Dreadlocks are popular with a wide variety of people from hippy-chicks to death-metal fans, Rastafarians to students of life and reggae worshipers. Let’s face it, it’s a very cool hairstyle and one that also appeals to the conscientious crowd including vegetarians and vegans.
But is it possible to have vegan-friendly dreadlocks? Do you really need all those hair products and beeswax? Well…no, you don’t. It’s perfectly possible to have beautiful natty dreads without animal products. Here’s how…
The Wax Issue
One of the biggest concerns for vegan dreadheads is whether or not you need to use wax, which comes from a bee’s bum. The answer, quite simply, is no. Wax is not essential for maintaining dreadlocks. In fact, too much wax can stop dreads maturing properly because your hair needs to move around to lock-up tight.
Wax is often used to spruce-up unruly dreads if you want to look your best for a party or social event. An alternative to this is a product called KnottyBoy Locksteady gel, which is a mixture of Aloe Vera and lime juice. The advantage is that it washes out much more easily and doesn’t contain animal products but if you really want to be pure about it, plain Aloe Vera gel does the job just as well.
Keeping Clean
For vegans there is a particularly popular range of non-animal shampoos under the Dr. Bronner's label. These shampoos were developed for vegans first and foremost but just so happen to be residue free and therefore perfect for soaping up your dreads.
Not only is Dr. Bronner's vegan friendly, it’s also organic, fair trade and comes in recycled packaging so good for the environment and humanity at the same time. With lots of yummy types to pick from, you won’t get bored of the same soap either, choose from: almond, peppermint, eucalyptus, tea tree, lemon and rose, either as a solid bar or in liquid form.
Tightening-Up
One of the best tigheners on the market is DreadHeadHQ’s Lock Peppa, which is fantastic for dreading-up and maintaining solid roots. It’s 100% vegan so you can sprinkle away guilt-free. KnottyBoy Locksteady gel is also vegan and ethically sourced but, as mentioned, Aloe Vera is also an easy and pure alternative.
There are a wide range of dread accelerants on the market but there are also easy DIY alternatives. DradheadHQ’s accelerant is little more than salt water which you can make at home and pour into a squirty-bottel. By making your own you can be reasonably sure that you know exactly what’s going in to it.
Where Can I Get More Information?
If you’re not sure about a product it’s always best to ask the manufacturer or other dreadheads. A good forum to ask people can be found at KnottyLocks and an outstanding product supplier is DreadworxUK which, despite the name, posts worldwide. Company sites such as DreadHeadHQ also supply information about their products and, in DHHQ’s case, whether they are vegan-friendly or not.
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