More Waxy Stuff

Oh sorry didn't see that. No so arty:

 

I for one had to cut sections off mine to remove the majority!

 

Is that because it's all been cut out or you realised it didn't make a big difference or..?

 

Both, I'm over it now, and anyway I didn't really want that crap in my dreads.

 

Just trying to figure out if you mean there is still some in there but it's not killing you!

 

Oh as far as I'm aware no there's nothing there although it's hard to tell as I was never really sure how long my hair was at the point of stopping using wax.

 

Ok, so apart from cutting, what would be the best way to see if there is wax in my dreads? Coz I can't cut every single bit of each dread lol
If I dip them into some very very hot water, could I expect some wax to show on the surface? How long do you reckon I'd need to keep them submerged?

 

Well I dunno Amy it's now a long time since you waxed isn't it? Point is you might not see any anymore it may all be out. I never saw anything when I tried it I thought I did, but I think it was just from the washing up liquid.

Also the thing is if there is wax comming to the surface it may then cling back on to the dread if you keep them submerged too long (I'm not sure about this by the way) Just an idea...

 

Oh back to your first question, whatever you do you'll damage them if you start poking your fingers or pins into them. When I cut some of mine off I used to try to prise them apart with my fingers and then use some tweezers if I found something which looked like wax, I always ended up pulling out little chunks of hair with it as well so I wouldn't advise it. I knew I was going to cut those bits off really so It wasn't really an issue that I was damaging the dreads, I was past caring by that point.

 

I feel like I'm talking myself round and round in circles on this really. I'm constantly torn between wanting to investigate inside my dreads right now and find out exactly what's in there, and just carrying on with the occasional sodium bicarb deep clean, apple cider vinegar soaks, and seeing what happens...and if I ever get mould, just tackling it with some of the methods suggested in other mouldy threads. I think it's partly due to never quite managing to figure out how much it all matters. You know? You probably all want to kill me for being such a broken record now lol

Yeh it's about six months since I waxed. I used a fair bit (well, I used the instructed amount, which is a fair bit...) and used the hair dryer a lot to melt it in. I suppose there must still be some in there somewhere.

Is there anyone here who used Lock Peppa, and is familiar with how it is when wet etc, who thinks it's possible for that to remain in dreads too?

I've noticed something in my dreads recently, at the ends. Each of the wispy tips consist partly of the 5 or 6 hairs up which the rest of the hair was backcombed. I think maybe there's been an increase in movement since doing the deep cleans, because the core hairs seem more revealed than usual. Anyway, there are little black specks in them. They aren't waxy but they aren't completely dry and fluffy, and seem very firmly stuck there, with the hairs twined tightly around them. If I pull them apart it does just turn into pale grey fluff and lint. Not a hint of any smell. But I guess it could be all the way up inside the dread. Seems odd that the exposed bits at the tips, just held by a few hairs, haven't washed out.
Hmmm. I'm more curious than worried. Have any of the full dread-kit backcombers here had anything similar? I guess if you blunted your ends you may be unable to see...

 

possibly lock peppa in wax
hard to say
the 1st ingredient is a powder thats suposed to be resistent to washing out with water.
its a chemical powder used in industrial adhesives and stuff.
(second ingr4edient is sand..lovely huh?) 3rd, is a natural herbacide produced by certain plants to kill weeds and stuff around them.
4th, a tree sap, thats hard, but extremely brittle sp turns to powder when rubbed (when wet though id imagine it would re-clump? hard to guess)
then theres a type of clay that also powders easily, but again, its a clay so imagine when wet it becomes a slimy muddy consistency before resolidifying
then the last ingredient is wintergreen. which i guess is for scent, but might also add a cooling tingle which might hide the itchy flaky feel..



btw, just to touch on a subject
.ther were a dozen posts there that were barely about wax, instr4ead focused on an individual (me i assume) this is not at all apropriate beghavior,.
90% of folks here say dont use wax as strongly sas i do, basing theyre arguments on the same logic as i do, yet noone says a damn thing about that?
this is where differing opinions becore arguments wjen the focus shifts from the opinion to the person with the opinion.

discus the facts only, not the opersonalities of the peopke pressenting the facts.


now top the wax issue.
i believe theres been plenty of evidence pressented here that even a tiny amount used properly can leave behind a sticky mess for years.

the dreadheadhq vid states (just try to follow this logic) that yes wax traps dirt if u stick it to a wall, but wax wont trap dirt wben its deep inside the dread.

now i have to ask.
1: if said wax can get deep inside the dread, why cant dirt?
2: if wax is applied to the surface, and is so easily removed that it wont cause buildup, whats it doing inside the deepest parts of the dreads?
3: if wax..and dirt can get inside the drewad and not easily come out, then how can the dreads be concidered clean?

and, the final thing nobody would think sbout, u use your hands to apply wax to your dreads. your hands touch everything, so unless your a germiphobe who washes your hanfds over and over and over disinfecting constantly, the sticky wax will pick up a good bit of dirt from your fingers and tranfer it to your hair (take a ball of white cheese roll it between your hands and see how much the color changes)

just the act of applying the wax is an act of applying dirt.
this is not fearmongering folks, its basic logic, testable by yourselves.
unfortunately the final test of the dammage done comes from an autopsy.
you are way better off never using it. and if u did your best off trying hard as hell to get every bit out.
if u dont, u may be ok..or u may not be, its a gamble, but its absolutely a for sure thing that your hair will never be as clean as it can be.

those who used it, wether for a lil bit or a long time pretty much universaly report how much better they feel after stopping and trying to get it out, even if they dont get alot out, just getting some out makes a hugfe difference in how the dreads feel.

amy, your blog, i read much of ot, and how the day after you stopped 3waxing (well a week after maybe) your whole opinion changed and u felt so much better about your hair.partialy due to the work involved in waxingk, but mostly due to how much cleaner u felt and how u no longer felt like washing 5 minutes after washing and applying wax.

i would never go so far as to say if u waxed your guaranteed to get mold (dirt yes, thats pretty impossible to dispute) id just say there is definately an increased chance.
its not devastating in all cases if they wax, (in some cases it odviosly iss devastating though) but in all cases it is dangerouse to some degree because of the increased risk of peroblems that can last for years after stopping wax.

i agrree ecveryone should make theyre own choices, but these choices should be as infornmed as possible.
not just from the pushy pro wax side but also from logical thought on the subject.

oh and amy, the whole "getting used to being in dreads" thing
mskes zero sence.

how wax works is it holds the hair together in a clump keeping it from unraveling
unraveling is accomplished how? hair movement.

what 2 things are needed to get tight dreads? movement, and compression (over time, lets not forget time)

hair loosens so 1 hair can wrap around another forming a knot, then itsd compressed tightening the knot, which loosens to alow another hair to tangle and so forth.


wax is, compression without movement, so you get backcombed hair thats compressed more and more stuck together in amass,
it can become tight and hard (wax gets hard when cooled) but no new knots really form. you just compact the backcomb.

often i hear ppl who waxed talk about wow my dreads are really rock hard already after a few weeks or a month or 2.
dreads should never be rock hasrd, unless 1 of 2 things is going on..theres alnmost as much wax as hair, or u got something really funky growing in em.. as they mature they do get dense even firm, but, they still feel spongy when squeezed, after all..its not wood its hair..it should give when squeezed.
a 1 inch dread shouldnt take a real hard pinch to sink your finger in 1/8 inch or so.


one of ya did say something about wax being good for maintaining a professional image early on
this i can understand the logic behind but also strongly disagree with the results.

backcombed dreads stick out all over like sideshow bob right? wax stiffens them making that even harder to tame.
after awhile you may get them to hang right, but they still seem visibly stiff.
when tied back they stick straight out. when leftto hang they dont move,and when bent they stay bent.

aloe can be used to give a tidy frizz free apearance and rinces out clean, it dries clear, and invisible, like a film that pulls in loosehairs tightening the dread, while remaining flexible and never becomes stiff

a proferssional neat tidy look becomes easy with no chance of harm whatsoever. (unless theres a rare case of alergic reactions to aloe vera, but since its in so many things anyone alergic would know way before ever trying it..(and perhaps yuca would be an alternative to aloe? no idea really worth a try if u are alergic i guess))

there really is no legitimate reason to ever concider using wax since safer alternatives exist.

and there are lots of reasons not to..biggest of all is how they make u feel.
it is easy to think your suposed to weax, or that its the best thing for you with all the info your bombardeed with, but if u think of it logicaly, it really makes no sence

well unless your told by a goofy guy making all kinds of funny faces mocking your inteligence while filling your head with utter nonsence.
ofcoyurse he must be right, just look how sarcastic he is when disputing the logical arguments.
odviosly its best to just mock and not think..
im convinced now.
(this is the basics of all dreadheadhq advertising isnt it? act goofy, pretend the logical makes no sence then explain the senceless with warped logic while acting saracastic so you dont bother to think asbout it.)

ya all see the red bull gives u wings comercials and odviosly are aware that red bull wont avctualy make u fly, yet the comercials work because u think red bull will make u feel like u can fly.

simularly alotta nonsence about wax will give u matutre dreads in weeks makes no sence at all, but makes u think you can feel like u have mature dreads in weeks..never mind the treality.. its the illusion you buy into.

 

Thanks for the good input soaringeagle; just what this thread needed. I know this whole discussion has always had a foregone conclusion, but it's been good to approach it from all angles.

Well as far as my own dreads are concerned, I think I'll just carry on as usual and see how it all goes.

 

yea and i think some minr attempts to remove the wax couldnt hurt..i wouldnt go to extremes like brushing out, scrubbing 8 hours a day for weeksd or anything, but certainly an occassional wax removalasttempt cant hurt, and u may love how they feel after.

the lock peppa im guessing at how much might linger in weax, the complaint i hear most about it is its just itchy nast flaskes and 1 wash totaly undoes it and washes it away so its useless..but if its caked in wax i imagine it lingers.

 

Well in those first few weeks I was using a lot of Lock Peppa, then wax on top of that and melting the wax right in with a hair dryer...so...mmm tasty. Well I'm gonna keep up the sodium bicarbonate routine because I do feel a difference after that. I've only used it twice so far, and my dreads feel lighter, and also squishier in places, kinda more hollow, so maybe that was some wax coming out. I didn't even use very hot water either...so yeh, I'll do it maybe every other week, with water as hot as I can manage. I really like vinegar soaks too, which I'm sure will also help. Perhaps for each inch of hair growth I get from now (seeing as I've just bleached, my roots will be a good guage), I'll unpick an inch at the ends. I want crazy straggly dread tips eventually anyway, so that works out well
Even though my dreads seem basically clean, I know that logically there must be something in there. Wish it was chocolate yumyum

 

if ya can add the orange oil it will definately smell great and might help lil bit in removing the wax aty least i think it should

maybe someone who got the orange ouil and still has some wax lleftover can do a lil experiment put some smears opf wax on metal or tile then with a paprr towel try orange oil vs soap vs dish liquid and so on see which cleands it easiest

 

Bumped for relevance

 

Did you ever do this amy? would love to know what/if anything you found. Pics?
I think I am in a similar dread situation as you and about the same age. I've done 2 bi carb washes and always wonder if there's anything left in there.

 

I'm still planning to, but not until after a good few more inches of growth

 

help me! I have wax in, and my dreads are still just babies, and the wax is driving me crazy and I can tell its not helping the dread process cuz i can see strands separating, whats a good way to get the wax out without ruining the babies?

 

oil worked great. and the my residue removing/free soap worked wonders.. .its like the hair dreaded itself while washing out the crap wax