More Waxy Stuff

Tight hamstrings and frizziness: 2 things conspiring to make my life hell

I think people just starting out with newbie backcombs may genuinely think using wax is the only way to avoid looking like a caveman. It may even seem like a godsend if you have to look presentable for work etc. Unfortunately these poor souls will often only realise that wax is perhaps not so good 6-8 months down the line when their dreads are still looking like, well, backcombs glued together wax

The only people I've encountered that have more mature locks that feel wax is ok are peeps who've stressed how sparingly they have used it - way more sparingly than the instructions metted out by the wax sellers (1 4oz tub lasts only 3-6 months according to DHHQ). I personally don't know of anyone who has put an "M&M" sized amount on each dread after each wash (every 2-3 days) for the first few months that has made it past the 1st year with dreads they are really happy with. But I'm sure there must be someone, somewhere...

[looks round optimistically]

Anyone? Anyone...? Bueller?

 

I always found that the degree of, erm, "sparingness" it took to not be too much was also too little to show enough result to be worth bothering with. (Not one of my best sentences..did that make any sense?! )

Still, I also just don't understand why a person claiming they are using the wax correctly and with sufficient restraint are not concerned by the fact it is still essentially a residue. Am I being really stupid here? Wax is a residue isn't it, in its characteristics? Yet, people recognising the importance of using a residue-free (or at least very low-residue e.g. Dr. B's) shampoo still choose to use wax. It seems contradictory. Have I completely misunderstood what residues are or what?

 

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/residue

Residue

–noun

1. something that remains after a part is removed, disposed of, or used; remainder; rest; remnant. [Middle English, from Old French residu, from Latin residuum, neuter of residuus, remaining, from residēre, to remain behind]

You're absolutely right in thinking that wax and residue-free shampoo are a glaring contradiction. So if you're missing something, then so is the rest of the thinking world that isn't out to make a profit

 

its not only a residue, but is a water repellant
they claim it washes out, but how can that be when it repels water? (and soaps suspended in the water)

wax is used on cars right? in a microthin film buffed away till its practicly just a few molucules thick
its used to protect the car from rain, water beads up onthe surface and rolls away ..a huricane wouldnt wash it away
car washes use very hot warter, pressurized to blast it away, followed upo by massive scrub brushes to batter and scrape at it to try to get it gone..thats a microthin film that takes extreme effort to remove from a non pourouse flat surface, its not embeeded within a bass of knotted fibres its on the surface where a razor blade could scrape it away

on that flat surface some waxes are said to last a year, through hundreds of washings (granted, they are molecularly bonded with teflon or other substances so are toughrewr then bees wax) but the point is, wax is used because it is so hard to remove and water will never penetrate it

so, not only is it a residuye (substance left behind) but a water repellsant (substance that prevents water penetration) so its a residue nearly impossible to remove.
ontop of that what are the other properties of wax..stickiness, thats why its used it sticks hair to hair
so, lets put this all together and see maybe there is a hidden prurpose we arent seeing here
residue-wont come out- sticks things together, including dirt

ahh i got it

dreads have the reputation of being dirty
some kids might want to rebel and embrace the dirtiness
wax speeds up theyre filth quest
after all rain would normaly rince away wsome of the scum
so if thety want to embrace and reinforce the illusiojn of dirty dreads then wax is the best way to go

 

i just watched the DreadHeadHQ dread wax controversy videos.
he said that u are only supposed to use wax 1 time every other week.
and then heat purge at the end of the month, i guess that means wash ur head in hot water to melt the wax out.

so i think people just generally misuse wax with out even knowing that they are doing it wrong.
given the chance to start over, i still wouldnt use wax by any means.
but i think if u are going to use wax u should make sure u are using it correctly.

just about every black person i know tells me i should use it.
and a substitute i had with long, fat dreads told me i should use wax and hes been growing his dreads for 12 years, he also uses wax.
it seems that black people like wax a lot more than white people, hair type maybe?

 

What i dont like it here is that some people that have no idea what their talking about start making up all kinds of stories. I've used wax when i got my dreads only twice and i didnt cake them up in wax. No it didn't stink. No it didn't run down my forehead when it was hot. No i didn't have to "rub aggresively" to remove the wax. And my hair dreaded just fine, you cant see a difference. Now i wouldn't use it, but you people just overreact omg u used wax, your hair will never dread, you'll loose an arm, you'll die blablabla. A lot of you guys say wax is bad just cause you saw some idiots who put a jar of wax on their dreads. Do your homework first.

 

Wax will form an emulsion in water when washed with soap. A lot of soap, though once deep inside a dread it just to hard to reach.

The nerdy bit:
An emulsion is a mixture of two unblendable liquids; one liquid dispersed in the other. It is only in this state that wax (an otherwise solid) substance can be washed out of hair. In order to become an emulsion, water and wax requires an emulsifier - a substance to stabilize it. Emulsifiers in general are often surfectants (soaps/detergents). These chemically interact with both oil and water, thus stabilizing the interface between oil or water droplets in suspension.

The problem with wax is not that it isn't possible to wash out, it's that it requires a hell of a lot of soap to emulsify it, and often one wash just isn't enough to emulsify it all - especially where soap can't get deep inside a dread. Each time the hair is washed a little bit more gets left behind and this is where the build up occurs. So, DHHQ are correct in saying that wax will wash out. What they don't say is "...but not all of it".

Interestingly, other emulsifiers include eggyolks (mayonnaise is an oil-in-water emulsion that is stabilized with egg yolk lecithin), as well as honey and mustard. I'm guessing that orange oil, AVC, bicarb etc are also.

 

that makes no sence since balack hair dreads so damneasy
i think some of them are just sucked into the scam as well

often i hear of black peoplke whoi do use wax and go to salons to have theyre dreads retwisted and "pressed" whatever that means over and over
i think it all goes back to thast addiction to doing something to try to acheive perfect results
and i bet ya anything when questioned about theyre dreads theyre reasons for having em are purely fashion but those with a more spiritual reasoning behind dreading would steer clear of wax
pretty much these dread sites are not just seen by caucasians as being authorities on dreads even though they are largly aimed at decieving caucasians into believing they cant dread without theyre crap
odbviosly black people who are not really part of "dread culture" but want to have a dread style to look cool or reinforce some comnection to theyre african roots without the full religuios reasonings of a rasta would be easily duped by these sites into believing wax was a good way to go

i think with african hair though they dont use it so much to make dreads as to condition dreads (which is odd since most use shea butter to trweat ashy skin and thats a superiuer dread conditioner)
but since these sites swear that wax is a great conditioner (even going as far as to scare u into using it..if you dont wax your dreads will fall off) its easy to see why so many fall for the scams

 

Hehe....think you're a little guilty of the scare-tactic yourself sometimes, soaringeagle Does come across that way now and then

 

just because someone wants their dreads to look more presentable and well kept doesnt mean they are not part of "dread culture".
some people have office jobs, and u do get judged based on the way u look.
of course its discriminatory but as far as the employer sees it, hes paying u to represent his company and he expects you to do it in a respectable manner.
and if that means going to the salon to have "maintenance" done to your locks, then thats what u got to do if you are going to keep your job with dreadlocks.
whether you like it or not there is more than one way to get dreads, going to a salon is one way.
the hair is not spiritual its the person who is growing the hair that is spiritual.
u can love god and mother earth and still go to a salon or use wax even.

 

truth.

it bothers me when people bash something they have absolutely no experience with.

i used wax on my first set with absolutely no ill effects, no buildup inside, no dirt.
i also use wax on my friends dreads and they are perfectly fine too.

advantage: it smooths down frizzies.
it should never be used to "hold dreads together" thats just retarded. if you do that, your hair will have trouble locking up and youll probably end up with problems.
a good amount to use is about a rice grains worth, smeared onto your fingers or palms and smoothed or palmrolled on.
i promise that that will not hurt your locks. it just sort of sticks the loose frizzy hairs down.
also, that is not nearly enough wax to effect the locking process in any way.

another advantage: wax is super moisturizing.
yes it is a residue, but it will wash out easily as long as you dont use too much. its made of beeswax and oils, the same as a good lip balm. it will make your hair healthy and shiny and helps dry locks.

problems arise when people follow the instructions that say to melt a tablespoon of wax into each dread or something ridiculous like that.

i dont use it on my current locks b/c i love the messy natural look and feel no need whatsoever to make them look nice.
obviously, wax is totally unnecessary, even for neat locks. but i understand why people would want to use it and the general attitude toward it on this board is stupid.

ik this post will probably be ignored by the blind wax haters, but i hope that helped answer your question amy.

 

its not super moisturizing at all it just feels that way, it coats the hair making it feel less dry because u cant actualy feel the haitr through the wax
to moisturize it would need nutrients that penetrate the folicules, being soaked up by the hair shaft..it doesnt
true miosturizers like jojoba feed the hair penetrating the hair soaks up the nuttients which help the hair repair itself
the hair itself then becomes softer less dry noit just covered in a film of wax
the moisturizing effects its rummored to have are just because it feels less dry morte slippery after applying because you are feeling the wax itself not the st\ill dry brittle hair beneath the wax

unless you can tell me what nutrients wax contains then thats the odvios answer
however if u look up aloe or jojoba or any other conditioning herb in a good herbal manmual it will tell u exactly whast nutrients it has and how they affect the hair
no unfounded claims of miosturizing just because it seems to feel less dry because its coated in wax

think about it...can wax feel just like dry hair? no so odviosly if u cover dry hair in weax it no longer feels like dry hair
but..does thawt mean the hair under thye wax isnt stuill dry?
no

 

there is a lady who lives on my road is has just come over from kenya, she uses wax and always has.

 

As you all know I did backcomb and used wax very sparingly my first few months when the "frizzlocks" were very fragile and I wanted them to hold up through washings. I have had no ill effects from using wax. I am quite positive that I do not have this huge build up of wax in my locks. I do believe that different waxs should also be considered in this. I think DHHQ wax is better than K-Boy as far as being easily washed out. I dont think that I used it long enough to really of seen maybe what long terms effects it could of had. I see where each of you are coming from. But for me....I dont blame wax for doing anything to my hair then what I intended it to do.
I do think wax is misused...and then they blame the companies. Which I think is uncool. Holy shit, guess I better go make some picket signs and stand in front of Sallys Beauty Supply and warn people about wax. Jesus isnt there a better cause out there for some of you than wax.

I also dont think that wax is the reason why people think that that locks are dirty or nasty. I think that stereotype has been around as long as dreads.

Okay the ingredients in my jar of DHHQ is:

beeswax,mineral oil,hemp seed oil, vitamin e, fragrance

nutrients?????

okay well anyway...Im getting a little bored with this rant...just wanted to add my experience

 

vitamin e oil being the nutrient that conditions
skip the wax go to the source use vitamin e oil to miosturize.. then theres no need to cake in wax
duh

thats my point they claim wax is miosturizing...it isnt
if they asdd vitamin e it is to a point (what lil e can escape the wax bonsd and actualy do any good in the hair)

simply skiing that using a nutrient like jojoba or aloe or vitamin e would give a far greaster benifit with zero risk of buildup
as these all easily come out

aloe also has thye advantage of shrinking sucking in frizz so can be used as a complete wax replacement with no chance of ever causing harm

 

Hey Callie, you've said a couple of times that you used wax partly to help your dreads "hold up" through washings...although I do kinda know what you're getting at, it also seems contradictory coz you have to wash the hair more to get the wax out again, and it has lubricating effects as it melts on its way out. I'm not about to claim it didn't work for you, because it obviously did! I just can't find the logic behind your reason, if you know what I mean? I know you're wary of getting dragged into the whole wax debate so I'll understand if you don't want to go any further! Just curious about your reasoning

 

Yes

 

lol, there is no need to "cake in wax" period!
i think thats what everyone is saying. when used properly and you dont "cake it on",it does the job it is advertised to do..

as i said in another thread dilli used wax when starting hers and still periodically uses it for maintenance and has had no issues just the same as the others in this thread have said.

 

aye, my problems with wax were simply because i did cake it on.. dread noob n all that. i can see pros & cons, but im not ganna get into an argument

 

I think sometimes the instructions provided by the manufacturers have been a little misleading. If you're coming to dreadlocks with relatively little knowledge about how they work, and take an instruction like "use an M&M-sized blob of wax per dread" quite literally, without allowing for numerous variables of length, thickness, hair-type etc it's very easy to end up using too much wax.

I still think in the end if I had to give a black or white answer one way or the other, I'd still urge towards wax avoidance, but I concede that it can work for some people. Well I can't exactly say it doesn't when people are saying from their own experience that it works for them, can I...

It seems that very often people growing dreads don't gain the knowledge they need until it's too late.