9.1.3 – Dreadlock Age and Maturity

WHAT THIS LESSON CONTAINS:

• The Younger The Better
Young dreadlocks are so much easier to work with. When the dreadlocks and the hair is still soft and loose you can do so much more work with the crochet hook. If you intend to crochet loops it’s best to do so as soon as possible.

• Old Loops in Old Dreadlocks can be impossible
Old loops in aged dreadlocks can be virtually impossible sometimes. Keyword, SOMETIMES. There are situations where a client just has very thick dreadlocks with very thick hair and their dreadlocks are a decade old. Loops in dreadlocks like these are usually permanently established and you’re more likely to break hair trying to crochet the loops in than you are to successfully pull the loop in. This isn’t a rule, but my general experience.

• Age isn’t as important as malleability
More important than age is malleability. It doesn’t matter how old the hair is as long as the loops and surrounding hair is still malleable enough to crochet all the hair in.

• Be careful about breaking hair in aged loops
If you’re breaking hair you probably just want to stop there. When clients ask me to crochet their aged loops, I’ll give it a try, but if everything is tight, aged, and brittle and I’m breaking hair. I simply tell the I can only crochet younger loops.