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

theres a threasd called "pics comparing different methids" back a few pasges started by me
i preffer the natiral/neglect methis..advantages= less or no dammage to hair very gentle no pain and the most natural appearing dreads
dissadvantages= (if u can call them dissadvantages) takes lots longer to look like dreads gies through a longer messy stage
backcombing
advantages= look sorta like dreads right away although still tend to fall apart and have to go through a messsy stage..easier to contyroll the size
disadvantages= dammages hair may even rip some out at the roots can be very painful yends to cause disatisfaction early as the nice looking backcombed sections fall apart and become messy (natural/neglect taking over the process)

twist n rip pretty much the same as backcombing

crochetting
advantages can look like mature dreads right away (unlessinspected closely then they have a woven look)
disadvantages poking a needle throuygh the dread breaks hairs causing weakening
as new growth comes in,. it looks different fropm the crochetted parts (natural versus woven) requiring continuouse crochrring to keep a uniform look which does continouse dammage
also, broken hairs tend to come out again requiring more crochetting to pull them back in, breaking morte hairs to come out a month later

i wint bother discussing the disadvantages of wax..thats been talked about enough already

 

Thanks. Yea, I backcombed but im unsure what to do to help them lock up, if i should do anything at all. You are very knowledgeable soaring eagle... you're like a dread encyclopedia. hehe.

 

theres onl;y 1 thing to do...be patient..locks dont happen quickly they happen at theyre own pace
some may only take weeks to lock others months or more (but stull wont be mnature fot a good long while)
you dont gotta do a thing...
if your dewead set on perfectly round dreads u can palkm rill alittle, but overdoing it can cause dreads to break
if your dewd set on blunt ends u can rub the tups but nothing is really needed to lock up but time
give em a good 3 months doing nothing but seperating them occassionaly and you'll see juwt how magicly the process takes care of itself

 

phew. thanks soaringeagle. I'm excited for the experience!

 

hi all, i know this question has been posted lots of times but the one's ive seen are all different

what is the basic fomula for the baking soda deap cleanse?

thanks so much

 

1/3 cup baking soda 2 tablespoons sea saly 2 tablespoons lemon juice 10 dropstea treee oil
the lemon juice and sea saly are optional
you can also add 10 drops rosemary for dandruff or 10 drops thyme for oiliness
oh and thatsmixed in about a gallon of water

 

sweeeeeeeeett, thankx soaringeagle, i think that has been the formula ive been looking around for, a cleanser with essential oils in it

thanks again

 

I've been reading this and it seems like the suggestion for getting hair to lock up is to just leave it. I've got some back combed dreads and will be taking out the rubberbands tomorrow (I think it was soaring eagle who said to do that)

I am seriously concerned that the roots will not lock up though. I have very straight hair and I dont think neglect will be enough, as I already only combed my hair once every week or two before dreads and barely got any knots then (though I do get lots of loose hair, so that might help some)

Is there anything that I can do to make this process work more effectively, its not about patience, I really dont think its gonna happen in this decade if I dont help it along some how.

 

Soaring Eagles gonna go mad at this. I found this post on a facebook group.

The OP wanted to know why his dreads weren't locking up. This is the reply:

some call this cheating but when i started mine i put little dabs of craft glue (the clear kind) on the ends, which you can cut off after they are locked up and tight you have to make sure that you have rubbed them first though!!

Wow. Just Wow

 

lol
the lengths people will go to

 

I have really naturally oily and very silky hair, I backcombed a little and haven't washed my hair in three days but I am worried all my oily hair will not be good for the dreads, or will it be okay? I read not to wash for a week in the beginning.

Also I backcombed and I couldn't really twist them but my "dreads" are sorta coming loose and I have loose hairs everywhere, is this normal? (I posted a pic in the different methods thread)

 

wash your hair WHENEVER you feel its necessary. the hair is gonna do what it wants to do, so naturally it will loosen and untangle before it decides it wants to dread.

 

I have been growing my dreads for 3 months now. I have a question about the roots of my hair. When I feel the roots of two separate dreads they some how connect near the roots by having hairs running trough them. Its actually more than 2 dreads connected. Anyways, Is this normal? Should I worry about it?

Sometimes when I rip, I hear my hair ripping apart and it feels painful. When do you consider ripping your hair as a bad thing?

 

Basically you have the choice of ripping them apart or letting them congo (join together) its that simple really. Yes if you rip them apart you are breaking hairs, but unless you want a uni-dread mono-dread (one big mass of hair!) you don't have a choice. It won't do your dreads any harm and its totally normal thats for sure. It's a good sign as it means your hair is dreading! Just do it gently, strand by strand then it shouldn't hurt too much.

If one dread happens to be getting really thin at the root and wants to join another then just let it. At least thats what I did to a couple of my dreads, that way they're not going to get weak. Still that's only really if you feel it's not very stable, otherwise it should be fine even if the dread is thin at the root. Dreads usually are a bit thinner at the root then they tend to thicken out as they grow.

 

I heard good stuff on sea salt water and I happen to have one of those sea salt sprays from when I got my ears pierced. Can I use that for the dreading process (as in, is it too weak or too strong to be effective?) I don't have much of that left but I would use the rest if it's good enough. I also have a bag of sea salt rocks that I could boil into sea salt water but how do I make it so that it's not too weak or strong?

And is there a specific time to apply the sea salt water? Do you apply it as your washing the forming dreads, as it dries, or when it's already dried? Or does it not even matter.

Why exactly is sea salt helpful?

 

Moon doggie Refer to the first post of the wax removal thread thats a sticky at the top of the forum

 

Hey, I'm six days into my natural dread process and I just bought a fragrance free shampoo with as little ingredients as I could find, so its pretty simple and residue free. Is this sufficient or will it screw with the process?

Also, after a shower, do I need to be completely drying my hair? I've been drying it as much as I can than letting it air dry a little. I don't see why it could be a problem but I've seen a lot of people putting stress on drying your dreading hair/dreads.

 

they need to be dry before you put them under a hat, thats about it.

 

Thanks....and does anyone know anything about the shampoo? I just wanna make sure I'm not using something that will lead to trouble down the road. Its Magick Botanicals oil free/fragrance free shampoo if that helps.

 

http://www.drbronner.com/DBMS/SD0603/OrganicShikakaiTeaTreeHandSoap.htm
Is this the magical Dr. Bronner's soap to be used for dreads?