Hey, everyone, Just stumbled upon this forum after getting sick of the nonsense answers on yahoo answers and such. I've been growing my hair back out since leaving the military in 2007, its past shoulder length now. I've been bored with it, and I cant do the short haired thing so naturally I started looking into dreadlocks. So I was just looking for some advice and tips I can get from someone who actually has them, maybe even with a similar hair type as me that can give more in depth tips. I've got fairly thick, slightly wavy hair that I think will work out good for this. Would I be looking into doing anything different with my hair already grown out this long? And also, just curious how big of a patch at a time did you guys do when first making them? It seems like you really dont have much control over the finished product...you get what you get, thats fine with me except one thing Id like to avoid is getting a head full of those really fat thick ones. Other than that I'm looking forward to diving into this new journey of hair growing for me.
When it comes to starting dreadlocks there are 3 main methods for starting them, emphasis on starting. If you start with the neglect/natural/free-form method then yes, you have very little to no level of control over how the finished dreadlocks will turn out, the hair will lock up in whatever lumps it decides. If you start with backcombing or twist and rip you will normally section the hair off before backombing or twist and ripping the hair. The size of the sections, in conjunction with how 'thick' your hair is (/how densely populated your scalp is) determines how thick or thin the dreadlocks will be and where the dreadlocks are positioned. I believe one of these two methods will work best for you as you will be able to control where the dreadlocks are positioned and have a rough idea of how thick they will turn out.
Although, it doesn't mean that you're bond to end up with fat ass locks when using the natural method. What you can't control, is where the hair is going to lock up. But as it starts getting tangled, you can start ripping it apart depending on how thick you want them. That's what I'm doing.
Thanks for the replies guys, those two methods or a combination of the two is what I was thinking about going with. One more question: frizzier drier hair is whats going to lock up better right? Also one more now that I think; when they say no touching your newly formed locks, does that include washing with baking soda or does the no touch thing pertain more to holding back from fiddling around with them? I still have a little more research to do before I start making mine so youll be seeing more of me in the future
Well, I don't know about the twist/backcombing method, but what causes the hair to lock up naturally is friction. Washing off the hair's oils and drying it up with a towel help. I even have to untangle a bit the roots everytime I wash my hair (the locks are pretty young though). The more friction it gets, the faster it will lock up I guess. I'm not sure about the twist n rip, but I THINK that after you do the sections, they're actually supposed loosen up a little bit, so don't freak out. Just let them do their thing. EDIT:and by that i mean that yes it's ok to touch them You might want to wait for a response from someone that has first hand experience with that method though
i started mine with backcombing and they pretty much all fell out before they locked up again in their original sections. do wash your hair. circular rubbing with towels is great for friction and knots and root knotting. the tips will knot up last and maybe not even at all. i have loads of wispy ends still (4 years)
So I read on another site that all methods take about the same amount of time to mature, and all having basically the same results. Is this true?
Pretty much, so in my opinion after you section them just wash them about once a week and let them grow and be happy whether you crochet or backcomb or twist and rip to being with, they usually turn out the same by about 14 months I'd say, its maintenance that makes the difference. and in my opinion the only worthwhile maintenance is ripping them apart every once in a while
if you dont want stupid looking dreads just throw your comb away and wash with non residue shampoos. simple. fuck all these methods and tips...just let em go!
Can't add too much other then my personal experience: I think we probably have pretty similar hair, yours might just be a bit thicker, and I used the 'natural' method of not combing and washing with diluted Dr. Bronners so everything I'm about to say is from that perspective. One thing that is key is to ween your scalp of being being washed too often (if you haven't already). In general shampoo is kinda lame because it strips natural oil, replaces it with residue, and then your scalp freaks out and gets oily so you have to wash it again. You mention frizzy, dry hair and it does indeed help the process. Like I said, I started with liquid Dr. B that I would dilute the crap out of because that stuff is strong. Now I often use a couple spoonfulls of baking soda dissolved in a bunch of warm water in a big plastic bottle. A good way to start is to wait until your hair feels dirty and then wait another day and then wash your hair. Getting it wet is fine and water will often clean your hair and scalp just fine. So if you shower a lot it's fine, just don't wash your hair every time. As your scalp begins to develop a good balance of natural oil you will notice that your hair does not feel dirty and oily as often as it may have previously. Towel drying is fine and even rubbing in circles will help hairs tangle. The only other thing you have to do throw away your comb and avoid running your fingers through your hair, which is intuitive, but harder than it sounds. I also got a little impatient and began gently rubbing the top of my head with with a flat palm when I got tired of having locks only on the back of my head. As far as influencing the size of your locks goes you just have to monitor any large mats that form and then rip them in half if they're too big. Over the years I have begun to appreciate the fatties and the flatties as they have a bit more personality to them than your average round lock of hair. I've let a lot of my locks congo and combine into more powerful beings. Check out the photos and shit in my thread here: AFoolOnADreadThread
I started with hair length just below my ears. i have fairly thick hair, i just sectioned my hair, did the twist n rip method. I palmrolled pretty much everyday for a month then pretty much left them, i did wash my hair once a week and tydied them up with a crochet 2/3 times a year. That was 9 years ago !! Now theyre just past my ass
I almost completely forgot I joined up over here and started this thread! So I ended up backcombing, Ill be at 9 months this coming week, haven't done any maintenance, just wash and let them go. I did have to do quite a bit of splitting...my original sectioning was pretty bad started out with 37 or so sections now ive got about 58. I had lots of almost 2" inch wide x less than half an inch sections...needless to say they got split up into 2 or 3 sections, but anyway heres where Im at now:
Nice, you're well on your way. All that's left is for the shrinkage to stop and you'll start seeing some growth. Keep them separated from each other at the roots if you don't want them to congo and get fatter (especially in the back) and you should be good to go. Also, they will get skinnier over time as everything tangles and locks in tighter.
Im hoping to let a bunch of them congo up, I like the look of 2 or 3 tips on a bigger lock. That and since ive backcombed Ive taken a liking to the looks of bigger locks instead of the smaller ones I liked before.
