Home » Hairstyles » Are Dreadlocks Dead Hair? Revealing 4 Myths About Locs

Are Dreadlocks Dead Hair? Revealing 4 Myths About Locs

Are you getting bored with the current hairstyle and want to try some new style? Are you considering having dreadlocks but you still hesitate because of the rumors around that hairstyle?

This article will reveal the truth about 4 common myths and misconceptions about dreadlocks.

Are Dreadlocks Dead Hair?

Not only dreadlocks, but all the hair that you can see on your body is also actually dead. The only alive part is the hair follicle, which is located on your scalp.

Also, you should understand what dreadlocks are.

Dreads are rope-like clumps of hair, formed by matting, rolling, or backcombing your natural hair. As mentioned, dreadlocks are actually your natural hair but were designed to be a different style.

The major difference between these two types is the shedding. For people with natural loose hair, the hair when reaching the resting phase, even without any friction or outside impacts such as pulling or combing, will fall out.

For people with locks, the hair shed from the scalp won’t fall down but stuck to the locs.

Also read: What is the difference between Dreadlocks and Locs?

Are Dreadlocks Real Hair?

Dreads can be real and can be synthetic as well. Different types have different perks that is listed below:

DreadlocksReal DreadsSynthetic Dreads
ColorIs your natural hair colorHave a vast range of colors: black, brown, blonde, orange, etc.
Texture/WeightSofter and more flexibleLight weight, a bit rough
Forming timeCan take weeks or months to tangle your natural hair into dreadlocksCan be easily bought and attached on your natural hair
LastingCan be maintained for yearsCan be maintained for several months
LookingLook naturalLack natural appearance
WashingCan be washed frequentlyNo more than twice a week to avoid it from frizzing

Depending on the purpose of having dreadlocks you can consider having the real dreads or to go with the synthetic one.

Are Dreadlocks Bad For Your Hair?

This is likely the biggest fear that stops people from getting dreadlocks. There are a Yes and also a No for this question.

Talking about the good points of having dreadlocks, your hair will be nice and moist since the natural oil (called “sebum”) produced by your scalp won’t escape easily. You can also save a lot of time and money spent on hair care and treatment since you only need to wash your locks every six to ten days.

However, there are also some downsides of wearing dreadlocks.

The roots are pulled too tight, the locs are getting too big and heavy, you’re using chemicals to dye your dreads, etc. are the common reasons that might cause hair loss.

What is more, when you want to go back to normal hair, it might take weeks or months to detangle the knots, but your hair condition will not be as good as the natural hair.

See also: Is Interlocking Locs Bad?

What Is Bad About Dreadlocks?

Besides the cool looking and the pride it brings to you, there are many mistakes and misconceptions about dreadlocks. Below are the 3 common ones that you might want to look at:

Easy to Catch Smell and Dirt 

Now that your hair is thicker and denser, it is likely to easily catch the smell, dust or dirt. That might cause your hair to smell bad and look messy.

To protect your locks from these environmental elements, you might consider staying away from these polluted areas, or consider wearing the stocking cap.

Check out:

Time-consuming

Unless your hair is long enough for tangling into long dreads, you have to experience the bad hair days for three to six months, when your locs are in the baby stage.

Also, locks take more time to wash and dry than the normal hair. Your locks need to be completely dry or mold will develop and cause some types of scalp problems.

See also: How long does it take to get dreads?

Bring Uncomfortable Feeling

You might find it a bit annoying and uncomfortable to sleep for some very first weeks while having the dreadlocks. You should use a sleeping cap to cover your dreads while sleeping.

Also, your locs might catch a lot of unwanted attention, comments or even troubles from the public, be prepared for these.

In Short

Dreadlocks are cool to have, but it is not for everyone. Going through 4 points above, are you losing your interest in having dreadlocks, or you still want to have them?

Actually, there are solutions to deal with these problems. Let’s find them out in another article.

See also:

avatar

Aida

I’m Aida and this is my blog where I write mostly about beauty & make up related stuff, but I like to spice it up a bit with lifestyle and photography posts. Or with whatever that comes to my mind. Hope you will enjoy the reading enough that we will ‘see’ each other more often!

You may also like