Hair Extensions Forum

can someone speak to the difference in terms of difficulty/time it takes to create naturals, crocheted naturals, twisted, and wrappy dreads? if you were to rank them what would the rank be (easiest/less time consuming to make - hardest/more time consuming to make)?

what about weight? are crocheted naturals lighter or heavier than regular naturals?

i really want a new set of dreads, the set i currently own are a very well made wrappy style and are much too heavy for me to wear. i want something medium-long length, but still light. i really like the look of crocheted naturals. i would love to have a kit of dark brown base colour with a few transitioning into some wild colours. is this look possible to create with crocheted naturals? i still haven't decided if i should take the plunge and make my own set or try and swap/sell my wrappy set to get some new ones. any advice? what would you do? help!!!

Transitioning naturals are possible. You just pull the hair through near the bottom of the first colour and backcomb the hell out of the second colour making sure its tight up near the hole. Then you crochet down it as normal.

Here's one I prepared earlier


Whether crocheted naturals would be lighter or not depends on you. If you used exactly the same amount of hair and the same number of dreads for both, then they're be the same. Problem is, when you crochet them, they will become thinner and denser, so you might opt for a few extra. If that is the case, then they will be heavier.

I can't say that I have made many wrappy dreads. Are you talking fluffy almost natural dreads with an extra bit of kk around or twisted dreads with the extra bit? I have seen them both ways so I would probably rank both in different difficulty.

Naturals are the easiest for me. It involves less specific equipment(No steamer, no iron) and the best bit, NO TWISTING. I admit that I'm thinking of stopping making twisted dreads altogether because of how painful my wrist gets after a couple and I start losing the ability to grip.

Crocheted naturals are second easiest. They can take a lot of time, especially in the beginning but I think that the look of them, makes it all worthwhile. It will probably take a lot of practice to get it as you want it though. So bear that in mind.

Twisted are my hardest. Basically because of the reasons outlined above. They can basically cripple my hand for short stretches of a time(couple of days). Most people wouldn't have this problem as I have arthritis. So this might change for some people.

Depending on wrappy puffy natural type dreads or wrappy twisted dreads, I guess would either put them before or after twisted. (With wrappy twisted being after twisted >.<)

Hope that was in someway helpful and not as garbled as it sorta seems to me. (Blame the pain meds )

thanks Vicsarina! that is helpful. i might try to make my own crocheted naturals, i always thought they would be really hard though. i need to watch more tutorials!

Personally, I have never made what most people call 'naturals'. It's an opinion thing, and mine is that they just look unfinished. But it does figure that half a job takes less time so I imagine they are quick.

I use easily half as much hair when I make natural-style crocheted dreads and they end up soft and light. They take a long time to properly crochet a full set (especially for a beginner) but they are well worth it. They will be comfortable and easy to style and will last as long as any others if they are made well.

The way I make wrappy dreads actually also uses far less hair than twisted but everyone has their methods. Have a look in the hair Tutorials section for Doc Locks' wrappy no seal dreads; they are easy to make and use less hair. Personally, I would always seal them with boiling water but they can be a good place to start.

Twisted dreads are far quicker to make than say crocheted naturals. They are tricky at first until you get your technique down but they seal quick once you're going. However, they are stiff and use a lot of hair so I think you might find them as uncomfortable as the ones you have now.

I would always recommend having a go yourself. All the information you need is on these boards and most people can manage to pick up a bit of cheap kanekalon to practise on. Get just cheap natural colours to start with then progress onto other colours once you are ready.

As with most things in life, the reason it looks easy is that you have seen it done well and I think it does people good to sit down and realise that they actually require a good level of skill and patience. It will take a while before you are producing what you want to be but there is also no reason why you can't make dreads as well as anybody else. Dive in; it will cost you less and be far more rewarding. And who in the world could make things to your own specification better than yourself? Good luck.

woolhairhabit wrote:Personally, I have never made what most people call 'naturals'. It's an opinion thing, and mine is that they just look unfinished. But it does figure that half a job takes less time so I imagine they are quick.

I use easily half as much hair when I make natural-style crocheted dreads and they end up soft and light. They take a long time to properly crochet a full set (especially for a beginner) but they are well worth it. They will be comfortable and easy to style and will last as long as any others if they are made well.

The way I make wrappy dreads actually also uses far less hair than twisted but everyone has their methods. Have a look in the hair Tutorials section for Doc Locks' wrappy no seal dreads; they are easy to make and use less hair. Personally, I would always seal them with boiling water but they can be a good place to start.

Twisted dreads are far quicker to make than say crocheted naturals. They are tricky at first until you get your technique down but they seal quick once you're going. However, they are stiff and use a lot of hair so I think you might find them as uncomfortable as the ones you have now.

I would always recommend having a go yourself. All the information you need is on these boards and most people can manage to pick up a bit of cheap kanekalon to practise on. Get just cheap natural colours to start with then progress onto other colours once you are ready.

As with most things in life, the reason it looks easy is that you have seen it done well and I think it does people good to sit down and realise that they actually require a good level of skill and patience. It will take a while before you are producing what you want to be but there is also no reason why you can't make dreads as well as anybody else. Dive in; it will cost you less and be far more rewarding. And who in the world could make things to your own specification better than yourself? Good luck.

awesome advice thank you!!! i've read tons of stuff about making them but i haven't watched any tutorial vids yet. i really would love to have a go at crocheted naturals. can anyone suggest how many bags to get for 40-50 DEs?

That question is hard to answer because it would vary according to how long and thick you want your dreads. I'd get a couple of bags first to experiment and work it out from there.

Hey there, this is going off topic slightly but may be worth a mention? Have you considered trying to make roving or wool dreads? MUCH lighter and more comfortable (and in my opinion easier to make to a basic level) than synth. There are also a lot of techniques and styles now that get them looking closer to synth if that's the look you're going for. Again, I echo Grace, there's TONS of tutes and info on here if you fancy a browse.

Just a thought...but then I am a wool lover

ScarletLady wrote:Hey there, this is going off topic slightly but may be worth a mention? Have you considered trying to make roving or wool dreads? MUCH lighter and more comfortable (and in my opinion easier to make to a basic level) than synth. There are also a lot of techniques and styles now that get them looking closer to synth if that's the look you're going for. Again, I echo Grace, there's TONS of tutes and info on here if you fancy a browse.

Just a thought...but then I am a wool lover

i definitely have thought about wearing roving, i really want a "natural" look to the dreads. i've seen some amazing roving look super natural but i always thought it was crazy hard to make lol

I see that this topic is a little old, but did you ever find a good tutorial for doing the crocheted naturals? I've looked everywhere and I'm not having much luck. Maybe I just suck at crocheting... The ones I keep finding are for crocheting real dreads attached to someone's head and I would assume that synthetic extensions would require a different sort of plan of action?

Merry did a good tutorial for knotty crochet naturals that I think is a good place for beginners to start:
http://merrys-dreads.blogspot.co.uk/201 ... s.html?m=1

Blacksunshine Dreads also did a really good video on how to crochet dreads too. Im not sure where the link is. You could try googling and seeing if its on her blog.