Some random information on the making and maintaining of locks based on questions I have been asked:

• Dread perms are not meant to ‘fry” the hair into a dread. You cannot damage your hair into a state of submission in an effort to create anything attractive. Please don’t ever knowingly sabotage your locks’ health with use of chemicals or products. It will not yield any good results. I am selective in choosing which hair should utilize the dread perm process and which hair would better benefit from other locking techniques. Even with qualified hair I am thoughtful in choosing proper chemical solutions to best compliment the hair’s unique qualities.
• Dread Perms will NOT require you to “shave” your head when you want them gone. Your hair grows ½ to 1 inch each month.  Using that math times the amount of months your dread perm has been in place, you would need to cut the chemically treated portion out. After that you could detangle the remainder of the lock with patience, a comb and perhaps a specially designed conditioner you could be back to your late silky locks in a relatively short amount of time. The same is true of crocheted dreads, only it was not chemically treated it was physically treated.
• Dread Locks do NOT require beeswax ever, nor do they require you roll them frequently. I do not sell, use, or encourage beeswax. A few of my clients use wax, but not many. It isn’t necessary; your locks will form beautifully without the use of wax. Rolling is also completely un necessary. The only physical maintenance necessary for you to do is free the bases from growing together once each month. Just gently pull each base apart from its neighbor and keep them separated.
• Keep your locks dry more often than they are wet. Keeping them dry as much as possible assures they won’t grow mildew. They don’t need to be shampooed all that often, please shampoo no more than 3 times a week at most and feel free to blow dry if it helps get them dry completely.  At the same time, they do need to be cleansed sometimes. Please shampoo no less than once a month.  If you do get some organism growth you can detect, try sea salt soaks in a bathtub and/or vinegar rinses in the shower. Both salt and vinegar have been shown to kill bacterial growth.
• Use dread-friendly cleanser, not just any old grocery store shampoo or worse yet, dish soap. I sell Knotty Boy and Dread head cleansers. I also recommend Dr. Bronners * any flavor but baby scent* as that one has a high PH. Your cleanser should be detergent free or minimal and it should be PH balanced to complement the acid mantle of your scalp and acid balance of your hair. It should also not strip out excess moisture nor leave heavy residues.
• If you use lock control and maintenance products, they should be dread compatible and water soluble. I sell several options. Please don’t just choose any old item for control or maintenance, do some research so you know that what you are using won’t destroy your locks.
• I will likely give you a bandana to wrap your lock in while sleeping. If I am out of bandanas, I urge you to acquire either a bandana or a other head wrap. This protects them from excessive friction which can cause fuzzy dreads.

Average lock maintenance occurs every 8-16 weeks and takes between 1 and 3 hours. The amount and condition of your dreads determine the time it takes to clean them up. I use special string at the base of each lock to tie up new growth, this keep your bases strong, your scalp fresh, and locks growing smoothly. I also may use a crochet hook to re integrate some of those wiley loose tufts of hair you might develop.