Hair and Beauty: The do’s and don’ts of taking care of dreadlocks

I’m not a loc girl, faux locs, dreadlocks or even goldilocs aren’t exactly my thing, but you have to give the ladies who have cared and catered for their locs for years on end some credit. I never knew any maintenance went into dreadlocks, I recently got to find out that they need constant love and care, and contrary to popular opinion, can be kept neat and tidy rather than the perceived rough and dirty looking locks. I further went to research on how these dreads an be maintained to keep you looking clean and well kept. Here are a few things I found out.

1. Avoid using shampoos that leave residues: This was the first rule. Shampoos that leave residue can cause itching when they build up inside your locs and they can make it hard for thicker locs to dry properly. Above all, the residues act as a lubricant making it very hard for the hair to lock and the locs to tighten. To know when a shampoo leaves residue, you could smell your hair and palm, if it leaves a scent then it definitely must have left residue.
2. Make sure your hair dries properly: When rinsing out your dreads, first rule is to get all the shampoo out and to keep rinsing until the water is clear. Afterwards it’s important to completely dry out your hair by wrapping with a towel for 10 minutes then allowing it to air dry or putting it in a dryer. When dreads don’t properly dry they become very smelly.
3. Tie a scarf before bed: This rule doesn’t only apply to dreadlocks, it’s a habit everyone should try to emulate. Before bed, keeping your locs tied up helps to prevent frizz, and because dreadlocks attract lint, it could keep your dreadlocks neat. Be careful though not to squish up your locs in a small scarf, get a bigger scarf if you have bigger dreads, to give it room to breathe.
4. Dealing with breakage: Dreadlocks are prone to breakage when they aren’t properly moisturised. To avoid breakage, it’s good to keep the end of your locs moisturised, or you could keep them at a medium length, because the longer they are, the more prone to breakage. Finally you could do well to make your dreads bigger rather than thinner to prevent breakage.

Does anyone have more tips and tricks? Do share with us.

Image source: Pintrest.com