Dreadlocks hairstyles are among the oldest ones on our planet, but, despite their mind-blowing lifespan, they haven’t lost their popularity until these days. Dreadlocks are beloved by Nigerian men and women. Find out how to make dreadlocks and how to style and maintain them for a perfect look.
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1. How to make natural dreadlocks
If you’ve never done or worn dreadlocks before but want to try, first you need to find out how to do dreadlocks. It may be a challenging task for beginners, but with our How To Do Dreadlocks step by step guide you’ll have beautiful dreadlocks in no time.
Note that this tutorial will teach you how to make dreadlocks without wax, since wax is mostly used at hair salons and can be damaging to weak and brittle hair. Here is how to do dreads yourself using braids:
- This method is often recommended to people who want to know how to make dreadlocks with short hair, but it also works great on longer hair. Shampoo and condition your hair, dry it completely and divide into equal strands.
- The size of the strands depends on how thick you want your dreads to be. Each dread will be roughly the same size as the braids.
- Turn every strand one by one into tight braids, securing the ends with rubber bands.
- Leave the braids for as long as needed for the dreadlocks to form, washing the hair when necessary but avoiding conditioning the hair.
- Use a crochet hook to put stray hairs back into the braids. You can also twist your braids to speed up the process.
- Normally the formation of perfect dreadlocks takes about a year, but you will notice first signs of locking within a few weeks from braiding.
- If you want to know how to get dreads fast, it’s best to avoid the use of hair products or keep it to a minimum, since various oils and conditioners slow down the dread formation.
You can also learn how to do dreads by twisting. To do it, separate your hair in sections using the end of a rat tail comb. Divide every section into two strands, twisting them tightly from the root to the ends, securing with rubber bands. Then continue maintaining your twists to create that perfect dreadlock look.
2. How to style dreadlocks
There are hundreds of dreadlock styles for women to rock. There are dreadlock styles for casual looks, but you can also learn how to style dreadlocks for work. Here are some of dreadlock hairstyles that work perfectly for any woman.
3. How to maintain dreadlocks
Now that you know how to start dreads with short hair, you also need to know how to maintain your dreadlocks to give them the best look. Here are some dreadlock maintenance tips:
- Wear a silk scarf or bonnet when you go to bed to keep the dreadlocks from being ruined during sleep.
- After some time has passed from the dreadlock creation, you can experience scalp irritation and itching that happens due to skin dryness. Use a dreadlock conditioning spray to moisturize your scalp and get rid of the itchiness.
- Salt water is very helpful for the formation of the braids. Make a bottle of salt water and spray your hair every time you feel your locks are getting loose and unruly.
- Dreadlock washing is an important part of dreadlock maintenance. While washing your locks for the first few weeks is not a good idea, afterwards it’s really essential. Dry dreadlock shampoo bars or liquid dreadlock shampoo is your best choice for washing.
- Loose hairs are inevitable in the dread formation process, and there are many ways to solve this problem. You can pull the hairs back using a crochet hook, secure them with rubber bands, or use clockwise motions to press the hairs to the hair roots – that way your dreadlocks will form even faster and more naturally.
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