There is something my sister and I very much love about dreadlocks, maybe it’s how simple they are to take care of, how nice they actually look, or how easy they are to make! Most people think dreadlocks are a permanent change to your hair that will ruin their lives. This is defiantly not true! It took my sister 30 minutes to put one in my hair, and it would take just that long for me to wake up one morning and decide to take it out. Rest easy knowing that if you want to add one or two (or a whole head!) this summer, it is not a big deal, and despite what you have heard, there are no bugs living inside of them! So pull out your list of all the good things about dreadlocks to convince your husband to let you get one, but just a warning, this may not be enough!

So you want to quickly have your best friend put one in before anyone sees? Here is how 🙂

Dreadlocks

Step One:

Choose your location! If you choose to put your dreadlock underneath your hair, which is closer to the bottom of your neck rather then the top of your head, then it will be less visible with your hair down. If you would really like to have it visible, put it closer to the top of your head (but not too far on top!).

Pull back unused hair. I have short hair, so my sister just used bobby pins to pin my hair to the side and up.

Pick your amount of hair. The more hair you use to make the dread, the bigger the dread will be. The amount we usually use is 1in by 1in.

Step Two:

Choose a method. There are two types of methods for forming a dread.

The first is Backcombing, this method takes more time to make but less time in the future is used to keep the dread formed correctly.

The second method is Twist and Rip, this method is faster to make but takes more time in the future forming the dread. The second method is better for shorter hair because it won’t be as tight, which adds length. Refer to the video below for more detail on how to do these methods. Repeat the process of your method until you have formed your dreadlock.

*I used the Twist and Rip method for my dreadlock.

There are two choices for ending your dreadlock. You can either leave the end of your dreadlock wispy (this is what I did), or you can use a tiny crochet hook, about a size 12, and pull the end of the dreadlock into itself for a more rounded look.

*Once you put in your new baby dreadlock, it may stick straight up, after a day and a shower, this should go down to flow with your hair. This happens because you make the roots of your hair in that spot so tight, that it forces the dread up.

Stages of a dreadlock:

“Knot” actually, NOT a dread. Meaning that when you first make your dreadlock, it’s just a baby, and technically it’s just a knot. Not a dread.
The awkward stage. Just like a child going into the teen years, things are weird until they hit that right age. Your dreadlock might wake up one day with bumps, loose spots, or holes. This is the sign that soon your baby knot will be grown!
Dread head. Yes that is right, you have arrived! It may have taken even a year, but your baby knot is now an official dreadlock of awesomeness. Congratulations!

Dreadlock Maintenance:

Do not wash it with conditioner. When you are showering if you happen to get shampoo on it, it’s ok, but try to avoid it, especially conditioner. I know it may seem gross to not wash a piece of your hair, but if you wash it, it will not form into a legit dreadlock, and it will come loose.
If you end up getting bumps in your dread through the awkward stage, don’t worry. Try putting a bead over the bump, in a few days you should see major improvement. This is all part of shaping your dread to make it beautiful.
Palm roll your dreadlock every now and then, especially when you get out of the shower. This will help it maintain shape, stay firm, and get rid of hair fuzz.
In the baby stage try to keep away from the beads and leather wraps, in the future this will help, but at this stage it will only create odd shapes that will be hard to get rid of later. You want to wait for it to become more firm.