Dreadlocks

Montreal Dreadlocks .com welcomes you.  Even if you are beginning your own dreadlocks and are wanting to find information on how create them right or if you are just curious about where dreads began and why people are wearing them, we hope that you will find answers on all your questions in our website and give you a new vision for a very special and often misunderstood hair style. If you have dreads please feel free to send us your pictures! We will add your picture in our up coming dreadlocks gallery section for dreadlocks around the world. You will find the address of our salon in the Contact page of our website. Please enjoy surfing our website sections and tell your friends about us so we can educate more people about dreadlocks and maybe, just maybe we can prevent another person from trying to start his dreadlocks with rubber band and wax!

Facts and rumors

Never in life has a hairstyle generated so many misconceptions in peoples mind and the rumors that goes with it is often very far from reality. Believe it or not a lot of people are putting strange stuff in their hair, honey, eggs and all sorts of food. Honestly, you can put and leave just anything in your hair and it will dread but seriously you could also try to ride a motorcycle backwards but its really not a great fu..ing idea. It’s an accident waiting to happen and trust me it can leave you messier that you think.

Rumor:

Never clean your dreadlocks, hair must be dirty so the would turn to dreads.

Fact:

Not washing your dreadlocks will make them stink for sure.  Having Dreadlocks is just the same as having normal hair, you need to keep them clean and wash them regularly. There best analogy that you can make for washing dreadlocks is like when you wash a sponge no need to say more than “You squish em!”. Adding regular shampoo with no conditioner work your dreads to get the soap inside and rinse fully with a flexible shower handle so you can actually put it against your scalp starting from the top of your hair and going downwards to get all the dirt and shampoo out. Your hair being clean will actually dread better than hair that have excess oil in it. Because shampoo and soap tends to leave a protective film on your hair it was thought that it wouldn’t dread properly but in fact washing your hair takes care of a bigger problem; Oily and dirty hair which is never good for anybody due to that not so great texture that actually prevents your from locking up. For all these reasons we recommends to wash your hair at least once a week and more!

Rumor:

Not taking care of your hair and letting it go by not combing it is the right way of obtaining dreads.

Fact:

Naming it the right way, this is called the neglect method.  In some circumstances it is true that if you neglect your hair it will turn out into dread. African-textured hair is a great example for this as the hair is made in a particular way. If you leave them alone, the African hair will eventually form a dreadlock. Unfortunately, the results is more often deceiving than good, even if they are called dreads the look and feel is often more repulsive than beautiful and less pleasant due to the weird look and smell that goes with them.

What usually happens is that the hair forms some kind of galet randomly on the head. We find the same effect on Caucasian hair that are curly enough but at the end if you neglect them the problem will persist resulting in a bad deadlocking appearance. Whit this technique it takes many years for the hair to fully lock and when it does it generally doesn’t looks neat and clean, kind of like you might expect hair to look after not taking care of them for a year (really messy). We do give advice and help in our how-to-fix-dreadlocks section if you wish to continue neglecting them, but please aware that the neglect method is not the only method for getting dreadlocks and that the dreads you will end-up with are never nearly close to “good” looking.

Rumor:

Dreadlocks are only for black people and only them can have nice dreads.

Fact:

It’s very possible to have nice slick dreadlocks even if you are not black. Different textured hair can also create smooth and tight dreadlocks.  Dreads are not easy to start if you don’t know how to do them properly, but if a qualified person makes them the right way the only thing you’ll need to do is to submerge the in water and soak them so they tighten and mature faster they. After that, all you have to do is keep them clean and they’ll continue to look amazing if you just keep maintaining them every 4 to 6 month!

Rumor:

Your hair takes longer time to grow when it’s combined in dreadlocks.

Fact:

Dreadlocks does not grow slower than un-dreaded hair, dreads grow even faster than normal hair. Normal hair is usually growing at a regular pace. Normal hair also doesn’t really have considerable weight when it’s not combined and the roots of the hair is normally lazy due to the non resistance and almost weightless hair. When you tightly merge your hair together in a certain way to create dreadlocks the air into the dreads is being forced out of the dreadlocks and it creates weight. The reason that dreads are growing faster is that the roots of your hair is resisting to the weight created and reinforces it self to hold that weight. In other words your hair will grow stronger and faster and will become healthier.

The reason that normal hair appear to grow faster is that it grows in a straight line compared to dreadlocks that grows randomly back and forward so it will take more hair to grow 4 inches of dreads than it would take to grow 4 inch of straight hair. Generally, the thicker the dreads are, the faster they’ll gain length if they are really tight (without air inside). To help your hair grows a bit faster and to increase the strength of your dreads, you will need proper nutrition and regular maintenance. In addition to eating well a supplement can also be taken to ensure that you are getting all the vitamins needed for your hair. Hair growth supplement for people growing dreads is also available but there is no reason for you to invest your money in an artificial product that good nutrition habit can just do the job. Long dreadlocks can grow to become quite heavy. Doing what you can to keep your hair healthy will be beneficial for you when your dreads get longer but between me and you good regular washing and application of cider vinegar on your scalp to rehydrate it will keep them in very good condition.

Rumor:

Neglecting is the only way to create natural dreadlocks

Fact:

You can create two types of natural dreads.  The first one is a method without a method, which means that you just don’t do anything to your dreads except for washing once in a while. Certain religion like Middle East Rastafarian doesn’t permit people to neither cut them nor trim them at all. They don’t even permit to roll them, rip them or even rub them. Not interfering with the process of dreading and growing is an obligation and requires no one to even see their dreadlocks.

The second types of natural dreadlocks are those dreads that got tangled naturally or with the help of some tools but without the use of any chemical products. You can obviously wash them out , cut them when too long, comb them to help them merge together, rip them to separate them from being stuck together, tie them up and wax them as you wish but they are started and grow naturally with no chemical dread perms or additions of hair.

This is what is most commonly thought by people for dreading natural dreadlocks like you see on YouTube videos and magazines. All the methods listed in the dreadlocks style section of our websites are all natural except for the dread perm technique. We personally believe that dreadlocks should be natural and only natural methods and natural product are required to take care of them. For natural dread products we only suggest the use of lemon juice and cider vinegar. You can find information on this topic in our how to fix dreadlocks section

Rumor:

Rubber bands can break hair and can also thin your dreadlocks

Fact:

If your dreads are done properly you will not need rubber bands at all. Even if used correctly it will not help to tighten the roots and tips, especially when dreads are new. What it does is it will give you the appearance that it’s holding everything together but if you try to remove it after weeks or months you will notice that nothing has merged together and very often the rubber just melts in your hair. Having a rubber band too tight can also compress your dread and thin out. The hair surrounding the area where you have put the rubber band often get stuck on the material itself and rip your hair out of the root.

Rumor:

Dreads can damage your scalp and can lead to hair loss.

Fact:

Using the proper methods to construct your dreads, dreadlocks hairstyles are actually very healthy. Also, if you are only using products that don’t leave any residue will keep your dread fresh, neat and looking great. It is not required to use any chemical product in your dreadlocks to make them better for your scalp. If you don’t straighten your hair or use chemical perm before you dread your hair, your scalp should not be affected, your hair should remain healthy and the process should not result in hair loss. It’s what you put in your hair that can damage the scalp, the hair and even the root. Using regular shampoo without conditioner also helps your dreads to grow healthy as long as you wash and rinse them thoroughly and properly.

Rumor:

You have to shave your head completely if you don’t want your dreads anymore.

Fact:

In reality, when it comes time for you to say goodbye to your dreads it doesn’t happen in a flash. Unfortunately when the time comes if it comes, you will feel some psychological detachment from you dreads. At this time you can decide to just not do the maintenance anymore so your new growth can grow a couple of inches. Also during that process you can use conditioner after washing your dreads so it leaves them very smooth and silky so it doesn’t encourage dreading by itself. After a couple months of mentally detaching yourself from your dreads you will find a moment to just cut the dreaded part of your hair and get a proper haircut after. You don’t necessarily have to shave your head.

Rumor:

Honey, Glue, Chewing Gum, Rubber Cement, Mud, Peanut Butter, Shea Butter, Mayonnaise, Toothpaste, Candle Wax and Hair Gel are all stuff that works great for starting your dreadlocks.

Fact:

There is no need to add any products in your hair! Having a proper technique like in our how to make dreadlocks section of our website will ensure that your dreadlocks are done the best way without the need of any products at all, therefore your hair and scalp will remain danger free.

Rumor:

For starting dreadlocks, any products that’s says it’s made especially for dreads will work instantaneously.

Fact:

Any product that says made for dreadlocks or works on dreadlocks are usually created to add certain fragrance or shine to your hair to make them look neat. Most of them are made to make money and do not really turns your hair into dreads or accentuate or help the dreading process. Most of products sold on the market are petroleum base. Petroleum is commonly used as a lubricant and therefore will have greasy texture that will make the hair slippery and will not help in the locking phase where you want your hair to hold together.

Petroleum products are not suited for any textured hair even if it’s already been dreaded cause its composition makes the hair untangles which is the inverse of what you want to achieve.

Methods:

Starting dreadlocks can be done in many ways and even though there are different methods let us tell you that many people wish they knew how to make dreadlocks our way. Hereunder are different methods used since many years by mankind but not all of them have been proven effective for having nice dreadlocks. We will demonstrate different ways of doing dreads, show you how to fix dreadlocks and inform you the best that we can, so you can actually acknowledge the upside (advantage) and downside (disadvantage) of each techniques so you can decide with your own judgment which method suits your lifestyle.

Backcombing:

Advantages:

Backcombing hair is only one of the first step in creating dreadlocks. Backcombing hair is done by taking a string of hair and with a comb you gather hair from the end of the string back to the root of the hair. It creates a structure for the dreads but left alone it will just tangle unevenly and get messed-up, creating knots with a not so good appearance. Creating the structure with the backcombing method is a great way to control the size shape and length of the dreadlocks you want to have. Controlling the aspect of the dreadlocks can be achieve easy with this technique thick to thin or smooth to rough dreadlocks, backcombing is a natural technique that will work on all type of hair.

Disadvantages:

Creating dreadlocks is a process and backcombing is only part of the process of dreading the right way. Backcombing should only be use in combination with crochet techniques otherwise it will just leave the structure of the dread to tangle together and create uneven and ugly knots.

Instructions:

First you have to section the hair into a circular form almost like a drop of water that is about to fall from a surface. Sectioning this way will give it a more natural aspect and will help your dreads to not tangle in one another but if you prefer sectioning them with square, triangle or diamond shape if you wish it will not affect the dread itself as long as you keep the surface grouped and not large or wide. Usually you have to section so that it fits the form or surface of the hair area. On some people the hairline is straight in the frontal area and on some others it is more like a “U” shape so you have to define correctly the surface where you are going to make a dread so it does not look weird when completed. The surface of hair from where you define the amount of hair, which will be in the dreadlocks, as to be chosen on a case by case. Taking in between 1 inch and 2 inches circumferences cannot apply to everyone because nobody has the same size of hair, density and length. When separating you have to go with what you see and also go your feeling to try to imagine how its going to look when all finished. When sectioning you can temporarily secured the area with rubber band if you wish but make sure you don’t leave them in the hair after because by friction it will tend to pull out some hair out of the dreads that you have previously done and will leave you with a massive headache if rubber bands are too tight.

When the future dreads are sectioned use a regular but rigid plastic comb to comb the hair backwards. Hold the string of hair firmly and start close to the scalp, not more than a couple inches away. The move has to be repetitive and directed towards the scalp. Eventually hair will start to accumulate towards the roots. Twisting the hair is not a must and it is actually better if you don’t twist them, as it will give a much nicer dread that will not give the aspect of hair rolled around it. So don’t roll the hair you are holding between your fingers while you are backcombing. While continuing to backcomb, slowly work your way towards the ends of the hair string, making the dread as round as possible as you go. Work your way slowly to create a puffy kind of dread. When you reach the ends of the string of hair you can start the crochet technique to reduce the size of the dread and compact it slowly to obtain the desired size then you will be able to lock the dread using the locking technique shown in our classes (see http://urbandreadlocks.com/how-to-do-dreadlocks).   Securing the dread with rubber band is not the way to go. Rubber band on the base will help the dread to stay tight at the roots but will not do anything good once you take it off and on top of this it looks bad and unprofessional.

It is true that rubber bands can be removed after the dreadlocks has matured but between you and me the maturing process with our technique is around 10 days so why be bother with rubber band instead of doing it the right way. People often apply bee’s wax or dread wax after putting rubber band to each dread. Just to give you a great advice, any wax will attract dust in the air and all the loose particles floating in our environment will just glued to your dreads. After a while it accumulates and when it’s time to remove it from your hair it is almost impossible because your hair is now into dreads and the worst is that you can’t even comb it out. Trust us on this, clean dreadlocks is a must so don’t add any product that you will eventually regret.

Even if you want to waxed your dreadlocks with a dread wax that is petroleum free you should not put it in your dreadlocks as it will seized in your hair and almost impossible to remove unless you undo your dreadlocks under hot water source, a comb and a lot of patience. On top of this the wax will give the appearance that it will keep loose hair tightly close to the dreadlocks and help it dread faster but in reality it just attract dust and other particle in the air to jam it together.

Dreadlocks that are formed by backcombing are just the main structure done to create the rough aspect of the dreads. It is not true that with time they will just mature and get prettier. You need to do a bit more work onto them, which means that if you want them to be smooth and tights you need to do this with the crochet techniques. Soaked properly after being created, washed and well maintained using good crochet technique is the key for having neat, clean and amazing dreadlocks. Dreads that are made properly with backcombing and crochet technique are usually 95% done and with our soaking technique the dreadlocks obtain maturity within 10 days. It is not true that the hair continues to dread by itself as it grows but with our technique the hair tends to stay together more and favors the hair to tangle a bit without getting stuck. Normally, with our technique the maintenance sessions are only every 4 to 6 months compared to 3 to 4 weeks with other techniques. If you want to lose your time on something you can try rubbing the root of the dreadlocks clockwise or counter clockwise as you wish to see that it does not help at all.

Useful tips:

If you are starting with fresh and clean, residue free hair it will make the process go a lot faster. Any residue in the hair will tend to make the hair slip out of the structure of the dread as you start backcombing or working with the crochet. Also make sure that the hair is completely dry when you start backcombing.

Trying to do this with a friend is not really the best way to go, as they probably don’t have any or little experience doing it. If you want a recipe for success we strongly suggest that you go see on of our professional. Paying for proper deadlocking services is always an advantage considering that the time and money spent will not be lost as it will be done professional and that any of your dreadlocks hairstyles won’t have to be redone again.

Wool Sweater or Wool Hat rubbing

Advantages:

We don’t really see any advantage in using the wool sweater and wool hat rubbing except that if you have something made of wool you can start right now at trying to create a dread-like look. It is a natural method that you can try on your own.

Disadvantages:

The hurting is incredible and the kind of knots that it creates doesn’t really look neat plus you can control the size very much. It gives a very awkward and messy look and more often that usual people end up cutting their hair an growing for many months before trying a better method.

Instructions:

For this technique you can use any wool sweater or hat and rub it in circles on your head. After about 10 to 20 min, if your hair has enough length, knots will be forming. As the hair tangles together you separate the hair apart as if you would do the rip method to try to isolate some part to form dreads. Once you have done this process the trick is to repeat the rubbing until it tangles some more… You can repeat this process over and over as much as you want or as much as you can handle to create something that looks like a dread. You will find a lot of loose hair coming out with this method all you need to do to try to insert it is to work it with a crochet.

Neglect

Advantages:

This is the only method you can actually do without the help of no one and the funny thing about it is that you don’t even have to participate yourself. it is a very easy method that don’t require any product, tools or any knowledge at all . you just need to have a lot of time because the process is very slow.

Disadvantages:

The biggest disadvantage is that it takes years for the hair to start looking like some kind of dreadlocks no matter what hair type you have.   It will look very knotted and they will not be similar to each other. Each one will have its share of problems. The root surface is neither never even nor the dreads itself and the hair tends to tangles very easily in other dreads. You don’t really need a minimum length to do this technique and one way or another it will end in a messy, nasty dreadlocks either flat skinny, huge or so much out of control that you’ll do like most of people and get sick of them and cut them off before they even mature.

Instructions:

The name says it all; the neglect method is all about neglecting and not caring at all for your hair. We don’t necessarily agree with this way of doing things because first, it’s not very sanitary and just because people don’t wash their hairs often as they should it tends to leave a very bad order that almost anyone can perceive. But anyway you just need to let your hair grow naturally and from time to time you can separate a few dreads that are stuck together. The use of rubber band is often required as you can control some of the hair to tangle together even if most of the people that does this technique don’t use rubber band at all it is always an option for someone who wants to give it a little cleaner aspect. Made sure that if you want to try this technique that you are willing to wait a couple years for results. We don’t really feel that people who are trying the neglect method are really interested in dreads but that they are just fed-up of dealing with their hair and are just letting them do what they want.

Dread perming

Advantages:

 It almost looks like dread.

Disadvantages:

Dread perming is a chemical process that damages your hair. Dreadlocks formed by the perm method often require professional maintenance that cost a lot of money and can irreversibly damage your hair.

Twisting

Advantages:

Twisting method is done naturally. It is a good technique to control the aspect of your dreads even though you do not control the tightness as they form. There are many salons that offers the twisting method and doesn’t really cost a lot for one session.

Disadvantages:

Twists are more frequently done on African textured hair as the hair is formed like a chromosome (it goes in any sense and has 90 degree angles) Caucasian hair doesn’t work for this technique!

Instructions:

First of all the hair should be sections into squares, diamond shape or any other sectioning style. Sections should be done accordingly to fit the client’s hair density. If your client doesn’t really have a lot of hair and you do the sectioning too small it will create a too smaller dread that will eventually thin out and fall. Most people have a sectioning of around 1 square inch to 2 square inch. Securing the section with a rubber band is always a good idea, as it will hold them in place while you work on it and also on the other ones nearby. When you have completed the sectioning of the head you will need to twist each dread clockwise or counter clockwise it is as you wish and it doesn’t matter which way you go. You can use your finger or you can use the end of a comb to gather the hair on its end and twist it until the hair come out of the comb and repeat. To hold the twist in place some people use thick non-petroleum base wax to secure the dreads then switches to thin wax after the hair merges together but we don’t recommend it as like we mentioned many times, it will attract dust and particles in the air and will automatically dirty the dreadlocks permanently. Others apply rubber band at the base but if you do you have to make sure that it is not attached too thigh to prevent breakage. Leaving the rubber band at the root and the end of the twist for a couple weeks is usually enough. Regularly the hair should be twisted, as it will help to lock them up.

For people with short hair the twisting can be done just by hand without even sectioning the whole thing. Done frequently the hair will actually separate in dreads by itself. For very short hair you can also use a fine bristle brush and rub gently in a circular motion on the scalp. As you do it over and over, a small formation of tangled hair will start to form and will eventually turn into dreads.   It’s a very long process but some people like it as it forms dreads by itself almost naturally as it grows.

Products and accessories

Dread Wax

A quality dreadlocks wax is a must for people who decide to go that way. Non-petroleum base wax with maximum hold is better for starting dreadlocks and as you go you can use a lighter dread wax just to keep holding the hair in place and or just to add a little fragrance. We do not support the addition of wax in the hair but some people say that Vitamin and nutrient enriched wax is also supposed to be good to prevent breakage of the hair as it will nourish the hair. We think that having good technique to do dreads is not suppose to break the hair as you dread so, use your best judgment before its too late.

Dread Cream

The addition of cream in dreadlocks is not as bad as applying wax in the hair but it is still the same thing in a sense that it act like a lubricant in the hair and attracts dust and other particles that usually get stuck in your dreads. Cream compared to wax is soluble in water so it’s a lot less damageable for your hair and can contribute to nourish your dreadlocks and keep normal moisture level. Some of the cream on the market have different nutrient that can help your hair but it is very important that you continue to wash your hair on a regular bases so there is no silky substance or residue that will either make the hair slip out of the dreads or attract all sorts of crap that will get stuck in your dreadlocks and make them smelly and not attractive. Having strong and healthy locs will actually promote the growth of your dreadlocks and make them look at their best.

Dread Shampoo

Many people have this misconception when it comes to washing their dreadlocks; They think that they necessarily need a formula that is made especially for dreads but they are wrong. All you need to know before you start washing your dreads is that regular shampoo (without conditioner), dishwashing liquid, lemon juice and vinegar solution are your best friends for regularly cleaning without leaving any residue behind. Usually, Washing your dreadlocks thoroughly and leaving the shampoo to do it’s work for 10-20 minutes leaves enough time for the residue and dirt to detach from the hair but almost nobody does it correctly that is why it is important to respect this time frame in order to give your dreadlocks the proper care. What is also very important when you wash your hair is to rinse thoroughly so that you remove all particles detached by the shampoo. The best way is to start rinsing from the top with a hand-held shower by placing it directly on the top of your head and leaving the water penetrate inside the dreads and forcing the excess shampoo, residue build-up and dirt out completely. Work your way around the head from top to bottom of you scalp and don’t even think about you hair, just think about the surface or you head first and if your hair is long enough just grab the rest of your hair in a bundle with one hand and with the other one press the hand-held shower against your dreads so the water penetrates and work your way downward until you reach the end of your dreadlocks. Your hair should be deeply rinsed once you reach that stage. Clean dreads will favor the tithing and will also help you make new friends instead of repulsing people around you.

Dread Combs

Dread combs are used by Professional to actually start the deadlocking process using techniques to construct the structure of the dreads. It is important that you use a semi-rigid plastic comb instead of a metal comb to ensure that you don’t break the hair as you follow the backcombing technique. Metal comb are often misused as people are compressing too much the hair to create the structure and end up breaking the hair, pulling the hair out of the follicles or creating unwanted knots.

Beads

Many people are wearing beads for decorating their dreads. Many online stored are selling beads and the price ranges in from a few cents to tents of dollars depending on the material and style. The only things you have to worry about is the size of the beads hole for it to fit the dreads and to be careful when you shake your head for any reason from sides to side as the beads can end-up breaking one some teeth in your mouth as it will loop around your head or even end-up in your eyes or even hurt somebody else around you.

Tams headband and tubes

Tams headband and tubes are very popular accessories when you have dreadlocks. Some of the tams are crocheted, knitted and made of all sorts of different materials just like headband and tube but the purpose is the same and all of them where created for either holding your dreadlocks or just for appearance and style. All of them looks cool and are very practical when it comes time to either protect them or just to keep them out of sigh It come very convenient for working or in a family reunion when you want to look at your best.

Stand out of the crowd with your dreads and have them done properly MontrealDreadlocks.com is here to help you achieve your goal!

Montreal Dreadlocks is always there for you to answer any questions regarding dreadlocks in Montreal or anywhere around the world. Dreadlocks is not intended for others approval but for your own satisfaction and wellbeing. Dreadlocks don’t belong to any particular ethnic, religion, culture or gender therefore there is no discrimination and anybody can have dreads. No matter what style you chose for yourself it is important that you feel good about them and wear them proudly so you can express yourself the way you choose to. Montreal Dreadlocks .com doesn’t take responsibility for the dreadlocks that may occur as a result of any people creating dreadlocks with our dreadlock’s technique or information found on our site. We are professional dreadlocks services with over 16 years of experience and our unique dreadlocks creation and hair extension or hair integration is always done by an Urban Dreadlocks certified locticians therefore trying to do dreadlocks yourself or/and with the help of our technique mentioned in this article or anywhere on the site is up to your own risk. By getting our services you are guaranteed for perfect dreadlocks as our experience and knowledge have permitted us to create for you the most beautiful dreadlocks people will ever see in there life.

If done wrong, dreadlocks can be a major hassle and create more than a headache you could ever handle.   Growing dreadlocks and understanding the process of it and defining the right thing to do when you are face with a problem regarding your dread’s health is the most important aspect if you want to be worry free and enjoy your new life style. Having fun as your dreadlocks are growing the right way is far most enjoyable than always going crazy because your dreads are going unstoppably wild and out of control. Following our guide lines will help you for sure to get you dreadlocks on the right track but in any case, it is always a better bet and a pleasure for us to be directly helping you as a customer and also make you enjoy the experience of having dreadlocks made the right way.

Creating any dreadlocks hairstyles or just one dreadlock is a process but growing them is also a process that you can’t avoid once you already have your dreadlocks matured, as you have to maintain them properly. The environment you will give for your dreads to grow is primordial to its aspect and if you don’t put any effort to encourage this process your hair will just do as it pleases.   Some hair will just tangles into dreads by themselves and others will tend to grow outside of your existing dreads as the months if not years will pass by. Knowing all the facts before and during the growth of your dreadlocks will help you ensure that you are on top your game and fully living a joyful experience of having a unique, non-conventional and exceptional hair style that people will be jealous of.