Hope Nickki doesn't mind me throwing this subject in here. I see you have a dreadlocks section in the gallery so I thought maybe if people with dreadlocks join the forum they might like some info.
Dyeing dreads isn't the same as dyeing normal hair, for starters dreads drink dye like crazy so you need almost twice as much as you would for normal hair of the same length. Also with "ordinary" dyes dreads don't reflect the light so the colour doesn't always work out like the colour on the packet. I recently discovered that with Stargazer dye this isn't the case.
If you're going to use dye on dreads here's some tips for you:
1) Make sure your dreads aren't new - dyeing dreads before they're 6 months old can damage them beyond repair.
2) Double the amount of dye you would normally use for hair the same length as yours as the dreads need to have the dye worked right in which uses more dye than normal.
3) If you're going for a vibrant colour it's best to bleach your dreads first, again use twice as much as normal hair.
When you get to the actual dyeing process remember, it's gonna get messy! The best way to work dye into dreads is to "palm roll" them like you do when you're making dreads in the first place. This is exactly what it sounds like. You take a dread in your hand and roll it between the palms of both hands, this helps keep the dread rounded and also works in the dye really well. Personally I load up my palms with dye and roll the dread into it while squeezing tight to get the dye right in. This can cause your hands to cramp after a while if your dreads are long so be prepared.
Long dreads flick around like they have a life of their own so you and your bathroom are at risk of those little flick off drops, make sure your bathroom is as well covered as you are!
Don't forget the base of your hair. It's easy to concentrate on your dreads and forget the roots. Because the sections can be quite thick, depending on the size of your dreads, it may be difficult to work the dye all the way through to the centre section at the base but I use this chance to give myself a thorough head massage to get all the colour in.
I've always used standard dyes on my hair but I've always fancied being bright pink. Because of the lack of light coming through dreads, normal dyes looked flat and even the brightest ginger colors just looked like a dirty brown. I decided to be brave and use Stargazer "Shocking Pink" and my dreads are incredibly bright! I was so shocked at the results. I honestly expected a dark pink result, not the beautiful luminous brightness that I ended up with.
I love my dreads even more than I did before and I just wanted to say to anyone else with dreads that you shouldn't be afraid to try bright colour dyes. The right ones will work on your hair and if you check out the Beeunique dreadlocks gallery you'll see the results for yourself.
~ Matty xx
Posted : February 25, 2010 1:28 pm
Brilliant guide, Nickki you should sticky this!
Posted : February 27, 2010 7:20 pm
Mathurine - this is great - have sent you a pm.
To anyone else please feel free to add guides and 'how to' help on the forums as we are hoping to build up the guide section and these type of articles can help others so much.
Cheers
Nickki x
Posted : February 28, 2010 10:05 am
~blush~
Thanks guys. When I first dreaded my hair two years ago I looked all over the place for dyeing guides for dreads and there just aren't many out there. I just wanted to help out anyone who was in the same place that I was in.
Posted : February 28, 2010 2:49 pm
This is brilliant! I wish I'd found this a month ago!
I tried dying my dreads last month (see avatar) and it sort of worked, but I stupidly didn't have enough bleach, so only the tips of my dreads saw any of the stuff! I think next time I'll try three packets of 'B Blonde' rather than one :S
As for the dying - yep. My walls are splattered. even after scrubbing the worst off, it's going to need a repaint (we rent too D:) my tip is - don't turn your head when the dye is on - even slowly! you'll streak the walls!
When I first dyed them, I used Directions - 1 tube of Lagoon Blue mixed with half Rose Red to make a heathery purple - it covered the lower quarter of my dreads and soaked it up - the rest of my dreads, I used rose red. Once the dye was on, I wrapped my dreads in tin foil, like one big silver dread, and left it to soak for a couple of hours. The tin foil prevents carpet and wall dying accidents, and I highly recommend looking like a muppet for a couple of hours, rather than dying the walls:)
Rinsing the water out took over an hour, stained the bathroom and me! Citrus anti dandruff shampoo removed the worst though, luckily. It's quite tiring, and I ended up just standing in the shower till the water was a faint pink.
After the waters out, wrap your dreads in a big, old towel - the last thing you need is residual dye dripping everywhere! I found that out the hard way 🙁
After it had all dried, I had beautiful pink and purple dreads! - But that's not the end of it!
I've had them like this for about a month now, and I've found that the outside of the dread rubs off colour quickly, but the middle of the dread has kept it's purple - so I had an idea! I used some left over Rose Red dye to lightly brush onto the faded bits on the ends of my dreads, left it for a couple of minutes, then washed my dreads - and now I have and awesome 2-tone effect on my dreads where they 'look' purple, but with a sort of pink outline on the sides! 😀
As Mathurine said - I highly recommend dying your dreads, they look amazing, and the compliments have been great 😀 People even seem to stop asking you if you wash them - I guess it's pretty obvious once you have hair dye in 🙂
Posted : July 6, 2011 10:30 am
Oh my, this was my... second? Ever post on the forum? Wow that's old lol! So I joined on the 10th Feb 2010 eh? Good to know lol!
Way back then I'd searched the net all over the place looking for how to dye dreadlocks. All I found were posts on other forums and dreadlock websites saying "yes you can dye dreads" but no actual information on how.
It's not quite as straightforward as dying normal hair but through my own trial and error I came up with those tips. All and any other helpful info is most welcome as even after four years of being dreaded I still feel as though I'm a total newb to my dreads.
I am about to embark on yet another adventure though, Atomic Pink, Napalm Orange and Electric Banana! My head's gonna explode with colour, yay!
Posted : July 6, 2011 10:52 am
Wow! Your dreads are going to be awesomely fiery! :O Definitely want to see some photos of that!
Thankyou again for the info - there's a lot of tips there I'm going to try with my next dying - I'm hoping to go turquoise this time, the pink and purple are proving to be a nightmare to clean off the walls! (Although, the lagoon blue came off really easily)
Most of the info I found about bleaching and dying dreads was 'Don't do it, the bleach rots the dread' - which I haven't found at all :S I was surprised how well my dreads stood up to it! The only tip I'd give for that is 'use more bleach', otherwise, it was easier than the dying process! 😀
Posted : July 6, 2011 11:15 am
Yeah as dreads rely on being dryer than normal hair they can't take bleach as well as regular hair does and also you can't use conditioner with dreads too often or else they start to loosen up so bleaching is something you have to be careful with. Luckily we don't need to wash our hair so much so natural oils do help keep our dreads nice and nourished.
But my advice on bleaching is that if you have normal hair and bleach it once a month you're fine but with dreads I wouldn't do it, that probably would cause them to break after a while. Bleach once every 3 months at the most unless you're just doing the roots which haven't dreaded yet, they should be fine.
If you do use a bleach, use a mild one. I found that XXL Ice Blonde is the best one for me and yes I rinse like an absolute demon when I'm washing it out because dreads trap all sorts of things in there. I rinse in the shower, from the front to back, from back to front again, then one side to the other and back again. Squeeze out the dreads as much as you can while they're under running water, really get that gunk out of there!
Posted : July 6, 2011 11:27 am
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