One of the questions patrons often ask is “how often do dreadlocks need

deep cleaning?”  When maintaining dreads/locs, we try not to use any gels, creams or beeswax.  This is not by accident as this causes the  most feared result in the locked hair industry:  buildup!

In the early 2000s, people new to dreads/locs and the frizz it cultivates, used beeswax  to keep

dread/locs in place.  Later, it was found that after a period of using these products, they left permanent residue in the hair after cleaning.  It required repeated squeezing while washing to bring the wax out of the dreads/locs.  Some of the beeswax came out but inevitably, some remained and left the hair looking dirty.  As alternatives others  used glue, elastics, threads, beads, etc.  While they helped keep hair in place, they also brought a bit of buildup.

Frustrated dread/loc wearers started researching simple, more natural ingredients. Enter, the

apple-cider-vinegar (ACV) wash.  It had natural ingredients that deep cleaned the hair and worked wonders.  However, an area of the dread/loc industry liked the look of gel in the hair.  It made the hair shiny and slicked the frizz.  Clients could get a straight look that would hold until their next appointment.  This went well until 2020 happened and people started leaving their hair in for longer periods of time.  The amount of buildup from the gels in the hair had people asking “how often do dreadlocks need deep cleaning?’

Deep cleaning by using the apple-cider-vinegar (ACV) wash only works:

• when the product is removed on a timely basis, so waiting 6 months with gels will probably not remove all of the residue without destroying the hair.
• We do not recommend using apple-cider-vinegar too often.  Mostly this is because most people will not rinse enough and leaving it in might weaken the hair.  
•  If you have colored dreads/locs, especially almost white blonds, an acv-wash too often will weaken the hair.
• ACV washes remove dirt but more complex residue e.g. wax-based products remain and seem to cling on the hair more closely.  Stuff, such as lint, pet hair etc, have to be picked out and may damage the loc.

For those clients that ask “how often do dreadlocks need deep cleaning” I say every 3-4 months is a good time.  If you are not in construction or some area where your hair could get really dirty, you should be more diligent in checking your hair for any buildup.

By Paula Barker, Silkie Locks Hair Design

Books”  “Talking Hair”, “Filling My Head” & “Dreadlocks – A Hairstylist’s Manifest”.