Dread Ball-ing Dreadlocks

 
Here's the problem... loose hair. It happens to even the most mature dreadlocks. The good news is they are easy to fix.

First you want to gather the hairs and figure out which dread they are closest to, which one they belong in. This can be a tough call. If you have a couple mirrors handy they can be useful if not I don't know, ask Jeeves. This is where having section lines comes in pretty handy, you'll be able to see which hairs go in which dread. After you get a group of them that you know go together, roll them between your fingers as shown.

Try to fold the wad of hair as you are rolling. This will help them knot faster. In the second rolling picture you can kinda see the ends folded over looped back under the thumb (use your imagination!).

Continue to roll this hair until it knots into a small ball. This may take some time at first but once you get it down you'll be able to do it in less than a minute with your blast shield down. Strong with you the force is...

If you are having trouble make sure the hair is oil free. Wax does not help this process either. This is a knot making activity so clean, dry hair is what you want. Clean dry hair sprayed with Locking Accelerator given a chance to dry will make knotting easier and if you have Lock Peppa this is the time to break it out. Peppa will make quick work of loose hair.

To use the Peppa just tap out a shake or two onto a counter top or a near by table. Touch your thumb and forefinger into the powder before you grab the hair. When you start rolling it between your fingers you'll notice that all it wants to do is knot like crazy. That's what Peppa does - it takes well behaved, straight hair makes it knotty as hell!


So after you get your ball, find a place in the base of the dread and stick the ball in. Twist and wrap it around the other hair as much as you can so it doesn't pop back out.  You can also fire on a rubber band for a few days to hold the ball in the dread. As the dread grows the dread ball will dread in with the rest of the hair. Yippie no more loose hairs!

You might be thinking "This works great in some dreads but with others the dread balls never want to stay!" You might be wishing there was a quicker way. It just so happens there is. You may have already seen the Loose Hair Tool? If not you can see a video of the loose hair tool in action below. It really does make quick work of loose hair. After struggling along without it you'll really appreciate how it pulls loose hair way up into the dread where it will never pop out again, and it's quick to do.

The Loose Hair Tool has a nice rounded point that allows you to guide it through the dread. This allows you to hook loose hair at the roots or even pull loose ends in at the tips. It's the quickest way to make blunt, rounded tips on your dreads but well get more into that in a minute.