As the roots grow you will need to separate the locks, this is a simple matter of pulling the apart at the roots.

Regularly roll them – if you have a lot of locks and not much time you can do this methodically. Say roll ten a night until after a week or so you will have rolled them all and you can start the cycle again.

The knitting hook is great for neatening up the body of the locks, not just the tips. Simply run you hand over the lock trying to pull out and loosen all hair strands that are not firmly locked. Once you have then sticking out roll them in a ball to knot them as much as you can. Once there is a nice knotty bit use the hook to pull it into the body of the lock then roll over it.

As for root regrowth we have found an effective way to deal with that and to encourage locking as close to the scalp as possible by rubbing the root of the lock.

Make sure the lock you have selected to work on is separated from the surrounding locks. Decided which short little new growth hair belong in that lock and make sure the others are out of the way and over with the lock they belong too.

Now take the lock in your hand and using either your palm, heal of your hand or fingertips, whichever you find works best for you, rub the roots.

You want to knot it as much as possible. Think that you are mushing the hairs into the scalp and making a huge tangle – but only with the hairs you have chosen to tangle. Do so in a circular motion – they same direction each time although you can change direction for the next time you get to work on this regrowth if you so choose.

After the rubbing/mushing then roll the lock trying to get the sides of your palm as close to the scalp as possible. Feel free to use the hook to tighten the root hairs as much as possible. Then if it is waxing time, then wax the lock.

You will now have lovely healthy locks!

I recommend washing your hair about once a week. Don’t use conditioner, and it’s best to use shampoo that has been designed for locks.

If you think about it, the whole point of conditioner it to help you get knots out of your hair! We want knots to get tighter.

You will only need to wash your scalp, as the rinsing of the shampoo from your scalp is all the washing the length of the locks need.

Another point to remember is lock take longer to dry then unlocked hair, so make sure you lock on a sunny day in the morning, and if possible sit your locks in the sun for a while to promote drying.  If you keep the locks tied back when wet they won’t dry very well at all and you may find them start to smell like wet socks. Yuck. 

 The best way to fix that is to wash them again and make sure they dry as quickly as possible. You can use a hair dryer, but you’ll find you will be there for quite some time! Or you can just wait it out the smell usually goes away after a couple of days.

Locks mature over time, all the little flyway bits and loose hairs that make baby locks look like itchy grubs will settle down eventually and you locks will then look more like felt. At about six or eight months old you might find strange knoby lumps appearing along the length of the locks. It’s ok. It’s just a stage they are going through. You will find they stage will last shorter if you regularly and consistently roll them to let them know how you want them to grow.

Dreamlocks are a big commitment.  If you change your mind afterwards and want to take them out – there is a high chance the only way to do this is to cut all your hair off!