1 Month

Thanks to your hard work, you're probably noticing that you don't have to backcomb quite as much these days; knots are developing, sections are getting tighter, and there's less undreaded hair every passing day. You're probably also noticing that just because you've stopped brushing your hair, you haven't stopped the march of time! It doesn't matter if you DIY'd your dreads at home or sped up the process by going to a salon, the one thing you'll both be dealing with for as long as you rock your 'locks is roots.

Maintenance Techniques

At the one month mark, you won't have too much in the way of new hair growth yet, but it's beneficial to start "root rubbing" early. In your maintenance routine, you'll want to do so after washing and drying your hair, but before adding any wax. To begin, section out one dread and any loose hair that's associated with it, giving the loose bits a good backcomb. With your newly backcombed hair and your dreadlock grasped together, rub the root gently in a tight circular motion against your scalp. Don't worry about going clockwise or counterclockwise! You're trying to create a tangle, so feel free to scrub it around in all directions. When you've got a nice new knot starting to form at the root of your dread you can add a little wax to hold it, and finish up with - you guessed it! - a good palm roll. If you keep up with this, your roots will stay nicely separated as well as dreading up as close to the scalp as possible.

Helpful Products for This Stage

 

 

Dreadlock Shampoo

A little wax goes a long way to creating tight, easily washable locks. Use enough to coat the loose hair and bind the lock, but not so much you look like a candle factory, no matter how good it smells :)

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Knot-Tea Scalp Tonic

We've got a variety of blends for different dread situations. Brew them up just like tea, and spray them in to tighten and refresh!

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TIPS

1. Instead of doing your homework halfheartedly, split your homework in half! Nobody's saying you have to do all this maintenance at once! It does helps to do it in a certain order, but at this point, you're doing most of your maintenance on dry hair anyways. Why not do half one night, and half the next?

2.Does it seem like all the really nice smelly stuff's for 'mature dreads' ? The Shampoo and Peppermint Spray are minty fresh, but folks looking to branch out scent-wise are often bummed because the Conditioning Spray and Natural MISTic are no-no's for new locks. Before you start spraying random perfumes into your dreads, give the Knot Teas a try! They smell amazing as well as being great for your scalp - and like all of our products, they're all natural.