Yes, you can get your dreads wet every day, only for moisturizing purposes and it is just a little spritz.
But soaking your hair with water after showering will not do your dreads any good.
Table of Contents
- Let Me Explain Why Some People Use Water To Soften There Dreads
- Washing Your Dreads With Water Only In The Shower
- Washing Your Hair Once A Week Is The Best Routine For Dreads
- How To Dry Dreads After Wetting
- Swimming With Dreadlocks
Wetting your dreads every day is not a good idea as you may train your hair to over-produce oils and dry out your hair strand. Not to mention, the chemical found in water from your shower head.
In this post, I’ll further explain why you should not wet your dreadlocks every day.
Let Me Explain Why Some People Use Water To Soften There Dreads
I would keep a small spray bottle of distilled water close by when styling my dreads so I can soften and manoeuvre my locs to any style. This doesn’t mean I soak my dreads in water, so much so to require a towel to dry them.
A regular spritz of distilled water in your dreads will leave them feeling softer and is a natural moisturizer. Another benefit of this water is it makes your hair shiner and manageable.
So what is distilled water? It is purified water that doesn’t have any of the chemical found in tap water.
The best part of this water is you can produce them at home by heating tap water to the point of vapour, then waiting for that vapour to condense into water. Check out Cnet for a very useful article on this topic.
Washing Your Dreads With Water Only In The Shower
What type of water is coming out of your shower, is it hard or soft water?
Hard water has a high concentration of dissolved minerals which causes build-up and discolouration of your hair.
While soft water contains fewer chemicals but it takes longer to cleanse your hair of build-up. So if you are washing your hair every day because you think it’s dirty, then you are only making the situation worse.
Wetting your dreads every day can cause your scalp to overproduce oils. This can cause a build-up of oil, on your scalp if you change your washing routine.
If you aren’t wetting your dreads on purpose in the shower, you can use a cap to prevent this like the Simply Elegant XL waterproof cap that is reusable.
Washing your hair with water every day can expose your hair to dread rot also.
Washing Your Hair Once A Week Is The Best Routine For Dreads
Washing your dreads once or twice a week with clarifying shampoo will get rid of any build-up. It is a good routine to maintain as it will not cause any over-production of oils.
ACV rinse is an excellent way to break down any grease and gunk in your hair. Also, you can delay washing your hair every day by applying oils that contain peppermint and tea tree. These are natural anti-fungal and antibacterial alternatives.
How To Dry Dreads After Wetting
Drying your dreadlocks is pretty straightforward: after washing you can either, air dry, use a blow dryer or hood dryer.
To dry your dreadlocks, start by giving your locs a gentle wring to get rid of any excess water. Then grab a large towel and repeat the wringing process with 10-20 locs at a time.
The tips of your dreads have the most water so you’ll need to attend to them by squeezing them with a towel.
Air dry or with heat?
Most of the time I’ll air dry my dreads because I live in the Caribbean and its sunny 80% of the year. However, during rainy days a blow dryer gets the job done.
When using a blow or hood dryers, make sure it is on its lowest heat because you don’t want to fry your hair strands. Stay no longer than ten minutes under your hood dryer or five minutes with a blow dryer.
Swimming With Dreadlocks
While swimming with dreadlocks can help them lock faster, do not try this every day. The chlorine in the water will further dry your dreadlocks, causing brittle hair.
Also, you may not always have the time to complete the lengthy process of drying your dreadlocks. So, if your job requires you to swim every day or you just enjoy swimming, invest in a durable and tight dread cap. The Happy Mane Dread Cap is an affordable option that comes in a variety of sizes and colours.
Wetting your dreadlocks every day is not a good practice, you can expose your hair to dread rot and increase your chances of oily hair. However, a little spritz of distilled water will soften and give your hair life.
Furthermore, always dry your dreadlocks and when swimming wear a durable dread cap.
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