Okay so theres a LOT of mis-information and genuinely harmful words about dreads on this site, so here's my attempt at giving some 100% safe, true information on dreads. I'm a Caucasian ginger with kinda just averagely thick loosely wavey hair. I've been in the process of growing dreads for around a year and a month. The first thing i'm going to tell you is: NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO TELL YOU YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE DREADLOCKS, whether they think they look good or not. What some people can't seem to get through their thick skulls on this site is that dreadlocks are not dirty, they are not greasy, they are not reserved for any colour or creed, they are the result of letting your hair grow without interfering with it (essentially not combing or conditioning). EVERYONE should have the right to grow their hair in this manner without the fear of being called "dirty" or viewed as some kind of "wannabe black guy", it's just a basic human privilege. It's a great shame that so many people fail to understand this and hold prejudice against someone who is just being themselves in one of the most basic levels possible. Secondly: NEGLECTING YOUR HAIR IS THE ONLY GUARANTEED SAFE WAY OF GETTING DREADLOCKS No crochet hooks, no wax, no twisting, no rolling JUST LEAVING YOUR HAIR- this can take a long time, up to 3 years for some people, but usually things are looking pretty cool by around a year for most of us (the time taken isn't really important- i'll explain why later). I'm not saying that you won't achieve dreads by using crochet hooks and wax etc etc, but this is NOT GUARANTEED TO BE SAFE. Think about it, do you think prodding a load of holes in your dreads with a hook is going to actually make them stronger? It doesn't, It's common fucking sense. Do you think that wax surrounded by compacted knots of hair (dreads) will just sit there without gathering dirt/mould/other disgusting crap? It won't, also common sense. Thirdly, CLEAN HAIR DREADS FASTER. whether you wash your hair or not is completely up to you, personally i wash mine once a week cos it feels and smells amazing. I wash with around a full cup of bicarbonate of soda in 2 litres of water (just throw it on my head and wait around for 10 minutes and rinse off) and then around 150 ml of cider vinegar in 2l of water (throw that on my head, wait around for a minute then rinse off). Think about it, which is gonna knot up faster? Slippy, greasy hair flat hair or coarse, thick fluffy hair? The answer is the coarse fluffy hair. I wash about once a week, i do think your hair needs a little time to settle between washes. Finally DREADS ARE NOT A HAIRSTYLE, THEY ARE A LIFESTYLE AND A STATE OF MIND This explains why it doesn't matter how long it takes for your hair to dread- When you start allowing your hair to be it's natural self, you start becoming more confident in yourself. You realize that you don't have to mess with your body with all these foreign products as much as you think you do in order to look beautiful. You realize that the unaltered human body is a beautiful thing in it's own right and that it deserves to be appreciated in that unaltered, natural way. Your whole mode of thinking becomes shifted to being more oriented around doing things that appease your more primal urges instead of for the benefit of others. It's less about how mature your dreads are, and more about the fact that you have taken a mental step towards allowing your true identity to manifest it's self in a very integral part of your outward appearance (your hair) I really hope that this helped inform some people, because there is unfortunately a lot of utter bullshit floating around here that you would do good to ignore and i think most of what i said conforms pretty well to common sense, my dreads have smelled and felt amazing since day 1. This is the most recent photo of them, they are probably just under a year on this one
Would I hire a guy with Dreadlocks....? No fucking way, some see it as a vain fashion statement, I'd see it as a health issue, whether you wash in Bicarb of soda or gasoline, makes no different ...health is health ...then again a few do have lice too, just wait for that lice to hatch then those tick will get you dancing ....lol Sh!t like that just creates un necessary heat
Pleeeeease explain to me how it is a health issue? My hair gets washed just like anyone elses...just because i don't wash with something thats full of chemicals and processes my hair into not having knots in it you draw the conclusion that i'm somehow damaging my health? My hair is clean and free of lice and has been for a year....Plus, i live in britain...i could do with some extra warmth. I think you're failing to understand the definition of the word "health".....Well whatever your definition is i'm sure you run a stellar business with whomever you choose to employ, have a fantastic day.
Dreadlocks being a health issue is exactly why roady made this post; it's absolutely untrue and a display of ignorance. Bicarb soda/vinegar/lemon juice is a completely healthy, clean way of washing hair. Infact, sodium bicarb is such a good cleaner that it is capable of purging active uranium from fabrics (rofl) as well as being proven to whiten teeth better then products without it, completely sanitizing metals etc. It strips the hair of dirt and grease just as good if not much better then many products, and doesn't leave conditioning agents in the hair. It is registered as a non-toxic biopesticide in the US for controlling fungus growth, and so on so on. On top of that, many people wash locks with normal products, detriment to their lock growth Mold grows in dreadlocks when people use normal shampoo products and don't rinse the hair thoroughly enough. Hence another reason why most people use bicarb. You will never ever ever find a case of mold with bicarb/lemon/ACV. Some people go entirely natural with their dreads but it's rare - even so, with a healthy lifestyle self regulating hair is not a health issue. Lice liking dirty hair is a myth - they prefer either, clean hair is easier for them get around with, but they feed on human blood, not oil or dead skin. It's naturally slightly more oily then washed hair (as the process of self regulation is actually regulating natural oils that keep hair healthy and dirt out) and takes a month or two to balance out. Understandably self regulation is a much more rocky issue, but there is no question that dreadlocks are less sanitized of more of a health risk then anybody one else's washing habits.
I omitted the fact that i combine rosemary oil, tea tree oil and lavender oil in my wash too for the sake of making the post a little more concise. I'm not sure but judging by the slight burny tingly feeling they leave on my scalp- I think it would make life pretty unpleasent for anything living on there.
I make cannabis oil out of coconut oil, there's nothing better. Heals all skin ailments, medicates if ingested, cleans ur insides, kills lice, improves vision, the list is infinite. It can literally do anything with it. My girl wants me to slather some on her ass ^___^ ay. I just collect my abv and cook the oil when the box is full. There are many threads on the how to, but its very simple.
i apologize if i didnt pick this up when reading the original post but how are dreadlocks not dirtier to a degree as opposed to normal hair? you cant fully clean your hair when its all scrunched like that i dont get it
You just completely saturate it with baking soda and then vinegar...it literally pulverizes any kind of organism that could survive on there. So long as you get every dread completely soaked in the solution then all your hair will be clean
THANK YOU for this post. I've just started my journey to dreads a few months ago through neglect. I just use water to wash and scrub well though.
how can you say your hair is clean WHEN YOU WASH IT ONCE A WEEK! thats fucking nasty right there. id never hire some clown with dreads. just like id never hire anyone with ear gauges, face tats/peircings. im not in the market to give freaks jobs. im in the market for people that wont scare my customers away. if i see someone with dreds selling food i leave and dont order. money lost. ive refused my meal when i had a waiter help my waitress. he had dreds and they looked gross. i live in a hippie town and see them everyday. maybe where your from they appear different, but around here dreds= dirty before you call me some lame square..i was pretty crazy with my looks when i was younger too. i just grew out of itt when i realized people dont give good jobs to scrubs with weird appearences. they want clean cut, well dressed and presentable employees. now if your jobless then more power to ya.