Hello Parents!
So your child wants dreadlocks. Woo hoo! Dreadlocks are a creative, unique, and wonderful hair style, and shows a lot of individuality. However, since you are reading this, chances are you feel a bit apprehensive about your childs newest hair idea. Let me put your mind at ease a bit. I am going to lay out some of the myths about dreadlocks, and let you know why they are called myths, because I feel there are some things you should know before laying down the law and saying "no dreadlocks". Ok? Lets begin!
Myth #1: "You can NEVER wash your hair"
Ok, that is so wrong its not even funny. Lets start with this: dreads are made up of knotted hair, and when you don't wash your hair, what happens? It gets greasy. And grease makes hair slick and slippery. Which means all the work I (the loctician) put into your childs hair to make it all knotted, is all for naught (pun intended). Simply put, if you do not wash your hair while your hair is still in the knotting process, those knots will simply come out due to the slippery environment that they are in. So, washing is a must. You know that squeaky clean feeling you get when you wash your hair? That is the most ideal texture for dreads. When I do your childs dreads (or whoever you chose to do your childs dreads), I will be washing their hair with a residue free shampoo and then drying the hair before I even begin the knotting process. The less slippery and oily the hair, the more friction there is for the knots to develop and mature into dreadlocks. However, your child will be advised to not wash their hair for at least a week, but 2 weeks would be ideal. Yes, the scalp will get itchy, and in the aftercare package I provide you with will be recipes for sprays that you can make for cheap which will alleviate the lil itchies that your precious child will get. Those itchies aren't because the hair is dirty, it is because the scalp is getting acclimated to not being stripped of its oils every day or two. I suggest having your child wash their hair less and less before the actual locking experience, so that the lack of oil stripping doesn't come as such a shock to the scalp. Also, not using conditioner for about a week prior to the knotting will do your child a world of good, because your child's scalp, as i said before, has to slowly get use to not having its normal hair routine. I usually suggest people go no-poo (apple cider vinegar as a conditioner, and baking soda as a shampoo) before dreadlocking so that the hair is more use to no shampoo.
Myth #2: "Wax is necessary for dreadlocking."
Wax is gross, sticky, and unapealing. I mean, who wants to put WAX in their hair? I don't. No, you do not need wax for dreadlocks, and if you really want something to hold those loose hairs together with, use raw aloe vera gel straight from the plant (or as organic as you can buy), or buy some Murrays Loc Lock Gel. Wax is primarily used to help hold the strands together to "help them lock up", but really it just makes it slippery and makes lint and random crap stick to them, making them look gross and dirty. Don't subject your child to that. Please. If you are concerned about your childs dreadlocks looking messy and fuzzy, take some aloe vera gel and apply it liberally to the dreads, and then twist them until they are little stumps on the scalp (wound really tight) and clip them down with a bobby pin and let them dry that way. Its a temporary fix, but it makes them look nice and tight, as well as curly and really cute. This also makes them easier to pull back in a ponytail and look more presentable, say for a family dinner, a holiday, or a formal school event. I, or your chosen loctician will go over all these things with you when you come in for your childs dreadlocks.
Myth #3: "Only black people can have dreadlocks."
Wow, prejudice much? All hair knots, all hair locks. What do you think happened to hair before combs and brushes were invented?! DREADS! Sorry for the rant, I get very passionate about this topic. But seriously, all hair can dread. Some hair may need more coaxing in order to make it knot because it is very fine or silky (I'm looking at you, people of asian descent), but it is very possible, regardless. There are ways to make even the silkiest and straightest of hair have a kinky, nappy texture. Simply put the hair in small, tight braids all over the area of hair that will be dreadlocked, leave them in over night, and when you brush them out, the hair should be dry, bushy, and kinky textured. Works like a charm.
Myth #4: "If you get lice, you have to shave your dreads off"
No. Just, no. If your child gets lice, its a fact of life, and an easy fix. Simply saturate the child's hair in rubbing alcohol, put a plastic bag over the head, and leave it in overnight. The alcohol will suffocate the little devils and kill them. Then, wash it out very well, and do it again the next night. After that, repeat the next night, incase there were eggs that hatched. Wash the hair VERY well, wait a week, and if you still see a few lice, worry not, just repeat. See, you need to repeat it a few times because the alcohol wont harm the eggs that the lice lay, it will only kill the lice themselves, so you have to repeat once the eggs have hatched. But, I assure you, you do not need to cut your child's hair off just because of lice.
Myth #5: "You need to shave the dreads off if you don't want them anymore, because they can't be brushed out"
I'm not sure who first came up with that rubbish, but that is false. Brushing dreadlocks out is very difficult, and may seem impossible if your dreadlocks are very mature and old, but it is still possible (exception being african hair, because it is so textured and kinky that brushing that out will be a huge problem. still, it should not be completely impossible, if you really go at it) What I do to remove the dreads is I saturate the hair in conditioner and leave it overnight, then brush the hair out in the morning. I will go into more detail about this on a different page though.
Ok, I have gone through the most common myths I can think of off the top of my head, (if you know of anymore common myths, you can comment them). Also, if you have any questions you feel I haven't answered, please, feel free to either comment them, or email me ( lilipaddd9996@gmail.com ), I will he more than happy to answer any of your questions. My last thing to say is, dreadlocks are given a very negative stigma from some people, don't let this prevent you from letting your child experience the wonder and excitement of this unique and incredibly beautiful hair choice. No, they wont make your child a criminal, or any less respectable. It is a daring fashion choice, and I commend you for raising such a free spirited and non-cookie cutter child.
Lots of love and Happy Dreading!
-Lili Locs
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