i finally got the balls to dread my stringy hair after battling it with a brush for 36 years. i've been at it for exactly a week. i'm twisting and rubbing (not ripping) and spraying with sea salt water at night when i separate them. it seems to be working faster than my research led me to believe it would. my hairs really silky at the roots and really knotty at the middle... i've been working that since it helps it lock up and also it's not that hard to wiggle, untwist out if it got too big. anyway, i figured it'd be a good idea to see if anyone has any thoughts or tips that would help me avoid any potential issues as i carry on with my dreadin journey. i'm really diggin how it feels and super excited!
Eh, you're doing more than you need to, but if time is important to you I guess go for it. If you've had to "battle it with a brush" it should lock up just fine without much help. All you really need to do is rip any big mats that form into smaller sections and time will do the rest. Be careful that you don't rub too much. You can end up breaking the roots and making things fall off, but this is more of a concern when you have a mature lock and you rub to get the roots to knot faster. Obligatory check: You do know about not using conditioner or shampoos that leave a ton of residue right?
Thanks for ur replies.;-) No more rubbin, it makes a mess. I'm just separating now, which seems to help knot up the roots n feels real good, like I got thick hair or somethin. I'm using the same shampoo I used before, conditioner a bit too. It keeps my hair silky but not unknotty....:-\ only every few days. I'm letting it dry before tying it up n separating at least once a day. besides the cpl i rubbed a little too much, theyre all feelig soft n pretty uniform My phones being a turd. Ill post a pic ASAP
Ditch The Conditioner, Or You Won't Get Dreads.... Ditch The Shampoo, Most Shampoos Have Conditioner Added To Stop Tangles.... Just Use A Level Tablespoon Of Baking Soda In An Old Coke Bottle..., Then Sit Back And Enjoy Your Journey For The Next Few Years.... Cheers Glen.
I can't see the photo on the forum: https://www.dropbox.com/s/z7015sx10ygfigu/IMG_20130907_164709.jpg It looks like you keep your hair up a lot, this will hinder tangles from forming on the top of your head. Let it hang as much as possible!
View attachment 52244 View attachment 52245 thanks for all your input. i'm not washing much... but, i'm still going to stick to using my regular shampoo and conditioner cuz it seems to help me keep away the congo that has always wanted to form in the back of my head when i sleep. i'm wearing it up at work usually and always when i sleep, for the same reason. i'm separating every day, at least a couple times... it's sorta like backcombing the root area when i do that... working really well to knot up the silky stuff up top. i love the body i've gotten already!! i've always had the flattest, most useless hair! i'm totally stoked
Nice! The back of the head area always wants to congo. You can also try getting in there with your fingers and pulling the sections away from each other. It's a bit more comfortable than ripping. I pretty much gave in and have a bit of a tail. You can really use whatever you want to wash your hair, but it's real that the way that most shampoos work is to fuck with the natural balance of oil that your scalp really wants. They also leave weird residues on yer hairs. What happens when you separate sections by ripping from the ends is more like the 'twist and rip' technique than backcombing, I would say.
Ok, no conditioner today. It's really knotting up! Not sure I'm digging it though. Seems like its gonna be hard to keep separated....we shall c ;-)
You do realise tangles are the point go dreads right? it will be hard to separate, but as they get further along they'll section themselves better.
Your dreads are coming along quickly (and nicely)! Keep it up. I don't have advice because I don't have dreads (growing my hair out) but just wanted to say yay for you.