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

Weird issue, started my locks last weekend...basically I have just been keeping my hair really clean, and we did a little back combing and alot of palm rolling to get them seperated. now it kinda seems that the middle and bottom of the dreads are pretty knotty and starting to lock up but, starting at the roots going down anywhere from 1 1/2" to 3" still is smooth and knot free?

What is the best coruse of action to knot more of the base of me dreads, or should i just leave it alone and let it do it's own thing.

Also I just basically left about a 1" width of hair at the nape of my neck and didn't touch it (my head is SUPER senstive in that area) by leaving it alone, it will eventually dread on it's own or connect to some other dreads?

Thanks in advance for any responses...

 

leave it alone! It'll be a while before it looks really knotty, and even longer before it IS really knotty. The best thing you can do is just keep it clean and healthy and let time do the rest! happy locking!

 

okay...here's what's goin on. i backcombed right? they've locked real well..not all, but yeah...very good. for a while i thought wax was good...i TOTALLY UNDERSTAND now that many people have probs with it, and i see why..lololololol. but during the time i thought i needed to wax, i would always get busy, and i barely ever waxed me dreads. i've had em for about 2 months...and in that time i only waxed em the day i backcombed em...and very very sparingly since then. now that i know that i don't want to do that...like...is all okay now?..lol. i had rubber bands at the roots and decided they needed to come out..lol..yeah...^^. so like...will my dreads be alright now? i'm going to get some of the soap you guys are talking about and keep on doing what it sounds like i need to be doing...lol. but yeah...they should be cool now right? basically...switching from using wax on backcombed dreads to not using it will be alright right?..lol.
thanks guys..you have NO IDEA how much help you've been^^. wish i would have found this place sooner..><...lol
thanks,
Bryce

 

hello, im new here and im looking into getting dreads. ive got thick hair, 4-5 inches long. im looking for a kind of phat knot look lol..hummblebees dreads are indeed very nice. anyone have pictures of hair during the early stages of doing dreads using the wool rubbing method? and how long can one expect hair to look off the wall? thanks!

 

do nothing to them at all! leave them alone

 

wool rubbing will have a crackhead/off the wall look but it works handsomely! at knottylocks someone wool rubbed.

 

What are some other good dread lock websites that you guys recommend? Thanks!

Peace and love

 

I have the same problem... dunno what to do about it. I've tried to gently backcomb a little bit or put a bead or rubberband to keep the lock tight.
I guess time will do the rest, hopefully

 

Just becareful of the rubber band thing, dreads like to eat them!

 

:stunned: Dreads are dangerous, what more do they eat? :tongue:

 

hey guys I've ha ddreadlocks for about 2 months now and they are looking pretty good but with alot of loose hairs, and a bunch in the back/sides are matting togehter at the roots.
so those are my problems but let me explain what i do with my locks heh.
for shampoo i use the Jamaican Mango and lime Tingle shampoo, and occasionally protein conditioner, for wax is use their lockign gel and lockign creme wax
now ever since visiting a coupel forums i ahve been unsure about using wax so ive used the stuff very sparringly
i also swim for my school
any ideas on what i should do, or am doing wrong etc?
thanks
-e- whops almost forgot the link to the products webpage rofl
http://www.rastagroup.com/html/jamaican_mango___lime_products.htm

 

Welcome to the forum!

STOP USING WAX, ALTOGETHER! This is very important. At first you might not trust this advice, because if you follow it, your hair will probably initially seem less "dready". Wax just goops the hair together, but doesn't allow it to move freely and knot together. It also attracts dust and dirt and grime, and as it builds up, these elements will become trapped inside your dreads. You need to stop using it entirely, and deep-clean them very thoroughly until you're sure you've gotten it all out.

I don't know about the shampoo, because the site doesn't give a list of ingredients (which, imo, is suspicious) but the important thing is that you use a NON RESIDUE shampoo. Dr. Bronner's Tea Tree liquid is my personal favorite. But all the bronner's stuff is good, and I know Knotty Boy has a good one too, that lots of ppl around here use. Maybe what you're using is non-residue, but I"m not sure.

How often do you swim? That will probably determine your washing schedule, because you'll want to wash chlorine out of your hair ASAP. But washing often is not a bad thing - clean, non-oily hair knots up well. In the places where they start growing together and you don't want them too, you need to pay attention and rip them apart. (this doesn't hurt if you're good about doing it often) I've found that separating them like this works best just after washing, I usually come across them and rip them while I'm towel-drying. Palm-rolling may speed the process along. I've also known people who had friends go through with a tiny crochet hook and incorporate some fly-aways that way. It might look messy for a while. If you have to look "respectable" or anything, you may consider wearing a tam.

That's all I've got for the mo. Don't mean to be rude about the wax issue, but most of us here are, uhh, pretty hardcore about it. Post some pics soon - we're ravenous for dready pics around here! And have fun browsing and posting 'round the forum!

 

ahah alright yeah i can get a list of ingrediatents fo rthe shampoo if youd like
either way tho im almost out so i should prolly look into something nice
also what shoudl i use to "deep clean" them cause i def saw a picture of the dread cut in half full of wax so i ought to work on that
i also swim 5 days a week usually, so yeah i should work on cleaning the chlorine out.
ok
Tingle shampooingredients: distilled water, souim lauryl sulfate, aloe vera, lime extract, Vitamins A,D and E, silk protein, sodium cloride, papaya extract, essence of mango, coco betaine, Methylparaben, propylparben, shea butter, menthol, camphor gun, fragrance.
Protein conditioner(which i dont trust tbh cause conditioner i supposed to be bad right?) Ingredientsistilled water, glycol stearate, Cetrimonium, Bromide, Beesex, silk protein, essence of mangos, essence of limes, carrot oil, Polysorbate 60, preservatives, hibiscus, sea grape, casotr, fragrence.

annnd picutures rofl:

front face first off

side 1

side 2!

so yeah i usually wear them in a bandana to make them look less crazy while they shape up (i also dont ahve a tam heh)(pics in another post cause of img limit?!)
i have ones of the back but they are wicked dark maybe ill go into a well lgither bathroom at some point heh
much love thanks for the advice and anymore you guys see fit to send my way

 

Your hair looks like it's locking up good! Whatta cutie!

Ahhhkay, if I were you I'd definitely dump that shampoo and start using something like Dr. Bronner's. I really like the Tea Tree liquid myself, but to each his own.... Even discounting the large number of ingredients (which always creeps me out) it looks like it actually contains beeswax (or beesex?) which as we all know is a no-no!

To clean the wax out of your dreads is tricky. First off I'd wash with Bronners or Knottyboy something similar, and water as hot as you can stand. Really work the soap in there, as best as you can, to work out the wax. You might have to do this a few times before it's really gone. You might also try an apple cider vinegar rinse. The vinegar seems to help in breaking down the wax further. There's a recipe for it here:
http://www.hipforums.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=196802

As far as swimming goes, I think it's very important to keep that chlorine out of there. You should probably make a habit of washing your hair first thing out of the pool every time you swim. Once you get the wax taken care of, this'll probably be about the ONLY time you want to wash it, which is fine. Important thing to remember - clean hair HELPS the dreading process, doesn't impede it. A clean head is your friend!

Hope this helped. Someone else might pipe up too, this is a pretty rockin forum. Any other questions, I'll do my best to help out!

 

alrighty ill work on getting the shampoo ill prolyl go for the dr.broners if i can find it somewhere locally heh
and ill prolly try the other stuff for cleaning etc cause i saw that terrrrible picture of the dread with wax in it yeek
ill update etc when things work out thanks alot hummblebee heh
wooo

 

Alright, so i found this other tea tree oil shampoo called jasons
its ingredianets list
is here, its kinda long tbh so im unsure of it heh it looks kinda sketchy tho..but its from a nice natural food store so i figure it cant be to bad rofl
http://www.drugstore.com/qxp45897_333181_sespider/jason_natural_cosmetics/tea_tree_scalp_normalizing_shampoo.htm

also is all dr.broners ok? like other than the tea tree oil cause my mom found that but didnt get it, and got this instead rofl

 

im just starting dreads, going the natural route.. how often should i wash my hair? my friend with dreads says every 3 days worked for her, but some say every other day.. what do u think?

 

IME, you can't wash too often if you're washing with a good non-residue shampoo. I usually recommend 2-3 times a week (if you have a regular schedule, you can even plan accordingly) while you're starting to dread. But I've known people who washed every day, and people who only washed every 1-2 weeks, who's locks look great. Whatever you do, try and be consistent with it, because your scalp will adjust and produce oils in response to how often you wash those oils away. If there's no rhyme or reason to your washing schedule, it's harder for that adjustment to occur. Post pictures, we love pictures!

Any Dr. Bronner's will be fine. Everyone has their own preferences. I just happen to prefer Tea Tree. That other shampoo, I don't know... it looks alright at first glance, at least most of the ingredients are organic, but it doesn't say anything about whether it leaves a residue. Sodium Myreth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, and Polyquaternium-7 are the ingredients I'm most unsure about (don't know what they really are) - but I don't see anything blatantly obviously bad. Maybe you should just try it out and see if you like it.

 

heh alright yeah i ditched the other shampoo and got some peppermint and eucalyptus dr.broners and its seems alright my hair is def a bit looser and sticks up more and is trying to grow together more heh but other than that
i think i might have alot of the wax out but im not quite sure how to tell heh

 

hey i just started my dreads about a month ago and i know wax is evil from wat ive heard but i just backcombed them and put a lil wax in and just let it be from there..without puttin more wax in..... it seems to be working out fine so far and ummmmm i got this bar soap that says its Natural glycerine soap....no additives..no synthetics...nothing artificial at all is in there....is this bar soap worth my time or should i just get something else???thanks in advance guys..........and is there anything else i should do????