Synthetic vs Real Dreads

When I do get the synthetic dreads and attach them (I don't have natural dreads yet) I read that keeping them in longer than usual can cause your hair to start dreading on it's own, is that true?

My personal experience is that when I have left the dreads in for 4 weeks or more my hair had begun to dread naturally. That being said, I would just use a healthy amount of conditioner and the dreads would naturally unravel. I would assume that there is a way to encourage the growth of those dreads to continue. Since that has never been my goal, I have no experience or knowledge to share on it.

I'm debating on whether I want to dread my hair now and add synthetic or add the synthetic and continue the dreading after.
Well, I guess that would be a personal choice. If you've never had dreads then synthetic dreadlocks would allow you to see what having dreads is like and give you the immediate gratification of having them right away. You could then take them out and start up your own dreads. Remember, your hair will be a couple inches longer then. Then, you could always put the same synthetic dreads back in your hair!

Sorry for all these weird/dumb questions.

Not weird or dumb. Rather, they are perfect normal questions to think about when considering dreads and how you might want them to interact in your life.

I just don't want to spend a ton of time, not to mention pain in my arms, dreading my hair if it will start naturally with the synthetic.

Oh, well... then I would go with synthetic first. :-)

Attaching & Washing Synthetic Dreadlocks

Hello,

Hi Leah!

I was wondering. I used to have dreads and I was not able to get them to "lock" like they should have. I'm not sure why. I waited a while after doing them to wash it, and when I did I used a bar of organic soap to do so, no conditioner. Anyway, I was thinking about doing them again and was wondering how long I should wait before washing and then how long before adding extensions?

I think you might be on a mission to do something that is not something we do. We make synthetic dreadlocks which we attach to real human hair that is currently alive and growing out of your head.

There is no downtime, no need to wait dread your own hair. That is a completely different process. There is no need to wait for your hair to grow. And! We don't

attach dreads to your own dreads that are growing in.

If you want to grow your own dreads and they are still quite short but you want long dreads, it is possible to attach the synthetic dread at the root/scalp along side the real dread and in no way affecting the growth of the real dread. This would allow for length while allowing your real dreads to grow in naturally.

I've never had any desire to grow real dreads and therefore have no actual experience with the process of it.

With our dreads, just wash your scalp and hair as often as you normally would. Personally, I have found that wet dreads are a little heavy and ours are very tight so they can hold a rich, thick shampoo very well. This means it takes a while to wash

it out. Therefore, I generally just dilute the shampoo which I'm

washing the dreads with while also using full shampoo at my scalp. That works best for me.

We don't put and leave any kind of soap or wax in the dreads. It's all very clean and fabulous smelling! :-) It also looks great and is easy to care as you're growing your real dreads.

Also, when I do get the extensions, which I want for length not fullness.

Right away! There is nothing to wait for.

I saw a video once where the "fake" dread was placed at the end of the natural dread and then sort of knotted into eachother.

I can't imagine why a person would do that. Just let your real dreads grow and compliment them with the synthetic dreads until your real dreads are the length you

want them. I'd worry that the real dreads might not fair too well if you tried to add extensions to them. Plus, real hair and synthetic hair are not the same so the top half being real hair mixed with the bottom half of the same dread being fake doesn't

seem like it would look good. Now, I've seen a lot of real dreads mixed in with synthetic dreads - side by side - and that looks great perhaps because one isn't trying to turn a dread into something it's not. Real dreads are real. Synthetic dreads are synthetic. Perhaps posing one as the other doesn't work but putting them side-by-side and allowing them both to shine in their full glory works great!

That probably makes no sense...what I mean is the girl who was doing it used a

crochet hook to pull up parts of the synthetic and pull down parts of the natural so they would end up locking together. Would you recommend this with this type?

No.

I'm just wondering because I want kind of a "seamless" transition into the synthetic dreads. Thanks!!

I'd put them side-by-side. Let your real dreads grow into the fabulous long dreads they will become. Attach the synthetic dreads at the root of them. I would assume the look would be more nature... freer... and not trying to be something it is not. Even synthetic dreads are based in one's own nature and organic style. It is still about being true to one's self, one's taste and one's perceptions. I don't see how trying to turn something into something it isn't would work.

I understand how you could want to take this person's word for it, especially if she seems more knowledgeble than yourself or if you're looking for suggestions but I just don't agree with her approach on this. It might work for some and that's wonderful for them. But it's not something we do, have any desire to do or could in any way help you to reach that end.

Synthetic dreads of fabulous length we can do!

Thanks for your interesting dilemma. I hope this helps and best of luck figuring it all out!

Kind regards,

Christine

Attaching Dreads to Short Hair

My hair is black but I don't have the slightest clue how to lock my hair it is soooo short.

Hi again, Harley!

Do you want to dread your real hair?
I've never had 'real' natural hair dreadlocks and with how thin my hair is it probably wouldn't look very good unless I added some synthetic dreads into the mix. Therefore, I don't know anything about starting new 'real' deads from hair already attached on the head.

We create custom wool and synthetic dreadlocks only.

Our dreads can be put in and taken out on a daily basis or they can be be attached to be semi-permanent lasting anywhere for approximately 1-2 months depending on hair thickness and growth.

My hair is thin so as it grows out and the dread starts pulling at the root of my scalp it hurts and I get headaches if I've left the dreads in for more than a month.

On the other hand, my daughter has really thick hair, so no matter how long her roots get it never feels like it individual hairs are pulling on the scalp. Therefore, she tends to reattach her dreadlocks every 6-8 weeks because by then the root hair is long enough to wear the dreadlocks don't hang right anymore.

Are you asking how long your hair must be before you can attach synthetic dreadlocks?
I've dreaded my hair when it was three inches long. It's easier to attach the dreadlocks to hair that is at least 4" but not necessary to wait until the hair grows out to that length.

A bad haircut can make waiting until hair is four inches long feel like an eternity. :-)

Well, I'm not sure what your question is but I've tried to answer it to the best of my ability. It would help if you were a little more clear in what you are looking for (advice for making real dreads, how to attach synthetic dreads, how long hair needs to be before dreads can be attached to short hair, etc?).

Note: I don't know what 'lock my hair' means but it really sounds like your hair is going to the slammer! ;-)

Adding Synthetic Dreadlocks to Real Ones

Hi,

Hi Tevyn!

I already have existing dreadlocks in, but I would like them to be fuller and longer. I was wondering if your extensions can be put into already existing dreads or strictly hair that is not dreaded?
Over the years, we have had several people purchase our dreadlocks to add to their own existing, natural dreadlocks. I know it has been done and can be done. We've had great feedback on it!


Would the single-ended or double-ended dreadlocks work best?
I think this would be personal preference. The dreads could be attached with thread, sewn in or a rubber band could be used. Any of these ways of attaching dreadlocks would work with both the single and double ended dreads.

I also am curious when my hair does grow out, is it possible to take out the extensions and reapply them at the root?
Absolutely! I need to reattach my dreads every 4 weeks and my daughter reattaches her about every 6 weeks. I have thinner hair so the dreads pull sooner on mine than on hers.

Thank you for your time.

You're Welcome!