As you section your hair, apply the wax and start twisting them with your fingers in whichever direction you like, it may be clockwise or anticlockwise. However, make sure that you twist all the sections into the same direction only. Twisting helps to tighten and bind hair into locks. It is advisable to initiate twisting from the tip of hair in the downward direction towards the scalp. At times, twisting in the upward direction from scalp thins the roots.

During the initial weeks, it should be done for up to 3 weeks regularly and then you can continue doing them whenever you can squeeze out time from your schedule. You may do it while watching TV or when you are listening to music as well. Instead of wax, you may also use dread cream whenever you twist your dreads to lock them together. It is a good idea to clamp the newly twisted locks with clips or rubber bands. You may grab different sections of hair randomly and repeat this with rest of the sections of your hair.

Many people often refrain from putting rubber bands as they think that they lead to breakage of hair. Well, this is undoubtedly true but you can avert it anytime as it is all depends upon you! If you do not put the rubber bands too tightly, it will never cause breakage of hair. Now, you can easily twist and turn your dreadlocks and ensure well-maintained locks without much hassle.

You may go to a hair stylist for this or try this out at home by yourself. Make sure that the hair is absolutely clean. Now, gather the strayed hair and roll them into the shape of a ball and identify the most closely associated dread to it. This will help you to recognize the dread to which these loose hairs belong. Once you know this, you can knot up the ball and put them into the nearest dread and start rubbing and twisting that dread in a clockwise manner. 

Continue this clockwise movement for a few minutes so that the hair ball attaches well to the remaining dread.  Now, you can put the rubber band towards the root of the dreadlock where you have placed that dread ball. The rubber band should not be very tight but just tight enough to hold the ball with the dread. This is perhaps the best method that is suggested for maintenance of dreadlocks. 

 So, in case you are tired of the untidy look of your dreadlocks, give the dread balling method a try and you will surely not be disappointed! You may also take the help from any of your friends for this method, if you find it difficult to reach out to the locks at the back of your head. Now, get set to rock the party with your ravishing hairdo of neat dreadlocks. You may also consider tying them at the back so that you can easily manage them. 

It is basically the dirty sebum of their scalp along with grime from their everyday life that holds their strands of hair together. This obviously is an unhealthy way of forming dreadlocks and is not recommended at all. The truth is that you can wash your hair on a regular basis and still have neat dreadlocks. The only thing you need to understand is how to wash them properly to maintain healthy dreadlocks.

The foremost thing in washing dreadlocks is to divide your hair into quarters and putting rubber bands on every quarter. This makes it easy for you to manage dreads while washing them. Your prime focus should be to clean the scalp and then work on hair towards the end. After this, you can rinse and repeat shampooing, if required. A conditioner is not recommended for dreadlocks.

While you select hair products for washing dreadlocks, it is a good idea to go for products that are specifically made for dreads. Knowing the texture of your hair also proves to be of great help. For example, finer and softer hair benefits more from the shampoo bar than any liquid shampoo. Cleaners such as a mild residue free shampoo or a castile soap can be preferred; in case special dread shampoos are not available in your vicinity.

So, please do not be misguided by such dreadlock myths unless you know the truth. Washing dreadlocks is necessary to make them appear neat and appealing and also ensure that they are healthy.

Palm rolling, as the name suggest, is rolling dreadlocks into the palms. This is similar to the way we used to roll play dough into the cylindrical shape during our childhood. The results by this method supersede those of twisting with fingers. Simply catch hold of the dread where you can see loose strands of hair coming out, normally visible near the roots, and palm roll them vigorously.

You can palm roll your locks anytime you feel like but generally it is advisable to do it right after you wash your hair and once you have soaked them with the locking accelerator. As the hair gets dry, you can palm roll them and also work upon it with some dread wax.

Apart from pushing frizzy hair inside, palm rolling is also useful to help your dreadlocks get rid of the unwanted bumps and lumps as this helps to smooth them. Last but not least, palm rolling is a great way to reduce the problem of over waxing. So, do not worry the next time if someone says that your hair shows white wax. Wait! You need not rush to a hairstylist as well. Simply palm roll your dreadlocks and they will just be fine and neat, the way you want them.

Anytime you feel your dreads aren’t looking perfect or that there are many loose hairs, just roll them in your palms and you should be good to go!

Once you have washed your hair with a residue free shampoo and dried them naturally, the next step is to section the hair so that you can concentrate on each section of the hair separately. It is highly recommended to have equal volumes of hair in every section as the size of every section will determine the size of every dread. So, unequal sections would mean dreadlocks of different sizes. This variation in sizes of locks would leave a few spaces amidst locks that appear to be odd until your hair growth covers it, some time later.

You can start by parting from the middle. Now, you can initiate working on one side and clip the other, so that it doesn’t get into your way. Further, you can section the unclipped hair into square of similar sizes and put a rubber band on every section. This would help to hold every section separately from the other and will be removed as you progress towards the next step of backcombing.

You should always section your hair in a checkerboard pattern to keep the dreads from lying right on top of each other once they have settled down. There is no escape from sectioning your hair if you wish to have attractive and neat dreadlocks. Better start now because it takes awhile!

While waxing dreadlocks is crucial to holding your locks together until they mature; there are a few questions that people who flaunt dreadlocks are often confused about. Some people ask about the amount of wax that they should apply to their locks? This is an important question as over waxing is a problem that is often faced by people while waxing dreadlocks.

The quantity of wax that is just enough to hold your loose hair is sufficient. Usually wax that can cover your little finger is adequate for one dreadlock. After all, we are not making a candle here, are we? You can start applying the wax from roots and work it over the whole lock. Further, use a blow dryer and heat your dreads so that the wax gets easily soaked in. This would also reduce the visibility of whiteness over the locks due to wax, which is especially noticeable on dark hair.

Another query related to waxing dreadlocks that people are curious to know about is how often they should wax their locks? Generally, you should use wax after washing your hair along with the accelerator. The quantity of wax that you apply on locks should reduce with time as your dreadlocks get mature.

Wax is essential as it allows you to smooth out any loose hair and fix it without dread balling it, which is definitely a time-consuming task. Waxing dreadlocks on a regular basis also helps to impart the required nutrients to your dreads so that they do not dry up and become damaged.

Once your hair is completely dry, you can make sections and lock them together with a rubber band. Sections can be anywhere from .5″ to 2″, depending on the size you want your dreads to be. Now, comes the turn for backcombing. It is helpful to make dreads in the initial 2-3 weeks and should be discontinued later. This is because backcombing if done during the time when your dreadlocks have started forming, it will only disentangle the dreads and nullify all your efforts.

It is advisable to use a metal comb and then start combing around an inch near the scalp. Keep on combing in this way, repeatedly. Gradually, hair would start to collect near the roots. Also, roll the hair for some time in your fingers. Now, continue with backcombing and start working from the scalp towards the end.

Finally, as you get to the ends, hold all dreadlocks one after another with rubber bands. These rubber bands allow the dreads to remain tight from their base. However, you can remove them later once your dreads become mature enough to stay intact without them.

Nonetheless, the next step of waxing also plays a crucial role in binding strands of hair into dreadlocks. But the base provided by a good backcombing and rubber bands cannot be ignored.

1. Dreadlocks can easily be made on kinky or curly hair. However, if yours is a wavy, thin or straight hair, home perm with thin rods would be a good idea. This gives the required texture to your hair.

2. When you plan for making dreadlocks, it is imperative to stop the use of conditioner at least a week before you start the process.

3. Now, the next step is to wash your hair with a residue-free shampoo. Another alternative is to amalgamate one quart of water with one tablespoon vinegar. Rinse hair gently with this solution on the day you will make your dreadlocks. This would eliminate any buildup or residue that may hinder the process.

4. Let the hair dry and start sectioning it into squares of 1 to 1 from the roots and twist them tightly. Put the rubber bands on these sections and concentrate on one section at a time.

5. Backcomb the twisted hair sections. Begin from the root, move towards the end and then back towards the scalp.

6. Further, add beeswax or styling wax that is used for making dreadlocks to every section and re-twist them. This would help the locks to stay in the twisted form.

7. Put rubber bands at the end of every dread. This gives rounded ends to your dreads.

Complete these steps over the entire head and work upon twisting, combing and waxing your hair whenever you find time. It may be while watching TV or listening to music. Nonetheless, make sure you seek help from your friends when you try making dreadlocks for the first time.

Dreadlocks do take lots of time to put in. They can take anywhere from 10-20 per dread depending on the size and the experience of your backcomber. I’m going to be dead honest, backcombing can be really painful at times so it is imperative that you have a load of things to take your mind off the pain. Things like video games, movies, music, books, food, etc. are all good for this job. Maybe even some good pain relievers!

Another thing you are going to need is a comfortable seating arrangement for you and your backcomber because it can become very tedious. Office chairs or something of the like is your best bet because they are meant to be used all day (and are also height adjustable). Setting up the backcombers chair higher then your hour will make the process less stressful for the person backcombing your hair.

Now, to make sure your hair is ready.. It is a myth that dirty hair is good for dreads. The oils in the hair will actually tend to loosen the hairs. You will need some residue free shampoo or soap to wash your hair with. These types of washers leave none of that smelly goodness behind that other generic soaps too. You will also need a metal comb to backcomb with. Plastic ones will not work as they tend to break after doing just a few dreads! Last thing you must have to complete the process is small rubberbands and dread wax. There are many other products out there to help speed up the process once the actual dread is created so check out the products page. Get ready!

Once you have your locks you will probably get a lot of questions about them so you should be ready to answer some questions like “how do you wash your hair?” or whatever it may be. Whatever the question is, you come up with your answer! These questions will get easier to answer over time.

People get dreadlocks for many different reasons including spiritual, fashion, or craziness. If you’re reading this right now you probably already have a good idea as to why you want to get your new locks, so stick to it!

Dreadlocks are a big new thing in your life, so now might be a good time to pick up other new things. You could go skydiving, read a new novel, or give up ciggarettes. Just another thing to add to this awesome and wild ride!