Dreadlocks, with their distinctive appearance and cultural significance, have intrigued and fascinated people for generations. There are many urban legends, rumors, and myths regarding the growth, appearance, and maintenance of dreadlocks. In this article, we discover the ‘Facts and Myths about Dreadlocks,’ aiming to dispel some of the myths and rumors behind dreading your hair while uncovering the rich history and truths. This journey will take you through the real story behind these iconic locks.
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What are Dreadlocks?
Dreadlocks, dreads, locks, locs to whatever you want to call them are a type of hairstyle that includes matted ropes of hair.
Only black people can have dreadlocks
Nah, any race can have dreadlocks. Actually Medieval Irish Warriors, Maori people of New Zealand, Hindu Shiva worshippers of India, Ancient European Celts, the Sufis and the fakirs of Pakistan still wear or wore dreadlocks.
Your hair has to be dirty to dread properly
Nah. You get to keep your hair if you really love it. Here are the ways to get rid of them as howtodread.com tells us.
1. You can cut or shave your head if you don’t care about your hair, this is the fastest way to remove the dreadlocks.
2. Cut the deadlocks until they are about 3 inches long and then soak the rest of the dreadlocks in VO5 conditioner and comb them out. This will leave you with about 4 or 5 inches of hair.
3. You love your hair and want to keep it. Just soak the dreadlocks in VO5 conditioner and comb them out, it may take a couple of hours but you will get to keep your hair. Don’t worry if you lose a lot of hair while you are combing the dreadlocks out, this is hair that would have fallen out in the day-to-day hair removal cycle. The only reason you still have it is that you had dreadlocks and dreadlocks keep the hair all knotted together.
Dreadlocks can’t be shampooed
This is another one of the greatest myths out there. I’m afraid that’s not right as dreadlocks can be shampooed. However, it is advisable to use dreadlock shampoo, not just any shampoo.
Anyone with dreadlocks smokes marijuana
Since most people associate dreadlocks with Rastafarians who exaggerate their connection to weed smoking, they develop wrong assumptions that everyone with dreadlocks probably smokes weed. The truth is having dreadlocks has no connection whatsoever to marijuana smoking.
The only way to get good looking dreadlocks is to use the neglect method
If you need free-forming locs, the neglect method will best suit you. But there are many methods you can use to get good looking dreadlocks.
Dreadlocks are high maintenance
Most dreadlocks are not high maintenance. The only kinds that require high maintenance are those made from dread perms. Those made using other methods are not high maintenance at all.
Dreadlocks damage your scalp
Nah. with dreadlocks hair starts to dread about an inch away from the scalp. In fact, your scalp never even knows you have dreadlocks
Rubberbands break the hair
If used correctly rubberbands/hairbands can help roots and tips tighten. If they are applied too tightly, yes they can break the hair.
Can I dread hair myself?
Yes. you can use the twist & rip, brush rubbing, backcombing, twist & pin, twisting, dread braiding, and neglect methods to dread by yourself.
