How to Make Your Own Dreadlocks

Starting your dreads can be a scary proposition.  It can be particularly daunting if you have hair like mine... Fine, straight, slippery.  I can offer a few words of advice from experience.

*Most salons don't know how to give you dreadlocks.  Even the ones that advertise that they do dreads often only know how to work with one basic hair type, so ask.  It's incredibly awkward to sit in a salon, paying good money to have your hair ruined by someone who looks at you like you're an insane blue eyed, blonde woman.

*Research different methods to see what you like best.  Yeah, I guess you're doing that right now, aren't you?
*Don't expect perfectly mature looking dreadlocks after the first day.  The dreads pictured here were photographed the day they were made. This takes time, baby.
*Remember that your dreads are whatever you want them to be.  Bangs, no bangs, big, small, messy, neat - You get the picture.

So, here's what you do:

Pull up all of your hair, except for the very bottom row at the base of your neck.  Divide this into sections of about the size that you want.  

One section at a time, back comb and roll (roll, you know, like a playdough snake in kindergarten) from top to bottom.  For this process, with each dread, I use a locking powder. There are multiple kinds out there, and it can be purchased online.  A little bit goes a long way, so you don't need a big container.  I purchased the smallest one I could find, and did my own dreads, worked on them until fully locked, and gave two more people dreadlocks with just the one little bottle.

With each dread, you'll find that the more you back comb and roll, the tighter the dread will be.  However, you'll still find annoying bits of hair that seem to want to be fluffy or loop out away from the rest of the lock.  Don't worry, this is great.  Put the tip of your finger through the loosest spots and simply pull the end of your lock through this. This looks the best if you aren't sending the lock through the middle, but instead through a smaller amount of hair at the edge.  This effectively makes that loop wrap around your dread, making it lock up better and look better.  If you do send the lock through the center, it will give it a bit of a braided look.  "Looping through" is a great way to help your dreadlocks lock up nicely near the scalp.  Just remember, use just a little of the dread for looping (probably keep it to less than a quarter of the locks width), or your locks may want to split into two near the skin where you sent the  lock through.  I've seen a lot of sights recommend using small rubber bands for the base of each lock.... I could tell you horror stories about trying this, but I think it's better just to say "Don't".

I like to blunt the tip of each dreadlock, so that I don't have a couple of inches of straight hair at the end.  Back comb all the way to the end, (locking powder really helps here) until you just have a tiny bit of hair sticking out the tip.  This little bit of hair is then pulled, end first, up into the dread.  Many people use a dreadlock tool, that looks like a rug hook, for this.  Not me.  I insert a sewing needle into the end of my dread until only the eye is sticking out.  I then twist up that last little bit of hair, thread it into the needle, and pull the needle through.  This very effectively locks up the end of your dreadlock.  The tighter the needle is in the lock, the more solidly you've just ended your dread.

After doing this to each section of hair in your bottom row, release the next row of hair above it.  Divide this into it's own sections, keeping in mind that you will probably want to center each dreadlock over the part line between two dreads below.  This will help all of your locks to be visible instead of your scalp. Gradually work your way to the top of your head, where you will need to remember to have your hair parted (or not parted, as the case may be) the way you want before you lock it up.

That's basically it.  I'll try to answer questions as they come in, but this should get you started.  After you first lock your hair, try to avoid washing it as long as you can (typically 2 weeks).  When you do wash it, you'll need to do a lot of maintenance at first.  This will be a lot of work in the beginning, but as your dreadlocks lock up, it'll take less and less time.  I will do a post about maintaining your dreads next time I work on mine.

This is what I call "Looping Through".  Be sure to split the lock unevenly, so that a small amount of hair ends up going around the rest.