Dreadfully Clean


A surprising number of people have indicated in my poll that they would like me to make an entry about washing your dreads. I have been doing some more reading and I really wanted to address a couple of other issues in this entry as well. I want to address not only HOW to clean and shampoo your dreads, but also how frequently you should wash, and I want to address the stereotype that dreads are dirty or gross.

Firstly, the biggest questions people usually have is ‘how often should I wash my dreads’? There are several factors to consider in this question. On the DreadHeadHQ website they say to wash your dreads every 2-3 days. Honestly, I think this is way too frequent, ESPECIALLY for new dreads! The wonderfully helpful people at DHHQ correctly explain that clean, dry hair locks and matures faster than dirty hair. However, washing also loosens loose hairs and can cause a lot of frizz. The theory here is that the oils from your scalp will loosen dreads and prevent them from locking. However, it is entirely relative. If you washed and brushed your hair (and stimulated your scalp) every day before dreads at first things might get a bit greasy. This is because your scalp is used to getting a certain amount of stimulation and when it doesn’t it begins to produce more oil. Even with ‘regular’ hair they say that you only need to wash your hair however often as you do, because your scalp will adjust its oil production accordingly. If you regularly wash daily than after two days you will have greasy hair. If you only washed every 2-3 days, after 3 days you’ll be oily, and so on and so forth. Having dreadlocks is no different. Hair is hair!

The biggest complaint I get about washing less frequently is that the itch is unbearable! This, too, is a result of less scalp stimulation. Without dreadlocks, you are brushing or combing your hair and stimulating it every day (or at least I assume you did!). Once the dreads go in that comes to a screeching halt and the scalp needs time to adjust. The itch is your scalp craving stimulation and there are two major ways to get it: wash your hair, or scratch it and DON’T wash your hair! I can’t say enough for the DreadHeadHQ Head Honcho! This was an invaluable tool for me for the first few weeks of dread-hood while I was still in my itchy period. Another option if you haven’t ordered your Head Honcho yet is to clock-wise rub… not only does it stimulate the scalp and quell the itch, but it helps to encourage knotting and locking at your roots! If you continue to wash your hair every 2-3 days you will never be able to space out your shampooing, and at the beginning of your dread journey especially frequent washing can be a real downer as far as fuzz, loose hair, and frizz!

After your dreads are established you CAN wash more frequently if you want to, but at that point why bother, IMHO! LOL. When my dreads were first put in by my wonderful dready friends, they told me right off the bat DO NOT WASH YOUR DREADS FOR A WEEK! Occasionally, someone will send me a message asking me what I do to maintain my dreads for them to look as decent as they do considering their young age and I firmly believe my washing frequency and technique has a big part to play in that. Although things get itchy and sometimes oily, it gives the body of the dreads more opportunity to lock in between shampoos. I have never shampooed more frequently than once a week since getting my dreads in. In fact, many dread heads only wash every TWO weeks, which I am building myself up to slowly. Although some of us like to be dirty hippies, just because you only shampoo every week or so doesn’t mean you can’t shower in between! Invest in a good shower cap to wear to prevent dreads from getting wet on non-washing days. And, another important thing to note, I didn’t wash the dreads themselves until just last week (8 weeks old). When your dreadies are just starting out and aren’t established yet all you really have to do is wash your scalp/roots. Realistically, that’s where all the crud, oil, and grime is, anyway and it feels fantastic!

As far as scalp itch goes there are some other things you can do to minimize it. If you are using any products (Read: Lock Accelerator) that specifies NOT to get it on the scalp, follow the directions and DON’T do it! Any products that use sea salt, in particular, can make scalp itch worse and cause dandruff. Also, if I haven’t mentioned it yet, make sure you’re using a shampoo that is residue free! The DreadHeadHQ Dread Soap is top-notch and comes highly recommended by this dready mama! Residue is also a big cause of scalp itch in even non-dreaded hair.

So it took some finagling, but I manage to get a video of myself shampooing my own dreads to give you an idea of how you can go about it yourselves. Below the video is some text directions on how to wash, too!




HOW TO WASH YOUR DREADLOCKS:
  1. Naturally, if your going to wash those dreadies you gotta get ‘em wet first! So step in the shower and soak those dreads before you get started. (Okay… read the whole instruction list first…. THEN hop in the shower!)
  2. Squeeze some of that DreadHeadHQ Dread Soap into your hand… I usually start with a full palm-full about the size of a half dollar or more.
  3. Start lathering it up on the top of your head, using your fingers on the scalp to massage it in between all your dreads.
  4. Squeeze more Dread Soap into your hand (about the same amount) and rub your hands together and lather up the sides of your head the same way as the top of your head.
  5. Finally, squeeze just a bit more soap into your hands and lather up the back of your head and give the whole scalp a good, stimulating massage.
  6. Next, which I only recommend if your dreads are AT LEAST a month old, preferably closer to 6-8 weeks old, you can begin rolling sections of your dreads in between your hands like palm rolling. Roll down the entire section of dreads to get ‘em good and clean.
  7. Repeat the above step until you have gotten every dread.
  8. Rinse! Make sure you rinse them out REALLY good. You do NOT want a soap left behind inside the dreads themselves OR on your scalp.
  9. Squeeze your dreads to get the excess water out. You will probably have to do this a couple of times to get all the water out.

Drying your dreads is beyond the scope of this article, although DreadHeadHQ has a great section on their website about how to dry your dreads. At this point, once I step out of the shower, I will wrap my dreads up in a towel to get some of the excess water out, spray with Lock Accelerator, and put the towel back on my head until I’m finished getting dressed for the morning (about 5 - 10 minutes… since usually my shirt won’t fit over the towel). Then I take the towel off and let ‘em air dry! I didn’t mention this in my blog about dread beads but if you have them, make sure you shift them around throughout the day to make sure that the dreads underneath them dry really well, too!

Now, another thing I want to address before I sign off for the night is the cleanliness issue. There are some people who claim that people with dreads have dirty hair because we shampoo less frequently. That is simply NOT the case! Like I talked about earlier, the less often you wash your hair the less oil your scalp will produce. So, if you have dreadlocks and only wash your hair every 1-2 weeks your scalp is producing a negligible amount of oil. That, in addition to the fact that dread heads religiously use (or should use) residue-free soap, means that in all actuality, people with dreadlocks actually can have CLEANER hair than our non-dreaded brothers and sisters who use shampoos and conditioners with all kinds of fragrances and moisturizers. I repeat: DREADS ARE NOT DIRTY! DREADS ARE PROBABLY CLEANER THAN REGULAR HAIR! I am not aware of any official studies on this issue, but I think logically, you’ll agree that it’s the case!

The only thing that can stop misconceptions and ignorance about dreadlocks and cleanliness is EDUCATION! I love answering questions about dreads and encourage all my dreaded friends be prepared to field questions from all kinds of people who are fascinated by your awesome dreadlocks! I hope this article has helped you all out and I look forward to your comments! Happy Washing!

25 Response to "Dreadfully Clean"

  1. Anonymous Says:

    I LOVE LOVE LOVE this post!!!! I have recently entertained the idea of getting Dreaded and I have a lot of questions..... You have helped me explain this " cleaning" process so much better to my hubby, who thinks dreads are nasty and dirty! My fear is that the dreads would make me look dirty and unkept, but the more i am learning the MORE I WANT THEM :) thank you in advance ;)

  2. Edrina's Blogging Says:

    Ive had my dreads 8 mos now. I wash them every month. They look so nice. I love my dreads. My journey has been amazing. How often should i wash them now that the roots have fully locked and matured.

  3. Unknown Says:

    Commercial Cleaning Melbourne Orbit Cleaning Company provides professional Cost-effective and managed commercial cleaning services and provide to cleannig commercial services . it is useful and getting a lot of new thing its really nice and making best thing.

  4. Unknown Says:

    Thank you so much for taking the time for you personally to share such a nice info. I definitely enjoying every little bit of it. It is a great website and nice share. We provide professional residential & commercial window cleaning services in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. This company offers window cleaning and house washing services.

  5. Vishwa pratap singh rana Says:

    useful....keep writing like this

    How Can I Make My Scalp Less Greasy
    Are you suffering from oily scalp? It is very bad to be seemed sticky look. Though you never forget to wash your hair before going out but what if just after few hours your hair looks like you are done with oiling.

    Yes! If you are facing such problem then you have oily scalp. If you hair generally thick and yet seem sticky the you must be have oily hairs. This kind of hair type is just irritating because no hairstyle will give you perfect look with such kind of hair type.

    Oily hair or scalp is another serious issue. Oily hair can leads so many hair and skin problems. Oily hairs are lays important role in dandruff problems and of course acne problems.

    Experts says! Who doesn't prevent oily hairs can rapidly get hair loss problem. even they get hair fall problems from the beginning. So if know for sure about you oily hair or scalp then raise necessary step soon.

  6. Peery Misty Says:

    I think mimicking popular posts on other blogs is one of the best ways to get a good idea which will be popular.Such a lovely blog you have shared here with us. Really nice.
    شركات النظافه في جده

  7. Unknown Says:

    Hello to all, how is the whole thing, I think every one is getting more from this website, and your views are pleasant in favor of new people.
    Professional photo editing services

  8. Unknown Says:

    A number of us know all relating to the compelling medium you present powerful steps on this blog and therefore strongly encourage contribution from other ones on this subject while our own child is truly discovering a great deal. Have fun with the remaining portion of the year.
    Byggstädning i hägersten

  9. Unknown Says:

    I wish I had read this 4 weeks ago when my dreads were new. I've been washing them every 4-5 days and have horrible amounts of loss hair and frizz at my scalp. The itchiness was getting to me so I washed them but I just should have waited it out. Now the top of my head is a frizzy mess and you can't see the clean separation of my dreadies. :(

  10. milsonheeely Says:

    That’s really a pleasant video mentioned within this article about how to write a post, so i got clear idea from here.

    Office cleaning Perth

  11. Anonymous Says:

    We want to say thnx to you 4 creating this cool weblog and keep going the good work!
    byggstädning i hägersten

  12. Unknown Says:

    Astoundingly energetic online diary, I cherished that an incredible arrangement. Will there be an area 2?
    Couples dating

  13. larobarbie Says:

    Your new valuable key points implies much a person like me and extremely more to my office workers. With thanks; from everyone of us.
    Cheap beauty products Store

  14. Unknown Says:

    A number of us know all relating to the compelling medium you present powerful steps on this blog and therefore strongly encourage contribution from other ones on this subject while our own child is truly discovering a great deal. Have fun with the remaining portion of the year.

    ---------------------
    Dölja utväxt

  15. limpharasenty Says:

    this post will be adequate Just about everything looks shocking demonstrated a protection of thankfulness is all together to share.
    womens party wigs

  16. limpharasenty Says:

    Hi, I just wanted to tell you, you’re dead wrong. Your article doesn’t make any sense.
    Fancy dress wigs

  17. larobarbie Says:

    Exceptional line and not too terrible picture this post. this post will be agreeably Just about everything looks unbelievable showed a guarantee of gratefulness is all together to share.
    Cheap Items to Sell

  18. limpharasenty Says:

    Downloading information from this website is as simple |as tapping the mouse rather than various locales which shift me here and there on the site pages
    mens fancy dress wigs

  19. Unknown Says:

    This comment has been removed by the author.
  20. Marion K. Lopez Says:

    This shampoo is great, have used it myself. I was quite worried after my dreads but it saved my day. Well, I cant trade my hair for anything now because I love my locks.
    Marion K. Lopez

  21. Unknown Says:

    besar dan sexi haha LOL
    Komplikasi Akibat Sipilis

  22. Zaid Says:

    https://theplayfulspiritrachel.blogspot.com/2010/08/feeling-competent.html?showComment=1536529051392#c6658731915936811073

  23. Zaid Says:

    I like your content so i decided to show something good Muharram Pics ? this is really Good?

  24. Anonymous Says:

    WATCH NCAA CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS MATCH LIVE : https://twitter.com/a2zsports3/status/1102612796900990976

  25. acacia-supply Says:

    very good content, thank you for sharing with us.
    Acacia is famous for providing the best Hotel Amenities to clients. Our customers are always at the forefront of our minds. We’ve years of experience within the hospitality industry and shaped it into an enterprise that actively listens to our clients and understands the wants and desires of your guests. Your guests’ experience is vital to us!

Post a Comment