As with any hairstyle, dreadlocks require a certain care and maintenance routine to stay clean, healthy and stylish. Part of this care and maintenance routine involves choosing the best dreadlock shampoo. There are several things to look for when choosing a dreadlock shampoo, such as all-natural ingredients, the presence of essential oils and the absence of surfactants. Keep in mind that how often you shampoo your hair will depend on how new your dreadlocks are.
All-natural ingredients are one of the most important things to look for when choosing the best dreadlock shampoo. Chemicals and other manmade items can cause residue to build up in your hair, which keeps the hair from locking properly. All-natural ingredients might also help prevent an itchy scalp by nourishing, refreshing and cleaning the scalp. In addition to being good for your scalp, all-natural ingredients are good for the environment as well.
Essential oils such as tea tree, peppermint and rosemary are ingredients that do a great deal to help skin and hair. A good dreadlock shampoo might contain one or more of these oils. These oils help with reducing dandruff and itchy scalps as well as treating oily skin and hair, and they have antibacterial and antifungal properties. Dreadlocks benefit from a shampoo that promotes healthy hair, a clean scalp and ingredients that help prevent the tightly locked hair from becoming dirty.
Surfactants are chemicals used in products such as soap and shampoo to promote lots of lather. These chemicals and the subsequent lather are not necessary, and they are rather harsh for use in soaps and shampoos. A good dreadlock shampoo generally does not contain surfactants, because these can irritate a scalp and strip the hair of essential moisture and other properties that create soft, healthy dreadlocks. Surfactants might be labeled as sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) or coconut-derived in ingredient lists, or they might not appear in the ingredient list at all. It might instead be labeled as an all-natural shampoo that contains vegetable-derived ingredients.
Many people choose to use products designed by people who also have dreadlocks. These individuals are aware of the needs and desires of others who have dreadlocks and work to create a product that works well as a dreadlock shampoo in addition to many other products for use in dreadlocked hair. Some products might be found in local beauty supply stores, and others might be available only online. Dreadlock shampoos are sold in both liquid shampoo form and bar form.