lime and mango lock gel

    • soaringeagle says:

      don’t use that! they contain plastics petroleum products and build up severely theres nothing in the mango lime line thatshould ever be used
      and yes many contain wax which as already explained is a scam and dread killer
      i would get the wax b gone and a couple of the dreadlockshampoo bars wash with those and use no gels no products nothing except shampoo to wash
      but you do need to remove that wax ..only 1% of waxed dreads ever survived past 3-4 years

  18. xaviermc says:

    Am 8months thru but still using dread wax is it okay

    • soaringeagle says:

      omg no! wax is a scam and the number1 dread killer you never ever wanted to use wax once
      you need wax b gone from http://www.dreadlockshampoo.com if you used wax for 8 months you might need 2 jars
      wax is evil stuff almost impossible to remove (before wax b gone)
      unfortunately you need more help so also join http://www.dreadlockssite.com post in the wax recovery forums with photos

    • soaringeagle says:

      sorry to tell you this but wax is so bad that 3 years ago before we had wax b gone i would have told you to comb them out and start over
      wax only fools you into thinking they are dreading by gluing the hairs together then hardening, but it doesn’t alow it to actually dread
      it traps water and dirt causing dread rot
      it never washes out (before wax b gone) 1 single use of wax would still be in there 10 years later
      look on dreadlockssite 5 years ago nearly 50% of all dreads were cut due to wax
      now luckily its only 1 oin every few hundred that fall for the wax scam
      but im betting a salon told you you needed it right
      call them and demand a full refund of every cent you ever paid them
      if they don’t know not to use wax by this day and age they have no business taking money from you

  19. Keegan says:

    Hey soaring eagle. so I was wondering how hats effect the progress? I literally just decided to start dreading so ive made virtually no progress so far but I almost always have a snapback on my head. Does wearing a hat hinder the dreading process at all?

    • soaringeagle says:

      very very much so
      1 friend always wore them too, 3 years in only had 4 weak dreads…
      he threw all his hats in the trash and in months the rest dreaded right up
      tight hats especially are bad .. tams you can wear at times but the more the hairs loose and free to move the better

  20. Omar says:

    I just started trying to dread my hair and every time that i wash my hair, the small knots come loose. I use head and shoulders. I really want dreads but i feel like everytime i wash my hair im starting the process all over.

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