Can I Cut My Dreadlocks? Can I Wash My Dreads?

Quick question. Can I cut my dreads if they happen to be too long? If so, how would I go about doing it so they stay intact?

I would strongly suggest against cutting our dreadlocks. It's better to have them made the length you need them in the first place. So, hopefully, the dreads will be the right length. Next time, just be really specific if you know the exactly length. A lot of times people will give a range and really don't want the dreads so precise while other times people give exactly lengths.

If the dreads are several inches too long, I suppose you could cut them at the top where you would put them on the scalp. I've never done this and, again, I do not recommend this but if you absolutely feel like you must then I suppose this would be my thought on the matter. Perhaps cutting the dread at an angle be better than a blunt cut for the purposes of attaching the dread to the head after the cut. I would reseal the dread.

Sealing the dread helps to keep it from untangling or from falling apart. Our dreads are tightly backcombed and are all sealed before sent out so people don't have problems with them falling apart. In fact, our dreads tend to get tighter over time. That being said, your dreads will be new and will not have had the opportunity to tighten more, so resealing them might be helpful.

To reseal the dreads just take the end that you cut and place it in boiling water. Just the very end needs to be reboiled - perhaps an inch or so? After the resealed end of the dread has dried, I would suggest taking thread that is the same color of as the dread and wrapping the area that you cut. If you don't want to wait until the dread is dry then blow dry the end of the dread with a normal hair blow dryer.

Assuming you've cut the dread at an angle, it seems likely that you could attach the angled end to your hair directly with the thread - just tie the end of the dread onto your hair as you would if there were a loop. If the resealed dread doesn't look like it will come apart then you might not feel the need to wrap it in thread. Or, you might feel that only a quarter inch needs to be wrapped in thread to re-enforce and protect it.

Again, I do not recommend cutting our dreads (even though our dreads are probably some of the strongest dreads out there). If you do this and you ruin the dreads then this is a choice you are making for yourself and not one that we will feel an responsibility for... Hopefully, the dreads will be a workable length for you. If not, let me know how this option works out for you.

Luckily, I did send you a couple extra dreads which will give you something to experiment on first. You

could try it on one dread first. If it doesn't seem to work, just don't do it on the other dreads and then you'll still have a full set of dreads.

Another option that I don't recommend or endorse is burning the end of the dread. This will discolor the dread and turn the end dark. For your darker dreads this probably wouldn't be an issue. Although, the burnt bottom of the dread might show on the red pepper and lilac purple dreads.

Again, let me know what you try and how it ends up working for you.

What care info would you suggest for my dreads once I have them put in?

Both Sophie and I leave our dreads in for months at a time - until the hair has grown too long and so we need to take them out then put them back in again. Are you planning on taking your dreads out on a regular basis or attaching them on a more permanent basis?

If the dreads are left in your head then just shampoo them with the rest of your hair. If you use a bobby pin or the equivalent so the dreads come out at the end of the day then just wash them with your regular shampoo in the sink.

...thanks a heap! I love this business you have going. It feels more intimate and like you have the best interest of your customer in mind... champion :)

Thanks much! We love making dreads and doing our part in making the world a more beautiful and colorful place for all of us!

Best,

Christine

Steaming Kanekalon Dreads

Just wondering, I made some Kanekalon fiber dreads and boiled them to seal them and also have touched them up with using a steam iron... They stick together so badly, drives me nuts...how the hell can I fix them!?

A torch? Just kidding.

Did you use a hair products on the dreads? Gel? Hairspray? Wax? Mousse? I'm not sure why the dreads you made are sticking together. Synthetic fibers backcombed are ratty and therefore loose pieces can maybe cling to another piece from another dreads but it doesn't really sound like that is the problem you are running into.

We don't steam iron our dreads. So I don't have experience as to how that might effect the process.

Have you tried wool dreads. They are very soft... at least for the first while. After a few weeks they get lint balls like a sweater might so they don't have the longevity of synthetic dreads. But wool dreads are smooth and warm - which is perfect for winter. Wool dreads are also very heavy when you wash them in the tub/shower. Whereas, synthetic dreads do not get heavy since they are a synthetic fiber the water doesn't hold to the dread.

Have you tried washing the dreads? If it is a hair product then a little shampoo should fix it.

Well, those are all the suggestions I have. Let me know if you figure out what has caused it. And, let me know if you'd like us to make some dreads for you. Ours aren't sticky. :-)

How to Make Two-Toned Wool Dreads

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 with Thread

Synthetic dreadlocks sound like a good option.

I definitely want to keep them in at all times, so I'd use the thread.

Use new thread. From experience, I've learned that old thread (that was left in storage for a few years... or something equivalent to that, isn't as strong, can become brittle and break. I always use cotton thread.

The thing is that I don't really trust my friends or parents to do it so I guess I'd go to a salon.

You know your circumstances best. Everyone's situation is different.

So with threading do they just connect it to the base of your hair somehow?

See the picture with the loop? That is a single-ended dread. Put the hair through the dread. Then wrap the thread around the dreadlock and hair. I usually wrap a couple time then tie a knot, then wrap, then knot, then wrap, then knot. It makes the knot more secure so that even if the thread breaks in one part it'll still hold from the other knots. I also like to double the thread before tying it onto the dread.

And when you say they last through many washes, what do you mean?

I mean our dreads do not fall apart. A lot of dreads are machine made. They tend to be lose and fall apart easily. Our dreadlocks are handmade and I've never had one fall apart. In fact, they only seem to get stronger over time.

I'm interested in keeping them permanently (wear them constantly for at least a year or so). Would that work?

Your hair grows. Therefore where you tie the dread into the hair will move further and further away from your scalp as your hair grows. Dreads generally need to be taken out and put back in every 6-8 weeks. Therefore, given the above parameters, you could wear them for a year.

I saw you wrote to another customer that you can sew them in.

I'm guessing the other customer had real dreadlocks and wanted to add synthetic dreadlock extensions onto the real dreads or to increase the overall number of dreadlocks to give the look of a fuller head of hair. That's a different circumstance than your situation.

Sorry I have so many questions! But I appreciate it.

No problem. Glad to help!

Kanekalon Dreads

Hiya

Can you help me with some kanekelon questions?

Thanks

Coyote


Hmmm... maybe. Could you please be a little more specific. ;-)

Or, of course, I could just guess what your question is and then randomly answer it. Like, I could guess you want kanekalon dreads to match your name. Therefore, you want 18-22" double-ended natural toned browns dreads with a couple red and orange dreadlocks intermingled. About the width of a sharpie.

Yes, you can wash kanekalon.

Yes, kanekalon is durable if it is made correctly. Machine made dreads tend to fall apart fairly quickly. Whereas hand made or custom made dreadlocks that are made with care and attention can last for a very long time. Honestly, our dreads seem to get tighter as time goes on.

Okay... so it might be better if you actually asked the question yourself!