Natural Dreads – Myths, Facts, Need to Knows

The most popular myth is that you have to make your hair a dirty mess to form dreadlocks correctly. Not true, many dreadly folk have very clean feeling and smelling hair. This is because they’re using the right things in their hair, and keeping their scalp healthy and clean, which in turn, keeps your hair healthy and clean. :) There are natural, non-detangling dreadlock shampoos that you can buy that will clean your dreads without detangling them or create soap build up.

Believe it or not shampoo has more effect on your hair than you may think, whether it’s dreaded or not. You’d buy a special shampoo to keep your hair dyed a color right? Then buy a shampoo to keep your dreadlocks in shape. Not to mention, keeping your hair clean actually helps your dreads form! Stripping away the oil in your hair will keep it from getting untangled because of those oils. Keeping your dreads dry (but not too dry), whether it may be water, sweat, or an oil factor is a must. Salt water is a great hair drying agent! You can choose to do this at a beach or at your home with salt water and a spray bottle. Now, Even though you can wash your hair, there are certain things to take in consideration when it comes to the shampoo you use..

Something you should definitely not use – Body bar soap. What is the deal with this? Who told someone it was a good idea to use bar soap on your hair, dreaded or not? First off, bar soap leaves an intense amount of build up and coats moisture into the thing being washed. This is great for skin! But not great for dreadlocks.. You do not want soap build up in your dreads, this causes mold, and moldy dreads need to be removed. Leaving your dreads wet often and for long periods of time can also cause mold so make sure to dry them thoroughly with a towel or hair dryer even. Not all bar soap is evil though, naturally made soap is the best option to use.
If for some reason you need to remove your dreads we carry an Emergency Dread Removal Kit. Here are some reasons why your dreads may fail, keep in mind this all very avoidable.

The main factors that will require removal are mold, and bug infestation. If you can find a way to efficiently get rid of the bugs and keep your dreads, then more power to you. Mold is mold and there’s nothing really that you can use to get rid of it that isn’t going to damage your hair to the point of breaking it. Also, side note: if you’re a bottle blonde, be careful, over processed hair has a higher chance of breaking, especially when it’s dead hair and fairly dry in texture, as dreads tend to be. If hair breakage happens to you, this may also be why: non chemically related.

At-the-root-breakage comes from the beginning state of forming your dreads. Back combing your hair in an extremely different direction than it falls naturally may cause breakage as your dreads become mature, not always, but it does happen. If you have a cowlick, don’t try and backcomb it in a different direction, eventually the weight of your dreaded hair will hold it in place. There’s no need to force it.

However if you are mindful of these things it’s very, very easy to avoid. Just keep your dreads clean yet dry, follow your natural hair pattern, and maintain your roots and you’ll be golden. :)