Gettin dred's for the first time, need some help!

hey everyone------------------>im gettin dred's finally for the first time but after seeing all the different methods on how to do them i dont know which one is for me. I've heard of backcombing, the crochet method, natural as well as using wax. Im totally confused on what to do, and i really dont know what each method consists of, so if anyone could help me out, it would be greatly appreciated!

thanks

 

Back combing = Combing them in with a metal comb so that they shape, and you seperate them all.
Neglect = You do nothing. You can wash with a residue free soap if you want, in fact it helps because it keeps you from getting all greasy and oily.
Wax = evil, stay away.

I started my journey about 2 months ago, neglect method. Basiclly I don't comb, I don't condsh, not really anything. Knots form, and you rip them into dreads..
so far so good. It feels great, and I couldnt imagine having them all combed in.

 

mine were backcombed.

it all depends on how quick/neat you want your dreads to be.

i'm impatient and wanted neat-ish looking dreads straight away.

 

rather than make folks repeat themselves here for the umpteenth time why not just look at the stickies on top of the threads in this forum?

everything you would ever want to know is in those stickies.. thats what they are there for as a matter of fact...

 

Well instead of searching through pages upon pages i thought i could refer back to one page hippie :O

anyway, i was leaning more toward the natural way, but was wondering how long they would take to actually lock up and look good.

or maybe i should just go with backcombing? I know i just want to avoid wax, i dont want all that gook in my hair!

 

there is another method.
every day I just sat there and played with my hair.
I took one piece and would rub it back with my thumb and index finger. it's like back combing, but with fingers.
I did this and palm rolled my hair every single day.
It's now 7 months into it and I have some kickass dreads and dreams ;]

 

"backcombing is done in a day, and takes up to a year to mature. natural way can take years to lock up."

Um, no.
Backcombing isnt any faster than natural, it just looks neater at first. I've seen fully formed natural dreads that are like 9 months, and 1.5 year backcombed locks that still look like crap.

 

I went with backcombing, and used wax at first, but now i know what it does to your hair, so i don't use it anymore (yes, i did the whole hot water thing to get rid of them). If you want to look like you have dreads sooner, go with backcombing...and don't use wax..try some of the other things though, water with sea salt, stitching, palm rolling, wraps...things like that. there are some really good threads about it, but everyone gets kinda sick of answering, so you might not get as good an answer...
make sure you read the others though

 

I cant help but laugh at people who talk about 'maintenence' for dreads.
Anything you do to 'maintain' your dreads is a waste of energy, but hey, do your thing.

And no, I read your post perfectly. You implied that backcombing hair creates
locks faster than going natural, and that isnt the case. Natural locks will be locked up just as soon as backcombed locks will be.

 

loki, i dont thinks its really necessary to be argumentative about it. people have different view on dreads. i prefer natural, but my friends locks were backcombed and maintained and locked up at least twice as fast as mine. it has a lot to do with your hair type.
anyway, just because its not your thing, doesnt mean theres anything wrong with doing maintenance on dreads. some people just like them to look neater.

 

I cant help but be argumentative. It's my nature.

Btw, I didnt go natural, I backcombed. I just have yet to see palmrolling, or root rubbing, or wax do anything but harm.

 

Thank you everyone for all the info!
i think im gonna go with backcombing just because i need to be somewhat presentable for the time being.
i just have one more question, and its probably under a sticky soooosorry
whats the best kind of shampoo to use to keep the "dred's" from falling out?

 

Hi Sammy

Good luck with your dreads, I hope you are pleased with the results.

I use Dr Bronners shampoo

I backcombed my hair and I loved them from day one

mamos

 

I'll take that as a concession.

I WIN!

No arguing is pointless, by the way. It sharpens the mind.

No shampoo or soap will keep your dreads from falling out, that will just happen at first. If you want something to keep them clean, though, then Dr. Bronners is whats up.

 

sammy: i know you want your dreads to look like dreads from day 1, but remember that they will be frizzy, get loops, some tips will round, some will not, some will grow together (well some of mine did anyways), etc etc.
They will not be dreads at first, just look like them more than doing it naturally does.

 

oh! i forgot..another thing i've hear is if you braid the root a little before you do the dread it helps keep it tidy-looking...not sure if this is true, or exactly how it works, just thought i'd put it out there (but do some research on your own before you do your dreads)

 

Hahaha, Is this you "commencing orbital bombardment" of this site
(page 3 of link, top post)
http://com3.runboard.com/bknottydreadlockforum.f8.t14543%7Coffset=20






And another thread about this site:
http://com3.runboard.com/bknottydreadlockforum.f9.t13169

 

Bombardment? No. As I said in that thread, hipforums doesnt allow pictures the right way for me to do that.

This is just me trolling hippies. Enjoy.

 

if i get them backcombed, what do i do to keep them from falling out when i take a shower?