Hey, i'm new here and i've been thinking about getting dreadlocks for quite some time now, as a result of my constant inspiration search i came across this photo and i just love the dreads on this girl. So my question is how exactly do i go about creating dreads like this, loose roots gradually starting to dread at about the jawline? Is it even possible? Thanks! Picture found at http://rad-daze.tumblr.com
its never a good idea to go in to getting dreadlocks thinking "i want them to look like this" because chances are they'll look nothing like that. just choose a method of starting them and be willing to love them however they turn out, or else you probably shouldn't get them
That's not the 'finished look'. She's started her dreadlocks and is part way through the process. If you were to ask me I would say that those dreadlocks were started via either backcombing or twist and rip but not too aggressively. If you overdo either of these methods by falsely believing that the initial backing or twist and rip process is actually making the dreads then you can end up with them being tough and rigid and giving them an unnatural texture. Both of these methods just section the hair into the sized lumps of your choice and then over a course of months these lumps mature into dreadlocks. She looks like she's a couple of months into this process. After the initial start-up the sections will start to loosen up, especially after they've been washed, this is what leads a lot of people to freak out thinking their dreadlocks are unraveling and they'll run straight towards some products or tools to 'fix them'. What's really happening is that the hairs are relaxing out of the forced unnatural state you put them in with the backcombing/T&R and then they'll start to tighten back up by themselves. The girl in the picture has dreaded tips, but the roots are still quite loose, they're not as loose as they first appear in the picture, it's not completely straight hair turning into dreads part way down her face, the dreads are just not very tight yet at her roots and so don't have much definition yet. Over the following months all her dreads will tighten up and shrink up as the hairs compress until the point where they're fully mature and will look like dreadlocks from root to tip. You can copy this look by simply starting some dreadlocks and getting part way through the process, but remember that this look isn't permanent, it's just a snapshot of partway through the maturing of the dreadlocks. You will also need A LOT of hair to achieve anything like the body and length that her's have. The volume that her's have lead me to think they're backcombed because backcombed dreads will puff up a little more than T&R when they're young, but dreadlocks are always shorter than the hair you originally started out with, so the girl in the picture will have had a fair few more inches before she started. Oh and you'll also need to bleach your tips
You are misunderstanding what you're seeing. I don't agree that she's just starting, the ends don't look so young, other than volume. They are larger and "looser" at the roots, but they're still quite hard and firmly dreaded. You can see if you look carefully on the right side. As locks grow they get very tight, and about as soft as the most cuddly 2x4 you've ever met. That's why the tips look that way. You can also tell about the maturity by the colour. She also has them all pulled forwards over her shoulders, making it look like she has more hair than she does. If you dread your hair with any more idea than that you want tangled hair, you're going to regret it..... and cut your hair
So you're saying they aren't new dreads and that it is possible she willingly did the roots that way? How so? I am well aware that dreads are probably the least neat and tidy hairstyle and after years of fighting my hair and trying (and failing) to make it smooth and straight i have decided to let it be as wild and unruly as it seems to prefer, i simply came across this photo and was intrigued as i have never see dreads that loose on the roots
NO. Jeebus. I am saying that that's how her hair happens to lock. The roots are NOT what you seem to be seeing, at all. Your hair will not do the same thing, and you can't control how your hair will lock. The ONLY thing you can control, and even then you only sort of can, is diameter of individual locks. The loose hair on top of her head is not part of the locks, it's something that ALL locks will have, and that will be particularly obvious with strait hair. That is the hair that will lock up to form the next generation of locks, or congos. It's coming from between locks. But depending on the individual there may be lots of it, or so little you can't see it. It's what you may see people refer to as "frizz". Seriously, you have the wrong approach, and will not have a good time with locks if you do not change that approach. It's not a process that you are in control of, and not one that you can predict at all, until you've done it. This picture shows the same effect, only without shit lighting. Here's a different way it can happen and another -- these are young neglect locks -- they will tighten, but the loose hair that's not actually in the locks will stay. It IS more likely with neglect, I suppose. But, real locks are more likely with neglect. Get the idea?
I'll agree to disagree. The shape of how they hang off and around her head remind me of my own... although mine were considerably shorter. I feel the length is a give away as to the age, definitely not the colour. While the tips of dreads will lighten over time I'd place money on hers being bleached, the one on the middle left is completely blonde, I've never seen a dread go from brown to complete blonde just from the sun. If I were a betting man I'd go for backcombed, somewhere between 2-4 months with no additional maintenance after she started. I don't know where the cuddly 2x4 bit comes from, my dreads are soft and cuddly
Either way it's not an exact look that you can emulate, much the same as any other dreadlocks. If you decide you want dreadlocks you have control over the placement and a little control over the thickness, but that really is a play between how thick you make the sections and how dense your hair is... oh and obviously colour, you can go to town on the colour. Other than that they're going to fill in the blanks themselves. ..Or if you go natural/neglect you close your eyes and wait and see.
I have seen locks go from brown to white-blond in the sun. My own. All slightly (and some very) different colours, based on where they would normally sit and how much sun exposure they would get. And that was in less than a year, I cut at about ten months. I figured what OP is asking about, they are misunderstanding the loose hair in that photo as the hair simply not being really locked, until midway down. It's a misunderstanding from poor knowledge of locks, no experience, and poor lighting in that picture.
Well yes, if i had tonnes of experience and buckets full of knowledge on the matter then i wouldn't be here asking these questions, i obviously have a lot to learn before making an informed decision so i appreciate the replies
the initial pic looks like baby locks! my dreads just turned 4 and i got loads of loose hairs around my scalp but mostly my neckline and forehead hairline. dreads do have loose roots but only when theyre youngish. i dont think its really possible to dread only the ends. and as you mentioned inspiration, heres mine - http://pinterest.com/thegeologyshop/dreadspiration/
