DREADLOCK

Dreadlocking your hair can be an exciting experience if you want to change up your look, display cultural pride, or just get a reaction from the people around you. The following steps will outline the ways in which you can dreadlock your hair. Be sure to try to get an extra pair of hands around you and get to locking your hair.

Instructions

1. • 1
     If your hair has been relaxed or permed, it will not lock due to the chemicals. Try to grow the chemicals out of your hair or cut the relaxer out. Another option is growing your hair until enough "new growth" is present where you feel comfortable enough cutting the chemically treated parts out. Now you are ready to start making your dreadlocks. Hair that is kinky or naturally coarse is often much easier to dreadlock than hair that is silkier so keep this in mind. If you do have silky or fine hair, your dreads will just a little more time to lock, so please be patient.
   • 2
     Wash your hair and let it air dry. Part your hair into sections---the width of these sections depends upon whether you want thin or thick dreadlocks, so it's a matter of personal preference. Use a rubber band to keep the hair separated as you're working with each section. Put a natural product such as beeswax, pure shea butter or another type of dread wax on your hair as you are working with it. Avoid using petroleum jelly in your hair because it can cause your dreads to clump up.
     
     
     
   • 3
     Start at the nape of your nape of your neck and work your way up to the crown of your head. Wrap your hair around your rattail comb and create twists. Some people choose to do double strand twists, which can hold up a little bit better than single strand twists. Instead of wrapping one strand of hair and twisting it around the base of the rattail comb, take two strands (or sections) of hair and twist them around the base of the rattail comb. Continue to put small amounts of wax on your hair as you are twisting it.
   • 4
     Practice the palm rolling method. Roll each section of hair between the palms of your hands. This makes your dreads look very polished after you are finished twisting them. There are a lot of methods for doing dreadlocks if you decide that twisting is not the method for you. Some of them are the backcombing method, which involves combing the hair back towards the scalp, palm rolling, twisting the dreads, or just plain old neglect.
   • 5
     As you twist each section, continue to put more wax on each section of hair. The more you twist your hair, the faster the hair will lock up. Don't forget that it takes months to develop dreadlocks so please be patient. The results will be well worth it. Wrap your hair in a satin scarf so that lint will not get in your dreads.