Natural Dreadlocks

with about four hundred and fifty thousand of them to be found above the neck. These hairs include about one hundred thousand hairs on the head and about thirty thousand hairs taken up by mustaches, beards, or whiskers. Hair grows at a faster rate in the spring and summer than in autumn and winter.

Black, blond, and brown. What makes the color of hair different? The answer lies in melanophore. The hair roots contain pigment cells called melanin, which creates a black pigment. Melanophore is a chromatophore that sends pigment to new hair. The greater the amount of pigment sent to the hair, the darker the hair becomes. On the contrary, as the amount of pigment sent is reduced, the hair color turns brown and then blond.

Some people believe that differences in hair color are caused by the differences in the intensity of ultraviolet rays contained in the sunlight, to which the hair is exposed. A baby’s hair begins to grow around the third month after conception. {Trichocysts} are first formed. They develop into hair follicles as the fetus grows, then become downy hairs several centimeters long when the baby is born. The total number of hairs is determined before the baby is born. After that, the number of hairs never increase only decrease.

Taken from TRUE BEAUTY by Beverly Johnson

• “Although there certainly are exceptions, African-American hair is usually coarser in texture, tighter in curl pattern, and more delicate inherently, as well as more vulnerable to damage from chemical treatments. Because of our multicultural heritage, though, remember that there really isn’t any one typical “type” of African-American hair. Its texture can vary from fine to medium to coarse; its curl pattern from straight to softly wavy to excessively tight; its colors from blonde to red, to all sorts of browns, to black.”

• “There is no chemical difference in the makeup of African-American hair in comparison with any other hair type. It has a cuticle (the outer layer), a cortex (the middle layer, composed primarily of keratin and moisture, plus melanin, which gives our hair its color), and a medulla (the center of the hair shaft). All these parts are identical to those of Caucasian hair. What is different is our wave and bonding pattern. (Bonding relates to the structure of hair: the tighter the bond, the curlier the hair.)”

• “Although our hair color can vary from a very light, sandy blonde to dark black, in general, ethnic women do tend to have rich-brown complexions and deep-brown hair. Yet there are many different tonal qualities to African-American hair‹from medium browns and reddish mahogany to darkest blue-black.”

• “The reason why kinky hair breaks so easily is: A) Every twist in African American hair represents a potential stress pont, which means the curlier your hair, the more prone it is to breakage. B) Cornrows left in too long can cause traction which results in breakage. C) Kinky hair is prone to catching onto one another, which causes fragmentation.”

• On a normal scalp there are about 100 to 150 thousand hair fibers.

• A blonde head of hair has usually much more fibers than red or dark haired heads.

• Hair consists mainly of keratin, which is also responsible for the elasticity of fingernails.

• A single hair has a thickness of 0.02-0.04mm, so that 20 to 50 hair fibers next to each other make one millimeter. Hair is strong as a wire of iron. It rips after applying a force equivalent to 60kg, after it is stretched to 70%.

• The root of a hair fiber sticks into something like a bag in the skin. The fiber is pushed out of this bag about 0.35mm per day; making an average growth rate of 1cm, or half of an inch, per month. The growth rate is however very much related to the individual person, his/her age, his/her diet etc.

• Healthy hair has an average lifetime of 2-6 years.

Braids - Allows hair to grow long and strong while maintaining its natural state
There are several different ways to maintain natural hair with braids. The easiest way is the standard braid.

The second type of braid is the Cornrow.

Dreadlocks - Also known as Locs. This style allows your hair to grow long while being natural and staying strong.

There are a few different methods for making dreadlocks. We have instructions for making dreadlocks on this page. How to make dreadlocks

Twist - This natural hair style allows you the freedom of having straight hair but it also gives you the styled look of dreadlocks.

To achieve this look section your hair into 1″ sections. You can use rubberbands to hold the sections or you can create the twist with each section. Twist the hair in a clockwise motion and use a dreadlocks product to hold the twist in place. Using a dreadlocks product on the twist will insure that the twist stays together. Dreadlocks products are created with the idea of holdin dreadlocks together so they are very strong.

Nappy Hair - There are a quite a few different ways of styling nappy hair. The best way to get a great style for your nappy hair is to consult a local natural hair specialist. You can visit our locticians page to find a loctician in your area that will be able to assist you in styling your natural hair.