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How Often Should I Wash My Locs? [ANSWERED]

Are you asking, “how often should i wash my locs”? Well, the answer is this, there is no one set rule for how often dreadlocks should be washed.

Still though, we have some good guidelines for you listed below that help according to different circumstances that you might fall under.

Some folks should wash locks every 3-4 days, others every other day or every 2nd day, and still others once a month or so.

How often you should wash your dreads also comes down to your ethnicity and hair type, for example, white dreadheads usually have oilier hair and scalp that needs to be washed far more often than Black folks with dreads.

Hey, after you finish this article, scroll back up to check out our related article about if castor oil is good for dreadlocks or not.

TUTORIAL: How Often Should I Wash My Locs?

How Often To Wash Dreads For Black Dreadheads

Even for Black women and men with dread, there is no one set rule for how often to wash them. It depends on how active your lifestyle is, how much you sweat, if you smoke or not, what type of hair products you use or don’t use, and so on.

So this section is here simply to explain that how often you should wash your dreadlocks as a Black person will never be a static number of days, weeks, or months.

The person asking “how often should I wash my locs?” could even get a different answer from year-to-year or according to their personal level of hair health, locs maturation and the locs hairstyles you're rockin'.

All-in-all, the real answer to “how often should I wash my locs?”is BEFORE they start to smell bad and after they’ve had enough time to continue maturing instead of falling apart and thinning because of washing them too early.

Gauge your success and use your perfectly good senses to realize how often you need to be washing your locs!

How Often Should I Wash My Locs If I Workout?

Wondering how often should you wash your dreadlocks if you workout?

Well, if you generally wash your locs once per month but workout, it may be best to change that wash your locs schedule to every 7-14 days if you are working out regularly and less than 7 days if you sweat heavily.

No, you do not necessarily need to wash your hair after every workout, but you should rinse it after every workout if you sweat heavily because you don’t want that sweat to build up for too long.

If you are suffering from waiting FOR EVVVEEEERRRR for your locs to dry after rinsing or washing, the solution is simple. Stop being cheap and get you a good high-caliber blow dryer, not those rinky-dink drugstore hair blowers.

If you’ve already been using a post-workout cleanse routine, then you can gauge those results to decide if you need to change your wash routine or not.

Do You Wash Dreadlocks?

ANSWER: Yes, dreads can and need to be washed, always! You might night wash them as much when dreads are new but as your dreads mature, you don't have to worry about lots of fluffing and re-dreading, so feel free to wash your dreads more frequently when you feel they need a refreshening.

No matter the age of your dreads, it's important not to go longer than about a week without washing if you sweat a lot or smoke. At least once every week is mandatory in that case.

Washing regularly is key to growing a healthy head of dreads, as shampooing actually helps dreads lock tighter, faster by removing slippery, detangling natural hair.

Can I Wash My Locs Everyday?

Unless you have excessively oily hair like many white girls or guys, you shouldn’t wash your locs everyday. Even for white people, shampooing locs everyday isn’t a good idea.

No, washing dreadlocks everyday is not recommended or necessary.

When talking about the pros and cons of dreadlocks, one thing that comes up is how dreadlocks need alot ot time to dry, otherwise it’s very easy to develop mold or mildew growth on your scalp. It is recommended to wash dreadlocks less often than once per day for most people.

Can I Wash My Locs Without Retwisting Them?

ANSWER: Yes, you can wash locs without retwisting them. Ofcourse, it’s common to wash and retwist hair every three weeks or so. Still, it’s possible to maintain your locs when you're not retwisting them.

For example:

Every six months or so you can take a month off from retwisting your dreadlocks and just to give your hair a break. You can take advantage by giving your hair a good rinse and deep conditioning. Lets talk dreadlock products!

To wash your hair when not retwisting you can use:

After washing, it's time to moisturize the luscious locs!!

These are great dreadlock products to use to moisturize your scalp. When your locs are still damp, you section your hair in half and go row by row dispensing the product through the nozzle it includes.

After using both of these products you then apply a small amount of each product in your hands, rub together, and apply to your locs and ends.

After that, part your hair how you want it to lay and sit under a hooded dryer for about 20-30 minutes, or use a professional-grade blow dryer, and then air dry the rest!

NHP always advocates giving your hair a break from the constant retwisting every few weeks (whenever possible) and just letting it be free. After all, dreadlocks do their own thing anyways!

Give your locs a moment to breathe sometimes, and don't ruin them! But no matter what, be sure that your hair is moisturized and clean! That is extremely important! Clean and hydrated hair promotes growth and scalp health!

The Wrap Up: What Should I Wash My Dreads With?

Wondering what you should wash your dreads with? Well, NHP got you covered! You’ll definitely need the best products to keep healthy and clean dreadlocks and I think you’ll like these.

Here are a few of the best product for dreadlocks:

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Melissa Lee

Melissa Lee is a Contributing Editor to NHP and a former owner of the BlackhairOMG website. She formed 4C Trichology Growth Services, LLC., a US based hair care consultation service. She has also contributed as a writer and consultant for various hair and beauty websites. Melissa can be followed on Twitter here.

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