How to Dread Hair Easily At Home? Step By Step Process

Dreaded hair looks unique and beautiful. Dreading hair requires a lot of commitment and patience. I am sure you are longing to know how to get dreads. You can make natural dreadlocks by yourself or be helped by a hair professional.

Hair locks can be made on all hair types, the only difference is the time taken to promote the locking procedure due to the differences in hair texture. Dreadlocks are perfect for persons of all ages and gender. In this article, I am going to give you some step-by-step guidelines on how to dread hair. You will also learn how to clean and maintain the locks.

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Step By Step Guide On How to Dread Hair

If you want to achieve natural dreadlocks, the following are some steps that you should follow.

Step 1. Your hair must be at least 2 inches and above

This is an important stage when it comes to dreading your hair. You should grow your hair naturally since the more hair you have, the easier it becomes to make short dreads.

Also, straight hair shrinks more after you set up starter dreads. You can use a short hair highlight to brighten your hair strands for your short dreads.

Step 2. Determine your ideal thickness

We all have different preferences for the thickness of your Rasta hair. You need to determine how thick you want your locks to be. So, depending on the style you want to achieve, you can divide your hair into sections that are about 1inch x 1 inch.

Step 3. Use a Dreadlock shampoo

Before you start making your dreads, make sure your hair is clean. You can use a residue-free shampoo to wash your hair and then air dry it perfectly. Clean hair will give you the faster formation of natural dreadlocks as compared to dirty hair.

Avoid using conditioner or any product once you shampoo your hair. Brush out your hair after it is completely dry. Be ready to reserve 4 to 8 hours to make hair locks.

Step 4. Section Your Hair

Use a rat-tailed comb to make uniform sections. Make an alternating row to row pattern. This pattern will let you have more flexible styling when your Rasta hair matures. Grasp the bottom separately from one another with rubber bands. Same-sized portions give a neater appearance.

Step 5. Wrap your hair in sections around your finger

Hold a portion of your hair from the scalp. Tease the portion down towards your scalp starting at 1 inch above scalp using a fine-toothed metal comb.

Continue until your hair sections start to puff as well as pack up around the roots. Backcomb the rest of the section until you get to the base of the hair. Use the same technique and patience for every strand.

Step 6. Use Elastic Bands To Hold Hair

Put one at the bottom and another at the end of each lock

Step 7. Apply dread wax on every section

Use locking gel, natural dread-wax, tightening gel, or beeswax paste to prevent your locks from frizzing. Apply it to the whole strand.  In case you do not want to use wax you can opt to roll the locks using your palms.

How to wash dreads?

The following are steps on how to get dreads clean:

• Wet your hair locks. Run over some water to your dreadlocks. Use warm water for better results. Avoid saturating them fully to allow shampoo to infiltrate easily.
• Squeeze a moderate quantity of specific shampoo for dreads to your palm. It is good to use a little amount each time until you get enough. In case you are using a solid shampoo, rub the bar between your palms to a rich lather then apply on your hair. Make sure your shampoo does not leave any residue on your locks.
• Massage the lather uniformly into the scalp. Use your fingertips to free up the scalp’s dead skin. Massage your roots thoroughly.
• Rinse out the shampoo. Ensure that there is no shampoo residue left.
• Dry your hair thoroughly using a towel then air dry for proper drying

How To Remove Dreadlocks Without Cutting

• Gather dread removing gear. These are dread removal conditioner and shampoo, spray bottle, metal comb, towels, and rubber gloves.
• Pull the dreads apart to the bottom. Start with the thick ones.
• Wash your hair locks. Use hot water plus removal shampoo to wash your natural dreadlocks to remove any wax or any residue build-up. This will make the process easier. 
•  Rinse out the hair and apply removal conditioner then wrap your hair using a towel. Do not rinse out the removal conditioner.
• Split up knots using a metal comb. Pull from the bottom of the dread strand to top.
• Comb gently once you loosen a section to free any tangles. Do the same to the rest of the strands until you are done.
• Rinse your hair thoroughly. Apply a deep conditioner to repair the pulled hair. Trim the extra-long strands.

How to Maintain Dreadlocks

 The following are steps on how to get dreads maintained:

• Remove the elastic bands after your hair has locked
• For about three months your hair will have locked. You should, therefore, remove the elastic bands both at the top and bottom of the dread sections. 
• Shampoo one time in a week to remove any residues plus oil. These may knot up together with the dread preventing proper locking. Always ensure that your new growth is kept clean and dry to blend easily with the formed locks.
• Use apple cider vinegar to condition your Rasta hair two times in a month. Mix 450g of water plus 230g of apple cider vinegar. Use it to massage your scalp after you finish shampooing.
• Always use a silk cap to wrap your hair as you sleep. This will prevent any dreadlock breakage. Spray your hair using a moisturizing spray in the morning after removing the cap.

Conclusion

You are now aware of how to dread hair, maintain, clean, and remove. Moving from short dreads to lengthy and neat ones demands a lot of tolerance. You can style your short dreads the way you want from bob hairstyle to plaited dreads or baby hairstyles. Dreads have very exceptional styles.