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Starting Dreadlocks in Perth
How long does your hair need to be?
Your hair needs to be at least 15cm long to start dreadlocks. The shorter your hair, the more it will stick up and not lie flat on your scalp.
Contacting Perth Dreadlocks
When your hair is at least 15cm long, send an email or a text message to us with:
- a portrait picture (selfie) of yourself with your hair out. We need to see your hair correctly.
- a few picture of the dreadlock size (thickness) that you would like to achieve.
How long will starting dreadlocks take?
It really depends on:
- how long your hair is
- if you would like to add extensions to your hair
- how thin you would like your dreads
Below is the average time of dreadlock creation for medium size dreadlocks:
| Dreadlock Creation – Half Head | 4 hours |
| Dreadlock Creation – Full Head – Above Shoulders | 6 hours |
| Dreadlock Creation – Full Head – Below Shoulders | 9 hours |
Will dreadlock creation hurt my scalp?
People with sensitive scalp or that don’t brush their hair often can find the dreadlocking process a bit more uncomfortable. Your scalp will be a bit more tender the first night you will on your new dreads but it will settle down quite quickly.
We don’t recommend applying products on your scalp such as essential oils or vegetable oils. Your scalp will settle down by itself.
How much shorter my dreads will be? Will I loose some length?
Usually, people will loose between 1/3 to half of their original length. Your dreads will also be much thinner than what you want. This is because your dreads will puff up as they mature to reach your desire thickness.
How long will it take for my dreads to mature?
It depends on your hair type, how often you wash your hair and how often you are doing your maintenance.
The kinkier the hair, the quicker it will be mature (6-8 months).
On the other hand, the straighter the hair (Asian hair), the longer it will take to mature (12-18 months).
Usually, hair will start to mature around the year mark.
How often should I wash my dreadlocks
Clean hair lock up faster than oily dirty hair.
Also, a dirty and oily scalp might end up getting dandruff and itchiness.
This is why you should wash your dreadlocks at least once a week with a residue-free dreadlock shampoo. We recommend this shampoo from Love Locs.
Once you washed your dreads, dry them fully with your hairdryer set on medium heat. The quicker your hair dry, the less ‘wet dog’ smell your dreads will develop. This is also why you should not go to bed with wet dreadlocks. The ‘wet dog’ smell is quite hard to remove your dreads.
When you don’t need to wash your dreads, cover your locs with a shower cap to avoid getting them wet.
Should you apply wax on your dreads?
We don’t recommend applying wax on your dreads. Not only it will slow down the maturation process but it will also attract lint, dust and dirt.
The beginning of the dreadlock journey can be a bit tedious as your hair will be very frizzy. This is part of the journey. You can learn how to crochet the loose hair back into the dreads on Youtube videos.