We recommend to wash once a week or so. At the beginning it can be difficult to wash that infrequently if you are accustomed to washing daily. Wait as long as you can after having your dreads put in (up to a week). At the beginning of your dread journey especially, washing has the frustrating effect of pulling out a lot of loose hair. By waiting up to a week you are allowing the knots to establish themselves before loosening things up with washing. Also, the more frequently you wash the more quickly your dreads will lock up. When you wash, the shock of water and temperature change (hot wash to cold rinse) opens up the cuticle of the hair making it rough and helping it knot and compress. Still, weekly is a good frequency to shoot for to avoid excessive loose hair while also taking advantage of the locking power of washing.
Keeping your locks nice and clean is the MOST important thing you should be doing to care for your locks. Check out the page on shampoo & soaps for a ton more information along with a list of shampoos that I recommend and what to look for to know what products you SHOULDN’T use on your lovely locks. Check out the page about washing for even more information about general washing. too.
