So dreadful that I have not written about this trend before! Dreads are timeless and make a reappearance every decade or so. They are a huge commitment and require a lot of upkeep in the beginning. I have seen some beautiful dreads lately and was wondering how they look so vibrant and intricate without damaging the hair. Well the trick is, they are not hair. The dreads are wool! And instead of fusing them with wax, they are just braided in temporarily. You can put them in one day and take them out the next. I love this option. I checked out Pinterest, and dreads are selling for $60-$120 a batch. You can make these yourself for $20-$40. This will take a bit of time, depending how many you want to do, but you will not dread the end results!

Supplies
Wool roving, any color
Spray bottle with warm water and dish soap or beeswax
Sushi mat roller
Scissors
String

Steps
1. Get your bag of wool roving and measure out the length you want. Cut at the desired length. Now, pull apart the roving to make strips. If you want small dreads, use less. Bigger dreads, use more. You can mix colors of roving or even dye the roving. If you decide to dye, you want to do it a day before and make sure the roving is dry before starting.
2. Once you have cut strips, you want to lay them on a flat surface that can get wet. In small sections, spray the strips of wool with warm water and dish soap or wax, then roll them between the sushi mat. Move along down the strip. You should start from the end.
3. Once you have the desired thickness, you can create patterns and designs. You can braid them together. You can braid embroidery string in them. Add beads, feathers or trinkets. We all learned at some point in our youth how to make basic friendship bracelets, so use these old techniques.
4. Once you have all the dreads you want to use, braid them into your hair with small elastics. This is the easiest way. I part the hair in three small sections for a braid. I take the middle piece and lift and place the dreads underneath, so the hair covers the dread. Then, secure it with small elastic. Now, braid as you normally would. At the end of the hair, you can wrap with string or use another small elastic.

This is all very simple, but a bit tedious. The dreads last in your hair a couple weeks, and you can wash your hair normally and air dry. Get a friend to help, and this can be done in no time. Start off on the bottom portions of your hair and add in more as you go.

Jamie BURKE