So if anyone has seen my other dreadlock videos, they would know that I blunted 4 of my dreads.
Well today I felt like un-blunting them.
I guess I wanted to make them look more natural and I know that synthetic dreads are usually blunted; they didn’t suit me.
Anyway I’m rambling on so here are some step-by-step photos showing how I brushed the tips out. Note that if you choose to brush out your dreads completely, it would be done in the same way as detailed here. Only difference is I don’t wanna brush out my dreads completely!
Here’s what you need (if you wanna join in the fun!) :
- Pair of hairdressing scissors
- Bottle of hair conditioner
- A fine comb
- Towel
- Water (to wash your dreadies after!)
(I apologise for the low light in these photos. I made this decision at like half 12 in the evening and went straight to business.)
1. This was the last dread I brushed out. It was then I decided, “I should probably blog about this!” So I got the camera out. This is the tip before the process. As you can see it’s rounded at the tip and it just doesn’t suit with the rest of my loose hair. Begin operation!
2. Get your pair of scissors and snip off about 1cm of the tip. It’ll look like a stub but don’t panic. When you start brushing it out, the cut will disappear. But look how weird it looks now haha!
3. Put a pea-size amount of hair conditioner onto your fingers and rub it into the tip. I know people say that dreadlocks and conditioner should NEVER go together (obviously because conditioner detangles hair) but you need to do this here because the conditioner acts like a lubricant (hehe) to make it easier for the comb to run through.
4. Wedge the teeth of your comb into the stub (like in the photo) and move it up and down in a sawing motion. This should help work the conditioner deep into the dread and eventually the hairs will start to separate.
5. Once you’re sure some of the hairs have separated, then you can start combing in the direction your would normally comb hair (I’m sure I don’t need to explain that further).
6. Keep brushing to however much you want undreaded; I brushed about an inch out. As you comb you will hear a lot of hair breaking. This is perfectly normal, but if you have been looking after your dreads well then this shouldn’t have an impact on the final condition of your hair. I’m so glad I have strong thick Asian hair! 😀
If you need to top up on conditioner, go for it! But only apply a pea-size at a time, massage into the dread then continue combing it out. If you’ve decided to comb the whole thing out then put as much conditioner as you see fit.
7. Always stop and check if you reached your desired length. Mine looks like a fine paintbrush 😀 Now for the important bit: WASH THE TREATED AREA WELL. Use warm water and rinse out every single essence of conditioner out of your dread. If you leave it in there, it may continue to undread itself or, worse, build up mouldy residue within the dread and you would have no choice but to cut it off – not cool.
So when you’re sure the conditioner is banished off the face of your dreads, dry them with your towel. I’m not so fussed on hair drying them as the water usually runs off the tips but hey, there’s no harm in making them bone dry if that’s what you prefer.
The next day……
Tadaaaaa! I have 4 paintbrush looking dreads now! 😀 Really happy with the way they turned out. I like how they now blend in nicely with the rest of my hair.
Now I know what you’re thinking – “How did they turn blonde at the tips when you started off with brown hair??”
Well I’ll tell you…when I dreaded my hair a year ago, I had ombré hair and then dyed my hair back to brown. Then I completely forgot about it so you can imagine how surprised I was when I found the golden goodness hidden deep within the dread (I guess the brown dye didn’t quite reach inside the dread). It’s like peeling back tree bark to reveal the pale inside ^_^
So are your dreads blunted and you’ve decided to un-blunt them? Share your story with me!
Or better yet, tell me a funny dreadlock story.
Yeah that’s probably a better idea.
Peace Love and Turtles!
~ x
p.s. Look what I found in a random folder, a photo of my dreads when they were only 3 days old.
Looks rubbish right? But stick through them, love them, nourish them and they will grow up big and strong like their mama! (Or papa, I’m not sexist.)
Caprichia 