about to dread hair, but have one question 1st

SoaringEagle

Your dreads are made from what square inches? Or just pure natural not even touching em?

 

the 1srt "crappy" pic u posted are congos
to avoid that look all u gotta do is rip often (seperate the dreads that try to grow together at the roots
thats all

u can let your hair dread naturaly as i did and rip em often to keep em thin (most of mine are thinner then pencils, a few about 1 inch max)

1 inch will result in thick dreads 1/2 inch or less thin
pmeisrter suggested 1 inch thats what he went with and his are thicjk (and waxy after a yewar after using the kit he still has wax issues)
the kits a huge mistake
dont use it

 

You have to touch them Otherwise you would end up with a pillow, S.E means he kept them seperated by ripping and allowed some to congo, there's a difference between natural & not touching them

 

pure natural

just ripped to keep them from vcombining
almost all are under 1/2 inch
a couple are an inch

recently stropped rippingh letting 5-6 thin ones combine into thicker ones for strength stuill the 6 combined asre bout an inch
wouldnt want biggfer

you can allow them to combine anytime or prevent em easily by ripping often

 

I can vouch for it Although I used beeswax also
I have a huge variety of thickness, some uber thin.
*touch wood* 99% of the wax is out now

 

hey i was wondering
my dreads have shrunk a little
but i was wondering if they will thicken to the size they were when i backcombed?
eace:

 

i think they will.. as the hair falls from your head it gets trapped in the body of the dread (too tangled to fall out completely) and this fattens up the dread

 

thanks
eace:

 

wellll
thats lil hard to guess since backcombed hair can be very fluffed out needing to tighten alot ..
generaly the thickness should settle in about the thickness of the roots sections.

 

my main goal is having good looking dreads by july. until july i really dont care what they look like, as long as they lock up nicely and lock up to be thick like the images i should. the first image are smaller then i would like so i want them just a little thicker then that. thanks for everyone so far that has wrote, this is really helpful

 

Well it might be worth kick-starting them with a bit of backcombing, unless your hair is naturally prone to forming knots on a tight schedule , but skip the dreadkit.

 

ohh i love that amy asked those questions. thats what we should always do before offering advice so we know what advice to give.

to the OP: its hard to say the exact size of sections you should start with because dreads tighten, shrink, fatten up, loop... all according to your hair type and what you do to them. i would say, just grab a chunk of hair, backcomb it (im assuming you dont want to go natural, you would have a harder time controlling the sizes and they would almost definitely not look like those pics by july. in fact nothing you do will give you hair like that by july, those dreads are years old.) then palmroll it so its not so poofy and see if thats around the size you want. 1 inch sections seem about right though.
when i sectioned my hair, i didnt comb it first, i just picked up the sections that my hair made on its own and backcombed them (i figure not everyones hair does this though) because it seemed like that what my hair wanted to do anyway and i havnthad any problems.

as for the kit... i cant remember whats in it, but the shampoo is supposed to be good and of course the comb is something you want. just skip the wax and if the other stuff works for you, then keep that too. no use in sending it back imo b/c then you ahve to go out and find shampoo/soap and a comb.

depending on your hair type, the dreads might lock up really fast (some people i know had what most people would call mature locks at like 8 months) or you might have hair like mine (two years and they barely look mature). if you want them to look more together or less frizzy, there are things you can to like crocheting to neaten them up.
some people choose not to for various reasons. the reason i dont crochet etc. is because i like my locks to be random and messey and really unique looking.
some people think its damaging but that hasnt been my experience (on my dreads in early stages and on other peoples dreads), or that of almost everyone ive heard from.

hope i helped.

 

looking af your hair id say send back the dread kit for your moneyt back, go to a local pet store get a flea comb between 1 and 3 bucks sure beats the 70 huh
sectiion or grab random bits and backcomb without ovcerdoing it
donrt use elastics at all unless u need em whiole sectioning then remove em as u basckcomb
spray with sea salt
wash when u feel u hafta carefully 1st times, if u use soaop scratchj at the scalp without running fingers thru hair then rince it thru
otherwise dump the baking soda mix over your head with no rubbing at all, let sit awhikler rince then shake out

weal a wool hat when dry some
but not all the time


u cantry natural a few weeks and see how its going if u want, but the length and thinness might make it lil slower..mined was shorter, but extremely thick so dreasded fast as hell
its all hard to say though..id say if u had any baby dreads in 2-3 weeks id continue natural cause thats fairly fast..if not backcomb
july ks not so fasr off, nothing will get em super tight byu then byutr most anything shiuld have em looking dreadish by then
whats in july?

most ogff my freinds dreads were born in july by camoing in the wolderness..that makes dreads happen fas..if ya can go to the woods for 2 weeks to 2 months ya will come out dready

 

as scattered said your hair will section itself ..ttpicaly if u go 1 week without combing then wash and shake em out they will naturaly sorta section (this is the beginning of clumps knotting together, even if it is very loosely at this poiint)
to vet the most natural unmamufacturered look staty as close to what your hair wants to do as u can, so use its own sectioning as a guide.

 

lol i know they wont look like the pics by july, i just need them to look more like dreads then unwashed knots in july. i have a family reunion i have to go to and my g/f family is mostly military so i want to try to have them as nice looking as i can since i am already having hell with them lol. i know that my hair is going to get shorter when i backcomb (not going to over do it with that) i also know that it will take time for them to mature into fully locked dreads. i already decided last week that when i do section my hair, its not going to be by a grid, its going to be more random so that while it locks up, it still will be easier to find which dread the loose hair goes to. this is something that i have been researching for over a year, the thing that i always had trouble was trying to figure out what size sections i needed. i know that the dreads thicken up over time to but i wanted a good size to start with. i know to some people dreads are a fashion, other its a religious thing, but me its something i have wanted for years. i just want a more "perfect" look with the locks but a more natural look with the sections. the thing everyone says about the wax, i see it from both sides, but i planned on using just a very very very small amount as soon as i finished it on day one and that is the only time. i want to thank everyone that has wrote to help me out. i plan on starting my dreads tomorrow after i see Watchmen so i will update everyone on how it goes and until then i will keep checking here to see any new advice thanks again

 

similar story here my friend and ill show you how my very small amount of wax on the first day turned out



and one week later once i got the wax out



the results i think speak for themselves

 

i emailed DHHQ about a week ago about what size sections and i just got a email back saying that they look to be 1.5-2", here are the images i sent them







does any agree or disagree with this? this is really the main problem i am having at this moment. thanks everyone

 

i would go with a 1 inch section. dont forget over time thet get thicker, you dont lose the hair anymore it just kinda gets stuck in the dread, they might end up being bigger than you wanted, and you wont be able to do anythign bout it then

 

in that case i will skip the wax. i will use something else. i know i say something in these forums, aloe vera gel, but thats only when i go out to eat or something til they start looking better on their own

 

ya use wax one time u may need years tio get iyt out
its no help at all
and ionly slows thongs down

use 100% pure aloe gel from the plasnt or refrifdgerated section in health food stores inserterad
it does everything wax does withoit harm without buildiup and it rinces right out

the momment u touch wax to your hair you will regret it
it feels gross cause it is gross
and..once its there so is every bit of dirt that sticks to it

dont use it at all, or it will really slow things down prevent movement ..it just glues haitr togryher which cannot move to knot

its a bad bad bad idea.,,even once
it wont destroy them maybe but wont helo em
and the potential problems are only eliminwted if u never touch it


its wax...why would u ever think wax belongs in hair?
u get residue free soap to dread
wax is thick residue that doesnt come ouit with wwashing
its the antidread


sectioning..for a natural look.. between 1/4 (real thin) 1/2 average and 1 inch thick.. a mix of sizes will give a natural look....perhaps thinner on front and sides thicker towards back..but semi random