The What ‘knots’ Of Dreadlocks

What are dreadlocks AKA locs, dreads or Jata (in Sanskrit)? For most people, it’s just matted hair that hasn’t been washed for eons, which in its entirety isn’t all wrong. But there is more to dreadlocks than just the appearance of matted, unwashed hair. Read on to know more

Dreadlocks have appeared way around 3600 years ago in the Minoan civilization, which was primarily in Crete, present-day Greece. Several frescoes excavated from the Aegean island of Thera also present-day Greece, more precisely Santorini displayed dreadlock hairstyles. Ancient Egyptians also wore wigs with locked hairstyles and many mummies have been unearthed with such wigs on their heads. There are several innumerable indications that dread have been around for centuries, what were they called back then no one knows, but around the time of the Mau Mau revolution, between the 1950s-1960s they started fighting the British rule and they vowed not to cut their hair until their leader, was released. This resulted in the dreadlocks and they were termed “dreadlocks” because the Mau Mau soldiers were dreaded.

After knowing that your dreadlocks carry a ton of history it is only fair that you understand how to take care of these wonderful locks of hair. Caring for dreads is demanding. This blog will help simplify it. Listed below is what you need to do.

Odour is a No-No

Hair dreadlocked or not will always catch some of the other odour. Moreover, our scalp sheds dead skin cells every day and you cannot wash your hair every day. This will cause your hair to have a build-up of cells and make it itchy and unpleasant to smell as well. Even sweat causes your hair to have a foul odour. After you work out or when you sweat a lot just let your dreads air dry. In case you want to battle itching and an odour you can massage in some tea tree oil on your scalp and roots. Helps fight bacteria and fungus. Wash your dreads only once a week with a sulphate free shampoo. This helps your hair not lose all its moisture and helps to grow dreadlocks.

Bald Patches

Bald patches are an issue that you can address by nourishing your scalp. Dreads cause a receding hairline and moreover re-twisting your dread very often causes your hair to thin at the roots and also pull and break. Make sure you massage your scalp ever so often. Use oils that help relieve your scalp. Avoid keeping it in a bun or plaits for long.

You can also follow some more steps like

• Put hair fertilizer every day. Since your hair needs extra nourishment.
• Make sure you massage your scalp and help your natural oils be stimulated to secrete and nourish your scalp.
• Apply oils to keep your hair always safe from dirt and also helps your hair be soft.
• Use a silk pillowcase and a bonnet to help reduce frizz and also have fluff attached to your hair.
• Do an ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar) rinse once in a year to clear out all the dirt, build up and help your hair be squeaky clean.
• Use a sulphate shampoo once a month to help clean up the build-up.

In the end, just love your dreads!