What you need to start dreadlocks.
Recommended Dreadlocks Makin' Supplies...
Here's your check list of dreading stuff. You'll be able to start and maintain your dread for months with just these items. If you decide to get the Supa Dupa Dread Kit much of this stuff is included.
You need a comb that you can pull hard against and it won't break. Normal plastic bristles will bend and snap off long before your dreadlocks are done. The bristles don't need to be long....just strong and close together. Our new dread combs have a ruler on the handle which makes sectioning much easier. Now you don't have to switch between the ruler, the comb, and the rubberbands. Pretty Groovy, huh? The bristles of the comb are also very smooth and the base doesn't have any sharp edges so you'll be able to backcomb quickly without damaging the hair. You can click the picture of the comb for a close up! (comes with kits)
2. Rubberbands
There are two types of bands that work well for dreadlocks. Regular "rubber" type bands which eventually weaken and pop off (great for the roots) and there are elastic type bands which are thin, flat and shiny. These are available in clear. They last for a long time and work well at the tips. Using bands is extremely helpful if it's done properly. Be sure to see our FAQ's about rubber bands: Info on the types of rubber bands used for dreadlocks, Info on using rubber bands at the tips of dreadlocks, and info on using rubber bands at the roots of dreadlocks.
(comes with kits)
3. Hair Clips
Use these for holding hair back while your sectioning and dreading. Pretty much any clips will do as long as they can keep the hair out of your way.
4. A Dread Party.
Unless you skipped the preparing section and the Vlogs you're already down with the idea of a Dread Party. Nuff Said.
5. A jar of DreadHead Original Dread Wax or Vegan Dread Wax
Dreadwax plays an important role because it allows the knots in the dread to move and tighten during palmrolling but prevents them from slipping apart on their own. This makes the locks tighten and mature faster. Both the Vegan and Regular wax give your hair the nutrients it needs to stay healthy while preventing dryness and breakage. You'll find that the new Vegan dread wax washes out of the hair quicker, which is nice, but you'll probably need to re-apply it a bit sooner. Waxing as with all techniques and maintenance in general is a personal choice. I can personally recommend it cause I used it to start my dreads. If for some reason you're not able to order either of these waxes, be sure to find one that does not contain petroleum. (FYI, melting straight beeswax and putting it in your dreads is a bad idea. Not only can you burn yourself with beeswax at it's melt point but it's crazy hard to remove, not to mention it doesn't allow the hair to move at all so it doesn't work as dread wax.)
Unless you have super long hair one 4oz jar will generally be all you need to get your locks started and maintain them to maturity. Some people continue to use a small amount of wax to prevent dryness, but Dread Butta was designed especially for that purpose and you'll find it's way better suited as a moisturizer. Please be sure to follow the usage instructions for the dread wax. This isn't pomade or hair gel, how much you use and when you use it is important. Please don't guess or play it by ear. Take the time to familiarize yourself with the product and how it's supposed to be used and I can guarantee you'll love the results!
6. A bottle of DreadHead Dread Shampoo
The Shampoo you wash your dreads in is every bit as important as the wax you choose. A good dread shampoo leaves your hair truly clean. Sounds easy right? All soaps & shampoos do that right? Nope. The truth is manufactures are more concerned with how their product smells, conditions and moisturizes than how well it cleans. Some residues are left behind to benefit undreaded hair in various ways. Some make it more manageable by helping it slip out of knots, others protect hair from uv rays and some just make it smell like tea tree oil. Other residues are left behind when traditional soaps, like Castile soaps, are converted into free fatty acids by metal ions in your water. The residues left behind are less soluble in water and build up over time. These residues form the familiar soap rings in bath tubs. Unfortunately all these residues, natural or not, stay in the dreads and have some really unfortunate side effects for dreadlocks. We'll get back to that later. For now all you need to know is that if you wash your dreads in a residue free shampoo you don't have to worry about residue buildup.
TIP: A good test to find out if a soap is residue free is to wash your hands with it and smell them after they dry. If you can smell the scent of the soap on your hands or if you can feel a "silkyness" or "softness", then its definitely leaving stuff behind and won't be good for your dreads.
7. A bottle of DreadHead Locking Accelerator
Locking Accelerator speeds up knotting. It's very helpful when putting the dreads in and it becomes important during the A week of the A-B maintenance routine that you'll start at the beginning of your second month. It's use generally shaves at least 2 months off the time it takes to get your dreads tight and mature. Locking Accelerator isn't a must, but it will make maintenance easier and locking faster. As you'll see in just a minute it's used just before you backcomb to get the hair in the mood to knot up. The straighter and more... "Caucasian" your hair texture, the more difference it will make. One bottle of Locking Accelerator will last through the dreadlocking process, and probably a month or so longer, unless you have very long hair. If you're getting a dread kit it's included and you can pick up a second bottle at a nice discount when you add it to your kit on the kit page.
8. A bottle of DreadHead Lock Peppa
I can't say Lock Peppa is a must either, but if I told you Lock Peppa wasn't necessary and then after backcombing 40 dreads without Lock Peppa, you backcombed one more using it, you would not only want to beat me down like a red-headed step child, you would probably think I was a very bad person, and you might even lay awake at night wondering how I can live with myself knowing full-well how much needless frustration I could eliminate from peoples lives just by telling everyone they need to use Lock Peppa. Check out the Peppa page for instructions on making backcombing way easier with just a few shakes of Peppa. After your dreads are in and you begin taking care of loose hair you'll be glad to have the Peppa at your side. We actually designed a twist off handle for the Loose Hair Tool so you can keep some Peppa inside the tool. The combo of the tool and the Peppa is double sick!
