very long hair

thats a good idea zilla.
you could just loosely backcomb like partway down the section to keep them defined and separated and just let the rest lock up on its own. many backcombed locks fall mostly out anyway, mine did.

 

scatteredleaves as usual yiour being confrontational
i was not sauying dont backcomb i told her she can choose those other methodfs but told her the truth, that backcombing wikll be painful and dammaging
and with that much hair its entirely pointless to do it
backombings great for 3 inches, since anything under 4-6 wont dread naturaly or will dread very slow
but we are takking 4 feet of hair here
which literaly can dread faster on its own then it will take to backcomb..pain free
if she doesnt braid it at night it wikll dread

if she controlls that so it fdoesnt over dread shed have amazing dreads fastee then its possible to bsckcomb it all.
with no dammage

if she rips or uses beads to controll the size and prevent overdreading they will be well formed in days (and hanging naturaly, u wont hafta worry bout angle because your not cramming it all tight against thescalp)

im saying shes got the option..but it makes no sence to..none..hair that longdreads too quickly for mackcombing to make any sence at all.



a couple thingfs id advise to prep though

day 1..netragena daily clarif\ying, or deep clense (baking soda) to strip away all conditioners and residues
shake it out like crazy to dry and get a lil tangling goin on
then while still lil damp, force on some beads (after sectioning so u dont have too many crossed hairs at the roots)
spray the length with sea salt
go to bed
rince out the sea salt in the morn (no soap) ..shake em out real good
leave em hanging 1/2 the day, put em up in a wool hatf the other 1/2
then seperate em at the roots..they should be showing progress if theyre holding together, wear the wool hat to bed then seperate in morn..if not if theyres alotta looseness more so then knots, sleep with em loose again.
wear the hst lil more 2nd day (or was that 3rd?)
day 5, sea salt spray a few hours b4 u wash
(either deep cleanse, or \non residue soap..if soap only wash the scalp, rinc\ing it thru the hair.)
go play outside awhikle with em flowing free
im betting theyre well formed in under that time
nice thick matts..still fluffy, maybe lil finny looking (lumpy crinckly just sorta funny..in a lovely way though)
keep doing that, but sleeping with em in the hat at least some nioghts
they'll begin tightening over weeks.. they'll continue changing over ..possibly 2-3 months shrinking some, looping becoming unique
but they'll start settling down round 2-3 months

u definately wanna start by stripping the conditionerimagine u used a ton to prevent them from dreading all this time
2 bottles a month? more?
i know it doesnt seem like it ,,but that leaves alotta builduop
afterr the nutragena or baking soda they'll feel so light..alotta fly away hairs it may seem thi\cker even more volume
all good things that will help it begin to dread


hell if u dont got beads take a section (1 inch to 1 1/2..wouldnt go bigger then 2) then take just a thin strand from that section winding it round and round loosely to bout 1/2 way down and tie it
then leave it be (or follow the basic steps above, dont gotta be strict about it thats just a guide that i think should help)
thast will be like a long bead controlling the size partialy protecting ity from ovrr dreading..leving 1/2 the length free to dread unhindered
dont be afraidto sit on your hair
or anything..movement and compression alternating is what locks it up fast


post pics daily..the changes will happen fast, and may be unexpected (the 1st day u wake up with giant loops u may think omg what haplpened, but loops are good things that become knots which become dreads)


check out darthkacies thread "progress" shes, 5 days into natural, with 1/4 the length
your progress will be probly 4 times faster do to the incredible length

 

SE, backcombing only hurts if you do it that way. mine DIDNT hurt, on this set, or the last set i had. (the first set did). if its done gently,, as in, not yanking the hair at the same time as being backcombed, it shouldnt hurt..

and zilla, thats a good idea, espesh for long hair types =]

 

ALL dreadlocks are full of damaged hair! Hair breaks whether it be backcombed, RIPPED and twisted, or left "natural" or not dreaded at all. Backcombing deff. hurts and takes long. My hair was also very very long ( past waist) and it shrank to near shoulder length, which was disheartening. And when I later learned that I should have left them to their own will I regretted the method I chose. However I love my locks and they are just as "nice" and not so "different" as the "natural" route.

 

SE ~ i think you and i have different ideas of what backcombing is. i took a gentle plastic comb and combed the hair fairly loosely backward from root to tip, tighter at the root and not at all at the tip, and then just palm rolled a bit. it was gentle and gave the dreads a little boost. i didn't lose any length at all. now they look loopy and natural and great. i'm all for a little backcombing if you don't overdo it.

 

Post pics please!!!!!

 

back combing is all about technique, When i was being back combed, I had the girl who did my first set come over and since then we have become less then great friends, and she gave me the most sadistical hair ripping experiance of my life. Then i showed two other friends how to do the rest, and they got it done, and yeah it hurt a little. But when another friend asked me to backcomb a dread into her hair, I jumped at the chance to put to use years of research and got one tighter then any on my own head, and she said it didnt hurt at all, so its all about how your doing it, it can range from making loopy little dreadlets, to tight stiff stacks of hair

 

cattiecat ~ I don't envy you! I had below-waist length hair (SHORT compared to yours!), and my, it *is* an extra challenge managing newly-forming dreads with hair that long. It gets easier though! Just takes a LOT of time and a LOT of patience. I let my hair go naturally (just stopped combing and conditioning - gradually reduced washing to 2x per week - some can go for less depending on hair type/scalp). Backcombing *does* damage hair more than going natural, but the choice of which way to go is ultimately up to you.

One thing I'd advise is to give your hair a healthy trim before letting it go (or backcombing). Some will tell you damaged hair dreads better... but no, no. Healthy hair = healthy dreads. If I could do it over I would have first trimmed my hair a good 6 inches or so *before* dreading as it shrinks up anyway and would have been less clumpy towards the tips. Also, if you don't want the dreads to join together separate EVERYDAY with hair that long. Twice a day if need be. Long hair requires a lot of upkeep in the beginning stages. If you go natural, keeping up with separating will also help you maintain control over the size of the dreads. But again, it DOES GET EASIER WITH TIME!!! Good luck and pics please!

 

hi kyndmama!!

 

I would have to agree about SE about other people not feeling what you do, and it can hurt xD.

When i had backcombed, it never hurt when i did it, but my gf got a little over excited and it hurt very bad when she helped. so as long as you tell the person you have helping you to be slow and careful it shouldn't hurt

Back combing is great if thats what your wanting. I tried it, i wasn't happy with myself so i combed out and now im doing neglect. It is really all personal preference.

(Actually, i did hurt myself once when i was backcoming. i hit a very dense part of my hair, and the comb slipped out and i punched myself in the face)

 

ive done that too! lol

 

Yes...my husband punched me repeatedly in the head whilst doing mine, lol. The backcombing was certainly tight though!

 

funny thing is, she hasnt been back herre since
we may be giving alotta advice to someone who never reads a word of it..lol
not assumming thats the case just wondering if it might be..

we are all dying to see how it tuyhrns out no matter how u start em
so please come back
we are as excited as you

 

Hey there back atcha scatteredleaves

 

Help it's me cattiecat...i don't know how to get a picture into my album...I really appreciate all the advise you have been giving me....Im still pondering how to approach and tackle the hairs...I am just a bit computer challenged I have enjoyed this site since i found it last month, Thanks for the help, talk to you cats later.....

 

we missed you!


ok to uplaod a pic to your album is easy click my alobums above then create alvbum then uploasd pics
or u can upload to photobucket real easy and paste in the code

i have 1 final thought to give u on backcombing, i was trying to help emmarley find a way to fix the sdevere dammage her backcombingdid (the tips are white and the hairs fall out if touched lightly)
doing research i found most sites agree with 1 thing.
once hair is dammaged bty basckcombing it cannot be repaired

google this term repairing dammage from backcombing

once you do it, you cant undo the dammage can yiou

so..why not try a no dammage method 1st?
if u have zero results oin segveral months by sall means backcomb

but..untill a few years ago..all dreads wrre natural dreads
think about that before u decide to jump into these nrewwer methiods that all do at least some degree of irreversable dammage,.

what could it hurt to try as long as u keep it well controlled

 

oh..not 100% sure but..u may not be able to upload pics till u reach member status and can get a sig and private message and all that..so, use photobucket fior now

welcome back

 

thank you soaring eagle and everyone i finally got a picture in some where im not sure if it is my photo bucket or not, but im just happy to have gotten it in there....take a look at this hair it's definately shorter than yours but i am thinking about separating all my hairs and wrap it in little tiny buns then maybe i will get curly locks if i keep them wound around. and using the lemon juice and salt and aloe......I have been reading all that has been written and i appreciate everyones advice.....oh and i love loopies how do i get them and will they stay or will they fade ...i think to get them would be light backcombing, right?

 

i love loopies too
loose backcombing does seem to create the most loops, though most people seem to get them regardless of method. the tips of my dreads, which were totaly untouched, are insanely looped up on themselves and crazy. though there are loops in the middle of the dreads too where i used backcombing.
id say the best way would be to loosely backcomb, if thats what you want to do rather than neglect, and then dont mess with them too much.
most peoples loops seem to be absorbed after a few years.

 

If you do go neglect, your going to have to do a lot of ripping to keep them in sections unless of course you want a big beaver tail mono dread. I think either way, neglect or backcombing, pain is going to be involved with that much hair. The plus side to backcombing is that you will probably end up doing less work in the long run because you wont have to worry as much about your locks forming in their own sections. The downside is the initial work it takes to backcomb. Good luck.