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

THEN WHY ARE YOU EVEN PUTTING WAX IN YOUR HAIR????

DO NOT PUT WAX IN YOUR HAIR!

my hair is dreading up just fine.. i have fairly straight hair too...

stop messing with your hair.. be patient..

dreads take time.. they are NOT instant!

you'll just have problem after problem if you try and rush things.

 

Yeah, so I'll stop using wax. I'll start crocheting them when the dreads get tighter too. But for the time being I'll continue to finger rub the roots and palm roll. Sorry about that, I got a bit paranoid... if you know what I mean.

 

im not puttin wax in my hair...i stopped using wax when i found out its bad. i was just sayin it makes dreads look neat.

 

Did you put in bands or string when you got your dreads Ice? (I don't remember the last part of your name, sorry ><) I had bands in mine for 2 months, they kept my dreads seperated and tight together so they got the idea that a whole new thing was happening. And yeah, I wouldn't wash 'em for a while, they need a chance to start knotting before their 1st shampoo. I just recently learned to backcomb sections that are slow to knot & it's already starting to make a difference. I throw a bit of something into that spot to keep it held together, palm roll & call it good.

On the wax thing, imho the 2 schools of thought on wax are both valid. I over waxed at 1st then backed way off but still use it. When I say over waxed, I mean that my dreads always felt waxy but they still knotted up and I luckily didn't use so much that I got that dreaded (oh unintended pun!) wax build up. Now I only use a little once a week or so when I've got a "problem" dread and for me anyway, it helps.

Hang in there Ice, dreads take a long time to get established and lots of attention too. I had no clue how much work they are, and I went dread 'cuz I was over messing with my hair. Yeah right. But well worht it.

 

is it weird that i cant palm roll my dreads? most of them are fat and completely flat but the ones that are round just dont roll lol they flatten....i guess they need more time to knot up but iv had them about 5 months!

ach well im gna go wash them with sea salt in a few minutes

 

Nah, I didn't use bands. It was all totally random, my mate just grabbed finger sized clumps and backcombed.

It's just despite all the work I'm putting into them (two hours a day, at least) palm rolling and clockwise finger rubbing the roots they feel like they're falling apart. I got some pictures here so you can see for yourself, they're five days old-ish:

 

they look good, but a bit icky you really ought to wash them and see if you can get the wax out, do a good deal of scrubbing. even if the hair loosens or falls out entirely, it will all dread up again, as it wants to. just relax and watch the process, it's very fascinating

 

It's funny that though, people keep telling me not to wash them yet, otherwise I could really damage them. I got them finished on Tuesday at roughly 4:30 in the morning. Shall I scrub them up now or wait until this coming Tuesday?

And thanks guys, I searched the net in my paranoid state making posts everywhere. You guys are the only people that have made an effort to help out. Thank you.

 

don't listen to those goofs you can't "damage" dreads they're only a few hours old, they aren't really dreads yet, so you see the dreads can't be damaged until there are dreads to damage. don't bother assigning a schedule to how often you wash the hair, just do it whenever you feel you need to. I'd say take a nail brush, soak your hair in a mix of maybe 2 c sea salt, a half cup lemon juice, 1 c bicarb soda, and some tea tree oil in a large bowl of hot water, leave it in the hairs for around an hour, and then scrub while you rinse several times. wax is enormously hard to get out, but it's worth the effort. then just relax and let the hairs regroup as they will. palmrolling isn't really tremendously helpful, at least not for me, but play with your hair a lot, and if you don't feel too silly, give them a pep talk it works in my case. peace!

 

am I seeing things or are some of these hair clumps bluish?

 

I think that might just be the flash.

That mix you recommended, will that undo all the knots that I've started? I'm guessing that if it does the scrubing with a nail brush will knot it all up again anyways. And I hate to be pendantic but by some tea tree oil do you mean a few drops or a cup or something?

 

Okay, I just washed them. Got some really hot water goin on and whacked in some Knotty Boy shampoo (Saponified Organic Oils of Palm, Coconut, Castor Bean and Hemp, and Organic Essential Oils of Rosemary, Peppermint and Tea Tree). I rubbed it into my scalp, not too hard, but enough to ease the itches and clear the crud. Rinsed, and repeated. Then I got out, squeezed out some water with a towel and then blow dried them.

They look much better, less "icky" but there's still a lot of wax in there. The dreads themselves are pretty much falling apart now, but I'm cool with that. I don't mind starting over again, just as long as I get it right this time.

I'll post some pictures soon if anyone's interested. Plus, no doubt, I'll still turn to this place for help.

 

yeah man id love to see some more pics iv had dreads nearly 6 months and they dnt rly seem to be knottin up much and i wash them nearly everyday with sea salt and stuff so i want to see how other peoples hair turns out.

still- nice dreads man

 

a few drops of the tea tree is sufficient... the knots may slip out but they'll reform. don't worry about it

 

Ah shit! My head is REALLY itchy at the moment. I keep scratching and scratching... why?!

Never been this damn itchy before...

[EDIT] Goddit, it's the band I'm wearing.

 

gave y dreads another thorough wash today and theyre feeling great...ill try get some pics up soon

 

Hey hey hey guys.

So I've washed them once to try and remove some of that nasty wax. Also, I'm still palm rolling every night and I've toyed around with a crochet to make some of the tips a bit rounder. You can see the roots are a bit looser, but I just call that "dread space". Here's some images:

Oh, I was also wondering if anyone has any advice for the image where I have that bit of hair in my fingers? It's too much of a stretch to dread them into any of the other dreads and it's too small to make a dread out of. Apologies for the black box on my face, not keen on showing my picture.

 

just leave the little loose hairs, and they will gain friends and form a cult... i mean dread... eventually happened to my boyfriend... hes got 4 baby dreads at the moment

 

Sounds good to me, I'll leave em unless anyone disagrees.

My dreads look really really loose in those pictures. Wow. I'm sure if I keep playing with them they'll be fine.

Again, thanks for the feedback and attention. Too often have I been on forum and been ignored. A firm thumbs up!

 

looking good just keep washing til they feel nice and clean... yeah, just leave those loose hairs, they'll make their own (all-natural!) dread when the time is right. peace!