More Than Tuesdays: How to: Fake dreads

Ok, there is a reason for this, I promise!

Nope, that's not my hair, but you already knew that.

Those are my faux-dreads. Fake dreadlocks. Whatevs. I originally made them a few years ago for a dance performance with my troupe where we danced

American Tribal Style (click here to learn more)

...sort of bellydance fusion. *More on that later.*

(In the pic below, I'm wearing some colored dreads on top too

...same idea, just made of felted wool yarn)

Marcaedijan '08

When you're wearing that much costume, the last thing you want

is to wear your hair down!

And since a regular ol' ponytail just won't look good, I made the dreads instead. Now I had an excuse to wear my hair tied up!

Aaaaaaand since Gasparilla is right around the corner, it's the perfect ~~excuse~~ reason to wear my ~~dreads~~ pirate costume.

I used some fabulous information found here to make the original set.

You'll need:

cheap-o Synthetic hair (Kanekelon, about $2/bag)
fine toothed comb
source of heat/steam
old hanger (or just tie directly to the lace)
lace ribbon (could use other things, but lace is super grippy & perfect for this)

1--Take out enough hair for a medium-sized dreadlocks, about the thickness of a pen. Of course, more/less hair means thicker/thinner dreads. Your pref. I chose two different colors, use what makes you happy. Mix and match (or don't) to your heart's content.

2--Secure to the hanger or lace ribbon using a lark's head knot. I did like the girl in the tutorial...loop the hair to the hook end of the hanger and put your leg through the middle to hold the hanger in place. You'll eventually tie it to the lace, but I made each new one on the hanger so I wouldn't have the finished ones in my way.

3--Backcomb the heck out of the hair! Seriously. Do it. Take out your frustrations. Remember back in 7th grade when you'd tease your bangs to six-inches high? Yeah, do that. It should look like a rat's nest (the dreads, not your bangs).

4--Once you've had enough (you want the hair to be all poofed-up and ratty, but not in impossible knots), start to smooth down the hair and twist it.

5--Seal the hair while it's twisted. The site suggests either boiling it (tricky to hold the shape though), or steaming it.

My method: cover with a wet cloth and press with a very HOT iron.

Works quickly and mess free. I just put a bowl of water on the table next to me and dipped the cloth each time. Trim the end or let it end taper off naturally.

6--Use another lark's head knot to attach it to the lace, if you went the hanger route in step #2.

7--You'll need to make enough dreads so that when the loops are tied next to each other on the lace, they all the way around the thickness of your ponytail, but not overlap each other.
Mine has 23 dreads...yours may be more or less depending on how much hair you have to start with (on your head, I mean) and how thick you make the dreads.

(You'll wanna let them dry completely first. No one likes musty hair.)

To attach,

Put your own hair in a ponytail or bun. I make mine in a little partial-pony/mini-bun, with the rest of my hair hanging out of the bottom. I usually wrap my head in something, so the natural hair at the bottom will be covered up anyway.