Is my hair long enough for dreads?

I've been entertaining the thought of getting dreads for a while. I've read up on them a little bit and a friend suggested this forum. It seems like the appropriate place for questions so I thought I'd take a gander.

My hair is sort of long, I can't remember the last time I got a haircut, but it's been at least six months. My hair is also naturally straight, but when it gets long it starts to get a little wavy. It also is not very oily and I pretty much shampoo it only when I feel like it, which isn't that often.

Anyway, here's a picture of my current hair and its length. Is it long enough to start work on them or should I wait a little longer?

http://i.imgur.com/BwSy2.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/wmTyk.jpg

I'm not planning on going to the store to get them done. I've been thinking about the natural method or perhaps backcombing a bit to get things going quicker. :sunny:

Thanks,
Dave

 

If you try to backcomb or twist + rip hair of that length it'll probably just fall out unless you constantly manipulate it.

You could just stop brushing and conditioning it (if you do) and see what happens. You may find that not a lot happens, length counts for a lot when it comes to dreads. I'm not suggesting you wait until it gets longer though really, time counts for a lot as well. Even if you wait until your hair gets a lot longer before you stop brushing it, you'll only have to wait for a while then if you understand me. You might as well start now.

Have a nose through some peoples' timelines, pictures, threads etc. That should give you an idea of what to expect.

 

I vote for no brushing and conditioning.

 

Also, thinking about dreads and wanting them to happen as quickly as possible is stupid. If you get impatient waiting for them mature, try waiting for them to actually grow once they're mature. :2thumbsup:

 

Thanks for the response. So do you suggest just not brushing and conditioning with shampoo? I tend to run my fingers through my hair a lot.

I'll definitely browse through some timelines to see what other people have experienced.

:book:

 

Backcombing doesn't speed things, and usually slows them. If you look at timelines around the forum this is verifiable fact.

Also, your hair will fall out (that is, the things you make, you won't go bald.... ) and look silly if you do things to it at that length, but it's never too early to start neglect.

 

yeah. just stop brushing, try not to run your fingers through it, dont condition (but *do* still shampoo!) and theyll start to form

 

dude.... check my first picture on my thread. my first dreads weren't even 2 inches long. id say you have enough.

 

^you have afro hair, I'm afraid that doesn't count

I'm not recommending you to use any method, just make sure you have a good read around first, then do what you want to do. Whatever you do, don't run you hands, or touch your hair (other than to separate) during the initial stages. running your fingers through your hair is pretty much the equivalent to brushing.

Also the sea, or sea salt is your friend.

 

ummmmmmm no. My timeline says otherwise.

It's a verifiable fact that neglect locks take longer to form than locks that are started by backcombing/twist n rip.

I am a big advocate of at least trying to go neglect first, though.

 

Starting doesn't mean much if you spend a year waiting for them to fall out so that they can essentially be neglect locks.

I don't know your timeline/didn't watch you start, but it's clearly visible, in all sorts of timelines on neglect. By 8 months to a year everyone's going "what method did you use?" and "omg no wai thats not neglect ur lieing" and in backcombing timelines at a year people are talking about cutting because their hair just won't lock and half of it's unlocked (because it took that long for the harmeful backcombs to fall out).

I would use tnr before backcombing, personally, but there's actual physics to how locks form, and backcombing TOTALLY ignores this, in many hair types it FIGHTS those physics and slows things down.

 

I do agree that back combing is anti-progression, but I wouldn't agree that it takes that incredibly long to fall out. At most, mine took 3 weeks to fall out and start looking more neglect.

 

Neglect it is. I don't have any particular desire to start backcombing other than the fact that it's an effective method to start things off. Again, I'm new to this stuff so I'm trying to do as much research as I can. This way I'll have plenty of time to see how my hair forms naturally on its own and can deal with problems as they arise.

My main question now is in the shower. I usually just wet my hair, don't really play with or anything like that. I also shampoo very occasionally, maybe once or twice a week tops. Should I keep this shampoo regimen up? The only difference is I have started not to comb my hair once out of the shower. I've basically been towel drying and then moving the hair out from in front of my eyes. I'm trying not to run my fingers through my hair, although I've accidently done this a few times.

 

No matter how long they are, if you stop brushing them, they're going to dread.. so just stop brushing them

 

Yeah that's what I plan on doing. Nice start to the new year.

 

Shampoo as normally but use residue free shampoo only.

 

I didn't wait a year for them to "fall-out". It is true that if one backcombs, at first it is tight and then loosens. I never talked about cutting or dissapointment with my progress. I've had them for three years and have been very happy with them.

I think where you're getting things confused is the type of person that would choose backcombing over neglect. One personality trait that a backcomber may have (though it's not the reason I backcombed; I wanted a bit of control over size and placement) is lack of patience or need for instant gratification. This is why you see people that backcomb complain about lack of progress; they just don't understand that locking takes FOREVER NO MATTER THE METHOD.

Also, what do you mean by physics of locking? How is backcombing any different than twist and rip in that sense? The spiral pattern (tnr) and the wave pattern (backcomb) are both patterns found in nature, so...

Also, for the record, I tried TNR on some ends and I saw more breakage from that method than backcombing.

 

you could start them off with backcombing & leave them to do their own thang, thats what quite a few of us have done (including me).

i do have some baby dreads, formed entirely naturally, by themselves, from the loose hairs around my scalp.

ive also TnR'd some, mainly by my fringe, and they either fell out or caused a lot breakage/damage at the ends.

also yes, TIME is all you need. it will take a while, no matter what method you use.

 

Update.. to make sure I'm doing this right..

I officially started neglect method. basically stopped combing my hair , haven't been for the past week or so . don't plan to for the next 6 months or until dreads start forming

I picked up two kinds of shampoo-- could not find "residue free" shampoo anywhere (went to three different stores including two beauty parlors, one place hadn't even heard of it ?? )

so instead got tea tree oil and johnson's baby shampoo. used the tea tree oil, seems all natural and it smells nice, no residue so far . haven't used the baby poo yet but my hair seems clean so i'm not gonna use it until i feel like i have to.

Anything else I should be doing? Basically getting out of the shower -> towel dry -> air dry (no combing). I understand time is the biggest factor and it's going to take a while. Should I be separating sections of my hair or anything?

 

Only separate sections of hair when it starts dreading up