**READ ME** - Dread Newbies FAQ/ PLUS Basic Care and maintenance Guide

K I a sure this has been asked many times...but I reallyneed to know!
I (prior to now) have used lemon juice//water//salt to wash my hair about once a month(I still rinse wiht my regular shower every day) and justy bought some dr. bronners....how do I wash it with soap? just wash it like i would normal hair? (scrubbing) or like...put some of the soap on my hands and sort of rub it in each one seperately? or mix the soap with water and dunk my head in it? or am I completely off...

SOMEONE HELP!!

 

HI,

I backcombed a while ago and it kept falling apart each time I washed. So I'm saving up to have it backcombed proffessionally (natural, no wax). The thing I need to know is, if it's backcombed really tightly will it hold together when I wash it? Any advice or suggestions really appreciated. :rainbow:

 

what did you do to wash? make sure you are using safe soap, and most people say not to wash the first week or so...not sure howmuch truth there is to that. and by fall apart what do you mean? mine re about 3 and a half months old and don;t look like dreads, just thick knots going down my head and all frizzy and stuff, it is a LONG process...so just my two sence. you need to be patient, when yuo backcomb that's not dreads, that's just really...tangled hair =)

 

When you backcomb, your hair will fall out before it actually dreads. A lot of people in here will tell you that. I never backcombed mine, but I've heard stories about it over and over in here about how people spent HOURS backcombing, only to have them fall out and dread on their own. I would NOT waste my money getting it backcombed "professionally". Most "dreadlock salons" don't know how to dread caucasian hair (if that's what you have, of course)...African American hair is VERY different than caucasian hair, so be sure if you DO go that route to make sure they know how to work will ALL types of hair. I do NOT recommend you getting it done professionally because it WILL Fall out before the locking process actually starts.

You should KEEP YOUR HAIR CLEAN! Don't listen to people saying that you shouldn't wash it. Natural oils in your hair will make the knots slip right out. It's important to also make sure you are using shampoo that you know ALL the ingrediants of. If you can't pronounce it, don't use it!

 

Thanks, your advice sounds good. The person who would be backcombing my hair is herself causasian (as am I by the way), with natural dreads which she did herself, and has worked on tons of heads without wax etc and swears she has had no problem with any of her customers' dreads undoing. She says it is because it is so very tightly backcombed. Does that sound possible?

 

damn, that's hot.

 

i've had my dreads for a week now and theyre slowly taking form but im having a couple of problems with sleeping....
1. what do i sleep with on my head?! ive been told all sorts of things!
2. as i always sleep on the right side of my body the dreads on the right hand side of my head fold at the root exposing a small bit of my scalp whist the dreads on the other side are fine and coming on nicely!!! do you think they will straighter out with time? if not is there something i can do to sort it out?!

any help appreciated.

hecclesx

 

I don't sleep with anything on my head. I have fleece pillowcases and sheets so that snarls em all up. I palm roll them with some aloe to reshape them.

 

thankies for that. also do you think it is wise to take out the rubber bands at the root of the dread a week after getting them done?

hectronx

 

I didn't use any rubber bands. You def want to take them out soon, the last thing you want is those bands to break your hair at the root which will make your hair weaker.

I can't wait to post new pics up later. There are a few dreadies that are really starting to knot up and get spongey.

 

alllrighty then ! someones coming round to re-roll my dreads and take the bands out so when she's done ill post sum flicks!


heccles

 

Good luck! It's fun being able to go through this experience with other people at the same time!

 

My dreads keep looping and loosen up, will they fall apart? At the moment it feels like they will never become real dreads...
And another thing, I have like 5 cm of quite tight dreaded hair closest to the head but they keep entangle to eachother. I keep ripping them apart but they keep entangling... anything more I can do to keep them apart?

Thanks for any help.

Peace

 

what do u go with the normal hairs growing at the roots of my dreads cos they're gettin a bit long nd wierd....do u back comb them??my friend thinks i shud twist them wiv wax but i heard tht doesnt work on caucasian ppl.... n e help n e 1????


hecclesx

 

DO NOT USE WAX! Wax is an easy solution that will come back to haunt you in the end. I couldn't imagine putting that goopy shit in my hair. To help the crazy hairs wear a wool hat as much as you can, also buy some aloe and use it like hair gel. Rub it on your scalp and through your dreads. Don't use too much so that your hair is soaked. Also a mixture of water, salt, lemon juice and maybe some liquid vitamin E will also help the process go faster. I've had mine for a month and they have progressed along faster than I thought they were going to. Palm roll the hell out of your locks. I've found that this helps grab the little loose hairs and put em back in the dread & keeps them nice and round rather than flat.

 

yah well ive had my dreads for about a yr now and ive found that when they were in their first 3-4 months and their starting to tighten up that after you wash them take them and twist them while they are wet....i know its a "no no " to go to bed with wet dreads but this is when their still new so you shouldn't have any mold problems. but when you have them twisted so that they form lotts of little buns on your head use a clip or something to keep them there.in the morning when you take them out and for about 4 days after your dreads will still be curly but when that goes away they should b tight and alot more matured. I was amazed at how much this helped my dreads.

 

Will sleeping on a particular side of my head effect dreading process? I am not worried about it not happening on X side, because I realise it will happen...but my right side dreads are not as loopy and more thick than my left side.

 

i sleep on the back of my head and the back dreaded alot fasrer then the rest..so yes

 

Yeah. My sides are knotting up first. I a lucky hippie momma and I sleep with a nursing babe so I have to flop sides all night long I'm starting to be more aware of sleeping on my back as to even it all out.

 

ive had my dreads for about 7 months i started out with cactus to knot my hair and then rip them apart now i only use the dreadhead hq soap and i gotta say it does work really good i also use salt water but if your not careful it can leave ur scalp really dryy

and i have tons of dandruff any ways to get the dandruff out of my head?