Okay, so I'm looking to start up my own dreads. I'm a huge fan of history behind them and have been extremely fascinated with them. Only today have I found out that waxing was bad, so Im glad I found this place before I made any bad commitments. Alright so I want to start. My hair is only about and Inche long, but Im pretty certain you can start at any length as long as I give it time. But What do I do? I was thinking of simply stopping the combing and conditioning and using the residue shampoo like I've seen everywhere, but how often can I wash?, if Im not washing can they get wet? Should I try to not touch my hair then? I'm also really self conscious about my personal smells, will my hair stink? can I avoid that?. And for the love of god, please PLEASE don't reffer me to another thread, I've looked through many and I havent found Clear answers. Thank you very much for your time.
Nothing is required. Whether or not to touch your hair and all those questions are not important. Just don't brush and don't use conditioner. Your hair will lock. It probably won't do too much knottin at 1" but just forget about your hair and in a few months you'll start to see changes. Your hair will not stink as long as you use non-residue shampoo and rinse thoroughly and dry thoroughly. Overview: No brush, No Conditioner= dreads. Cheers and metta
Everyone locks up differently. But personally I'd wait til you had at least 3 inches of hair, it makes them easier to start. I used wax, yes *gasp* I used wax, but from Knotty Boy and I only used it after all my dreads were backcombed and maybe twice since then for maintenance, as long as you don't use heaps and gobs you're fine IMO. But here's what I did. 1. Had a fleacomb (fine tooth comb) and got a friend help me seperate my hair into 1" thick sections (wish I had done them and inch and a half now, kinda want them bigger but whatever) and used tiny black elastic bands to hold the sections apart. 2. After a section was backcombed, it was twisted and palmrolled, then a small amount (smaller than your pinky nail) of wax was applied through the dread. THIS IS NOT NEEDED, My friend that was helping me didn't use wax at all and her's are pretty nice. 3. Rinse and repeat. Do not wash your dreads for at least a week, two weeks if you can stand it. 4. Do not use conditioner. Only use organic shampoo. If you ever run out of organic shampoo DO NOT USE REGULAR SHAMPOO. It would be better to go without washing your dreads before you use regular shampoo, a lot of them contain sulfer which will get stuck deep in your dreads and make them stink! 5. Only wash your hair about every other day, ESPECIALLY with young locks. They're more prone to falling apart. 6. Your hair will tighten with each wash, so your locks will appear thinner and tighter. Once they're as tight as they can be they'll start poofing out again because the hair will collect in your locks. 7. Personal odor. Your locks won't stink if you: Make sure they don't stay wet constantly. Use organic shampoo. They come in lovely scents, I use peppermint and it makes my scalp feel sooooooooo healthy. Hope this helps. Happy dreading!
If your locks do stink for some reason, like from cigarettes or something just rinse with apple cider vinegar. 1tsp mixed with some warm water, just don't use acv too often as it will loosen up ur dreads a bit. I only use it like after I have been to a party where there was alot of smoking or similar situations. Also I use baking soda to wash with, I haven't gotten around to buying organic shampoo yet, but the baking soda works well, especially if ur hair gets oily quick. Again just 1 tsp with some warm water. It will dry up ur scalp if u use t everyday, I wash like twice a week.
I would knit yourself a wool Tam or hat, use non-residue shampoo, and wait it out. I tried to backcomb (with 5 inches hair) with some Lock Peppa from DreadHeadHQ, and it ended up all washing out, along with the hours of backcombing. Now I am going neglect and I can feel the knots forming on their own. If your hair is so short you will need to be patient. Knit or buy some hats that you love, and just let it go and if you feel like it, get some friends to rip and roll in a couple months.
Jason, go natural man. Forget about all that backcombing garbage, it's a waste of time and energy. Let time do the work for you, you will eventually have killer dreads. Your hair still may be a little short for knotting up, but you may as well treat it as if you have dreads....that way it will start locking up as soon as it's long enough. Start washing with a NON-RESIDue shampoo...most people wash about once or twice a week in the beginning. The lest often you wash, the less oil your hair will produce. You can still get it wet everyday, or whenever you feel like it. It doesn't matter if u touch your hair a little, just don't be running your fingers thru it and undoing any knots that are forming. And your hair shouldn't smell, as long as you don't go a super long time without washing. a tiny bit of tea tree oil in your shampoo will smell good, and keep your scalp from drying out. you can also get Dr. Bronner's shampoo that comes in different scents...smells good. other than that, that's pretty much it man. it takes a long time for dreads to form, so just forget about your hair for a while. good luck
