Step 1

You need to not only prepare your hair, but also your mind. Dreadlocks are for life, (unless you want to shave them off, but trust me you don’t; we all know you’d look super funky and  be cold) be ready for the commitment.

Step 2

Stop washing your hair. You need to get used to being a dirty hippie. It’s part of the commitment. If you are gonna wear the hair, you have to smell the stank.

Step 3

You need to find some awesome friends who are willing to deal with actually doing the process because unless you have ultra arm bending powers it is nearly impossible to dread the back of your head. Make sure that the  people you trust with your hair are not secretly planning your demise because no one wants ugly dreads. People with smaller hands do better work. 

Step 4

The twist and rip method is the best. It is basically intense braiding that knots your hair. Each dread takes approximately 30  minutes but it also varies with the desired size. For awesome decorations get a few beads and really start to bedazzle your hair.

Step 5 

The standoff begins. For the first month or so you can only wash your hair once a week. Yes, you read that correctly. Get ready for excessive amounts of grease and dandruff. Get ready for the awkward whispers about your unclean rat’s nest.

Step 6

After the dreads really start to take shape you can start washing your hair every 2-3 days, and please do. The common misconception with dreadlocks is that they can actually be very clean (most of the time of course it’s dirty hippies that are too lazy to wash their hair.) NO ONE WANTS TO SIT BY SOMEONE WITH LICE IN THEIR DREADS. You will lose all your friends and flunk out of school because no teacher will come near you enough to take your finished homework. Plus if you do get lice you will have to shave your head, and we have already covered those consequences.

Some Nice Tips:

1)Wash your hair with organic no residue shampoo. Yes, you will have to spend a little more, but it’s better than your apple scented shampoo molding in the middle of your dread.

2)Use your Internet skills to look up how to deal with your grow out because that’s your problem.

3)Love your dreads. Take care of them and as Bob Marley once said, “Trust the universe and love your hair.”