Why a Dread Detox is crucial for healthy dreadlocks

No matter how clean you think your dreadlocks are I guarantee that there is plenty of residue buildup inside. Even the best shampoos that claim to be “residue free”, including shampoos designed for dreadlocks, often leave residue behind. In this section you’ll learn why doing a routine Dread Cleanse/Dread Detox is crucial to deep cleaning and removing buildup in dreadlocks!

1. Baking soda absorbs oil and residue

Residue buildup is mainly due to ingredients in shampoos that don’t wash out and the accumulation of sebum from your scalp. Sebum is an oily secretion of the glands on your scalp which may sound gross, however it is a very natural part of having a healthy scalp. Sebum production is only a problem when it builds up inside your dreadlocks.

Soaking in baking soda water will leave you with a fresh scalp and lighter, healthier dreadlocks by removing buildup!

2. ACV rinse balances the pH levels

Apple Cider Vinegar keeps your scalp at a healthy pH level, which contributes to a healthy amount of sebum production.

More on pH levels in the “MUST KNOW” section below!

3. Prevents mold, mildew, lice, etc.

Apple Cider Vinegar contains acetic acid which is a powerful antimicrobial that kills bacteria and fungus. I’m sure no one wants anything to do with these problems.. Do I have to explain more?

4. Even more benefits of using ACV!

There are many benefits of doing a Dread Detox with ACV rinse for your dreadlocks. Here are a few to boast:

• Softens rough feeling dreadlocks
• Tames frizzy and fuzzy hair
• Stimulates hair growth
• Can help prevent hair loss
• Reduces split ends and breakage

Dread Detox guidelines you MUST follow

There are a few key details you must do correctly to avoid damaging your dreadlocks which I have outlined below. This is a MUST READ if you’re doing to do a deep cleanse!

1. You MUST follow up with ACV

Although baking soda is very effective at removing excess oil and shampoo residue, it is VERY harsh on your scalp! In this section I’ll explain some basic information about pH levels and how that applies to our dread cleanse.

The importance of following up with ACV mainly comes down to pH levels. According to Wikipedia, pH is a numeric scale used to specify the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. In layman’s terms it tells us how acidic or alkaline a water soluble substance is on a scale from 0-14.

A healthy scalp will range between 4.5 and 5.5 on the pH scale. Baking soda, on the other hand, has an extremely alkaline rating of 9. Apple cider vinegar has a pH rating of around 4. To put things simply, baking soda is very harsh because it creates an imbalance with the pH of your scalp. Following the Baking Soda soak with Apple Cider Vinegar will neutralize and dilute the Baking Soda and balance the pH of your hair and scalp back to the healthy level that it loves.

2. Only deep cleanse 3-4 times per year

Using too much baking soda and/or using it too frequently may contribute to stripping too much oil and sebum from your hair and scalp. This excessive stripping can lead to an overproduction of oils because your scalp is trying to balance and replace the oils that you strip with baking soda.

Using baking soda in place of shampoo is not recommended for this reason.

Alternatively, you can still ACV rinse locs after your normal washes on a regular basis. But I recommend only using baking soda for deep cleaning purposes a few times per year.

3. Be aware of Hard Water

I’ve recently moved to an area with very hard water and it has really been taking a toll on my scalp and my dreadlocks.

Instead of using water from the tap I use drinkable water from a large 5 gallon jug. This is recommended to avoid the minerals that are present in hard water that reduce the effectiveness of shampoos and this deep cleanse.

4. ACV Soaking vs. ACV Rinsing

If you’ve followed along with the information above it may have raised a question in your mind asking “will a simple rinse actually penetrate my dreadlocks deep enough to neutralize the effects of the baking soda???”

This question raises the debate of soaking with ACV versus simply rinsing with ACV.

I personally think that soaking in ACV water would be far more effective from a theoretical standpoint, however my personal experience has always given me better results doing a rinse.

Feel free to remove the water after your baking soda soak, replace it with new water and apple cider vinegar, and try a soak instead of a rinse. However, you do not want to soak for more than 3-5 minutes in ACV. It can loosen your knots which can lead to your ends coming open, or just general loosening. 3 minutes is perfect.

How to do a Dread Cleanse

STEP 1 – Gather your necessities

STEP 2 – prepare your water bottle

STEP 3 – Place your towels

STEP 4 – Fill your wash basin

STEP 5 – Add baking soda

STEP 6 – Soak for 15-20 minutes

STEP 7 – Squeeze your dreadlocks

STEP 8 – ACV rinse your dreadlocks

We hope your Dread Detox went well and hopefully your water wasn’t too dirty! We highly recommend using one of our top rated shampoos to keep that water a little clearer for your next Dread Cleanse.

The top 3 Best Residue Free Shampoos for Dreads

#1. Giovanni – Tea Tree Triple Treat

#2. Free & Clear – Shampoo

#3. Trader Joe’s – Tea Tree Tingle

Product and Shampoo Guidelines for Dreadlocks

• Most commercial shampoos, and many dreadlocks shampoos, are not healthy for dreadlocks
• Avoid ingredients such as sulfates, silicones, paraffins, dyes, and artificial fragrance – these ingredients can lead to residue build up
• Avoid “shampoos” that are entirely comprised of oils – these are not actually shampoos at all
• Understand that the hardness of your water can dramatically affect your washing experience (we’ll be writing about this topic soon)
• Do not use a standard conditioner – opt for a moisturizer designed for dreadlocks instead
• Do not use baking soda/apple cider vinegar as a replacement for shampoo – using baking soda too frequently is very harsh on your hair and scalp
• Only use oils if you have dry hair and scalp – oils act as lubricants and allow knots to slip out which hinders the locking process
• Wax is never necessary and is certainly not recommended

Switching Shampoo for Dreads

If you decide to switch your dreadlock shampoo we highly suggest doing a Dread Cleanse to maximize the benefits of this transition. A Dread Cleanse will help to remove any residue that may have built up inside of your dreadlocks as a result of using certain products. Learn everything you need to know with our Dread Cleanse Guide Here!

Crochet Dreads – what exactly is it?

Crochet Dreadlocks is a method that uses a very, very small crochet hook to install or maintain dreadlocks. This method is not to be confused with latch hooking, which we will explain in greater detail within this post.

Although this method has been around for well over a decade, it has not been widely recognized by the hair industry as an effective way to install and/or maintain dreadlocks. Therefore you shouldn’t expect to walk into an everyday salon to get your dreadlocks crocheted, almost none of them have any idea what crocheting dreadlocks actually involves.

The majority of our clients come to us after a horror story from visiting a salon and we always manage to fix those problems for the short term AND the long term with this method. Hence, our conviction to crocheting dreads.

Despite the lack of this method in salons, it is growing in popularity and we’re very pleased about that. There are several reputable salons and individuals across the United States that crochet dreadlocks on a highly professional level.

Pros and Cons of Crocheting Dreads

Different variations of the Dreadlock Crochet method

From what I’m aware of, there are two main variations of the crochet method.

• *Micro Loops
• *Crochet Wrapping

*These are unofficial terms we’re using within this article simply to identify each variation 

Crocheting is NOT the same thing as latchooking!

Be warned! Most salons consider interlocking (aka latchooking/rootflipping) to be the same thing as crocheting dreadlocks!

The reason salons mistake this term is because the latch hook is considered a crochet hook, however these methods are entirely different.

DO NOT allow a salon to “Crochet your locs”, no matter how confident they seem to be, unless you show them a video of the method and you explain yourself fully. Most salons have absolutely no idea what crocheting is and they simply misinterpret your request as interlocking.

Crocheting dreadlocks is a very refined skill that takes weeks to understand and years to master. So, if a salon has never crocheted dreadlocks but make you all kinds of promises I would recommend running in the opposite direction, which leads me to my next point.

Dreadlocks falling off because you crochet dreads!?!?

This is one of those controversial topics and I’d like to clear it up right now.

CROCHET HOOKS DO NOT MAKE YOUR DREADLOCKS FALL OFF! If your dreads fall off and you’re using a crochet hook that means YOU are the problem, not the method. You’re doing something wrong!

Saying crochet hooks make dreadlocks fall off is the equivalent of saying that forks make people fat. The problem is not the method or the tool used for that method, the problem is the person using the tool the wrong way!

If you want to learn to crochet dreadlocks, we highly recommend buying fake hair to practice on first. You’ll want to intentionally break hair and listen for the distinct “snap” so you know what breaking hair sounds like. And although that’s a great start, you can still damage old or brittle hair without hearing that distinct snapping. As a rule of thumb for crochet newbies, I recommend learning on fake hair first and then only crocheting your roots every 2-3 months. That’s a great way to avoid 90% of the damage you could otherwise incur.

How to avoid damage with the crochet method

1. Use the right size crochet hooks

Using hooks too large can actually cause more breakage than anticipated, yet using hooks too small can be frustrating for people just starting out.

We typically use 0.4mm and 0.5mm crochet hooks for the work we do on our clients, however starting out will be easier with a 0.6mm crochet hook. And we also recommend using the soft touch crochet hooks over the skinny ones because of the ergonomic grip, and you have greater control over the direction the hook is facing, which is important.

2. Avoid crocheting bleach or aged hair

The most brittle hair is bleached hair and old hair that hasn’t been moisturized. This hair is the most prone to damage and therefore should be avoided.

Young healthy hair is much stronger and far less prone to breakage. The new growth at the roots is almost always the best hair to crochet since it’s strong and healthy.

3. Practice on fake hair first

We always recommend to learn the crochet method on fake hair first. Doing this can really help you prevent damage to your own dreadlocks.

You’ll want to intentionally break some of this hair so you’re more familiar with how it sounds and feels.

Another thing we recommend is vigorously washing the extensions you make with the fake hair. Washing vigorously will show you if you’ve been effective or not. It’s very easy to make a dreadlock look good, but whether the tightness lasts or not is a different story.

We walk you through the process every step of the way teaching you How to Crochet Dreads for Beginners here.

4. Seek out a professional

This is easier said than done for most people. It’s virtually impossible to find a salon that is thoroughly experienced with this method.

We offer our crochet services to Washington DC, Baltimore, Northern Virginia, and the metropolitan areas surrounding these locations.

Visit our Dreadlock Service Page to learn more and to get set up with an appointment!

Will the Dreadlock Crochet method work for my hair type??

Yes! 99% of the time it works as long as you can find a properly trained or experienced veteran of the crochet method.

South African Dreadlocks are my personal favorite dreadlocks to work with. The tight kinkiness of the hair works so well with our crochet methods and it is very easy to find bulk hair to match if we ever need to strengthen or re-attach Afro Dreadlocks.

In South Africa the crochet method is common and abundant. I’ve been told stories of crochet shops that compete with each other on the same street, and some people even grow out their dreadlocks just to sell them for profit. This shows the high demand for crochet dreads in South Africa.

Unfortunately, this method is much more scarce, forcing South Africans to struggle to find anyone who crochets dreadlocks the way they get it done back in their homeland. Many resort to twisting or interlocking methods which lead to their dreadlocks thinning out and breaking off. We’ve re-attached many South African Dreadlocks as a result.

We love our South African clients and hope to prevent many of these problems in the future!

Our entire business is based on finding a method that worked best for Caucasian hair types. I myself am Caucasian of German descent and after dealing with backcombing and wax with my first set of dreadlocks I knew there was a better way! So I did as much research as I could and started crocheting my dreadlocks. This was EXACTLY what I was looking for and I haven’t looked back since.

The crochet method will prevent or fix just about any problem you are likely to encounter with Caucasian Dreadlocks. Learn more about How to dread straight hair here.

Asian hair is among the most difficult to form dreadlocks with. The silky texture of Asian hair makes it completely impossible to use the twist/re-twist method or twist and rip, and it can be extremely difficult to backcomb as well. This leads us to crocheting, which is by far the most effective method for Asian Dreadlocks!

Latino hair types can also vary quite a bit, we’ve had hair types that cooperate very well and then we’ve had a few that have been almost impossible to work with.

Hispanic hair types tend to be very diverse, just as Caucasian hair types are. Therefore, the crochet method is almost always the best solution since other methods rely on specific hair types to work well.

Mixed Races

We’ve crocheted just about any mix of hair type you can imagine, including:

• Puerto Rican/Native American
• Japanese/Guam/Italian
• Korean/African American
• plus many more!

Almost all of our mixed race clients have the same story, they go to a salon for a re-twist or interlocking, and have problems later on that they hire us to fix.

This is an unfortunate trend that we see all too often, but at least we can fix their problems with the Crochet method that we use!

My completely BIASED rant as a dreadlock professional after working with ALL hair types:

• I believe that crocheting is 110% absolutely the BEST method
  • ALL hair types can be crocheted
  • Practically any problem can be fixed with crocheting
  • There is no need for ANY product, in fact products are discouraged when crocheting dreads
  • Tight dreadlocks are created almost instantly, especially for kinky hair
• I’ve been crocheting my own dreadlocks along with our client’s dreadlocks for over 5 years
• We’ve fixed many problems due to twisting and interlocking countless times

CROCHET DREADS SUMMARY:

Although this method is gaining in awareness and popularity, and it’s being sought after more and more, I’m still surprised at how rare it is for a salon to use this method.

I’ve been using ONLY this method for years because I learned very early on that it is hands down the most effective short term AND long term way to maintain dreadlocks for EVERY SINGLE HAIR TYPE!

There’s a reason I have such a high success rate with my clients and I have never had anyone unsatisfied with the work I’ve done by using a crochet hook.

I believe this method will slowly become accepted as the best way to maintain dreadlocks and Dreadlock Central is focused on helping to move the dreadlock community closer to this acceptance.

If you’re seeking professional help crocheting your dreadlocks you’ve come to the right place because that’s exactly what we do! To hire us to crochet your dreadlocks please visit our service page, select the service you want, read the page and fill out the form and we’ll respond with a custom quote!