More Waxy Stuff

Ok. Being as open-minded and objective as possible, is there anything to be said in favour of dread wax? Anyone?

If you use a very tiny bit, and you feel it helps your dreads for a month or so, and it eventually does wash out...is that ok?

I still find myself in two minds about it now and then. One thing that tends to sway me back against it in the end is that when your dreads are young and delicate etc, anything that means you have to wash them more vigorously is still best avoided. Does anyone think there is some point of balance that can be achieved, between enough wax to "help" (whether that means a perceived prevention in knots falling out, or making frizzies more bearable), and little enough for any progress not to just get washed out again?

I do think that someone coming to this site for advice finds only a very closed debate, lacking in some balance. Has anyone here had a positive wax experience, or perhaps an experience with wax where they did feel there were disadvantages, but these were outweighed by advantages?

hippiehillbilly, howcome you didn't use wax? And can you describe your other half's wax usage technique, which you insist is successful?

 

i think that if waxed is used sparingly, ie, a teeeeeny teeny bit for the shortest time possible, simply to hold baby dreads together (especially after loose backcombing), then its good.

otherwise, from my experience its bad. but to be fair, i fucked up BIG TIME and literally gunked the stuff on. seriously caked my dreads.

 

When I was using it, I found it near impossible to hit some halfway point where it was enough wax to actually do something and little enough to not make me immediately want to go wash my hair again.
When you have a big poofy newly backcombed dread...well it does take more than a speck of wax to transform it into something that "looks like" a dreadlock, doesn't it? And probably only a couple of washes after that point I really think an alternative like aloe gel, or just good ol' patience and creative hair accessory use are better than wax.
Also, I think the amount of wax that a freshly backbombed dread takes would have its advantages undone in the washing process when, in melting, it becomes a slidey lubricant in addition to meaning you have to disturb your dreads a great deal more than if you were only washing a little skin secretion from your scalp.

 

if there is any advantage at all it would be to those who want temporary dreads
they want them in a hurry to look cool by a party or show, they dont care if the dreads last only 3 months or 3 years they just want a temoporary style to look cool
in that case wax can be benificial just like in punk hairstyles glue can hold a mohawk up permenantly

is there an advantage to healthy dreads? none
they do say its conditioning, its residue that copats a hair in wax so yea i imagine the dread can feel slightly less dry if u cant feewl the hair beneath the film of wax
but to claim it adds nutrients and strengthens hair ises rediculouse
nutrients? its wax..lol wax has no nutrient value
the alternative ..aloe vera however is full of nutrients to strengthen hair thats why so many shampoes advertise "now with aloe" and so on, if 1 shampoo ever said "now with wax" on the label do u think 1 person would bye it? (unless they thought waterproofing theyre afro would keep theyre head dry?)

 

Well no, there are plenty of us in this forum who are proof that wax doesn't mean a 3-month shelf-life for your dreads, though I get your point about people being concerned with a quick fix for their appearance.
But yeh...it is basically a residue isn't it? When it's at room temp and not being too slidey maybe it's not doing sooo much harm (besides restricting movement obviously), but as soon as you're melting it, by washing it out, isn't it just the same as all the residues we're always told to avoid?

 

There's no reason to use wax.

It's as simple as that.

 

I've known people over the internet who only use wax on the root to keep dreads separated. It works for them, no problem whatsoever.

I don't use it, and have no interest in doing so though.

 

Yeh but some people do see reasons, and when looking for info about it they either find sites doing their best to promote wax, or they come here for a discussion and are often met with a blank wall of "No wax no wax!" However, if some people do see justified reasons, I thought maybe we could address them in more detail and explain more clearly why wax still is not the answer...
Personally, if I have my mind set on something, even if someone warns me against it I'm likely to ignore the warning if I don't feel it's been explained sufficiently.

Many people are worried about looking dumb with their new dreads, which is a reasonable concern for many, and maybe wax does have the ability to improve their appearance temporarily. We need to clarify why the disadvantages of wax outweigh what some may perceive as just cause to use it.

It's not just a black and white matter for everyone, especially those still learning about and researching dreadlocks, and we should address the grey areas.

I'm not arguing in favour of wax here; I think it should not be used. I think we could be more helpful towards those still trying to make up their own minds though.

 

If hair dreads by movement and friction causing knots, and wax glues hair together so it can't move... Well, you do the maths.

Wax does tame frizz and hold new backcombs together, but at some point backcombs need to start dreading. In my (albeit relatively limited) experience, I've found wax does nothing to actually help hair dread. I found quite the opposite, in fact: it hinders and holds the entire dreading process up. To dread hair needs to loop and knot and wrap and tangle itself, not stay rigid in poker-straight sticky sticks.

Yuck, yuckety, yuck yuck yuck!! :ack2:

[Breathes in and out deeply]

Mantra for today: I will not rant. I will not rant. I. Will. Not. Rant.

Aum

Peace

 

amy although some dreads do survive years after wax, they had to do sdevere wax renmoval to get it out
we have many many many here on theyre 2nd even 3rd sets after becomming grossed out by thye waxy mess the 1st times around
some reemained waxy past 3 months very few passt 3 years
the guy in the vid, his 1st waxy ones looked about a year, then were cut.. again hes waxyt and now admits he hates to feel waxy so uses butter to fgeel more greasy then waxy yet he still haqsnt learned his lesson theyre maybe 2 years old this time, i doubt they will last a year, hes already planning on his 3rd set
temporary throw away hair to make u look cool (wasnt the special effects enough to prove he just wanbts to look cool?) thats the advantage of wax u can have temporarey fake looking insta dreads then whern threyre too gross chop em and start again instantly

 

when your 'dreads' are young and delicate, they aren't dreads at all. the only way to get 'dreads' (that is, hair that is LOCKED, not just combed into place) you have to let it do its own thing and tangle on its own. no amount of interference will create dreadlocks, and no amount of wax will ever be helpful to create locks.

you might as well just get braids or extensions put in. then you can wax the shit out of them and not worry about it

 

I think many people with new dreads are worried about looking crappy for a while - and why wouldn't they be in a world where the pressure is always on to look acceptable and pleasing to the collective eyes of whichever social subset you feel you belong to, mainstream or otherwise.

I've heard a curt "...then dreadlocks aren't the hairstyle for you, maaan!" levelled as a response to this concern on several occassions, which is an awfully judgemental and condecending thing to say to anyone - regardless of how impatient they come across as. An frankly, it just not helpful at all. Patience may just be the lesson behind the desire for dreads in the first place. So too self-acceptance, contentment, being fully present in the here and now, living for the moment, etc etc. No-one can tell someone else that dreads are not for them because they aren't too keen on going through what can be (and often is) a shitty and torturous process. You have to be a pretty self-assured, confident individual to be completely undaunted by the prospect of having one bad hair day after the next after the next after the next...

The only advice I can offer to anyone who wants a beautiful set of long, mature dreadlocks is what my yoga teacher offered to me concerning progress in yoga:

"If you're starting out on your journey with an ability level of 1 or 2 and you want to progress to level 10, you have to go throught levels 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 to get there."

She's a very clued up gal, my yoga teacher Though I'm sure if there was a magic potion that I could buy and rub on to make my standing forward bends easier I'd have definitely bought and used a tub of it by now!!

 

amybird, you have awesome hair.
Just gotta say that....

 

hedgemonkey i love you that was very well said


ok i can see if u have a severe alergy to aloe vera and a self esteem that will not alow you to look less thyen perfect..ever.. then yea perhaps wax can have that advantage, untill it starts melting down your forehead on a sunny day

 

In the beginning I used small amounts of wax like 3 or 4 times. Against all I had read (I hadn't found the forums yet) I decided the wax was counter productive to dreads. And it was really sticky, made my hair dirty, smelled like shit after a few days, and didn't make my hair look any better. I used A LOT less than sites recommend.

On the other hand, I was able to wash the wax out over time. It didn't cause any long term damage but I used it with caution and very sparingly.

 

I think also there's a lot of myth around concerning dreadlocks, especially when it comes to caucasian hair. "White" hair can't dread on its own is not an uncommon assumption, and as Amybird commented in response to my 'soap, talc n toilet cleaner' horror story: DHHQ and KB products must've seemed like godsent miracle alternatives to toothpaste, honey, glue, peanut butter, and whatever else wierd shit people thought caucasian hair needed to dread. I think it's a big assumption that needs addressing, because it's this sort of urban myth that peddlers of wax are both exploiting and actively cultivating.

 

You can convince yourself the wax smells nice, and you can make it into a really sooty candle. You could probably eat it too if you were starving to death.

 

other bee products like propolis royal jelly and honey can have medicinal affecxts so i supose if its 100% pure beeswax it can be used as a waterproof wound dressing of sorts (oh wait doesnt propolis do that as well ss draw the wound closed and create a barrier to keepo dirt in instead of a sticky mess to get dirt stuck in?)
nevermind



use of dread wax, who was that guy ive seen playing with bob marly way back thathad 2 long flatdreads that formed a roof? like a loing flat 1 in front and back that bounced and gave him shade? i supose if he waxed alot it would keey him dry in the rain too


sorry really stretching trtying to come up with advantages

ah maybe if you have a severely dammaged nervouse system and cant tell when its hot out when it drips in your eyes you'll know to wear short sleeves?


ah i got it.. hair burns very easily when loose so if your stranded in the wilderness with 1 match and have wood but nothing like paper to start a fire with you could cut or rip out a handful of hair and start a fire to save your life
but dreads are more like wood a branch and dont burn easily however, a branch dipped in wax lights very easy and makes a great torch
so a waxy dread can save your life if your everstranded in the wilderness freezing to death, just chop off a dread hit it with a spark and your saved



there finaly a real advantage to wax..it may one day save your life
im convinced now

(well not really still got pubes i could use instead)

 

Hehe, yes I do know this lol But dreads is easier to type and read over and over in a sentence when it can be assumed that people on a dread forum know what I'm referring to. Excuse the generalising terminology though; didn't mean to sound ignorant. Maybe frizzlocks would be a good name for that stage

 

OMG soooo yes lol



I've tried really hard to talk myself into thinking wax is a good thing, to try and make sure I'm approaching it in a fair manner, but still always come to the conclusion that there is not a single advantage which isn't outweighed somewhere along the line by a greater disadvantage. The final test is always, would I use it if I was to start my dreads again, and the answer is, of course, no.

Is there anyone else reading this who really really believes wax is worth it who'd like to say anything? You people are out there somewhere...maybe you just aren't reading this?