@Imicola
How do you look after them and wash them? And actually how does one get dreadlocks, do they form on their own or do you need to create them? Finally, how do they smell? Thanks, I've always wondered these things, but never knew anyone to ask!
You're welcome
I have the answer to a part of your question in a post above and to answer further, I wash my hair in the shower as normal. It's how I did it before locs and it hasn't given me any problems so i continued. Hair first, then body.
You can create them or you can leave them to form on their own. Ours have been left to form on their own because it's less fuss and I don’t like the manipulation of creating them (sensitive scalp and tenderheaded).
I've 'cheated' on the freeforming though by separating the already locked ones when they try to grab more locs and lock up further into very big pieces. I just pull them apart gently or use a small scissors to cut them apart if they've locked up too hard. I follow the first sizes they locked into and only separate those straying too far away from those sizes. I'm not zealous about uniform sizes, just don't want to have a head of 3 huge loc pieces. Not my personal preference but that's what mine would probably do if left alone completely. Mine locked into thinner/slimmer and a lot more pieces, DD's are medium-thicker pieces because her hair strands are thicker than mine.
Different hair textures can lock up but the length of time it takes and how easily it does depends on the texture. The more coarse, 'coily-er' and curlier one's hair is, the faster and easier it locks because it naturally does that within minutes if not kept stretched. The straighter it is, the harder it will be because nothing keeps it 'sealed' with or bound to each other.
So to achieve locs, if one has straighter hair, can often take much longer and most times, a bit of manipulation to get it started. This includes not washing or combing it for a long period of time so it doesn't untangle.
For our hair, washing it actually tangles it up quicker so locs form faster the more you wash and leave alone. Combing is detangling/untangling and for our hair, unless you untangle a section and hold it straight or braid it or straighten it, it will tangle back immediately. After about a week or a few weeks/months, the tangles start separating themselves naturally into locked strands/pieces of hair. The inbetween stages (when it's forming) can make you look a bit odd especially the straighter your hair is. If it's curlier or coily-er you may get away with looking like you're sporting a 'style'.
I have less coily hair around my edges (extremely soft and baby-fine) and they have taken longer to lock than other strands which are coarse and densely coily.
My hair smells like shampoo and jelly 😄 They can smell sweaty if not washed. Used to use a lovely pantene shampoo that smelled fantastic but alas! The scalp said no to it and dozens of other products. Aveeno doesn't have (much) perfume and irritants to my scalp so it just smells clean and faintly of soap and jelly.