You may have seen online that people have been very successful with using bi carb soda to deep clean their dreadlocks. But still so often ill meet people who haven’t even heard about it. This is one thing I have been recommending for years to all of my clients while having chats during dread sessions.
This one thing in some cases can be the difference between awesome, clean and tight dreadlocks in a quicker time span compared to dirty, loose matted hair.
The benefits are especially great for the first few washes when starting new dreadlocks and it also helps to get the most out of your maintenance sessions as this will help to prevent loose hair from slipping out as fast.
What is Bi carb soda and why should you care?
Bi carb soda is a salty white alkaline powder often found in the baking section of most super markets. It’s mostly used for baking, controlling odours, personal hygiene and cleaning purposes plus many more.
As a dread head you really should be aware of this amazing product for a few reasons.
- It’s the ultimate dreadlock cleaner
- It’s the cheapest product you can use
- It’s very safe to use
- It speeds up the dreading process
- It’s helpful for combating dandruff and itching (especially when combined with apple cider vinegar)
The ultimate dreadlock cleaner
There isn’t anything that can beat this product that I know of when it comes to safely deep cleaning your dreadlocks. This stuff when mixed with water will literally penetrate your dreadlocks to their core and pull out dirt and residue that you never even knew existed.
There are videos online of people that have had dreadlocks for years that experience their first time using bicarb soda to deep clean their dreadlocks and the results are often the same. A tub of water that resembles chocolate milk!
People who work in environments where they are exposed to dirt and dust like tradesmen are especially in a great position to benefit from this product as shampoos often just don’t cut it.
This can be used every time you wash your dreads or every once in a while as a deep clean.
This stuff is dirt cheap!
Pretty much any supermarket you go to will have this in the baking isle and you can expect it to be roughly $3 or so depending on how many grams you want to buy. Compare this to some of the dreadlock shampoos out there which aren’t even that good and you are saving $20 – $30 or more!
It’s really safe to use
People use this to brush their teeth and cook food. Some even drink it. It’s quite safe to ingest so let that build your confidence in using it externally.
In fact, when you think about it, shampoos usually have a whole heap of chemicals and hard to pronounce ingredients in them, while bicarb doesn’t.
For normal un-dreaded hair it can be problematic though as it doesn’t have the anti-knotting properties of a shampoo that tries to make your hair soft and silky.
It just does one job and that is to clean your hair very well, so your un-dreaded hair may be more prone to knotting up if you’re not careful.
Perfect thing to use if you are planning to encourage free form dreads.
It speeds up the locking process
If there’s one thing that can really speed up the tightening and maturation of your dreadlocks it’s definitely bi carb soda. Because of how much it cleans your hair of dirt, residue and excess oil.
Your hair follicles will have more of a chance to connect together and matt up, creating more knots and tightening the ones you already have. Loose hair around the roots will also have a chance to matt together naturally instead of just lying dormant, encouraging your dreadlocks to naturally form on their own at the roots. Add some sea salt and you’re unstoppable!
People often ask me why my dreadlocks look so neat even though I only do my maintenance once a year or 2 and this has always been one of the secrets.
It’s your ally when combating dandruff and itching
Though it is not a cure, it is however one of the best natural things you can use when troubled with itching and flaking.
The bicarb removes excess skin cells and dirt on your scalp while you scrub it. And the good bacteria in the apple cider vinegar helps to kill the fungus that causes the dandruff.
More on apple cider vinegar in a minute.
To further help with this issue you can also add a drop or 2 of tea tree oil as it also helps to fight the dandruff with its anti-bacterial and anti fungal properties.
Ok great, so how do I use it?
To use this wonderful product you just need to fill up a bucket or sink with warm water and add some bicarb to it and mix.
The amount you add depends on how long/thick your dreadlocks are. For instance, if you have a full head of medium thick dreadlocks at shoulder length, you may want to use roughly 4 -5 tablespoons. You really don’t need to be precise with your measurements and the more experience you have using it, you will be able to tell how much you need. You then just have to make sure it’s mixed well into the water as it does tend to just sit at the bottom if not mixed properly.
You now can just soak your dreadlocks in the water with as much of your scalp in it as possible and start to gently massage. You don’t need to do anything to your dreadlocks just let them soak.
After a few minutes or when you’re satisfied with what you’ve done you can get your head out and pour out the water.
If you never did this before and have had dreadlocks for quite a while, it’s most likely you will see that the water has turned brown and murky.
From here you can either repeat this process again if your dreads are still very dirty or you can just rinse them off. I usually just jump in the shower at this point and rinse it very well.
Rinsing is very important and is a step that I see people mess up quite often. Rinse it very thoroughly and squeeze your dreadlocks multiple times like your squeezing out a sponge. Continue to rinse it and repeat.
You should be able to tell if all the bicarb is out when rinsing as the water will feel clean in your hands and not slimy.
You can add things to it too
When you’re more experienced with this you can add things to the bicarb and water mix like essential oils for scalp issues like dandruff or just for a nice scent. Or if you have lots of loose hair you could add a little bit of sea salt to further dry out your hair to encourage the loose hair to matt and join up with your existing dreads.
Apple cider vinegar
Many people when learning about bicarb deep cleaning, also find information telling them that they must also add apple cider vinegar too.
Well, you don’t have to but it’s definitely a good thing to do.
The acid in the vinegar rebalances the PH levels of your hair as the bicarb is super alkaline and our hair and skin does prefer to be a bit more on the acidic side of the spectrum.
It also leaves your hair feeling stronger and even cleaner and healthier than just using bi carb soda on its own.
It’s an amazing addition to a deep clean but it does leave your hair smelling like vinegar for a little while so do consider this if its something that would bother you.
Many people mix the two together when doing the soak and that’s great. I personally don’t do it like that though. I do the bicarb soak first and follow it by doing an apple cider vinegar soak. And I only use it occasionally as the bicarb soda holds itself at a much higher priority when deep cleaning.
Why you shouldn’t use bicarb soda
Yes, as great as this stuff is there can be some drawbacks to it.
I would not suggest for you to use it if you dye your hair regularly because it will strip the colour out of your hair.
Another effect of bicarb is that it may slightly bleach your hair in the long run if you use it a lot. This slight bleaching is something I only noticed after years of using it, and I was using it every single week when I’d wash my hair.
Also, this stuff can dry your hair out quite a bit. Most people should be ok but if you are prone to excessive dryness and discomfort from it, consider moisturizing your dreadlocks with something like coconut or olive oil by rubbing a little in your hands and running it through them.
Be careful not to overdo it! Using apple cider vinegar should help too.
Wow this sounds like a lot of work!
This is definitely the negative side of this way of dread washing, especially if you’re new to dreads, are a busy person and are used to just shampooing your hair in the shower. But for the outcome you will get it’s absolutely worth the effort. It really isn’t that much work though when you have done it before and know what you’re doing.
Also, remember you don’t have to do this every single time you wash your hair. You can just do it every so often to remove shampoo residues and dirt that normal washing can’t do efficiently.
I know many people that are too lazy to do it at all and they suffer the consequences of using crap shampoos to wash their dreadlocks. Couple that with a dirty work environment and dandruff and you have something pretty gross.
I also know many people that do take this advice and it completely changes everything for them. Don’t be lazy! Your dreadlocks will thank you for your efforts.