The wearing of dreadlocks is very closely associated with the movement, though not universal among, or exclusive to, its adherents.
It is believed that the first Rasta dreadlocks were copied from Kenya in the 1940s, when photos of the independence struggle of the feared maumau insurgents, who grew their "dreaded locks" while hiding in the mountains, were published in a major media publication that reached Jamaica. However, there are ascetic groups within nearly every major religion that have at times worn their hair in this fashion. In addition to the Nazirites of Judaism and the Sadhus of Hinduism, there are the Dervishes of Islam and the Coptic Monks of Christianity, among others. The very earliest Christians may also have worn this hairstyle; particularly noteworthy are descriptions of James the Just, "brother of Jesus" and first Bishop of Jerusalem, who wore them to his ankles. The length of a Rasta's dreads is a measure of wisdom, maturity, and knowledge in that it can indicate not only the Rasta's age, but also his/her time as a Rasta.
Dreadlocks have also come to symbolize the Lion of Judah (its mane) and rebellion against Babylon. In the United States, several public schools and workplaces have lost lawsuits as the result of banning dreadlocks. Safeway is an early example, and the victory of eight children in a suit against their Lafayette, Louisiana school was a landmark decision in favor of Rastafari rights.
Rastafari associate dreadlocks with a spiritual journey that one takes in the process of locking their hair (growing dreadlocks). It is taught that patience is the key to growing dreadlocks, a journey of the mind, soul and spirituality. Its spiritual pattern is aligned with the Rastafari movement. The way to form natural dreadlocks is to allow hair to grow in its natural pattern, without cutting, combing or brushing, but simply to wash it with pure water.
For the Rastas the razor, the scissors and the comb are the three Babylonian or Roman inventions. So close is the association between dreadlocks and Rastafari, that the two are sometimes used synonymously. In reggae music, a follower of Rastafari may be referred to simply as a dreadlocks or Natty (natural) Dread, whilst those non-believers who cut their hair are referred to as baldheads.
Many non-Rastafari of black African descent have also adopted dreads as an expression of pride in their ethnic identity, or simply as a hairstyle, and take a less purist approach to developing and grooming them, adding various substances such as beeswax in an attempt to assist the locking process. The wearing of dreads also has spread among people of other ethnicities whose hair is not naturally suited to the style, and who sometimes go to great lengths to form them. These artificially acquired dreads worn for stylish reasons are sometimes referred to as "bathroom locks," to distinguish them from the kind that are purely natural. Rasta purists also sometimes refer to such "dreadlocked" individuals as "wolves," as in "a wolf in sheep's clothing," especially when they are seen as trouble-makers who might potentially discredit or infiltrate Rastafari.