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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- mature stage: they change less noticeably over time
- 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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I want to have kinda messy (natural) dreads.
I’m a few days in but it looks tottally stupid/ugly.
Now, i ask myself if i could just let it seperate itself (about 5 days) and then i backcomb it, crotch it a little bit and leave it just unfinished/ messy looking.
Would this work? I want it to look kinda this:
https://www.dreadlockssite.com/gallery/image/gallery_image/32575/1280/_v=1325363329
(Sorry for the bad english!!!)
never ever ever use a crochet hook on dreads! ever! 1 use delays dreading by about 6 months and takes typically 3 years to recover from.
now the site you got that photo from is my main site http://www.dreadlockssite.com look on there and you’ll see all the horrors of crochet use.
it is also a photo that is totally natural and began exactly as yours began.
stop thinking of it as “looking stupid’ and start to see that this is the foundation, the birthing of the beautiful dreads to come.
if you did want to start them manually don’t backcomb, and definitely don’t crochet, just use twist and rip with only your fingers nothing else.,
but
if natural dreads are important to you, or become important to you in the future you are likely to start over just to have natural dreads.
you are in the beginning stages of natural dreading the baby forming stage this isn’t always pretty but it is always beautiful.
embrace it it won’t last forever
Thanks a lot for your answer!
Ok, i think i just let them the way they are.
I’m at day 3 now. When should i start to seperate them? (I don’t want to have congos)
Can i use wooden pearls to seperate them?
And they are also very little now. Not like on any photos of natural dreads. Is this due to my hair texture or will they get bigger (have a bigger diameter)?
separate as needed, but not before
wait till theres some knotting going on then separate enough to keep them from joining together. the section sizes at the scalp typically will be the dread sizes, what you see forming can be 4 times thicker when mature..or more
by pearls i think you mean beads/ yes you can but as dreads thicken they might get stuck
Thanks again.
Should i wash it with shampoo? Or water only?
shampoo but a dread shampoo http://www.dreadlockshampoo.com is the best!
liquid for most hair types till mature bars for African textured hair from beginning to end. other hair types when mature switch to the bars
What about backcombing?
Wouldn’t this save a lot of time?
not really since the 1st 4 months of backcombing progress is in reverse, loosening even falling apart entirely
now when you backcomb, even the gentle teasing done to get 80s style “big hair’ it permanently damages the cuticles, so they dont open and close in response to heat, ph, or moisture changes so they no longer protect your hair making it easier to damage further
im 95% of cases natural and backcombed end up about the same stage 5 months in after loosening a lot, but, you might also get stuck with that backcombed look too 9dont worry about speeding it up..theres no hurry its not a race)
but if your going to manually start thern use twist and rip not backcomb
hairs cuticles are usually smooth this is the permenant harm from even light backcombing..let alone the very aggressive backcombing done to dread
but in the featured discussions on dreadlockssite.com find 1 called pictures comparing different methods at different stages
i will also mention years ago we did a public poll with over 10000 sampled. most who started other methods wished they went natural, over 1/2 strongly enough to start over again. 2 out of the thousand who went natural said they wished they backcombed
plus you get so much more attached to them when you just let them develop on their own
we have had a couple hundred who would twist and rip 1 dread a day till they got their 1st natural dread then stop ..and even if it was just 3 or 4 wish they hadn’t done them
you’ll see when your 1st dread appears how happy it will make you.. sure having your hair pulled on for 8 hours you maybe happy with the results aftert but .. well these are very real comparisons on experiences
backcomber day 1 excited happy even though dreeads are stickinmg up like antenea
natural day 1 excited to throw away the comb and see what happens
backcomber days 2- week 2 panic over loose hairs panic over frizz worry somethings wrong if 1 isnt poerfectly round or got looser
natural overjoyed to see how beautifuly its sextioninbg maybe even happy to see some first knotting
backcomber week 1-3 omg my roots are loose my tips are loose they aswre so frizzy theres loose hairs everywhere i need to do something to fix this
natural week 1-3 tangles tangles tangles and a few new dreads yippy
backcomber week 3 – month 3 they just get looser everytime i wash but i itch if i dont they are falling apart the roots are so loose what did i do wrong theres crazy loops everywehere i ned to crochet or wax or go to a salon to fix this
natural week 3- month 3 oh wow i am getting my 1st loops already they are sop beautiful i love them still alot of loose hairs but seeing progres every day
do i need to gop on from there?
backcombers start to panic right from the start about all the things the natural dreader finds so exciting cause its a sign of progress
why panic when you can just let things happen and be amazed by the process
Ok,
Now i only got 2 more questions before i’ll stop asking you stupid questions
1st: If i would use twist and rip, should i section it into dreads with the same diameter or could i just use the sectioning thats going on on my head right now.
And second: if i wouldn’t use this method, then what else could i use to make them dread faster?
best to use the natural sections (forced sections often try to split at the roots into natural sections) just be sure none are too bit (over an inch at the scalp, or quarter size about…max)
the dreadlockshampoo.com liquid will make it dread faster, a bead here and there may make it dread faster (never elastic bands beads might help but think of em, more as decoration./ and realize as dreads thicken if you aren’t careful they can get stuck in for years and years
but look your not far in.. why worry about making them dread faster other then maybe the shampoo (sea salt sporays or dips in the ocean help too but seriously don’t overdo it trying to rush them) you might find with a few weeks patience they are dreading real fast and you might want to slow it down to make it manageable.. depends on hair length though longer hair dreads faster
go camp in the wilderness for a month and forget about your hair
or
the best way to make dreading go fast is, stop paying attention to how long its taking.
i don’t pay attention to time not days not weeks not months or years (granted decades do kinda stand out in memory)
when your not paying attention to time and how long things take hours disappear fast days are so short weeks seem like just days (they are ofcourse but i’m talking only a couple) months.. who can tell 1 from anther.. theres 2 times in as year the hot and the cold.. neither lasts all that long..
how fast your hair dreads doesn’t matter at all when your always living life in the moment.
believe me in a very short time you’ll barely remember a time when you didn’t have dreads
is it okay to just wash my hair with warm water
oh and how should i dry my hair? would a towel suffice?
towels might create knots 9 times out of 10 but then suddenly in 5 seconds erase 3 months progress
shake out drip air sun or blow dry but watch the heat with the blow dryer
i dont ever use towels
Im asking this mainly because I havent washed my hair with any product for almost 3 years, atm my hair is very thick and is almost to my shoulders, it is mostly knotty but still curly at the ends.
i understand but hair dreads best when clean, and when dreaded are harder to keep clean. the shampoos i use http://www.dreadlockshampoo.com for instance have microfine clays that travel through the dreads attaching to dirts and oils and carrying them out
they also have a charcoal 1 (not on the site yet just ask for it) that deep cleans so .. you can drink the rinse water sucking it out of your dread.. and it tastes pure and filtered (and i don’t like the tap water here)
with water you can rinse off dust maybe most dirt.. and yes oil production regulates.. but when dreaded your not going to get all the crap in the air smoke pollution tire rubber and oil (if yoiur in a city) ..bacteria (if you swim in natural water like rivers lakes oceans .. fish and other wastes as well as decomposing bodies) im being graphic to express the importance.. yes some people dont wash their dreads for years .. and complain about the weight at 1/6th the length of my clean dreads.. (1 guy with red hair said they can’t be too dirty cause they aren’t black)
i can tell you ..even if i don’t leave the house hardly for a week then wash (when i bucket wash the full 8 foot length0 the water in the buckets pretty dirty.. the air in a week leaves a lot of dirt in dreads that won’t simply come pout with water
to further stress the importance..i go deep wilderness camping often. dreads dragging in mud daily ..that stinks of staph echoli you name it (even anthrax is in the dirt everywhere you just need more parts per billion to get sick)
my dreads drug in the mud till they were 3 times the thickness just caked in it.. i swam in a muddy river daily to remove the bulk but there was plenty of mud in them..and nastiness
now i had staph..it destroyed my elbow..lived in my system 6 more years before taking hold in my hip bone requiring the top of the femur to be removed..i am deftly afraid of staff
i went home washed once with those shampoos and knew my hair was clean and safe and free of all that nastiness
now i will say i agree 100000000000000000000000% with avoiding all ‘hair products” store bought shampoos are toxic crap!
these though are organic beer (never knew there was such a thing unless she brews it just for her shampoos…which i would not doubt for a second) thats the primary ingredient not water then the microfine clays that super clean and all organic oils.. very healthy for you..extremely ethical (maybe more so then bronners even) ..very pure
and healthy .. so not something worth avoiding like the products your thinking of
thats rinsing not washing it wont clean well and cool to colds better for dandruff and dry scalp
ok what product would you recommend?
http://www.dreadlockshampoo.com liquid till mature, then switch to bars
theres other suitable options other marginal options but these are by far the best
so if i continue rinsing my hair without any product, will no dreads form?
no dreads will form dreads will form in oily hair in dirty hair in any hair they form fastest in clean hair.. if your in as coma dreads will form called a polish plait. full of puss and blood
dreads will form maybe using regular shampoos if it wants to dread bad enough
but dreads dread fastest when clean
and dreads stay clean and healthy when no residues are left behind to cause a swampy condition leading to dread rot
the dread shampoos i recommenced the liquid makes it dread extra fast, the bars not nearly as fast but keep mature dreads from being too dry
i use the liquid once every few months if i have too much stray hairs ..and they become a dozen baby dreads just like that
hair wants to dread you can help iot hinder it or hope for it
meanning you can see dreads form in days weeks otr months..or in years..or not at all if you successfully prevent it with enough conditioners and finger combing
you can dread with just water but not the best way and once dreaded they certainly will not be clean especially inside
Hi.
I started my natural dread journey back in september! Is it normal that one side of my head is dreading alot more than the other and also the back of my head. Also, any tips for oily hair, should i start using sea salt sprays. Thanks in advantage
Josh
the side you sleep on dreads fastest, oily hair, wash a tad less often (counterintuitive i know but stripping oils triggers a panic attack that produces excess to compensate) wash warm to hot which helps remove oils, then rinse freezing cold cold as you can stand to seal the pores (less oil production) and cuticles (moisture sealed in) every week or 2 reduce wash cycle by a day till you can go 3-5 days before noticing oiliness
if its bad a thyme tea (strong) soak or spray after washing might help
can also look into foods that lower your overall body ph
oily scalps typical of being too far on the acidic side of the scale
thanks for last answer
how about i use ribbn when i wash them &twist it once aweek
ribbon for what purpose?
when you wash, that get them to dread, if they dread fast they tend to connect at the roots. the faster they dread the more often you will need to separate them // not by twisting but by pulling them apart some have to separate daily even if their hair dreads very fast
once they become mature you won’t need too separate often at all
and if you continue to twist them weekly you can have significant balding in about 10 months time.. i mean so severe you’ll be lucky to recover
twice a year for an event, if not excessively tight is generally safe 4 times a year you might be able to get away with for a few years
weekly it will get worse and worse every single week..it takes about 3 months from 1 retwist to get loose enough to fully restore bloodflow
my hair is african type i am wasing them by shampo i twist my hair regulary but after i wash them(1 week)i start from the begining i want big comb day by day they become thiker. 8-9cm is the length what shall i do
that’s cause your twisting them! that will thin them from a 1-1 section to dread size ratio all the way at times to like 50 – 1 and, then cause at least 10% of that size to be lost to balding called traction alopecia
if you simply stop twisting they will be fine
add some photos better yet join http://www.dreadlockssite.com post on there cause if its bad we got some real experts to help ya recover.
the damage can be extreme from years of tight twisting! permanent if allowed to progress too far
dreads should never be twisted and that being pushed is causing an epidemic of traction alopecia especially in those with African type hair.
What are your thoughts on towel rub method to start your locs? I don’t mind just letting my hair loc on its own. I’m African and just two days without combing and it starts to bunch up. However, it doesn’t look too good like that. I’d like to use towel rub method with some natural coconut oil to help it look better and loc faster. Thoughts?
Ps: I love this page. Most honest and helpful page i’ve found for freeforming.
this is just my blog our main site http://www.dreadlockssite.com has over a million pages of the best info for freeforming
towel rubbing creates a generally knotty mess that then needs to be ripped apart into separate dreads.. now heres the rub (pun intended) 9 times out of 10 just drying with a towel will make iit more knotty, but the 1oth time can wipe away 3 months proigress in seconds that’s why i don’t even recommend drying with a towel.. while it might create knots more often then not.. it can erase months of progress just as easily
thanks for the last answer
how about i use ribbn when i wash them once aweek twist them
hello bro i did started mine some couple weeks ago, since then i have not applied water to my head, the only thing i felt was hair curl, tell me what good is that for a dread
that does nothing to help
water does
washing does
the more you wash, the more you swim (especially in salt water) the faster they dread
how did you start?
I STARTED BY DEPRIVING MY HAIR WITH WATER FOR 3WEEK’S
washing will help it dread swimming will help it dread especialy in salt water just water running through it he;lps it tangle just be careful when washing to wash only the scalp and rinse through you don’t want to rub the hair around much
I have started my loc journey (about 1week in for the 3rd time), and everytime I wash my hair I feel like I’ve washed all my twists out. I was starting my local with the sponge twist method. I’ve tried low water pressure, a stocking cap, even slowly under the sink faucet. Nothing seems to keep them in place. I honestly believe that a clean scalp will produce healthier hair so I want to wash my hair. Also I’m extremely active between the gym and martial arts so Im sweating a lot. Should I just hold off on washing for a month or so and rough it out, or am I missing a step?
the stocking caps almost like combing when you pull it on
are you towel drying? if so stop
sand no washing is essential to dreading
keeping twists in however…is not.. let them fall out they will still dread
Thank you. I guess I need to let it do it on it’s own time and not “micromanaging” it. No towel drying? Not even a microfiber towel? It’s still in the small fro stage so how should I go about drying after showers?
shake it out then air, sun, drip, wind, or if you must, blow (on lower heat)
don’t wash at night.. wash early so they have time to dry
Hi there. My hair is quite long now, maybe half way down my back., and I’ve decided to start dreading natuarally. When do I need to start separating the hair so it doesn’t mat into one big clump and what type of shampoo or soap should I use? I’m going travelling in Africa for three month so a simple bar of soap will be available to me. Thanks. Gaz
wow 3 months in Africa sounds amazing (be careful though some africamn countries are scary unstable) http://www.dreadlockshampoo.com is the best the liquid does make it dread faster then the bars do but with such long hair slowing it down means less separating.
well on that note, generally you’ll know when just don’t over separate.. i mean pull apart sections before they get a chance to tanglre unless the sections real big
once they are tangling up you’ll be able to tell but really once 2 sections next to eachother are starting to knot up you can separate after each wash or more often if needed..just don’t overdo it or under do it if it doesn’t seem to separate any connected hairs it didn’t actually need it, but if its hard or painful, you waited too late.. very quickly you’ll get a feel for how often your hair needs it
Hi there! Im thinking about starting dreads but i have a question. I am a streetdancer and i want to know if dancing would affect the dreading in its early stages. ( i am reffering to moving a lot my head and have my hair moving all over the place)
are you dreading the natural way?
movement creates knots.. lots of them. that’s why wearing hats or tying it up all the time prevents progress. a gentle breeze will tangle your hair, dancing wildly will tangle it faster
movement and compression cause dreads, walking causes movement sleeping compression. .. they happen by living.
this is why its crazy that people force them then use wax to hold it all together so the hairs wont move.. it prevents them from dreading at all
do i get to see ya dance with those baby dreads flying every which way? join http://www.dreadlockssite.com and share your progress and your dancing!
ps http://www.kathychange.org a dear dear friend was a street dancer/activists/playwrite/utopitarian visionary
literaly danced 24/7 (while awake) never stopped till the day she doied
actualy her death was a dance of protest .. transforming her body into a beacon of change.. tragic and a great loss
but cant help but admire her strength and conviction
i had known her probably 20 yewars and never ever saw her not dancing..
I have stared growing my dreads for about 2 months now, and they just seem to be getting matted at the back of my head. I also have hair wraps and ribbons and plaits in my hair. My hair seems to have sectioned well, except for the back, which seem to be bigger than the others, and very clumpy. I know you say not to worry, but I am worrying! Any suggestions??
if the clumps are too big separate them by pulling them apart along the lines that seem to be where they would naturally section
do it while wet and do it as often as needed..the back is just dreading faster so needs separating sooner and more often
Is it better to air dry my locks or use a blow dryer? Also, does drying locks with a towel messes them up?
I’ve started getting natural dreads for 2 months now. Most of my hair has sectioned and started dreading, but only in the middle of each section. The roots and tips are not dreAding at all. Am I just being impatient? Or is there something else I should be doing?
hi sorry for late reply, was in the wilderness last month and 1/2
but that’s perfectly normal, the roots and tips wont dread till nearer maturity
How to maintain it from lice nits and dandruff?
sorry for late reply, nits just avoid school aged kids if you can if not teatree oil lemongrass peppermint ..they hate those
dandruff teatree and rosemary
also avoid hot water hot water dries the scalp badly
I have started my journey on May 15. The ends off my hair are locked up but near my scalp are still loose and not locking up. Any tips on how to get the locking closer to my scalp?
wait
they tighten to the scalp as they mature
never force tighten them that causes traction alopecia and balding
Pls are there any local way of making dread,because some people I have watched making dread,i saw they mix spray gel,gel and nescafe to roll up the dread,then lastly they apply toothpaste….are those item good to grow dread?and at first they don’t wash not until the dreads are locked up…..is that still permitted?
that’s an incredibly stupid way to fake dreads
dreds happen all on their own by simply washing the hair and not combing
if you want to start dreads http://www.dreadlockssite.com has all the best info use twist and rip
DO NOT PUT STICKY CRAP IN YOUR HAIR AND DO NOT AVOID WASHING
clean hair dreads best
it dreads itself if all you do is wash it with a dread shampoo
What is a dread shampoo?
And does it matter if it’s Caucasian hair?
i’ll answer both together. a dread shampoo should be non residue, it should be all natural and not contain sls
for Caucasian hair it helps it knot alot if it contains sea salt, for African hair that’s too drying
organic dreadlocks shampoo is the best the liquid ‘lockin up liquid’ is perfect for Caucasian hair during the dreading process then switch to the “just for dreads’ bars when more mature, for African hair just use the bars.
the main thing you want is that it leaves no residues
these that i just recommended also are beer based for hard water, have microfine clays that bond with oils and dirt and carry them out of your dreads, so even if you only shampoo the roots they clean all the way through while rinsing
there are some very poor shampoos sold for dreads so beware
there are very very few shampoos not made for dreads that are marginally ok
dr bronners is a all purpose soap, that can be used as long as you do not have hard water..if you do, don’t use bronners
Thank you so much for response. I will definitely look into the shampoo and salt spray. Also I read you said about putting a ponytail slows or stops dreading. If I need to wear my hair up for work on a daily basis would I still be able to do this. ? It’s quite long about mid back or longer and I usually twist it up into a knot or bun.
why do you have to tie it up
you shouldn’t have to..but yes it slows or prevents progress completely, use a wise loose headband to keep it back, or tie it up very loosely
as soon as you leave work let it hang loose
I’m three weeks in on my journey and I have been using black soap to wash my hair is that good and I wanna no what to use my hair is so dry meaning brittle is that w good thing
depends on your hair, i would recommend http://www.dreadlockshampoo.com
if African hair bars otherwise liquid till mature..though the liquid makes it dread fast by drying it out if its already dry use the bars till not so brittle
I have started my locs but when it grows, my hair dresser sews it with a thread. I want to do it naturally without any additional thread just my hair. Please tell me the ingredients I need to start it myself. Thanks
simple
fire the hairdresser
leave them alone
hairdressers do everything wrong and arethe worse mistake you can make
they will take care of themselves without all the added expense and stupid things hairdressers do
My hair is natural dreads but tips aren’t dreaded best way to dread the tips with the natural look still?
usually African hair dreads to the tips other types do not(often)
African hair benefits from holding in moisture while straighter hair types typically come from somewhat cooler climates an having them dread to the tip makes them take times longer to dry
loose tips let water drain out reducing the risk of mold mildew and dread rot
so i wouldn’t worry about what the tips do or don’t do
if they stay loose its better for them
African hair with its tight curl pattern cant help but dread smoother shorter and more completely to the tips
I have been growing my hair for a about 5 months now and I have a mini fro. I use a sponge to style it for interviews and things the like. I wash it once a week sometimes twice. Reading everyone’s post here has helped a lot. I now want to seriously commit to this process/journey So I am changing shampoo and beginning sea salt spray treatment for my freeform dreads. Is it okay to continue to use the sponge? After washing how do I dry it? I also use shea moisture curl enhancer is this okay to use?
~NuFreeFormer
i wouldn’t use the sponge best ways to dry shake it out (no towel) sit in the sun or wind or in front of a fan..or blow dry gently when you must (winter)
I am about to start working a job where it is mandatory to wear a hard hat for safety precautions. How can I avoid whatever risk that come with wearing a hard hat 8-10hrs a day and make sure my hair stays healthy and grows strong? Will wearing a hard hat this long per day slow down my hair growth?
no.not growth but earky in the dreading process the hair not being able to move freely will slow dreading (but its not a race)
just when you get of work let your hair be free