The dread braiding method

Hi, I'm white with thick curly hair that likes to start clumping together if I just put it back in a pontail without doing anything to it.

I've been thinking about having dreadlocks for a while now and have been looking up various methods. I've decided I want to go the dread braiding route, but I have a few questions I'm hoping someone can answer.

1) Should I get the braids to roughly equal the size I want my dreads to be? Will 1 x 1 inch square = 1 x 1 inch dread?

2) Should I leave the braids to get fuzzy and then start palm rolling without wax? (I've only recently heard that's a no no.) Or should I palm roll from day one? --With time, will this alone help my hair to form dreads?

3)I don't believe that Dr Bronner's is readily available near where I live/don't want to but it from the internet -- Will tea tree oil shampoo from a health shop be okay?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

A healthfood store is where i got mine from, ask yours if they have it. Also i wouldnt palm roll, i dont think it really does that much.

Honestly though, if you have hair that likes to clump together after being tied up for a bit it sounds like you have great hair to just go the natural route.

 

1. Whatever preferences you have. Don't make them squares (make organic and rounded shapes like hexagons, pentagons, etc.)

2. Take the braids out. They won't dread, they are braids. DO no wax, and do not palm roll.

3. Order Doctor Bronners online. I recommend baking soda if you have a normal to oily scalp. If you have a dry scalp, use baking soda with some essential oils mixed in. For a ratio of oils to mix, read around on this site some more. Read read read and then read some more. You will learn much from scouring the threads.


It sounds like you're hair (that "wants to clump") is perfect for dreading. Just section it off. I recommend back-combing to control size of dreads, but some will tell you just to leave it alone. It's your choice. You do not need to do anything to your hair to get it to dread except keep it clean. The end.

Welcome!

 

I'll ask in my local shop.

I was thinking this way it'd be neater and I don't want one huge dreadlock at the back/have to tear my hair into sections.

 

Generally health food, and organic shops carry it. In what area are you located?

 

Your not gonna get one big dread, and im pretty sure even if you section it you still have to rip them apart anyway. Also i think theyres more natural beauty in natural dreadlocks.

 

If I were to just leave it, how would I keep the sections seperate - rubber bands??

N.W. England - I searched Holland and Barratt's web site for Dr Bronner's and it wasn't listed so I just assumed they don't stock it.

 

I would stay away from rubber bands, they can really break and damage hair. There's only two ways to keep your sections without wax, wraps, or rubber bands:

1. Rip - This is if you leave the dreads form on their own, they will "section" themselves off. If the self sectioning isn't satisfactory, you can rip larger sections into sizes you like.

2. Backcomb - Many of the purists will tell you that this is a bad idea. That's a decision you'll have to sort out on your own. Back combing is the process of taking a "sectioned off" segment of hair and combing it back towards the scalp to initiate some knots.

Dreadlocks are just knots. Seriously about the read read read part. If you read a lot of threads on a few forums, you will get the knack.

 

Thanks. Will have a look around and find out more about the natural / neglet 'method'.

But if anyone is for the braid dreading method, I'd be great if could give me some answers to the questions above, that way I'l have as much info before I make a decision.

Really though - will my hair look rubbish with going natural before it looks better? Would I have to wear it down all the time or could I still tie it back? (OK, will stop asking questions now and have a look at the other topics.)

 

What method are you talking about...? Maybe I didn't understand the question...

Yes, your hair will look crap for a long long time before it looks 'awesome.' That is the nature of the process for anyone who has dreadlocks that are built to last.

 

No matter the method you use, it will look bad and unlike dreads until they actually form. There is no way around it, dreads can months to years to for depending on the individual. I would recommend against braiding and if you do anything just backcomb it. Braiding does not what so ever create dreads. At least with backcombing you are creating knots that will become dreadlocks.

I would just stop brushing your hair and get some natural residue free shampoo like Dr. Bronners. That's really the easiest, most effective way to dread your hair. In 6 months you will have what looks like locks and by the time a year rolls around there will be no mistaking it. The same can be said with the other methods, they all take around the same time to fully lock up.

 

as far as i can tell, i think i know what he means. basically he's talking about sectioning and braiding his hair and leaving it to dread that way. it works, at least in afro-textured hair, but the dreads that are produced look...like braids, not really much like dreads

 

I don't see how braiding would be appealing to anyone wanting dreads. Dreads are tangled compressed hair not braided. I have heard several people on here saying they started with breads are still reaping the havoc they left. Braiding seems like it will slow the process down as it restricts the movement necessary for the hair to dreads.

To the OP. Take if from the people who have had their locks a while, I think we will all agree this is a bad idea IF it's real dreadlocks your seeking.

 

I would just reccomend buying some bronners an backcombing its the most efficient way to get them if you want to speed the proccess up quicker. Umm and i think the braiding at the root thing only works with afro type hair. just backcomb

 

Backcombing is alright I just never recommend it. It's the method I chose out of ignorance but as time went on I began to see that I never should have done it, just stop brushing my hair and separate. All the backcombed hair fell out pretty much and totally in the back. The back of my head is natural aside from the initial shitty backcombing that came out. My point is, i'm over 10 months in the process and the back is just as knotty as ones where the initial backcombing did stay and were "maintained" for the first 6 months. The back look totally naturally formed where as you can tell what has been backcomed from where the natural growth started. I'm just glad I started mine with 3-4 inches of because there isn't some huge section that looks totally different from the natural growth. The natural growth is so much better looking that what is backcombed.

After that point the 6 month point I quit obsessing over my hair and totally let it go. But the back was always natural and since I couldn't see it, I didn't care. Backcombing basically gives people with no patience, like myself in the beginning, a little bit of satisfaction and immediate graditude. From day one I thought they looked like shit when everyone else said it looked awful. I think in the end the time will be generally the same. Either way, I would totally recommend backcombing over braiding which I believe will be bad.

BTW, I'm saying backcombing is wrong, as I used it and love my hair. I get compliments all the time, but I don't recommend it to people over natural dreads. It all looks crazy in the beginning and both take a lot of time and dedication.

 

if your hair is super curly and wants to clump on its own, i recommend putting some beads or loose wraps of colored embroidery thread, or hemp, or wool yarn around the sections you want to control section size, and then just leave it be. it will dread up REALLY well, if it's really curly/kinky.

the tea tree shampoo should be just fine. i really hate it how the "dread purists" seem to think dr. bronners is the only thing to use on dreads. it's not. it works like putting poop in my hair, and it's expensive. it leaves residue no matter what you're washing. if you wash laundry in it, it leaves residue on the laundry, and makes towels not absorbent anymore. that tells me it's something i DON"T want in my hair.

i use an organic peppermint shampoo from avalon organics, and love it, but i've used basic generic clarifying shampoo and it's been just fine.

dreads are not rocket science. keep you hair clean, don't brush it, separate the dreads so they don't turn into a unidread. don't use conditioner, and you're good to go. good luck!

 

Excellent post.

 

your hair is going to look messy no matter what you do.

every process is going to take a long time, but braiding takes the cake. the hair has to be in the braid so long that it starts to get looser and retangle. even after the hair is locked the hair still needs time to get out of that braid shape if you know what i'm talking about. you eventually get the same results, but you're just making more work for yourself. if you dig having braids then eventually locks then sure go ahead, but this process is even longer than a natural method.

back combing will let you section your hair into specific sections, but the initial process is long and can make your scalp tender. just do it once, the one initial backcomb, then don't do it again. your backcombed hair will loosen up before it locks, during this process weird things happen with your sections and they will try to join in weird places. if you take this route, just remember you will still need to rip the sections apart, unless you want them to congo.

i get worried when i read that you want to palm roll. don't take the advice from most instructional videos you find on this. these people pull their lock straight, then go nuts with the poor thing spinning it as if it was in a washing machine. if you do want to palm roll, don't make it a routine thing, its unnecessary, just be gentle and casual about it. if it its painful, if it looks rough that's probably because it is.

just about everyone on this site is going to tell you natural is the easiest and most efficient way. you don't have to worry about anything because your hair is the one that's doing the work, not you. if you don't want to go natural because you want specific sections, that shouldn't be an excuse. while the locks are young and soft (even when they are old, but its harder to make them smaller) you can separate them into the sizes you want just by pulling the hairs apart. you can make them bigger by letting them congo, or even encouraging specific hairs to congo. you can help these things with lock friendly string, or beads that don't rot. locks start small then get big, so by the time they are starting to get tight, you will know what parts you want big, what you want small or if you want it all uniform.

universal to any method is to wear a tam when you sleep, wear a tam whenever you feel like it really, and get a non residue soap. people here praise Dr. Bronner's for good reason, it is almost always softer than what they were using and since you dilute it so much it lasts a long time. i read some people have had problems with it though, although that isn't the norm. there are a lot of baking soda recipes that are perfect do-it-yourself substitutions to store bought soap.

just read around and you will find what you need.

 

Your wrong there. And by that I mean, just because this happened to you doesn't mean it's totally the soap. It might not work for your hair combined with the water you have. It could be your softner or lack of. A number of things really. I'm not bronners elitist and would never go as far as to say its the only the it will work, but it's quality soap. I have used it on my skin for a long time now, even before I had dreads I was using their soaps. I use many other types of handmade soaps with different oils. It's kinda a thing of mine is to buy cool organic soaps, my point is I use a lot and only the finest. I haven't had to use any kind of lotion in years because all the fine soap moisturizes so well.

Bronners holds it's own with the best of them. I love to use the tea tree bronners for my face and is really cuts back on the excessive oil production. I virtually made me acne free when every other commercial product and even prescribed product did nothing but make things worse. As far as hair goes, I like bronners a lot because it rinses well, lathers like crazy, and leaves a great smell. I feel the residue that it leaves in my hair keeps it moisturized just enough to where it's not bone dry after washing. I think because of this, I can wash less because me body doesn't need to produce as much oil since it's not stripping as much. As far as a cleaning agent, removing dirt from my hair, and removing smell it, is some of the best soap I have used.

Not saying it is the only good thing out there, but I think what you said is wrong and can be taken way out of context. It's a great organic soap that is made with good practice, fair trade, and environmentally friendly.

 

True story, bronners really does kickass. And that bit of whatever it leaves behind makes my hair feel great too, and my still maturing dreads always look the best in the hours after i wash, until i put them up in a tam or sleep on them or something.

But i do have to dissagree with some of the people saying your hairs gonna look like crap either way. I think hair does still look pretty cool while its crazy and not dready yet. At least for me, mine got all poofy and cool. Of course most people wouldnt think it looks good, but i think its pretty damn rock n roll and baddass looking.