**READ ME** - Dread Newbies FAQ/ PLUS Basic Care and maintenance Guide

people tend to sew the loose hairs into the locks (this is usualy on locks that are a few month old)
also, once backcombed u can take some strands of hair or some cotton or wool and sew it into the backcombed section, this stops the knotts from falling out and keep the lock even because when u backcomb and then wash the knotts tend to slip down and fall out so u get uneaved dreads (altho these sort themselves out eventualy)

 

Just let em do their thang. It'll all work out in the end.

 

as if you can be bothered sewing your dreads man, just rap your youngens in wool for a week and when you unrap theres a nice tight dreadie with no loose hairs. im just doin that a few at a time.

 

Im planning on growing dreadlocks and am currently just growing my hair longer so i can start them. I also wrestle and do Judo and I was wondering if that would be bad for the locking process.

Also I'm caucasian so Ill be trying to get someone to backcomb my hair (not using wax) Is there anything else i should know?


-Jak

 

Apparently, all the matted and twisted hair is affecting my brain functions. :&

I could have sworn I posted a question about washing hair, and I cannot find it. So, please indulge me if I am asking a second time.

About a year ago, I stopped combing my hair to go with the "neglect method" of dreading. I have had some limited success. I have about half a dozen locked areas at the moment. I foolishly allowed a gf to braid all my hair to help it along, and that does not seem to have been helpful at all.

Anyway, enough preamble....My Question:

I have read a few places (including here) that it is good to wash my hair a LOT at the early stages of dreading, to get the natural oils out of my hair and encourage tangling. However, I dated a (wonderful) African girl last month who has some experience with dreads. She insisted that I not wash my hair more than once a month. I notice that since I have reduced the washings that it seems more tangled.
So.....to wash or not to wash...that is the ultimate question.

Advice??

 

African hair is drier than caucasian hair. It isn't necessarily for people with African-type hair to wash as much because it will completely dry it out, making it break more easily...

HOWEVER....Caucasian hair has more oils in it. If you have oilier hair, the knots will slip right out...therefore, not allowing your hair to dread...OILY HAIR WILL NOT DREAD. (It will also make your hair stink.) It is easier for African type hair to dread on its own because it already has a dry texture. Caucasian hair will dread slower if you do not keep it clean and dry because the knots will slip right out...washing it MORE often will keep it dry....and knots will hold better.

 

I apologize if this same question has been asked here before, but exactly how long do dread locks last? Are they permanent? I am honestly considering doing some backcombing tonight and putting them in because I have been adoring them for the longest time, and I feel that they would turn out at least half decent since I have super thick, curly hair (that is, when I do not straighten it). However, I am a little hesitant because I am not a person that can keep anything the same for long. I am constantly changing. Though I would most likely end up loving my dreads, I would still like to have the ability to remove them without cutting my hair if I need a change or if I would feel that they are not for me. Hopefully that makes sense. I have been reading about dread locks for quite a while, and some sources are telling me that there is no way around it when you want to remove them-they must be shaven off, but other sources are saying that they can be removed with a lot of hard work and conditioner. I am not quite sure what to believe, but I do not smile upon hair cuts, as I absolutely love long hair. I would be in agony if I had to cut my hair, and especially if I had to shave it to remove the dreads. Thanks for any feedback!

 

If you do it naturally its going to take a long time form, and they are permanent. (but if you decide to cut them off, you can probably save them when there still young. But ones there mature you must cut them off, i heard 3 inchs left of hair, good enough...)
If you backcomb your hair, they well fallout, espically if you dont use wax...

The first one you well grow to love them, and learn alot from and some say you well grow spiritually. The second way, it a quiet western way to get dreadlocks (subjective understanding on the methods of course)

 

i have a question...

i see many guys making dreads and they dont backcomb.They make knots and the hair looks like a mature & hard dread from the first day.Do any of you have an idea how they do it?i mean the steps...

 

Hi,
I've had REALLY bad psoriasis all my life, but at the moment my scalp is free of it! Im about to dread, the natural method, and I have one main worry.....
that is, if the psoriasis comes back once my dreads are established, would I be able to get the flaky, crusty bits out of my hair? Sorry to be gross.
Any thoughts?

 

i have the same prob, & as long as ya wash it at least once a week you'll be just fine

 

first of all i have to say, humblebee, you have the coolest dreadlocks (and in your gallery, you have the cutest animals)

anyways, with that said, lol


i think this question has arisen in many forms, but i can't find it being asked to where it'll apply to me


been doin' my dreads naturally since this january...or december, i don't remember. i just stopped brushing my hair. my question is (oh noes!) about washing. i wash my hair basically every day. i could go every other day, and sometimes i do, but most of the time that makes me feel nasty (lol, go figure). i use regular shampoos. i used to use garnier fructis all the time, now i'm usin' tresemme. lol, i don't really buy shampoo, i just use whoever's is in the shower.

my friend used to tell me that there were chemicals and such in these shampoos that would prevent hair from locking together. well, i don't mean to brag or anything, but i got some real nice dreads goin' i think (escpeially on the back of my head, which is basically all dreads, the only place really that is left undreaded is the hair on the top of my head and up towards the front)

i guess my question is should i get dread shampoo? i mean, suppose it wouldn't hurt, i just don't know where to get it. and if i don't, and continue to use regular shampoo, will that be bad (obviously i don't know since that's all i've used and, well, i've got dreads)

and i suppose another question is, when i get out of the shower, i try my ABSOLUTE hardest to dry my hair and my dreads. it gets to the point where my towel just ends up soaking wet and my hair is still wet. i just can't ever get them to dry all the way. is this a bad thing? i also have the tendency to put my hair up in a ponytail because i hate having wet hair in my face and on my neck, is that bad?

i guess i just don't know "proper dread care" and have been goin' on "common sense"

 

Using regular shampoos often means leaving residue in your hair...if you read the ingrediants and don't know what it is...chances are...it's not a good shampoo to use. Residue in your hair means mold in the future, or possibly can attract dirt and bugs...NOT a good thing...

I would rethink using just any shampoo and use residue free stuff...I think you'll be happier about it in the long run. Regular shampoo often isn't even good for non-dreaded hair...because it strips hair of natural oils and leaves a deposit on your scalp...this deposit that would normally just sit in your scalp will stay inside your dread...*shudders* sounds gross to me...

Google "Residue Free Shampoo" if you need some guidance. I like Dr. Bronner's but we all have our favorites.

 

not that i think i have this problem, but how would you know if you have mold in your hair?

 

Chances are you really can't know...it might stink bad...but it might not...if you cut your dread open you'll find out...but I do'nt think anyone wants to test it that way.

 

hmm...well, at least my hair doesn't stink


i guess i got that goin' for me, lol

 

richie sweetie, dreadies dont towel dry. the inside takes a long time to dry, maybe longer than you realize. just dont put them up when they are still wet, cause that can cause mold.

 

Tee-hee... Thanks! The animals are my babies, I love'em to death! Can't really take credit for the locks, though. I just woke up one day out in the woods, saw my reflection in the swimmin' hole, and there they were!

Like Annie said, you definitely want to get a residue-free shampoo. It will be way better in the long run. You might get small bottles of a few different kinds to try them out. My personal favorite is Dr. Bronners liquid Tea Tree. Since you've been using that other stuff, you might want to pay extra attention your first couple of washes to get down into the dreads. That way it'll clean up any residue left there from before! Happy day, everybody!

 

I started my dreads about a week ago.. hair only about 2 inchs long and i have wavy thick hair. ive been using the wool hat way and i now have teddy bear hair (frizzes) and mini dreads. using the wool method do you think my dreads will come in unkept looking? my friends keep reassuring me there will be no lose hairs and they will be round and varying a decent ammount inside but generally the same. im not wanting using wax.

what do you think they will come in like?

 

It all just depends. They will change a lot all the time, especially in the beginning. Frizzies and loose hairs are often just an unavoidable part of non-waxy dreads, (unless you want to go in periodically and pull the loose stuff into the dreads with a crochet hook. I personally don't really like this, but to each his own...). Really, though, in the beginning, they will always come out "unkept" looking. It'll take a while to really get the locks look going on. Happy dreading!