Is my hair long enough yet??

Hello everyone!! I have wanted dreadlocks for a long time but the first time I grew my hair I got a bit wasted and had it all shaved off leaving just a ponytail at the back of my head. (yeah it was hilarious)

Anyway, that was a year ago and it has taken my that long to grow my hair back I've now got 7 inches of horrible hair that I can do nothing with and I keep thinking back to my love of dreads.. Am I too soon? Do I need to wait until its a bit longer? Or am I good to go? If I am good to go what method do you guys and girls recomend for me?

Thanks a lot,

HippyHairWannabe!

 

You're good to go! Dreads can be made from a mere 3 inches.Theres 3 main ways of dreading Twist n rip, natural and backcomb. I can't really recommend one method as they're all good. If you back comb stay away from wax. I LOVE these pictures especially the child bashing one. You seem crazy! I hope you stick around.

 

Just what I wanted to hear, good to go! Thank you! I have been told I am a little crazy yes, but mainly when I don't get a smoke for a day or two! lol The child bashing one annoyed my family but I was laughing my f@cking tits off! Its my daughter, if I want to pretend to hit her with a big hammer I will....!! lol

 

Your daughter is adorable, and you look like a good guy I know it's off topic but I wanted to tell you :cheers2:

Aye, you can start your dreads but they will probably lose a little length. But if you don't mind short locks then go go! I think short dreads look awesome.

If you don't know alot about the mentioned methods I'll elaborate a little;

Twist and Rip: Grab a section of hair, if you want to you can backcomb a little to just make it messy and easier to knot, then twist the section, divide it into two parts at the tip and then just rip it right down to the root. Put the two parts together, twist the section, divide, rip. Repeat.

Bakcomb: Grab a section of hair, and just backcomb the heck out of it. Hold your hand 3-4 inches above the root and start there, you want it to be tight so pull the section upwards while combing downwards. Advance out to the tip and till it's fully backcombed.

Natural/neglect: Neglect your hair, basically - but wash it with a residue free shampoo. This takes a while but you'll get (IMO) awesome dreads. After a while sections will naturally form, and your hair will start to knot. Rip sections apart now and then to prevent massive fatty dreads, unless that's your cup of tea.

Also, you should read the sticky called Read me before posting, it has alot of helpful information - including the parts I just wrote (I had to, sometimes I just need to write alot lol), both about methods of making dreads and of maintenance etc.

Enjoy your stay here, hope to see you around

 

Thanks Disruptard, I want dreads for sure but not sure about them being short, I mean like really short... how much length do you think I will loose?

 

You seem really familiar to me.. It's odd. Maybe you just look like someone I've seen. :shrug: That picture is awesome. I wonder what your daughter will say when she's older because she looks so oblivious. It's hard to say how much length you will lose maybe you won't lose much because it's short....?

I also think that length loss is also down to how thick your dreads are. One of our lovely mods Luxiebow, has quite skinny dreadlocks and she lost a load of length. I had quite thick ones and didn't lose a lot.

 

It depends on what method you use and how tight you do it. Perhaps 1/3 or something along those lines. I'm not sure how it is with hair your length, you could look around to see if you find some before/after pics.

 

Maybe we knew each other once upon a time....

My hair is short anyway which bothers me, I should never have had it shaved off the first time I grew it long... I'm just getting impatient and want my dreads! lol

 

Then what are you waiting for?

 

Indeed, what am I waiting for!!? Do I need any of this funky 'residue free' shampoo that I've read about? Should I use it for a while first or just use it once and go for it? I'm not too keen on putting wax in my hair though, do I need to do that?

 

Welcome!! Those pics are awesome and I personally love the kiddo bashing one. Most of my fav pics of my kids are a bit wacky as well. =)

The length is fine. What method are you going to use? Do you currently brush your hair? Have you considered just foregoing the brushing and seeing if it knots up on its own? If you backcomb, they will get puffy for a month or two. If you T&R they will likely not get as puffy. If you let it get dreaded on its own, you will not have to go through the puffiness.

I just looked at your pics again and they made me giggle again. =)

 

Well most here use residue free but there was a girl called world peace who had AMAZING dreads and she used regular cheap shampoo. With my last set I used head and shoulders and had no problems but with this set I use Dr Bronner's. Stay away from the wax. All you need is time.

 

You do not need wax as HDH mentioned.

If you want a super cheap method, just use a mixture of baking soda and water. It strips the oil from your hair and will let it get nice and knotty for you. I suggest using whatever you choose prior to teh dreading process for ultimate nattiness.

 

Washing with regular shampoo CAN be kinda risky though, you risk getting buildup of oils from the shampoo and eventually mold. But it might also work out just fine, and there are home made alternatives like the one daisy mentioned And no, you don't need wax either. Hair locks up perfectly well on it's own.

 

Thanks for the welcome, I'm glad you like my pics!

I've no idea what method I will use.. I'm leaning more toward twist and rip at the moment but I don't know. I'm not too keen on the back combing as I've read so many cases of peoples knots undoing themselves!

I'll get some residue free stuff then.. Luckily time is something I have lots of (or at least I hope I have!!!!)

 

Sorry Daisymelan, I missed your question. No I don't brush my hair, I never do. I sometimes run my fingers through it in a really cool sexy kind of way (HAHAHAHAHA) but other than that nothing. And it all stays perfectly unknotted - how annoying eh?!

 

If you wanna test the waters, start using a residue free soap or the baking soda and see what your hair looks like in a month. You may find you like the look and it knots quickly on its own. Ravenhill (I think that's his username) just did that and he loved the results.

However, I think you may need to cut your hands off to achieve this method if you can't stop putting your fingers through it. It's the obvious solution.

Btw, where are you from?

 

You could try never running your fingers through your hair, wearing a beanie at night, switching shampoos to one that doesn't make your hair soft/silky/whatever.

That's the reason regular shampoos - and especially conditioner - aren't good for dreads, they make your hair soft and "slippery", preventing knotting and messyness. You could also try wearing a wool beanie, if not at daytime then sleep with one. It might help Also, neglecting your hair to make dreads takes a LOT of time.

 

Ok, well maybe I'll do just that then.. I'll start using this residue free stuff (where can I get it, which one do I want?) and I'll chop off my hands..

I'm from England, UK - or did you mean more specific? Where are you from and why do you ask?!