Dreads can be extended in a couple different ways. Do do this you must have the dreads to put in your hair, so if you have very short (6" and under) hair that you want to dread and you want to extend it then make sure you have some dreads to put in your hair, otherwise you'll just end up with tiny dreads.
Where to get dreads to use for extensions
(Above: Various types of dreads to use. From top to bottom: 1. Dread that was made out of severed hair with free hair on end. 2. Dread that has been removed from a head of dreads, both ends dreaded. 3. Dread that was made of very short, 4" long hair. As you can see, if done right it makes a normal sized dread. 4. Dread composed of various small dreads that were meshed together to make a normal sized one.)
1. Find some pre-made dreads. If you have a friend who is cutting off all or some of their dreads then ask to have them for extensions. Or if you have a full head of dreads and want to have less (say a mohawk or mullet) then you can cut off the dreads in the spots you don't want them and use your own pre-made dreads.
2. Make dreads. Hair doesn't have to be attached to a head for it to be dreaded. If you come into possession of some human hair, be it long, short, from your head or a friend's head then you can make dreads. Long hair works the best but short hair (even 4" and under) can make full length dreads. The way that seems to work the best to make the hair into dreads is just rolling the hair. Make a dread sized chunk of hair, make sure all the hairs are lined up the same way, and start to roll it either between your hands or against the top of your leg. If the hair is short then keep adding more to it. It will all mesh together and form a dread.
Regardless of where you do either of these methods make sure that the dreads you end up with don't have bugs in them. If you even suspect that they might then you should put the dreads in a pot of boiling water for about 5 minutes to be sure.
3. Use animal dreads. These are typically made of alpaca fiber, which is very close in consistency to human hair. I personally have never made them but I have bought pre-made ones. You can find them for sale online.
How to attach them
1. Sew them in.
(Above: A human hairdread that has been sewn in. I used floss, and it remains visible until it is removed.)
(Above: An alpaca fur dread that has been sewn in. The red is yarn.)
Most people think this is permanent but it is not. They will stay in basically permanently, but once you take off the thread/floss they will come off. Sewing them in just holds the 2 pieces of dread close together and doesn't allow them to mesh, especially since it only works if you sew them on tight, which causes constriction and inability to mesh. I've used this technique a lot and the dreads stayed on and were sturdy, but the floss remained visible and looked tacky. If this is what you want to do then find some thread or floss. Floss is what I used because it's stronger. Thread will work too if you'd rather use that. You can use any sewing needle. All you do is sew them together at the tips. You can overlap them a little if you want for stability but it's not entirely necessary (does tend to help in my experience). Pierce the needle through one dread and out the other side and then into the other dread and out, alternating from dread to dread. Periodically wrap the floss/thread around the dread. When done tie a good knot if you used thread or just burn it off if you used floss. This method is not my recommended method for human hair, but it seems to be the only method that works for animal fur dreads.
2. Mesh them in.
(Above: a dread that has been meshed in. It all looks like the same dread and it turns out nice)
This is something I recently got into. After being fed up with the way the floss made my dreads look i started taking it out. That's when I found out that it doesn't mesh the dreads together, so when I did so my dreads came out. I was left with fully dreaded medium length dreads attatched to my head, and fully dreaded medium-long length severed dreads. I decided to try to naturally attatch them in a way that would trick my hair into thinking that the attatchments are actually my own hair. Here's how I did this: Since all the dreads (including the extensions) were dreaded from end to end I needed to free some hair to used as the connection point. I used my mini crochet hook to yank out hair from the tips of the dreads on my head and from one end of all the extensions. To do this you insert the crochet hook as close to the end of the dread as possible and pull outwards until the hairs either unravel out of the dread, or rip free, thus making your dreads into "paintbrush" dreads. You want about 4"+ of free hair on both the tips of the dreads on your head and the extensions dreads. To attatch: Take an extension dread and find a dread on your head that is similar in width to it. If the extension is slightly less wide then it's okay, but if it is wider then it will be too much weight for the dread to handle, so try to find a good match. pierce the crochet hook through the end of the dreaded part (just before it becomes free hair) of the dread on your head. Hook onto some of the free hairs on the extension and pull them through. Do the reverse as well. Keep doing this until all of the free hair from the extension is knotted into the dread on your head and vise-versa. This may take a while. Do it as best as you can. If it feels thin at the point where they attatch then you attatched it too low. You need to make sure the dreads overlap slightly to prevent this thinning. Once the dreads are in you just let them hang and lock together. DO NOT put any beads, yarn, sleeves, or decorations of any kind on these dreads. The weight will cause them to separate. Also do not tie your dreads back in any manor that causes tension on the dreads. Any kind of weight or pulling whatsoever will fuck up the connecting process. This process will last about a month, then they will have become all one dread. It will take maintenance to help them connect. Frequently pick at them with the crochet hook until they feel tight and well connected at the point where they connect. Once they're fully connected you can put on as many decorations as you want.
pictures on the meshing process to come.
haha
Hello, please is there a way to remove the dreads from my hair after it has been sewn in?
ReplyDeleteHello, please is there a way to remove the dreads from my hair after it has been sewed in?
ReplyDeleteHello, please is there a way to remove the dreads from my hair after it has been sewed in?
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ReplyDelete