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How to Make Dreads: The Basics
Ever bought a bag of $0.99 hair only to discover it just didn't work when you used it on the dread tutorial you were dying to try? What about all that talk of steamers, when you just can't justify spending $50+ on your hair-making hobby? This page won't tell you in detail how to make dreads (that's what the tutorials are for!), but it will cover the basics that you need to know before you begin.
HAIR FIBERS
The best hair to use for dreads is 100% kanekalon jumbo braid. "Kanekalon" is the fiber and "jumbo braid" is the style/texture. Jumbo braid is usually kinky/afro texture, which makes it easy to backcomb, but some brands may be silkier and smoother than others.
It is important to note that not all jumbo braid is kanekalon. When you buy hair, you absolutely MUST check the packaging (in person) or the description of the item (if ordering online) to make sure that it is kanekalon. There is another type of jumbo braid that is made from polyprophelene fiber, which is usually just labeled as "100% synthetic." It generally costs around $1-2 less than kanekalon jumbo braid, depending on the vendor. DO NOT BUY THIS HAIR FOR DREADS! It's fine for braided and twisted styles, but the 100% synthetic hair will not react to heat the same way that kanekalon does, and it will not seal well.
Just to illustrate how important it is to read the packaging, here are pictures of kk and pp jumbo braid side by side:
KK Jumbo Braid | PP Jumbo Braid |
See how similar? So make sure to check carefully before buying bags of hair ;)
There is also a variation of kanekalon called afrelle fiber. Packages of afrelle kanekalon will still say "100% kanekalon" on the packaging, but there are a few key differences between afrelle kanekalon and regular kanekalon. First, afrelle fiber is usually shinier and smoother (although some brands of kanekalon do look and act a lot like afrelle). You may also find that it is a little harder to backcomb because of the way it knots up, and some brands of afrelle kanekalon may require a little more heat to seal properly. Afrelle is fine to work with once you're used to it, though! Some of our kanekalon colors, such as sweet red and pink, are afrelle fiber.
HAIR TEXTURES
There are other types of kanekalon that aren't jumbo braid, such as kanekalon silky straight. Silky or European textured hair is smooth and straight; you can use kanekalon silky straight to make dreads, but you'll have to work a little harder to backcomb it because of the texture. The finished products for dreads made from kanekalon jumbo braid and kanekalon silky straight will look and behave the same way.
BACKCOMBING
Backcombing is probably the trickiest part about learning to make dreads. Backcombing is quite literally combing the hair backwards, i.e. from the bottom to the top. The best way to get a nice, even taper is to backcomb the hair into knots at the top, then pull the knots apart and repeat many times over. Eventually, you'll have a thick, solid dread that is matted together without any knots. It's important to avoid large knots because they'll show as lumpy spots on the finished dreads.
There are a lot of different tools you can use to backcomb. Durable, metal combs like flea combs or pressing combs are great to use because the teeth are less likely to break. You can also use cheap plastic combs, but if you go that route you will most likely want to keep a few on hand in case you snap it in half or lose a bunch of teeth in the middle of a set of dreads. Anything with teeth that are close enough together to really tease the hair will work, and the type of comb you use really comes down to personal preference. Try whatever you've got access to until you find a comb that you like :)
SEALING METHODS
The key to sealing dreads is to apply heat combined with moisture, like steam or boiling water. Dry heat, such at that of a hair dryer, will melt the kanekalon hair before it gets a chance to seal, leaving you with rough, scratchy dreads that stick to one another like Velcro.
Here's a quick list of popular sealing methods:
- Steamers
- Boiling water
- Steam from a tea kettle
- A wet wash cloth with a straightener clamped over it
What method you use is a matter of personal preference as well as how much you want to invest into making dreads. Steamers are by far the most popular sealing tool, and can run anywhere from $50 up to over $200. If you intend to make dreads frequently or get to the point of opening a business, a steamer is a wise choice.
Of course, if you've never made dreads before, you probably don't want to spend a lot of money on tools right away. That's where the other methods come into play; if you've got a tea kettle or a hair straightener at home, you can use them to make dreads without having to run out and buy anything other than the hair itself.
You can usually alter most tutorials to fit the method that you use to seal. If you find a great guide on how to make dreads with a steamer but all you've got is a straightener, follow the directions up to the point that you're supposed to steam, and then switch to your own method. All of our tutorials use boiling water, but you can really seal your dreads however you like :)
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