Not something for everyone
but there is so little information out there on how to produce
this type of look, how could we overlook it?
If you have Caucasian hair the method
for creating dreads differs greatly from that used when you have
Afro hair. So decide on your hair type and follow the instructions
below:
Method for Caucasian Hair
Dreads have become quite popular
and although not suited to Caucasian hair, they are possible.
The curlier your hair is naturally, the easier it is to achieve
this look by following option 1. If your hair is dead straight
or Asian then you will need to follow option 2.
Option 1
This method of making dreadlocks
will result in fine neat dreads rather than large chunky ones.
You basically won't get them to matte and hold if you make them
too large. It is possible to very carefully, brush out these dreads
if you don't like the result. They may also unravel on their own
if your hair is only slightly curly or soft in texture, but you
will have had the look for a few days at least.
This is very time consuming and a
friend to help out would be great, especially for the back. You
may find a hairdresser that will set your hair in this way, but
the fact is that it takes so long that the cost will be high.
Ring or book a consultation first and get a price quote.
Tools and bits and pieces you
will need:
A strong gel or mousse
A selection of silky material strips.
The material needs to be cut into lengths 3 to 4 cm wide (3 inches)
and 2 and a 1/2 times the length of your hair.
Strong wax to finish
Method:
- Take a rough section 1 to 2 cm
(half to 3/4 inches) square.
- Apply your gel etc to the whole
length of the section.
- With a small amount of wax on
your finger tips, rub and slightly
backcomb
the base of your section.
- Tie one end of your material strip
over the base of the section that you just formed.
- With a little more wax on your
finger tips rub, finger backcomb lightly and twist the hair
along its length. Basically the rubbing/backcombing 'mattes'
or 'knots up' the hair and the twisting holds it in place.
- Once the section becomes stiff
from twisting, hold the twist tightly and pick up the long end
of your material strip. Bind it around your twisted hair. It
is very important to bind in the opposite direction to the way
you twisted the hair. You will know straight away if you get
this wrong as the whole thing will unravel!
- When you get to the ends of your
hair, bind back on yourself a couple of cm's and then tie off
as you would a bandage by tearing the fabric down the middle
a little way and knotting.
- You guessed it! Repeat until the
rest of your hair is bound and leave overnight.
- Remove the strips of material
and spray with firm hold spray.
Over the next few days you will have
to decide whether you are into this new look as you will either
need to keep it up or let it begin to unravel.
If you decide to go with it then
any unwinding or separation should be dealt with by using a small
amount of wax and the, by now, practiced rubbing and finger backcombing
motion!
As your hair grows you will need
to repeat the whole operation on the new hair ones you have about
5 cm's (2 inches).
Option 2
You cannot achieve dreads without
using a form of perming you need to consult a professional hairdresser.
Not just any hairdresser though as this is not something that
you learn to do in basic hairdressing school! It's best to make
a few phone calls first to find out if there is a hairdresser
in your area who does this type of work. You will find that salons
that don't do this will be happy to point you in the right direction.
Once you have found the right hairdresser, you will need to have
a one-on-one consultation to ascertain whether your own hair is
up to this process as it is puts lots of stress on it.
Although what you want to do when
you perm hair in this way, is make it into "bad" condition, there
is a big difference between that and making it fall out by overstressing
it! Once all that has been worked out, get a quote. This can be
very expensive as it takes ages. I once did this to a guy with
Asian hair who asked to look like Maxwell (and he did by the end
of it) but it took a whole day! Oh, I should mention that you
can look pretty silly whilst all this is happening and you may
not want to invite your friends along!
Method for Afro Hair
Afro hair, if left to its own devices
will dread naturally, although the size and neatness of each dread
may be unpredictable. For a more refined and slimmer dreaded look:
- separate your hair into sections
that represent the type of dread effect you are after.
- You then simply begin to twist
the sections of hair with a little wax.
- As you twist the strands, rub
the hair at the same time to 'matt' it together slightly.
At first you will find the hair tends
to unravel a little, but as it does, go over each strand again
with some wax then re twist and rub. It is important to always
twist the strands in the same direction to avoid unraveling.
As your hair grows you will need
to twist and rub the roots from time to time.
The only down side of this look is
that when you've had enough of it, the only way out is to go for
the big chop!
Come and see more of these extraordinary shots from Hair Expo 2008!
© VirtualHairCare
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