DreadLocks - Perminent Perms?

Hi there everyone.

I hope i posted this in the right section....anyway

I have been looking for some definitive answers and positive experiences from people who have had a 'Dread Perm' of some sort.

There seems to be alot of forums explaining why they are against other people with dread perms, but to my dissapointment no one to share their own personal experiences of it, and if it even worked...

Did they all unravel? Or do you still have some nice locks a year later? How did it all turn out?

Some Maitenance tips for the perm (first few months) would be great....Im scottish and live in malaysia. I dont really understand my pure 100% chinese hair dresser. We had to go on a vibe....im happy so far...i got the perm, now its gonna be natural from here- if you are disgusted and want to tell me off, please dont bother, It defeats the purpose of this thread!

Thankyou soo much!
much X and V

The Gingerbread Man

 

okay

 

I'm not exactly sure what a dred perm is...

 

Oddly enough, the dreadlock forum is a subforum of Crafts so perhaps you could repost there as well. You'll definitely get responses but they'll probably be similar to what you've gotten elsewhere. http://www.hipforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=209

I've no experience with the perms myself but it seems that the issues that come with perms is 1) It's a chemical process that's smelly and some folk turn to dreads to not have to dump chemicals on their head anymore 2) They can look kind of spirally and odd for the first while. Beyond that...no clue.

Hehe...I see you've already encountered dread snobs. You're not alone. There's a thread about that kicking around too.

Since you've already got the perm, post a pic or two as well! I'm curious to see how that method looks and progresses. Tell us your experiences, so down the road, we'll know when the next person asks.

 

lol im a dreadhead and i dont know what a dread perm is. sounds kinda silly and expensive, but hey, its your hair and if you like it then more power to ya.
sorry i cant be more helpful!

 

what is a dread "perm" ?

 

I have to say, you might want to try to post this in the Knotty Know How forum.. someone posted the link above.. I think? But you probably wont find much info at all about dread perms (what are these?) on the HipForums. People here tend to take the more natural route for creating dreadlocks (backcoming or neglect methods & no wax. Ever.) And, just to serve as a warning, you're likely to get berated if you disagree with their methods and want to experiment on your own (with wax, or perms.. or whatever.) I suggest that you do research to figure out why you want dreads. Maybe because they're deemed low maintenence, or 'cause you like the way they look.. whatever you like about dreads.. and PM me. Figure out what kind of dreads you want whether uniform dreads, skinny ones, fat ones, random natural looking ones.. you know.. just figure out why and what yo want out of them and I'll try to give you the best option to create your own dreadies.. and stuff.. I've researched dreadlocks LOTS so I'll probably be able to help you to a certain extent. I love to help out, though.

Sorry.. I totally rambled on :&

 

Thanks for some of your replies. Ill make sure to post there

Its funny, the only people i have had any problems from is online. Im not really a fan of dread snobs....whoever you online creepers are... and i find posting one little word like 'okay' in every thread you can find to boost your ratings is really sad. I dont have respect for how many posts you have, i am looking for advice. So thanks

*madlizard and BlazingDevrish. ill be in touch with some pics soon.cheers. They are actually turning out real well, i got the perm cos i had to be presentable for modeling and acting. It just dried my hair a little, pretty light perm as my hair is already curley anyway Im not using wax, or any other nasty residues, the initial perm is the only un-natural bit.
GBM

 

hi- i was born with very straight, very heavy hair. i always wanted locks so i tried the neglect method and it did not work. i gave it a good six months and at that point had zip. this was way back when when there was no internet to help.

so when i heard about the dread perm i was excited. basically my shoulder length hair was parted in all the places i wanted dreads and then the pieces were backcombed and palmrolled into place. i have about 50 dreads. the dreads are then rolled onto perm rods and the nasty ass solution goes on it. what it does is kill the shaft- your hair basically melts onto itself into a dread. the whole perm was a total nightmare, the smell, the heaviness of the rods, the washing out. UGH! but when we were done, i had dreads. theres no way my hair would have ever been that way had i kept with neglect.

because my dreads were only 6 to 8 inches long, i had my hair guy put in synthetic dread extensions. which were very cool, but the texture and grabbiness of the synthetic (i have 4 dogs and three cats) my hair was constantly covered in fur. so out they went!

then i found a lovely girl who had just shorn her 7 year locks and she wanted
me to have her hair because she knew i loved her hair and would give it another life. my hair guy felted her locks onto the ends of mine and now i
have waist length dreads. i colored them to match my hair (auburn) and then did some tip bleaching and added some pretty jewels i found from a lady in australia (search ebay dreadlock beads).

my hair is my most prized and loved thing! i have had many hairstyles over the years and this is not a "style". this is the way im supposed to look. i am so thankful there was i way i could have real dreads after such a disappointing
start way back when.

now every 8 weeks my hair guy twists and backcombs my roots and ties it off at the scalp. it then proceeds to dread itself onto my real dread. i have no idea what im going to do when it gets to the ground. i havent had any neck or scalp issues yet, but its only been a year. i love my hair. i have found home.

now all you dread snobs out there, lob your best at me. yes i "cheated".
no i didnt harvest all this growth myself. but i am as proud of my hair as you guys are. and i admire you for being able to farm your own hair. i just needed a little help because im telling you, super thick super striaght hair is not interested in being neglected. it never tangles!

gingerman- google a place near you for dread maintenance. or backcomb and palmroll your own roots as they grow in. i also recommend knotty boy shampoo to keep it all tight. palmroll palmroll palmroll!

good luck!

 

79honda, do you have any pictures? i'm curious to see what your dreads look like.

all kinds of dreads are fine with me. people have different reasons for wanting them and i think that's perfectly acceptable. everyone has a different method. we should celebrate our differences, not judge or ignore them.

 

hey there.. im a malay and pure malaysian..hahha.. its nice to see someone living in malaysia in this forum..unfortunately i dont have any dreadlocks yet but maybe soon and i have no answer to your question but i have a question for you.. how much did you actually pay for the perm? and where did you do it??

 

79Honda- I could not have said it better. And how wonderful to hear of someone with a great experience from the get-go. This is the kind of info i have been looking for.

The perm was a bitc*, it did stink and i am not ashamed that i started this way. I have around or 60 or 70+ something pretty thin locks, right now on average half the size of my pinkie... it looks hella funny right now, but come some months down the line i know they are going to take shape My hair is naturally curly and dark, but stayed looking curly if i neglected it also.

should I not worry about the ones that unravel at the back, some at the side? just palm roll them and they will eventually find their own way?

cheers.
The Gingerbread Man (im not actually ginger)

 

Hey Ayman,

The perm i got done in sungei wang in KL on the 1st floor. It was RM400...expensive, but when you compare that to US $ or Pound Sterling, its hella cheap!! They really did a great job, it took 2 of them 4 hours but it was well worth it.

Most others use the wax method or they use a 'machine'.... (the machine makes locks from braids...eventualy, so its basicly a hair braiding machine)

Hope it was some help

GBM


-----------------------------------------
Run Run Run as fast as you can, you cant catch me im the Locked Gingerbread Man

 

I love this site!!

 

i'd like to see some pictures of this..............i've never seen such a thing. Also regardless of what you do with your hair you should NEVER let anyone put wax in it as part of their "method"...............unless you plan on cutting them off before too long, wax will trap water, which inevitably leads to mold at things.............so.......yeah, stay away from wax at any rate.

 

ooo..sungei wang..i know that place..it is where i always go for a shopping spree..haha..

what the heck??? RM400?? i cant even afford RM40 haircut..hahaha...but then yeah, if compared to other country's currency, its hella cheap...whatever, ill just backcomb my hair myself when im ready to have dreads.. i cant go down the neglect method because of my asian hair..

GBM, i love this site 2!!!! everybody here is just soo friendly and i love it..

 

I'd love to see some pictures of your hair as well..... I think it sounds absolutely beautiful. To me dreadlocks is a journey, and the best thing about a journey is getting to the destination, however a person chooses to get there. No one's experience with dreadlocks is going to be identical to someone else's, so I feel that people should be snobbish about the 'right' way and the 'wrong' way of doing things. Your dreadlocks sound like they were crafted with love and thought, and to me that is the most important thing.

 

well tothe 2 asian brothers, asian hair dreads quite easily, very in fact
asian freindswhove had long hair havealways had to spend an hour braiding it before bed, or they'd wake up with 2 or 3 massive dreads

79honda when yours reach the ground you'll loose all that was added on..if i were you id stop going back every 8 weeks let it go completely for 8 months or more & see if your hair wont just pick upthe proccess & go..
you will most likely loose all theadded dreads (would be cool tho if 1 or 2 survived) by the time your real hairs lil past your shoulders but if your careful ya might get em to survive a year or 2
that is cool though that your wearrin your freinds dreads

 

hrmm.. i dont have a fairly long hair now.. just 6-7 inch all around cause i shave my head bald last year..

 

mine was about 4 inches when i started em & now theyre 8 inches past the ground