If you're hair is not afro-textured, you'll want to have a minimum of 4 inches of hair growth from the scalp before we get you started. When your hair this short, it's a little more work for the first few months to get them going. However, as you watch them grow, it's nice to know cultivated them from such little sprouts. For afro-textured hair, about 3" when stretched out is a common starting place.
How long does my hair need to be before I start new locks?
How much length will I lose?
Everyone's hair varies in shrinkage after we start up new dreads. In the photo below to the left, Jace seems to have lost a fair bit of length due to a layered cut before we started, while Ann Marie barley lost any length. Generally, with the way we create locks, you won't get a massive amount of shrinkage.
Dreadlocks are a commitment. Like most great things, they take time to develop and grow into beautiful expressions of you. If you're considering starting up dreadlocks, you must be prepared for this journey.
As life ebbs and flows, there is likely to come a time when you are ready to leave your locks behind and start another chapter in your life. Oftentimes, during this transition, it can be very satisfying to shave your head. Others prefer to grow a few inches of un-dreaded hair at the scalp and then cut their dreads off, leaving them with a very short hair style.
Some people will choose to try undreading the hair. Although we don't recommend this approach, we have seen hair that was once dreaded and in remarkably good shape after much TLC. Just remember, locks are a commitment. Never expect your hair to look healthy and unbroken if you try to undread it and make sure you are ready for the journey before you start.
Do I have to shave my head if I don't want to have locks anymore?
How far in advance do you book appointments?
It really varies. Braid-in locs can often be scheduled in the same week you contact us. Other appointments might book one to eight weeks out. We can only take a few clients a week and sometimes we're travelling so it really depends on what's already in the books when you reach out and what type of service you're looking for.
How do I care for my locks after a startup appointment?
During your time in the chair, we'll talk about all sorts of ways to care for your scalp and new or existing locks.
We hugely recommend that you return 2 to 3 and a half months after your new locks have started for your first maintenance session. This is where we will use the crochet hook much more, make sure that they are not growing together and teach you a few more techniques in order to maintain a healthy head of hair.
After this session, you'll see a dramatic difference in the look of your locks and really feel like a dready! Then it's up to you how often you would like to come in and get help with maintenance or work on them yourself. Some people like to come in once a month and others twice a year. The more love you give them, the more they'll give you in return.
How can I prep my hair before our appointment?
All you need for start-up is to wash your hair with shampoo, but don't condition it. Comb it out, dry it and we're good to go.
If you're booking a maintenance session, same deal. Make sure it's clean and dry and we'll take care of the rest.
For braid-in installations, wash, condition and comb your hair as usual. It's ok if your hair is still a bit damp when we get started but dry is fine too.
Do I need to book a consultation first?
Let's have a little chat about your hair and what you're going for before we book you in for an appointment.
Here's the best way to get started....
Send us a text on Whatsapp with a couple photos of your current hair and a description of what you're wanting. If you have photos of what you want, feel free to send those through too. Include your name, general location, when you were hoping to do this and any questions you have.
From there, we'll reach out and explain what the process is currently looking like for you.
If you're not sure that your hair is long enough to start dreads, just measure it. 4" or more and you're good to go for a dreadlock start up. If you don't have a ruler, hold a credit card sized card up to your hair as a ruler so we can see the length. If you have afro textured hair, please stretch out the coil so we can see the length. If you have an undercut or shorter areas, show us the length of those areas too.
It's okay for the tail of the dread to be loose in the beginning. Actually, you want them to be because you're going to use them to tighten the rest of the lock. This is how...
Grab the tail, split it in two parts and them pull upwards to pack the rest of the hair tightly into the dread. Then let go and part the same tail in a different way, grabbing two different sections and pulling upwards again. Then use your fingers to smooth out the hair at the bottom so that it's not in two distinct pieces like a pincher.
After a little while, you won't need to do this anymore and the hair at the bottom of the dread will start to lock up. After a few months, you can decide what you want the hair at the bottom to look like. Smooth and unlocked or rounded locked tips. We can hook you up with this when it's time.
What do I do with the tails of my new dreads?
How long will my appointment take?
Dread start-ups generally take 4.5 - 8 hours. Yeah. It's a lot of work to get locks that look this sweet from the get-go. Longer appointments can be booked in more than one sitting. If you have a full head of thick afro textured hair for example, it might take more than 1 appointment.
Guesstimate your appointment length with these advanced mathematical calculations:
Shorter hair = less time. Longer hair = more time.
Thin hair = less time. Thicker hair = more time.
The best estimate we can give you is once we get our hands in there and start doing a few locs. Then we'll know how well your hair takes to the dreading process. Also, we'll start the session out by learning what you're looking for. Thin ones? Fat ones? Style and scalp placement? From there, we separate all your hair into sections so that we are happy with the layout. Now we know how many dreads you're going to have and after we do the first few, we do another advanced mathematical equation and can get a pretty good estimate on what time we'll be done.
Maintenance sessions range from about 1.5 hours to 4. It totally depends on what shape your hair is in, how much hair you have and how dreamy you want it to look when it's done. If you keep up on the maintenance, it doesn't take too long. And think of all the hours you've saved every morning with your get-up-and-go style.
Books, music, movies, meditation and great conversation with your loctician all help make your experience fun!
Answers to Dreadlock Questions
Here's the answers to common dreadlock questions from a Vancouver, BC loctician
with over 20 years of experience.
Looking to start and maintain a healthy head of locks? Read on...
oh... and you can find more photos on the journey page.
This is the
back of Zack B4 and after his first maintenance session.
"Great Vibe!
Very accommodating."
Dennis
Do you install locks made elsewhere?
Are your fabric Blessed Locks wraps customizable?
Yes! We especially love doing braid-in locs that you've ordered from fabulous artisan makers. Just reach out once you order your set and we'll get you on the calendar for an installation appointment.
If you like, we can also create some custom fabric wraps to go with your set!
Totally! Just use the form on the ordering page to let us know what what colors, length and adornment suits you best and we'll do it up.
How can I add some fabric Blessed Locks wraps to my hair?
It's so easy! If your hair is already locked up, they just hitch right to the base of a loc and can be popped in and out in about 5 seconds. If you're doing a braid-in of temporary locs, they can either be braided in or hitched to the base of another braided in extension. We can do it for you during an appointment but it's also really easy to do yourself.
Do you offer temporary dread extensions?
If you have just a few accents, you can wash your hair with them braided in. Just be sure to sqeeze out the water and have them dry quickly. This is the same as when you have natural locs.
If you have your own locks or a set up other locs braided in, our fabric wraps latch onto the root of them and you can easily pop them out before washing your hair and then pop them back in.
If you're rock'n a full big boho couture crown of our fabric locks, it's best to take them out before washing your hair. You'd just wear those for a week or two at a time.
Can I wash my hair with your fabric Blessed Locks wraps in there?
I'm thinking of locking up my hair. Do I need extensions?
No one really neeeeds extensions... but we get it, sometimes you want gorgeous long locs straight out of the gate.
Here's the thing, locs are a process where your patience is greatly rewarded. Take your time to ensure your hair is long enough for a start up (see above), take the time to book with an experienced loctician you trust, spend the day or so getting the process going and give those new locs the time and space they need to do their thing and mature.
When it comes to extensions that are added for length onto your natural locs, the best way to go is to have them custom made to fit your natural locs. And those natural locs need time to firm up and change shape after they are started. This way, the custom made extensions, fit perfectly when it's time to attach them.
All of this is an investment. And it's something we can chat about while you're having your natural hair locked up. Check out this page to learn more about custom dreadlock extensions.
Short answer, you don't need them. But if you're willing to invest the time and money into them, it's a convo we'd be happy to have with you.
What can I do to make my head of locs even more special?
We love this question! Loc adornment and customization is our specialty!
Ready to get started on your dreadlock journey?
