How to Crochet Dreads – Is Crochet Hook Bad for Dreads?
There are several ways to form and maintain your dreadlocks: Backcombing, twisting and ripping, waxing, palm rolling, crochet hooking, and so on.
There are also a lot of debates among the pros and cons of each method, and also which method is the best for your dreadlocks.
In this article, we will focus on crochet hooking: the misconceptions about this method, how to make dreadlocks by using crochet hook and its alternatives.
Is Crochet Hook Bad for Dreads?
Before digging into the myths around the crochet hooking method, you should know what crochet hook is.
It is a stick with a hook at the tip which is used to make a slip-knot in yarn.
In this context, Crocheting hooking is a method of tightening your dreads by using the crochet hook pushing through locs and pulling back the loose hair into locs.
While there are many opinions about the downside of crochet hook, its bright sides are various:
- No additional hair care products required
- Locs are tangled tightly and consistently
- Can shower or swim right after that without damaging the locs’ shape
- Work for most of the hair types
Locticians usually have negative thoughts about this method such as: creating too big knots, can damage your hair and scalp, and cause buildup.
In fact, they mistake between crochet hooking and the latch hooking one.
Both of them require a tool for working on your hair but the latch hook which is bigger than the crochet one.
How Do You Dread A Crochet Hook?
The steps to dread using a crochet hook is as simple as wool knitting.
- Step 1: Separate your hair into sections and choose 1 section to comb backwards if you create new locs. Skip this step if you are repairing the existing locs.
- Step 2: Push the hook into the hair area near the root and pick a few hairs
- Step 3: Pull it back into the hair section with different individual hairs
- Step 4: Keep doing the steps 2 and 3 over and over again till the ends of the hair section.
See also: 5 Stages Of Growing Locs
What’s the Best Size Crochet Hook for Dreads?
Usually people prefer the medium size of hook for the best effect. The most popular and recommended sizes are ranging from 0.4 mm to 0.6 mm.
Too big hooks can damage your locs during the hooking process since it creates big holes on your dreads in order to pull your loose hair though.
Using a too small hook means you have to keep pushing and pulling for double or triple times than using a medium size hook.
The more times you create holes on the dreadlocks, the more chance it can be damaged by mistake.
Also, since it might take more time to finish maintaining your locs, it can drive you crazy.
What Can I Use Instead of A Crochet Hook for Dreads?
As mentioned above, there are a variety of crochet hooking alternatives when it comes to maintaining your locs.
Each way will have their own pros and cons for you to weight up and make your decision:
Backcombing
You use a metal comb and back comb your hair to immediately create dreads.
While this method can help you skip the “bad hair day” phase, the locticians need to be skillful and professional in order to get the dreads done properly.
Although this method is applicable for people with soft hair texture, it requires your hair to have a considerable length.
Comb coil
This is the most common and simplest method that people can do it themselves.
You only need a comb and your finger to roll the hair. This method might give you good results with nice shape dreads.
However, it is only suitable for people with short hair. Since the coils are really unraveling and fragile, they are hard to keep the shape and can easily loosen if you do a lot of outdoor activities.
Read more: 7 Steps To Retwist Dreads With A Comb
Latch hooking or interlocking
This is an effortless way to create tight locs. However, this way should be aimed for short term results only since the long term often brings negative effects to your locks such as: weak spot, buildup causing, or serious breakage, and so on.
Read more: 3 Simple Steps To Interlock Locs By Yourself
Conclusion
Each person will have their own decision on whether crocheting is correct for them, which method will be best for them and their hair in the long term.
See also:
Aida
