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

whats backcombing?

 

alright ill put a picture up pretty soon.

 

ahaha i think its awesome u dont know what backcombing is when i started mine i didnt know either, all i knew was if u stop combing dreads happen
and thats all i needed to know
but today we have othger methods ppl use to rush things
and give it a head start
backcombing involves combing the hair backwards towards the scalp till it forms dreadlock like things
they often come unraveled and still need to dread on theyre own

twist n rip
u twist the hair, then devide in 2 random sections pulling them in oposite directions forcing knots towards the scalp, then repeat..retwist..resection..pull


natural is the gentlest least dammaging most pain free
(and most will say give the best results ..but more organic.. not over worked perfect straight round and absolutely uniform)
natural dreads are simply allowed to happebn on theyre own
with some seperating to keep dreads from combinning too much

i preffer natural
but its your choice to make
either way, length will help
3-4 inch for backcomb 4-6 for natural

 

combing hair the wrong way =]

take a butchers at my progess thread effort, theres lots of piccys that ive taken over the course of the past week. the dreadies were started with backcombing, ive washed them once =]

 

i have hair that is down to the back of my knees and i want to lock it up. Any advice..

 

conbtrolled natural
hair that long will dread like crazy, but because its sooo long it'kll be akll over the place and wanna congo like crazy, so, let it go natural, but excersize control over the process. as in using beads, to help tghe sections not eat eachother, ripping daily till theyre formed, stuff like that.
beads will be the biggest help to ya
theres another with hair your length, annie..umm damn annie something whos also in the predread trying to decide which way to go stage,
shes postred a thread a week or so ago about dreading and length ah yea annie anxierty thats the name.
id be happy to help guide ya both.

u can also do a twist n rip or backcomb *9recomend twist n rip more then backcomb) but either way yioyr looking at a hell of alotta time and pain, and it wont speed it up aslot since hait that long will dread in no time flat.
i'll pm yas if thats ok

 

nevermiind cant pm ya
but i think yoy and annie should talk, and whatever methods u both settle on, id love to see a comparison thread made comparing your progresses week by week
yay for more long dreads!

 

I've been an admirer of dreadlocks for quite some time now. Before I begin my own dreading process I have a few questions (I apologize if they were asked somewhere else in this thread already).

My hair is roughly 18 inches long right now, I'm wondering how much of the length I will lose after I dread it?

Also, I work at some grocery store. They're pretty cool about tattoo's and piercings but I'm not sure what they would say about dreads (I would ask before hand). For this reason the natural process just wouldn't work for me. Would my best option be to backcomb, twist and rip, or use some wax?

Any tips on what brand of shampoo I should switch too?

Thanks for the help, it's greatly appreciated.

- Lauren

 

noooo wax
if u use a methid tio strart id use twist n rip over backcombing
altho 18 inches would dread fine naturaly.

but if u twish riop, ya wont loose a ton of length right away, but they will shrink b4 they grow, riuyghly 3-5 months shrinking could be to 10 inches, could be to 5
somewhere between probly
then you;ll be una zero growth limbo a bit till thety begin to grow after tightening alot.
it will be bout a year or so before your back to that length.

shamppos well
lottrsa ppl dont use shampoos at all but the baking soda deep cleanse (1st post in the wax fremoval thread)
or dr bronners
or, if u use shampoos use something with no residue no conditioners


on maintanance, the only maintanance i recomend is ripping/seperating to avoid congos
in addition u can palm roll lil bit i frecvomenmd it, its not needed buit if eveneress and neatness is an issue it wont hurt as long as u doit gently and not over do it.

btw
can u wear a hat or bandana or headband at work? if so, natural very much is an option

 

Thanks for the quick reply SE, I'm thinking that I might wait until summer to allow my hair to grow out a little bit more. Then I can take a couple weeks off as well.

I definitely am going to rethink the natural method. My hair knots very quickly and is naturally curly so I figure it should dread up quite nicely.

I'm sure wearing a headband or bandanna would be fine.

I'm really looking forward to it!

 

ive had freindfs dread in 2 weeks flat naturaly, ofcourse they still took 2 months to reallyt mature but they were definate dreads in 2 weeks
thats not average, but not unexpected either,

if u wait till summer come to the gathering a few weeks or so. thats how hers were born..mine to come to think of it..and most of the dreadies i know..lol

or just stop combingnow wear a bandana, seperate as they start to clump and you'll have great dreads by summer

 

The natural process does sound very appealing, especially since it sort of symbolizes where I am in my life (I'm a lot more comfortable with myself and am less occupied by my outer appearance).

I understand what a gathering is but I'm not sure where I would find out about them?

With the natural process do you let your hair knot completely and then rip from the roots?

 

you want to rip as knots form. just separate the clumps that appear... from the tip, the middle or the root, whichever works best.

 

yea as it clumps togetherr feel for clumps even beforte theyre actualy knotted and seperate em, breaking any connecting haiers



gstherings www.welcomehome.org www.welcomehere.org (if u need international or world gathering info pm me ill find yas sites)

welcomehere also lists psudo gatherings so, just be sure your getting the real deal info, if it says unoficial gathering or the concenseed gathering its real, if it says something like the gathering of the tribes or peace conspiracty garthering its not (they are held in missoiri so any there should be suspect, although thats not to saty theres not real ones there at times)

the nationals new mexico this year
unless like i said u need canadian south american international or worlsd ones
but if u are in or near us..new mex is the place

 

i'm startin my dreads soon and i'm getting twists to start them,i'm gonna get some dr bronners soap and some jamacian mango and lime gel hold from what i've heard from people on here(dr bronners) and other sites(mango and lime) those two products are the best out and the most effective without causing damage to the dreads. does anyone on here use the mango and lime gel hold if so how does it hold for you? oh yea when i get my dreads how long should it be till i wash them?

 

ya definately dont need the mango lime stuff
u dont need hold u need freedom..freedom to move and knot
i doubt the gells as harmful as wax is but still its oposite of what ya really need..
its a residue that binds hair together

id skip it
i dont think it would do permenant harm like wax though. jnust will not help and probly will slow down progress

wash when u feel the need
at least weekly
its good to wait a lil bit to let em settle in but mny sites say months and thats just gross and oh so wrong
washing helps dread

washing causes movement wet hair knots easier too then u leave em gio a few days to a week to be comprtessed by hats and sleeping to settle the knots in..every wash cycle will add more progress

 

man am i glad you said that cause i dont know if i'd be able to stand going four months without washing lol all the site i've been to have said you need this and that but some bronners,freedom and time sounds so much better to me thnx.ONE LOVE

 

they sell complication so they can sell products to simplify
dreads require nothing but clean hair and time
but these sites claim all natuyral dreads are gross and take years
scare tacticsto scare u into going unatural ways like backcombing or twist n rip
then they add on more steps root rubbing elastics for months months of not washing tip rubbing palm rolling crochetting ..work intensive dreading
but if u use lock peppa accelerator wax and gels and gunk its all easier and faster (lies upon lies)
the more complicated it is the more likely u will buy products to make it easy

steps to dread the ancient natural way..stiop combuing..wait
thats iit
simplicity without the need for productsa

 

hi i have some of this soap, its unscented, i think its just pure glycerin. was wondering if its any good for dreads. how do i know if its residue free?
http://www.clearlynaturalsoaps.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?item=278771796&type=store

 

looks like it might be hard to sasy its worth a try and see how it feels
it says leaves no sticlkky residue ..so wirth a shot