Dreadlocks are a popular rope-like hairstyle among both men and women. This is particularly common among the African folks and is now gaining admiration with Americans as well. There are a few set of steps that needs to be followed for making dreadlocks. Twisting is one important step that not only helps in the making of the dreads but also in maintaining them later.

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.

Don’t you wish to had smooth dreadlocks? Of course, this is one of the earnest desires of people with dreadlocks. Palm rolling is an easy solution that can fulfill their desire. You simply need to palm roll your locks whenever you get free time. The more you do, the more tightened and neat your dreadlocks will appear.

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!

Backcombing is the single most important step in making dreadlocks. But before you start it, you need to ensure that your hair is prepared for it. Before backcombing, you can start with a hair wash with a reside-free shampoo to eliminate any build-up. Let the hair dry naturally and section them thereafter. Make sure that your hair do not have any residue still left in them, else they may slip out from the knots during backcombing.

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.