Believe it or not, there are plenty more hairstyles for black men than just a big puffy afro – like dreadlocks! Take a look below at our favorite trendy dreadlock hairstyles for black men.
Black Men With Dreads: Things You Should Know
Before we show you all the different dreads styles for black men, let’s talk about what you should know about dreadlocks.
Dreads are a whole different style than big afros and 360 waves. Most people incorrectly think the only way to get dreads is to get your hair extremely tangled and dirty for a long period of time.
You can very easily get dreads without damaging your natural hair or getting it tangled. In fact, we recommend getting it professionally done.
However, it’s important to note that even if you do have a professional hairdresser give you dreadlocks, natural hair may still get damaged.
This doesn’t mean you’ll go bald once you remove the dreads, but that this hairstyle can be very abrasive and as such, can potentially hurt your hair.
Last, but not least, you don’t have to wait for your hair to grow or reach down to your shoulders or waist to get very long dreadlocks. Nowadays, hair extensions can be clipped or sew into your own hair.
You should still wash your hair on a regular basis to take care of your dreadlocks.
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Coolest Dreadlock Hairstyles for Black Men
Let’s have a look at these amazing dreaded hairstyles that black men can try with confidence.
1. Long Thick Dreadlocks
If you desire a thicker hairstyle and like the appearance of long hair, transform your look into long dreadlocks!
These thick ones are all about the same size, making for a uniform and handsome style on black men. So you can flaunt this dreadlock style like African-American celebrities.
2. Blonde Ombre Dreadlocks with Temple Fade
A temple fade is a favorite hairstyle detail for black men who want a fresh, precise-looking cut. We love the way it looks with short thin dreadlocks. For a little more color, experiment with a blonde or caramel ombre. Wear your dreads down or gather the top half in a sexy man bun.
3. Thin Twists on Dreads
If you’re all about the details when it comes to your hairstyle, we’re sure you’ll appreciate the way thin twists “tie” together thick dreadlocks. After sectioning out some hair for the twists, make four thick dreads that combine into one at the neckline.
4. Thin Dreads with Undercut
To put an edgy touch on a short dreadlock hairstyle, shave in an undercut. Whether you wear your hair down or up in a man ponytail, a peek of the undercut will still be visible. Some short thin dreads around your forehead will also look cool, especially with a little color.
5. Short Thin Dreadlocks
An easy dreadlock hairstyle for black men to maintain are these short, thin ones. They come just past the top of the ears and, again, are one length and width all around. It’s a very neat, flattering hairstyle for daily wear!
6. Caramel Highlight on Long Dreads
Blonde or caramel is a nice pop of color on black hair. These long dreadlocks are gathered in a low man bun, with the highlighted section of hair loosely tied and pinned back. If you desire a bit more detail, consider shaving in a medium or high fade.
7. Half Shaved with Ombre
Ombre hair color isn’t only for women! On a medium length dreadlock hairstyle for black men, choose blonde, caramel, or a dark red. The finishing touch for this look is the half shaved head. Top with a beanie for artistic flair!
8. Short Layered Dreads with Undercut
The style doesn’t have to stop at an edgy undercut on short dreadlocks. Give your dreadlocks short layers to add more shape and get this lifted look.
9. Straight Dreads
This is one of those classic dreads hairstyles for men. Basically, all you have to do is ask your hairstylist to give you dreads that barely go over your chin.
If you are a black guy with straight hair and have longer hair, remember to cut it down, and if you have shorter hair, simply ask for hair extensions to be dreaded with your own hair. Last, but not least, part your hair in the middle and you’re done.
10. Top Knot
This particular style is great for black men who already have long hair. Keep in mind that if you want to be part of the dread club, you have to ask your stylist to help you achieve this style.
Once you’ve got your long hair into dreads, you can simply divide it, taking half of the dreads up into a top knot and letting the rest of your hair fall into the back!
11. Dreadlocks with Undercut
Believe it or not, you don’t have to dread all of your hair, you can still achieve the style by just dreading the top part! To do this, we first recommend you to shave down half of your hair, up to where your hairline begins.
After than, ask your stylist to then dread the remaining hair on top in big, chunky dreads. Last, but not least, you can tie up your dreads into a loose bun to style it up a little bit more.
12. Mohawk Dreads
This particular mohawk style for black men with dreads is similar to the previous one, but this time, your edges should be shaved as well -as shown in the picture- and the dreads should be longer as well.
All you have to do is let the dreads fall down to the shaved sides and letting them hang loose. Also, remember to ask for thinner dreads this time around.
13. Big Chunky Locs
This is simply a classic dresded hairstyle for any black guy, and the best part is that it doesn’t require you to have super long hair! First, ask your barber to separate your hair into big sections to then dread them on into dreadlocks.
Keep in mind, these dreads SHOULD go all around your head, not only in the top part, and should be long enough to reach down to your cheeks.
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14. Man Bun + Shaved Sides
Similar to a classic dread hairstyle, this one also has big, long dreads, but this time, instead of having them start at your scalp, ask your barber to leave your edges out so the dreads actually begin a little bit further down your own hair.
Then simply take your dreads and pull them up into a man bun on the top part of your head and you’re done! Make sure to secure it with a strong enough hairband.
15. ‘Square’ Roots Locs
This particular black men’s hairstyle is a fun take on the regular dreadlocks. You see, the very roots on where your dreads should start, should be square instead of round, also, make sure your hair is divided equally and in a very clean way so the shape can be appreciated!
16. Braided Dreads With Blonde Tips
If you’re a black guy and you’re looking for unique hairstyles, this braided dreads is one of them! First, we recommend you to bleach the ends of your hair before dreading it so you can get the blonde tips.
After that, simply ask your barber to give you dreads -again, make sure they are square at the root- and once that’s done, ask them to braid them into the back of your head in the same style as in the pic!
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17. Messy Top Dreads
To get this particular dreaded fade hairstyle there are two main things you should do. First, the bottom part and very front of your hair should be shaved down almost completely so you can see the contrast between the short hair and the dreads.
Second, these dreads should be very tight and thick to simulate this hairstyle. Once that’s done, instead of styling them all down, make sure to let your natural hair go up -almost like in an afro- to recreate the messy hairstyle.
18. Viking Dreads
If you already have dreads, then this style will be extremelly easy for you to recreate! All you have to do is part your hair in the middle and taking the top part into a ‘ponytail’. This simply means to take your dreads and tie them up in the top part of your head, letting the bottom half to hand loose on its own.
19. Dreaded Man Bun
This dreadlocks style is for black men who want something unique and more risky. To get it, you should ask your barber or stylist to give you very big dreads, this means not to divide your hair in so little sections, but in way bigger ones that will be later on dreaded.
Also, you can ask for a few lighter strands of hair so when you put them into dreads, looks like you have two colours in your hair.
20. Pineapple Dreads
If you are a fan of the Weeknd you already know this style, although this one is way bigger than his. First of you should bleach the tips of your hair BEFORE asking for long dreads.
Once the bleaching and dying part is done, simply take your dreads and put them very high on the top of your head, securing them with a hairband, making sure the tips are sticking out almost like in a pineapple shape.
21. Thick And Thin Dreads
This is a unique style for black men that combines two types of dreads. First, you should have very thin dreads that start off at your headline and fall into thicker dreads that cover up your whole head.
Last, but not least, you can take the big dreads and braid them into a very low braid/bun to keep them from falling down your back.
22. Reddish Locs + Goatee
It is very likely you will have to use extensions to get this hairstyle unless you already have naturally long hair. That being said, remember to dye your hair in a reddish tone before you decide to get dreads.
After that simply ask your stylist for straight, simple dreadlocks and make sure to style them away from your face, so the dreads fall down naturally on your back!
23. Bob Marley Dreads
This is another one of those classic black men’s dreads style and it’s also very easy to get, no matter the length of your hair, you just have to ask your stylist go give your thin to regular dreads and to make sure to braid your hair away from your face so the locs don’t fall into it.
24. Thin, All Black Dreads
If you’re looking for more classic styles then this is the one for you. To get it, you have to make sure that your hair is separated equally across your head so each dread comes out very thin!
This time you don’t have to ask your barber to style the dreads away from your face but to actually let your hair be styled near your hairline so it can frame your face!
25. Short Dreads with Blue Tips
This is a very fun take on the regular dreads hairstyles! All you have to do is make sure to bleach the tips of your hair and THEN apply some blue hair dye to get this same look. Also, don’t forget if your hair isn’t too long because this hairstyle works for shorter hair as well.
26. High Top Dreads
This black hairstyle is similar to the styles we’ve shown you before, but this time just the sides of your hair should be shaved down, NOT the front since you’ll want to your stylist to actually dread your hair near your forehead to give you long dreads to frame your face.
Last, but not least, remember to simply put your hair up in a ponytail!
27. Half Up Style + Chinstrap Beard
To get this hairstyle (which is exactly the same as the Weeknd had) you’ll have to ask for very chunky dreads and then style JUST the half up into a pineapple kinda style, leaving the bottom part fall loose on the back of your head.
28. Twisted Dreads + Ginger Beard
A fun take on dreadlocks for black men is to dye your hair in a reddish tone and then ask your stylist for chunky twisted dreads that start off a little bit further back your hairline, making sure to leave your edges untouched.
29. Very Short Dreads
Like we said, you don’t need super long hair to get dreads! To get this hairstyle make sure to dye the very tips of your hair blonde first and then ask for very thin dreads that fall down across all of your head.
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30. Side Swept Undercut
If you already are a black guy with dreads you can get a subtle change by simply asking your stylist to style your whole dreads to one side of your head instead of letting them fall down to your shoulders.
31. Big Dreads + Taper Fade
To get this look, shave down the front and side part of your hair. Then ask your stylist to give you very thin dreads on the front part that slowly blend into the big ones!
Which of these 31 incredible dreadlock hairstyles for black guys will you choose? Long or short dreadlocks, you’ve got plenty to choose from off this list.