Can Dreadlocks Make You Lose Your Hair? The Two Real Causes, and How to Prevent Them

By Ann-Marie Christell, Seienstyle

A simple question with a longer answer

My name is Ann-Marie Christell, and I have been a professional loctician for over 26 years. Not long ago, one of my followers asked me something I hear often, usually with a little worry behind it. Do dreadlocks cause hair loss?

It sounds like a simple question. The honest answer is a bit longer, because it depends less on the dreadlocks themselves and more on how they are worn, how they are cared for, and what is happening in your body.

So let me walk you through it slowly. By the end, I hope you will feel less afraid and more equipped to keep both your hair and your dreadlocks healthy for many years.

Losing hair every day is natural

Let's begin with something that rarely gets said. Everyone sheds hair, every single day. Most people lose somewhere around 50 to 100 strands daily, whether they wear dreadlocks or not. It is part of the natural cycle of hair. Old strands rest and fall away, and new ones grow in to take their place.

We talk a great deal about hair loss, and much less about the quiet renewal happening underneath it. Your scalp is constantly growing new hair, for your whole life.

Here is the beauty of wearing dreadlocks on a full head of hair. The strands you shed do not fall onto your pillow or into the shower drain. They stay caught inside the dreadlock. This is one of the reasons dreadlocks keep their fullness over time.

The new hair growing from your scalp needs to find its way into the right dreadlock. When that happens regularly, your dreadlocks stay rooted and strong. When it does not, problems can begin, and I will come to that in a moment.

The first thing that can cause hair loss: constant pulling

There are two things I see that can lead to real hair loss with dreadlocks. The first is tension.

Perhaps you love wearing your dreadlocks in a very tight bun or a high ponytail. Perhaps your hair is always gathered in the same way, with the weight pulling in the same direction day after day. You might feel it as a tightness in the scalp, a tugging at the hairline.

When hair is pulled hard and continuously in one direction, the stress reaches all the way down to the root. Over time, this can damage the follicle itself. And the painful truth is that hair lost this way may never grow back. I do not want that to happen to you.

So my recommendation is to move things around. Change how you wear your hair. Let it hang loose some days, put it up differently on others, and avoid having the pull land on the same spot every time. Very tight scarves, headbands and hats can create the same strain, so notice how they feel on your scalp too.

Your scalp will tell you when something is too tight. Listen to it.

The second thing: new growth that is never brought in

The second cause is quieter, and it builds slowly.

Remember those strands you shed every day? Imagine they keep falling away inside the dreadlock, while the new hair growing at the root is never worked into the right dreadlock. Over months, the base becomes looser and looser. Eventually, a dreadlock that was once anchored by many strands is hanging on by only a few.

That is when things can go wrong. A dreadlock held by a couple of strands can be pulled out completely. It might get caught in a zipper or a car door, tugged by a child or a pet, or simply give way under its own weight. When that happens, it takes the remaining hair with it, and it can be both painful and upsetting.

The good news is that this is entirely preventable. It is not something dreadlocks do to you. It is something that happens when the regrowth is left on its own for too long.

Why I recommend a full check at least once a year

My recommendation is simple. Have your dreadlocks maintained by a loctician, or by someone you trust, at least once a year. Go through the whole head, section by section, and make sure the new hair growing from your scalp has been brought into the dreadlock it belongs to.

Many of my clients love caring for their dreadlocks at home, and I think that is wonderful. If that is you, keep doing it. But once a year, let someone else look at the back of your head. It is the one place you cannot see properly yourself. Someone with fresh eyes can follow each section and make sure everything is holding together and nothing is hanging by a few loose strands.

Think of it as a yearly check-in for something you plan to wear for a very long time. A little attention once a year can save you from losing dreadlocks you have grown for a decade.

Your body and your hair are one story

There is one more piece I always want people to understand. How your hair grows is deeply connected to what is happening inside you.

Illness, medication, hormonal shifts, pregnancy and the months after it, long periods of stress. All of these can change how much hair you shed and how quickly it grows back. That is true whether or not you wear dreadlocks. Dreadlocks do not create these changes, but they can make you notice them, because the hair you shed stays with you instead of disappearing down the drain.

So the best thing you can do for your dreadlocks is to take care of yourself. Nourish your body well, rest, move, and give yourself what you need in the seasons that ask more of you. When your body is supported, your hair has the best possible foundation.

If you notice sudden or unusual hair loss, please also talk to your doctor. Sometimes the hair is the first place the body asks for attention, and it is worth listening to.

If you would like help with your dreadlocks

There are two ways I can support you, depending on what feels right for you.

If you would like me to maintain your dreadlocks, I work from my salon in Provence and travel to Stockholm every three months, with stops in other European cities along the way. You can see where I will be next and book your maintenance here: [link to booking page]

If you would rather learn to care for your dreadlocks yourself, I offer one-on-one coaching over live video. I guide you through maintaining your own dreadlocks, so you feel confident keeping them healthy from home. You can read more about it here: [link to coaching page]

So, do dreadlocks cause hair loss?

Not on their own. Healthy, well-maintained dreadlocks that are worn with care do not take your hair from you. What can cause hair loss is constant pulling in one direction, regrowth that is left loose for too long, and the changes happening inside your body.

The answer is gentle. Vary how you wear your hair, make sure your regrowth is brought in at least once a year, and care for your body as the foundation of everything that grows from it. Do that, and your dreadlocks can stay with you, strong and full, for a very long time.

Did you learn something new here? I would love to know what your aha moment was, or what you are still wondering about. Leave a comment below or send me a message. Your questions help me create the content you actually want to learn from.

With love,

Ann-Marie