People new to the dreadlock game usually have a ton of different questions about how they’re supposed to take care of their hair during the journey.
With the explosion of social media that has given rise to lots of conflicting advice spewing out the thousands of content creators who put their stuff out on the internet, it can be tricky to make the right decisions when it comes to your dreadlocks.
The good news is that I’m here to help!
Having had dreadlocks for close to eight years now, I’ve had my fair share of trial and error.
One of the most difficult things I had to look up during the early stages of my journey concerned the frequency with which I should wash my dreadlocks.
More particularly, the question of whether I could wash them every single day used to be at the forefront of my mind.
But luckily for you, I managed to find the answer to this query…
You should not wash your dreadlocks every day as it’s not necessary, nor recommended. This is because dreadlocks need sufficient time to dry, otherwise the build up of moisture in the hair could cause mold or mildew to develop over time, which would have a detrimental effect on the overall health of your dreadlocks.
Read on to learn more about what your dreadlock washing schedule should ideally look like.
How often should you wash your dreads?
When I started my dreadlock journey, I had someone from a local salon use the palm roll method in combination with Stylin Dredz Mouldin’ Gel Wax, which looked like this:
Safe to say the experience wasn’t pleasant in the least!
I also received some terrible advice, as I was told that I shouldn’t wash my hair for 6 months whilst the dreadlocks took their time to “lock” through the application of the wax.
Can you imagine that?
His reasoning was that if I washed my hair, the tiny dreads which were taking their shape would become undone as a result of the water.
Whenever I think about that reasoning today, I just shake my head in disappointment.
To this day I still regret not doing enough research on how to take care of my dreadlocks, but luckily enough for me the damage wasn’t significant or long lasting.
Anyway, I have a healthy set of dreadlocks right now, which I’m really grateful for.
Now, to answer the question.
The frequency with which your dreadlocks should be washed will vary from person to person due to individual preference, but you should clean them at least once every week in my opinion.
Hair needs to be cleaned regularly due to the natural buildup of sebum that takes place on your scalp as your body tries to protect the skin from drying out by releasing this oily substance.
More so, you need to wash your dreadlocks because you get exposed to the outside environment which consists of dirt, debris and smoke that gets caught up in your hair as you go about our daily activities.
You can safely go a week or two without washing them, but longer than that isn’t something that I would advise.
Every seven days is the optimal amount of time between washes, as there’s even less of an opportunity for dirt to build up in your hair.
Furthermore, by sticking to this sort of schedule, you give your scalp and your hair enough time to naturally replenish the natural oils that are stripped away by the shampoos that you use to wash your hair in the first place.
Of course, if you’re someone that’s just starting out with dreadlocks and are in the early weeks of your journey, you could stick to less regular two to three week washing intervals, because your hair is still in the budding stage.
What is the best way to wash dreadlocks?
A lot of people overcomplicate things when it comes to dreadlocks, which is quite unfortunate.
Dreadlocks should be taken care of in a similar way to other styles of hair, which means that shampoo and water should be used to keep them squeaky clean.
I talked about this in depth in my article which discussed whether you can use shampoo to wash dreadlocks, so you can take a look at that when you’ve got some time to spare.
You’re going to want to use a shampoo that’s free of sulfates, as those tend to leave your scalp dry because of their level of aggressiveness when it comes to cleaning.
So, get in the shower and start to rinse dreadlocks with running water.
Doing this softens your hair and makes it easier for you to lather on the shampoo and give your head a good scrub.
Once you’ve applied the shampoo, you’ll want to use your fingers to rub the different areas of your scalp, as this is the most effective way of getting rid of all the dirt and oils that were present on your scalp.
After that, rinse off with water and squeeze out as much water from your dreadlocks as possible.
So, try to wring them out like this:
Finally, wrap a microfiber towel around your head and let it soak in the remaining moisture, after which you’ll be good to go!
Does washing dreads help them lock?
I personally believe that sticking to a consistent washing schedule helps your dreadlocks to lock better and slightly faster.
The cleaner and drier your dreadlocks are, the easier it’ll be for knots to form in your hair, which will bring out the mature dreadlock shape that you’re looking for.
But that doesn’t mean you should go overboard on the washing, because at the end of the day your hair still needs time to do its own thing.
Ultimately, you’re part of a journey and it’s important to understand that washing your hair every day for three months won’t miraculously accelerate the locking process.
Another important point to note is that the curlier your hair type and the more shrinkage you get, washing more frequently should help your hair to lock faster.
Conversely, if you’ve got looser curls and hair textures that don’t tighten up as they dry, you’ll want to stick to a less frequent washing schedule to help the locking process move along quicker.
Closing thoughts
You should now have a lot more knowledge on how often you should wash your dreadlocks.
Just to recap…
Clean your dreadlocks at least once a week, as this duration is long enough for the hair to replenish the natural oils that they need to be healthy, but short enough to prevent dirt build up from becoming an issue.
He hopes to make dreadlock journeys less daunting for people who wish to start them, especially for readers who follow his postings on this website.
Have a read through Samuel Waihenya's author bio page here.
- Can You Trim Dreads? - July 11, 2023
- Can You Have Dreads in the Military? - April 17, 2023
- Can You Wash Dreadlocks Every Day? - April 15, 2023