Help! Shampoo? >_<

I read a lot of different methods when I decided a few months ago to get dreads started, and when I finally made the decision to get them started, I made a mistake.

Because I had no actual experience and was trying to find the best method based solely on what sounded good, I bought into the DHHQ method. I had them done by a stylist who reaffirmed the same method. (My reasoning in having a stylist help was that I wanted them similar in size and I needed help getting them sectioned off, and I didn't have any friends who could pull it off.) As a result, I have wax in my hair.

My problem is this: This was two days ago and, while I got a lot of the wax worked out and managed to get them started toward the locking process on my own with some extra backcombing, the soap I thought was going to work turned out not to be what I needed. My scalp itches and it's taking everything I have not to just rip the f***ing skin off my head. If I have to settle for regular, off-the-WalMart-shelves shampoo for now, will it screw up my dreads in the longterm? Are there consequences beyond inhibiting the locking process if I use, say, Herbal Essences (I don't actually know what's in the bathroom, that's just a guess) tonight for some relief?

Or would not doing any washing at all actually be worse for locking?


(BTW, the stylist I mentioned sent me on my way with instructions not to wash my hair for eight months. She told me not to get my hair wet at all until it was starting to lock well and to use astringent on my scalp. I feel like an idiot.)

 

uh wow whata bitch lol but hey wash yer hair with hot water and vinager yer scalp with feel loads better but just wash with baking soda and water dont use shampoo

 

8 MONTHS?! That is ridiculous.

I first used DHHQ shampoo and it itched like a bitch because I was using too much too often and not washing it out properly, so the soap left itched and I got a little dandruff too. How often are you washing your hair? If you wait about a week, or however long you can stand (try a week!) that should stop the itching. You and your hair will get used to it and by god its good only having to wash your hair once a week

 

I used Herbal essences from the start with my first set of dreads. Didn't harm them at all. 8 months without washing is just plain disgusting. Keeping hair clean = locking. Greasy lank hair = greasy lank hair, no dreading.

 

Mmm herbal essences smells sexy. I have yet to dare buy some for mai dreadols

 

what's the difference between herbal essences and every other commercial shampoo that are terrible for dreads?

 

Nothing... It's not set in stone that shampoo is terrible, merely that their are alternatives. I've always liked my un-dreaded hair starting a few days after shampooing it (but not so much right after). For my locks I switched to using sometimes bronners, sometimes baking soda, and a lot of just water and I'm much happier with it then I ever was with regular shampoo. This is why the number 1 factor in growing locks is time. Everything else will have some kind of effect, but most things are not that big of a deal. People should come to their own conclusions...

 

Interesting that, fool, I think normal shampoo gets my hair cleaner than the alternatives.

 

+ No skanky residue from stupid hardwater

 

Ok... so you just had them done? Honestly... I would take them out and make sure you get all of the wax out before you make another attempt. 6 months down the road you are going to be wishing you had done this rather than having to deal with it later.

You could do the dreads yourself I am sure. Or just pay someone to help section your hair and then backcomb it yourself. It may take awhile to do it, but it won't cost you and you will love it much better.

As for shampoo... I used the knotty boy bar shampoo and it left my scalp feeling so gross. It was itchy all the time and almost slimey. I do much better now. I used baking soda and water for months. Right now I'm using Dr. Bronners nad it's going well also.

That hair dresser was a bitch and I bet she was paid a pretty penny to rip you off. So sad. You aren't alone though.. it happens to many many people and some end up here to get help and hten they have dreads they love.

 

Ya, I've been easing off the bronners and using more baking soda. Mostly it's just water though as things get less frizzy with some natural oils in there, and the water gets it clean without stripping the oils. I like this bronners baby-mild bar that I got more than the liquid stuff I was using before. And I like lather... to get lather with the liquid I would dilute into a bottle and then shale the bottle and squeeze out the resuting suds. Before that I just poured the diluted soap on my head and that was lame... hard to get everything clean that way.

 

I use normal shampoo all the time, and Anti-residue shampoo at least one a week. My hair feels great I can usually last up to 4 to 5 days without washing before I start to feel greasy and I have been doing this for 8 months now. I guess it all depends on you, but I don't think normal shampoo is going to ruin your dreads, my friend used normal shampoo for 7 years and her dreads were fine.

 

I'm pretty sure all the chemicals and residues from normal shampoo will be getting stuck inside your locks, that's the whole reason to using a residue free shampoo. So even if it feels nice and looks like its not affecting anything, it probably is.

 

Everyone keeps referring to dr bronners but I'm on their website and which one?! lol

 

if you have ever heard of a hair shampoo salon type store called sallys beauty supply, go there, they have hypoallergenic shampoo for like $6 a bottle, problem solved

 

I really like the castile bar soaps. I've used teatree,eucalyptus, and peppermint, and they are all great. A lot of people enjoy the liquid variety, but I've always had problems diluting it and it doesn't feel as clean as the bars. It's also much easier to work up a lather with the bar soaps.

 

She was actually a student who had done them for African hair many times in the past - frankly, I think what she did to my hair would probably have worked well for African hair. It actually cost next to nothing, considering the time she spent on them, because she's a student and their services aren't really expensive.

I am still looking for Bronner's (guess I'll have to order it online), but I did check in at Sally's the other day and see if they had anything that would work. I asked their opinion but they didn't know anything about dreads - but when I said "residue free" they said to look for anything that said "clarifying". Apparently the stuff I found, clarifying shampoo, is made to remove salon products from your hair, so it seemed like it would work - although it stank to high heaven.

 

Its not, my friend used Normal shampoo for 7 years I always use her as an example because she cut off her dreads last year and we looked through them and they looked fine, no mold or anything. I just don't go out of my way to buy stuff on-line or spend $20 on a bottle of shampoo. I just have seen way to many people use normal shampoo on their dreads and have had healthy dreads for years.

 

Here's the main problem I have with this method. I thought it was common knowledge that dreadlocks would not form naturally by using regular shampoos. So why would it make since to use regular shampoos when you have dreadlocks? It's seems really stupid to me.

 

Well normal shampoo is hardly going to undo locked dreads, come on think about it. Oh also there's a member called world peace who had her dreads three years. The looked nice as fuck and from the day she got them she used normal shampoo. When she cut there was no crap in her dreads at all. I'm going to trim one of my dreads off when I'm done with my normal shampoo experiment, I can be certain there will be no crap in there either.