The Most Effective Ways to Get Your Dreadlocks Started
Gone are the days when dreadlocks were solely reserved for the Rastafarians or individuals who hadn’t touched a comb in 6 years. Dreadlocks are now a pretty common occurrence, and they can be seen all over the place, no matter the social setting or income bracket. Dreads are becoming more and more popular and you can find them on anyone from hippies and computer geeks, to hipsters and surfers.
So you want some dreads, but you have no idea where to even begin. How do you start to grow dreadlocks?
There are numerous different ways and processes to get your dreads started such as the rubbing wool method, general neglect or the very expensive dread perm. However, we would advise backcombing as the most successful and hair friendly of all the procedures.
Backcombing
By far the most popular, and effective way of making dreads is backcombing.
You should section your hair into squares for each dread that you want, determining thickness yourself, and then secure them with rubber bands close to your skull.
Once you have the different sections clearly marked out, you should begin backcombing. Use a metal comb and beginning about an inch away from your scalp, begin combing the hair backwards towards your head, this should be done until the hair is packed in nice and tight and the bottom of the dread, then you should move up the dread until the whole thing is done.
Each dread should be done like this, and at the end of the process each one should be fastened with a rubber band at the tip of the dread. A thick all natural dread wax should be used to keep the dreads in shape and looking neat.
Buy some residue free shampoo and give your hair a gentle wash after about a week, a small amount of wax should be used regularly, and gently rolling your dreads every day will help them mature.
Advantages
Backcombing is a purely natural way to start your dreads and there won’t be any chemical damage done to it. The process leaves the hair looking instantly like dreadlocks and they shouldn’t take too long to mature, 3 months is about the average time for dreadlocks to settle when they have been done through backcombing.
Disadvantages
Backcombing can be incredibly time consuming, and you should expect it to take a couple of hours at least. It is best to try to convince some friends to assist you in making them or pop down to your local dread salon for some help. It can also be incredibly painful when you first start the backcombing, and it takes a lot of willpower to sit through the long process.
Getting dreadlocks requires a fair amount of commitment, as they need a high amount of maintenance to keep them looking good, and this is especially true in the first few months. However, dreads are addictive and once your have them, you will find it very hard to look back.
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