I'm definitely considering dreads. At first I was thinking of possibly backcombing my hair but now I'm more leaning toward growing them naturally. How long does it take for the dreads to begin to form if you're growing them naturally? Also, what if, for any reason, I have to remove the dreads? I know that shaving your head is a misconception but how do you remove dreads that have already formed? Thank you . I'm looking forward to my possible journey.
Oh, yeah. And during the natural dreading process, would it be okay to pull your hair up or does this hinder the dreading process? Thanks, guys .
It would take somewhere between 2-6 mouths to see some dreads forming. It all matters from you hair type and what you doing (palm rolling, tar method etc)... Personally it took me around 5 months to get almost all my hair dreaded... I heard you can cut up to 3 inch remaining form your scalp. That if you choice to cut it too late. If your early in the game i bet you can comb it out with alot of shampoo and conditioner... Does not comput "pull your hair up"
A friend of mine let her hair dread ntaurally, and than after she had somewhat established dreads she kept them for about 7 or 8 months before she took them out. She used about 2 bottles of conditioner in her dry hair and put a plastic bag over the dreads and left it for 6 hours and then slowly began combing them out. Her hair was back to normal in 1 day! And as for pulling your hair up, I'm assuming you mean tying it up with a ponytail or soemthing else? If you're doing so, you don't want to tie it tightly, or use anything with metal on it [like some hair elastics do]. You'd be better off to tie it up with a piece of cloth, or something alone those lines, but leave it pretty loose.
yes, you can pull your hair up in a ponytail with dreads. Once the dreads are established, you can use one of them to tie the rest back! You can use regular ponytail elastics, just can't do it very tight. how long it takes your hair to dread depends on your hair. It also depends on what you use to wash it. And yes, you do need to keep your hair clean. I wouldn't recommend backcombing unless you have really coarse hair. With my child's very thin, red hair, the backcombing had to all fall out before her hair could start dreading up good and tight. But backcombing might work well for someone with more texture to their hair, I dunno. I wouldn't recommend attempting to remove established dreads without cutting them very short first. Backcombed hair can be combed out using conditioner and lots of elbow grease. Have you ever seen a dog or cat with matted up hair? Can you imagine trying to comb those mats out?
I did mine naturally and they are still growing and forming. That's what's great about dreads...it's a process that is never finished! I still have loose hairs with my almost-two-year-old locks. Of course, I do very little with them and let them do what they want to do...after all, to me, dreadlocks are a spiritual and humbling experience that keeps me down to earth. Spending tons of time because of vanity isn't something that is healthy for me or my hair. Of course, everyone grows dreadlocks for different reasons... Like some of the other posters said, it depends on how long you've had them...if you've had them for three months or less, without backcombing...you should be able to get them out with a deep conditioning treatment...maybe a few of them. If they are older locks, shaving, or cutting your hair really short is about your only option.
By the way, I thought I might tell you that you have not only beauty and interesting dreadlocks but I also have found your posts to be insightful & intellegent. You'd be an amazing person to talk to.
you can save your hair, depends on how motivated you are, and the texture it was before you started. after almost 4 years, i combed mine entirely out. It is possible. but it takes a long time, and a lot of conditioner. you just have to cover them in conditioner/water, and with a metal comb, slowly comb from the bottom up.
