All Dreadlock Pros & Cons you need to know!
Everything has positive and negative sides and so do Dreadlocks. In this post, I would like to show you both sides.
If you are currently deciding whether or not to get your hair dreaded, I hope this post helps you in your decision-making process. Or if you are simply interested in Dreadlocks and want to learn more about them, also check out my other posts about Dreadlocks.
Feel free to watch my video about this topic, if you don’t feel like reading!
Dreadlock Cons
Since I learned in school to always finish with the positive side of something, let’s start with the Cons of having Dreadlocks!
1. Itchy Scalp
I’m sure most Dreadheads can relate when I say ‘Dreadlocks are itchy‘. And this is not the case because we don’t wash our hair or any other stereotypical reasons!
Dreadlocks create an itchy scalp due to the tension of the weight of dreadlocks, as well as the lack of head massages and the dryness of the scalp.
I can really recommend you to regularly massage your scalp and hydrate it (+ the Dreadlocks) with oil. My favorite oil is the one from Dollylocks.
Read more: My Favorite Dreadlock Products
2. Washing & Drying
The good thing is that you don’t need to wash your Dreadlocks as often as undreaded hair – but since we are talking about the Cons of Dreadlocks, I have to tell you that a Wash-Day feels like an eternity.
It usually takes me about 30-40 minutes just to wash my Dreadlocks, plus around 2-3 hours to get them completely dry. But the drying process really depends on the temperature outside.
- In summer I blowdry them for 15 minutes and let the sun do the rest
- In winter I blowdry them completely with my dryer hood, which is a serious life-saver and a must-have for every Dreadhead that lives in countries with cold periods!
In general I wash my Dreadlocks once a week, unless I did a lot of exercising then I wash them 2-3 times a week.
3. Collecting Fluff
Another really annoying side of Dreadlocks is that they collect the fluff of your clothing. So you consider yourself warned not to wear any super fluffy knitted wool sweaters, as your Dreadlocks will collect heapy of fluff.
4. Stereotyping & Unwanted Attention
When having Dreadlocks you get a lot of Stereotyping, simply because most people don’t know much about Dreadlocks in general. They don’t know how much time, effort & money you put into your hair-babies! They just assume you don’t wash your hair and listen to Bob Marley all the time.
Don’t take me wrong, there is nothing wrong with listening to Bob Marley, but you know what I mean…
But in general you get a lot of attention, just because you have Dreadlocks and if you don’t like this attention, it can be really annoying over time. You won’t believe me how many times I have heard the question ‘How do you wash your Dreadlocks?’.
5. Maintenance
If you don’t go for free-form Dreadlocks, you need to put a lot of time and effort into your Dreadlocks to keep them neat and tidy.
→ How often you do your roots should depend on how fast your hair grows. Usually I get my roots re-dreaded every 4-6 months and every 2-3 months I go over every single Dreadlock and use my crochet-hook to get rid of baby-hair.
6. Uncomfortable At Night
One thing I struggled with a lot in the beginning was to sleep comfortable on my Dreadlocks. It will take a while to get used to it, but trust me it will be fine!
What I find most comfortable is to either sleep with my Dreadlocks open, a really lose ponytail or I tie them up with a scarf (not hair tie!).
7. Cultural Appropriation
I won’t go too much into detail here because I don’t want to start any arguments! BUT if you have Dreadlocks you will come accross this topic at one point, but I feel like it is more discussed online, as in real-life I have never experienced any problems with cultural appropriation before.
Dreadlock Pros
Now moving on to the lovely and positive side of having Dreadlocks!
1. Less Work In The Morning
Before I was a Dreadhead I woke up in the morning and spent aroung one hour washing and styling my hair – now I wake up and I feel like I’m ready to start my day (after brushing my teeth of course!).
And one big plus is that there are almost no bad-hair days!
2. Less Washing
As I said above, I wash my Dreadlocks mostly once a week, sometimes twice! This means 5-6 days a week I can chill and don’t need to worry my hair at all!
3. More Confidence
I wanted to have Dreadlocks for quite some time, before I finally got them done. Now I feel like I got a lot more confidence and love myself the way I am even more.
So if you want Dreadlocks, don’t hesitate and make your dream come true!
4. Easily Meet People
Once thing I totally love about having Dreadlocks is that you kind of bond with people easily.
‘Your vibes attracts your tribe’, so you bascially become friends with other Dreadheads easily.
And when you talk with people without Dreadlocks, believe me almost all conversation ends up in talking about Dreadlocks – so you always have a topic to talk about!
Conclusion
I know there are a lot more Cons than Pros in this list, but I simply wanted to make to aware of all sides of Dreadlocks! I do admit that I’m in a love-hate-relationship with my Dreadlocks, so one day I hate them, the other day I love them – but in general they make me happy and that is all that matters to me.
