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

Hey guys...I'm 5 days into not combing my hair...just washing and drying. But I know in the next day or so I will need to wash with some soap (gettin itchy)

So my mama makes all these herbal soaps and stuff with herbs from her garden (she's got em all) Do any of you have any recipes she could use for making me some soap to wash my head with? Hey maybe, she could add to the biz I am trying to get goin...never thought of that till now.

Well anyway, any recipes or ingredients you all could give up to best treat my soon to me knatted head would be greatly appreciated. THANK YA!

 

well rosemary or tea tree oil for itchy ness!!! haha so put like rosemary in the soap and thats all i know for that haha cool idea

 

i was hoping you guys could help me out...im 16 and was thinking about dreads...but i have NO IDEA where to start. my hair is thick curly and probably around 5inches long...i would really like some help on anything pretty much like do i wash my hair, do i comb it, what shampoo should i use...thanks hope you can help seeya cats.

 

ok, my situations allittle different, first off i'd like to tell all ya starting your locks dont use wax..let em form naturaly..if u do have some probs with some i'd only use sa tiny bit just to hold the ends together & the rest will tighten up on theyre own
my dreads i'vre had 14 years now & are past my knees, my hair is very thick (heavy when wet..lol)
i wash my dreads once a week, using dr bronners tee tree oil soap (liquid..indiluted) a large bottle is like 15$ & with this much hair dont last that long (used to use like regular shampoo but every time i washed it i used 1/2a bottle)
ok, about 7 years ago i had been traveling & hadnt been able to really wash my hair awhile..& had dandruf bad *7 was itchy..at the same time i ended up in the hospitol for a nasty infection..the dr's decided i had bugs..from across the room..(only 1 nurse actualy looked & saw white things but irregularly shaped, nit like eggs) they literaly tortured me with the quell crap, doing treatments daily & the ladst time they left it on for hours instead of the prescribed 15 minutes..it nurned my scalp so badly that it bled..& came off in chunks..they even were refusing to do an operation i desperately needed if i didnt cut my dreads (i still have ejm, so u know how that turned out)
to this day after a week my scalp starts comming apart in chunks.. the tee tree helps fix it..for a few days or so..but before long the scalp starts fallin apart..i know its cause of how badly they dammaged it..but is there any way to more permanamntly treat this? i havent tried therosemary yet & i think i will tomorow..but anyone else have any other suggestions?
oh yea..the problem seems to be even worse in my beard then on my head

 

wash ot yes, but allittle less often & at 1st use some sort of soap that dry's it somewhat..comb it odviosly not
after you wash it just shake it out & be patient..dreads take time..
once they start to form just seperate the indivudual dreads from eachother to keep em from growin together..thats it..
once theyre nice & tight you can even condition em..i used to use something called mane & tail conditioner made for horses..& really liked it..but got too lazy lately since it takes ver an hour to condition mine..so i havent bothered in sabout a year.

 

oh man soaringeagle... i feel for you man, idk what to do but i feel so bad!!! keep on truckin man

 

Okay. I haven't combed or brushed my hair in a few weeks...I have one lone dreadlock that has formed in the back. It's nice and tight. I like it. So, how long is do you think it will take for the rest of it to grow? Is there something I can do to help it along? I've been trying to seperate them, but I have so much hair and not much time so it's been hard to do. Also, some of the other hair is trying to join my one dread. Should I let it do so, or keep seperating them. I'm worried that I'm going to have one huge knot on the back of my head, lol.

 

Here's the lone dreadlock

 

That's awesome...I am having the same trouble. All the hair in the back right above my neck is forming one big matt. The rest just gets really tangled. Maybe we need to get together Lena and separate eachothers mess lol. What are you washing with? I am just using soap with tee tree oil...I think it is made from goats milk? Any way, let me know, we can put our heads together and see what we can do

 

patience squirrels, they will come........................................................................................whenever they feel like it!

 

aI just got my hair backcombed. the lady used quite a bit of beewax and todl me not to wash my hair in a month. I hate how it looks wet and lacking....and spread out (dicided evenhly). how can i give my hair a more natural look? I hardly think my hair is fully locked.

 

u can wash ur hair in a week if u want and use very hott water to get that crappy wax out

 

well of coarse its not fully locked, give that around 24 months.

 

Let's just say, for arguments sake, that I shave my head and started from scratch. Would growing and maintaining my dreads be less troublesome if I were to grow them from scratch? Or is it more of a hassle than doing it with already long hair? Any info you folks could give me would be grand Thank you!

 

Although I never did it, I'd assume it'd be easier to handle than long hair...short hair usually is anyway.

 

Well, the wisdom that I've received from several sources says that short hair dreads up tighter but long hair dreads up faster. My hair was/is pretty short (5 inches maybe) and if I could have waited longer I probably would have. I think that hair that is locked up when it's longer looks better sooner.

Mostly it's a questions of proportions. I still have the 2 inches of undreaded root and 2 inches of undreaded end, but with 5 inches of hair that only leaves 1 inch of dread!:&

Also, I think longer locks might be easier to get out of your way when you need to or at least you have more options. I have to wear a tam, bandana, or headband because my hair isn't long enough to pull back.

Anyway, I hope that some of this helps in your decision making.

Good Luck
Sunny

 

I am dreading extremely long hair right now and it is really difficult. I am separating a couple times a day and it all wants to matt together...but if you have patience it is great. They are coming along quite well.

 

Thank you all for your advice. Gonna keep on dreadin'. I think I'd miss them if they were gone anywho. My main problem is getting the roots to tighten up like the rest of them. Back combing just seems to make it worse, and rolling doesn't seem to help. Any other suggestions?

 

how long have you had them? I have found that just being patient and letting them be is the best answer. They will tighten up all on there own. And even if they don't it's okay, just remember that is the way they are NATURALLY!

 

Thank you, American Baby I started them last Christmas, so I suppose it's still a bit too early for them to be 'just perfect' (whatever that means, heehee). Yeah, guess I've been trying to hard. Gotta let 'em be freeeee!