Dreadlocks & How to Start Them
Dreadlocks & How to Start Them
As part of the Tantrum Scentrum range of skin loving, environment friendly bath and cleansing products, I know that Dreadwax doesn’t entirely fit in. In fact, I’m pretty sure most of the un-dreaded amongst you will be wondering why on earth you could possibly need it and why Tantrum Scentrum developed a range of waxes.
Why
For those of us who choose to have our hair braided or bound up in locks or knots, maintenance involves using a thick mixture that will not only help hold those locks in place but has elements that benefit the roots and structure of the hair.
Originally I used a great brand called Knotty Boy who have a range of dreadlock related items. However, as they are based in Canada, getting hold of their products wasn’t easy here in the UK unless via eBay and when Brexit spilled out, it became virtually impossible to buy a pot at a reasonable price. My last cherished pot came from Holland and I still keep the last remnants in an old plastic Knotty Boy pot. They set the standard and I like to think that I’ve upheld that with my version.
What it’s for
Before I go all tech on you, just know that if you don’t maintain dreadlocks they will go dry and possibly break.
Fellow musician friends of mine used to work as crew for The Levellers and used to complain that quite often they’d be checking the stage post gig, looking for items that belonged to the band, only to find that the bassist had often left a part or the whole of one of his very long dreadlocks which had broken off, probably during his very lively performance that involved swinging his locks around, Lords of Metal style.
If I’d had dreadlocks back then and had known what I now know, I’d have dropped a pot of Dreadwax in his pocket and told him to get twisting. But then, he may not have known what I was talking about.
So here goes.
First dreadlocks
The following is partly from a conversation with Mama T, one of the organisers of Alice's Wicked Tea Party Festival in 2024 after we performed there for the first time.
Mama T was getting her hair dreaded for the first time. I was happy to give any advice I could although at that point it had already been 22 years since my own ‘be-dreading’ (not a real phrase by the way). Despite this, I very much remember the process as it has been something I’ve been asked about countless times.
Did it take long?
Did you get help?
Did it hurt?
Is it dirty?
And more often than you can imagine - Can I touch them?
These are just some of the things you’re likely to hear.
Preparing non curly hair
Some might say the best way to pre-treat your hair would be described as badly. The aim is to roughen up the hair and lift the cuticles of the hair shaft.
The cuticle is your hair’s protective layer, composed of overlapping cells like fish scales but facing downwards. In straight hair those cuticles are tightly aligned. With curly hair some are already lifted which is why it tends towards dryness and frizz.
To lift the cuticles many have used chemicals such as bleach. Other routes include washing the hair in sugar solutions or with normal body soap. These can work, although I have no way of knowing for how long, as I chose to go the all natural route.
If your hair is curly already, you may not need to pre-treat it at all. The knots will hold in place, although the hair is still vulnerable to breakage so nourishment is still part of the plan.
The part most people don’t enjoy
You don’t wash your hair unless absolutely necessary.
For the first four to six weeks it is a bit grim. The sebaceous glands in your scalp will go into overdrive and you will look like you’ve gone through puberty again. They are reacting to the last time you used shampoo because that squeaky clean feeling isn’t natural.
We’re used to strong surfactants that actually stimulate your scalp to over produce oils. The amount your scalp produces is exactly what your new hair needs. Any hair more than a quarter of an inch from the scalp shouldn’t be oily unless you’ve been rolling around somewhere questionable.
Length also matters. You need enough hair to form a stable dreadlock and the finished length will not match what you start with.
No gain without a bit of irritation
At around the six week mark, just as you’re about to lose your mind, the oil production suddenly calms down. In my case the greasiness disappeared completely and never came back.
That is the point to start.
There will be scalp irritation. The kind where your roots feel stressed like you’ve had a ponytail in too long. It does pass but there are ways to deal with it.
A quick plug for Rowax Dreadwax with rosemary. Rosemary is anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and antimicrobial so it helps with itchiness and anything that causes dandruff.
The joy of rosemary
Long before I knew anything about herbs or essential oils, I was advised to make a rosemary compress.
Get a bunch of rosemary, make a tea, let it cool, strain it, then dab it onto your scalp with cotton wool.
The relief is immediate.
The method to creating your dreadlocks
Part, back comb, wax and twist, repeat. Roughly seventy times.
That is the method in a nutshell but it is not for the faint hearted or short of time.
Mine were done by my partner and took two to three days over a long weekend. With more people helping it can be quicker.
You need to decide how you want them to look. Even sections or more random. Once you’ve decided, take a section and back comb from root to tip.
It will look like a messy stump of hair sticking out at odd angles. That is normal.
Now take a pea sized amount of wax, soften it, and work it into the dreadlock from root to tip while twisting. More details of this process are illustrated in a related blog called Dreadlocks & How to Maintain Them.
There should be little or no excess wax visible.
For new dreadlocks the tips are often too fine and need to be left. Do not cut them off for at least a week. They act as anchors while the cuticles settle into place.
When everything is done your scalp may react, especially if the twisting is tight. When mine were finished I looked like I’d been electrocuted. Imagine Frankenstein’s mistress. Everything is relative to your own circumstances, age, health and sensitivity. My hypersensitivity comes out in many ways - including my hair, it appears - but we're all different and even in my case, everything started to settle down within a week.
No dreadlocks left on stage
And the prize at the end of this journey? A happy healthy scalp with zero dryness or dandruff and strong, long dreadlocks that have been nourished by repeated applications of wax containing oils that smooth and protect the hair shafts within them. No breakages and no defectors left on the dancefloor or stage.
For more information on the maintenance of dreadlocks so that like me, you can have clean healthy dreadlocked hair for more than two decades, read my 2nd blog - Dreadlocks and How to Maintain Them.