How to Remove Dreads (And Not Become A Skinhead!)

I thought I would do a post on this as it's something that so many people have asked me about! Having dreads was a great decision for me, I loved the way they looked and I loved being able to decorate them with brightly coloured hair wraps and all sorts of beautiful beads. These days so many people make beautiful dread accessories that you're really spoiled for choice. It's also super fun to get some clay and beads to make your own! However it came to the time for me to take them out and make the transition back to my normal hair. I remember that I was in a yoga class and the girl in front of me was running her fingers through her hair and I realised how much I wanted to be able to do that again!

So decision made I tried to think of a way of taking them out, but they'd been in a long time and everyone I spoke to just suggested cutting them off! That would've meant having hair that was about 1cm long, no fricking way was I going to be doing that anytime soon! Especially as my main reason for saying goodbye to the 'locks was to have my long non-dreadlocked hair back. I took the tough road and decided I was just going to comb them out! So, if you're jumping on the crazy train too then welcome aboard! Here's what you're going to need to do: get 2 bottles of conditioner, this needs to be of a good quality as it's going to be the lifeline for your hairs survival. Make sure you have about 2/3 days to spare, it's going to be a really slow process and you're going to want plenty of breaks as your arms will ache like crazy! You will also need 1/2 industrial strength combs, think something that would survive the apocalypse, and then buy two! Also make sure you've got a good series lined up or a few films you want to watch, you'll be getting pretty bored over the next few hours!

It probably took me about two days in total, but that included combing well into the night! I smothered my hair in as much conditioner as humanly possible and then just combed out, starting at the very bottom and working my way to the top. There were a few knots that I had to grab the scissors for, I was never going to win with them and it's good to know when you're beat! I kept a little box on hand for all of the beads and pretty things that I'd had in my hair, so that I could make something cute from them later on. I also had a couple of plastic bags on hand for all the hair I was combing out and the old hair wraps. You will lose a lot of hair when you comb out dreads, but don't worry - if you had normal hair you'd have just brushed it out, it's just that with dreads it tends to stay put.

Once I felt like my arms were going to fall off and all the dreads (but one) were out I visited my hairdresser, The Little Hair and Beauty House. The girlies who work there are delightful little angels and it's such a cute lil place too! I kept one dread in, just as a little bit of fun, but was pleased to have my hair back and really loved the results!!!