Real Dreads without extensions
Do you have dreadlocks made of your own hair (without extension) and they are getting too long? You can very easily cut your dreads a little shorter. There are different ways to do this.
- If you have a small loose ends in the dreads and you want to have this again after you have shortened your dreads, you can cut the dread at an angle, so that you already have a somewhat flared tip, instead of cutting the dread straight through (horizontally). Then you can comb out the underside a bit so you get a small ends of loose hair. The piece of hair you comb out will be a bit frizzy for a while. That’s normal, afterall your hair has been tangled for years.
- Do you have blunt ends and want them back after cutting Dreads shorter? Then cut your dreads straight through (not in an angle). When your Dreads are already couple years old, the lower parts are already very firm and more sturdy so the ends will usually not frail and will remain blunt.
If, for example, your dreads are only a year old and you want to cut them shorter and make them blunt again, you can also cut them straight. Some hairs may come loose at the ends, which you can then hook back into the dread so that the ends look blunt again. Even blunt ends of new dreads need some time to get nicely blunt. It can also be that dreads with blunt ends need some time before the hairs stop frizzing and stay neatly in place. By palmrolling the ends you can help them get firmer quicker
Tip: Keep the cut off extensions. In case you ever want to go back to longer dreads, you can always crochet them back in (or have them crocheted in)!
Real Dreads extended with Human Hair Locks of Love
Are your Real Dreads extended with our Human Hair Locks of Love or Renate’s Locks of Love?
Then you can choose to cut the dreads a little shorter in the same way as described above.
Are your dreadlocks long enough that you want to take the whole extension off? How great to take out just the extensions and have dreads just from your own hair after years of saving length!
Find the part of the dread where the extension was hooked in, use a crochet hook to gently pull the hairs loose until you can pull the whole dread off. If necessary, you can then comb out the end of your loc a bit so that a nice loose tip is created. The part of hair you comb out will be a bit frizzy for a while, after all, your hair has been tangled up for years so that’s normal. Once you have washed it a number of times, it will become less and less frizzy.
Real Dreadlocks extended with loose human hair
If your dreads are extended with loose human hair, you can cut them off in the same way as described in the paragraph Real Dreads without extensions.
Did your dreads grow so long that you just want to take out the entire extension?
With dreads that have been extended with loose hair, the part where the extension starts is a bit harder to find, (especially when the extension is the same color as your own hair) because the point where the human hair was added is a bit more stretched on the length of the extension, to make it blend easier.
If you know or can see approximately where the extension starts, cut off a few cm below the dreadlock. Then start combing until you have combed out all the Human Hair that was added as extension and only the dread of your own hair remains.
If you don't know and/or can't see approximately where the extension starts, our advice is to start by combing out 1 dread from the end of the extension until you reach the piece of dread where your own hair starts. Then you will know approximately where the extension starts for the other dreads, and you can cut off a small piece underneath the extension and comb out just the last piece of extension so that you don't cut off any of your own hair! You can then save your cut off extensions for later, in case you unexpectedly regret having cut them off, you can (have) Them hooked back in again!
Real Dreads with fuller ends, extended with loose human hair
Fuller ends are very popular in the Dreadshop’s Salon, it’s when extra loose human hair is added to the ends so they are longer and even more beautiful. If you have fuller ends on your dreads and would want to shorten the,, there are 2 options available, depending if you want your loose ends back after shortening dreadlocks.
The first option is to cut off the dreads and then add non-human hair back to the ends to create new Fuller ends. This option is ideal if your Fuller ends have become thinner over time or you want a slightly different color. Or if you have Fuller ends extensions in a blonde shade and the hair has become flat and pale over the years so you might want new hair for a fresh new look. Read more about the lifespan of our human hair here.
The second option is to reuse your old fuller ends. For this option, make sure you have about 9-10 cm of the dread left above the fuller ends, above the place you cut the dread. Comb out a bit the top of the cut off dreadlock, so you have around 3-4 cm of loose hair. Then cut a piece from the dread where you just cut off the fuller ends from, depending on how much shorter you want your dreads to be now. Keep in mind that the piece with fuller end comes back on the dreadlock, which adds another bit of length. Comb the bottom of the dread a little bit (the one you still have attached on your head), so you have a few cm of loose hair at the end.
Tip: First make 1 dread shorter, don’t cut off too much length in one go, you can always cut a piece extra. This way you make sure your dreads won’t end up too short. In this video we show you how you can hook the fuller ends piece back on
Don't feel like or don’t have time to make your dreads shorter by yourself? Or have you made your dreads shorter but regret it and want them longer again? Then make an appointment at our salon to have this done!
Good luck and enjoy your shorter style!
