You will need the following stuff :

- Three inches of hair or longer to start dreadlocks using Knotty Boy Dread Wax. (For people attempting to start dreads without it, you will need hair at least 6 inches or longer, and a lot of luck and patience for the next few years! See the dread wax page for more about that.)

- A good, patient friend or two or five to help you start your dreads. You can start your dreads yourself, but having help makes the job go much faster and easier.

- A jar o'Knotty Boy Dread Wax .

- A comb with closely-spaced teeth , like a good strong plastic comb or a pet flea-comb (not used on your pet, dum-dum) will work pretty well, too. But the best are our Knotty Boy Professional Dreading Combs.

- Paper towel to wipe your goopy hands on.

- Hair claws, clips or elastics to keep the other sections of hair out of the way.

- All the Bob Marley records you can find or borrow to play during the first hours of your Dreadlock Holiday. (May I recommend my personal favorite, "Catch a Fire," for this most important event?)

- A camera for taking your before and after pictures to send us for a coveted place in our famous Happy Nappy Dreadlock Gallery!

- And time, patient time for the starting of your dreads!

Some Additional Notes:

- For people with hair that has little to no texture (ie. bone-straight ), a good thing to do the night before dreading is to wash your hair with either the Knotty Boy Dread Shampoo Bar, or the FREE Knotty Boy Bee Washed Pre-Dreading and De-Waxing Soap found in every Knotty Boy Dreadlock Starter Kit (with the exception of the Simple Starter Kit). No conditioners! Then towel dry very well and braid the hair slightly damp into a few tight braids. Sleep with them in overnight, then the next day before you begin dreading, take out the braids and brush the hair to make it as frizzy as possible. This will help the dreads take to your hair much better.

- For all other hair types, to strip the hair of all oils and dirt, we recommend that you wash your hair thoroughly the night before with either the Knotty Boy Dread Shampoo Bar, or the FREE Knotty Boy Bee Washed Pre-Dreading and De-Waxing Soap found in every Knotty Boy Dreadlock Starter Kit (with the exception of the Simple Starter Kit). No conditioners! Then blow dry or let dry overnight. The next day, brush the hair out well to make it as dry and frizzy as possible, and then begin dreading!