Are dreadlocks hard to maintain?

Never has a hairstyle been so misunderstood and generated so many rumors. Contrary to popular belief, clean dreads lock up and tighten faster than dirty dreads. Maintaining dreadlocks is very different from maintaining other natural hair styles. Dreadlocks don’t need to be brushed and don’t require regular trimming. Like other natural hair styles, dreadlocks need to be kept clean.

Washing locs with the proper soaps and shampoos is essential to keeping them tight. The problem with most shampoos, natural or otherwise, is that they leave residue in the hair after they are rinsed out. You can easily detect this residue by smelling the hair, or your hands, after you have used the shampoo. Residues act as a lubricant making it very hard for the hair to lock and the locs to tighten. Additionally, residues cause itching when they build up inside your locs. This is why it is highly recommended that you use only residue free soaps and shampoo on your dreadlocks.

Your maintenance routine will vary depending on the age of your dreads and the method you used to start them. We all like the fresh look of a retwist, but if done too often it can start to create breakage and thinning at the root. However, as they continue to mature, locs become tighter and smoother and require less maintenance.

Locs tend to shed a lot, and protecting your edges and your scalp is crucial. Just like with any other hairstyle, sleeping with a night scarf (a silk wrap to avoid breakage) is so important.  A silk nightcap helps keep the moisture in your hair and scalp, as well as protect your hair from pillow friction. Make a practice of never going to sleep without protecting your hair.