almost brushed it all out :(

my husband and i were going out on sunday to celebrate valentines day and i just about had a melt down. we rarely go out because of our busy schedules so this was pretty special. i had a nice outfit, a little bit of makeup and a mop on my head. i look like a homeless person(no offense to anyone who's homeless). i definitely look like i don't own a brush but i don't look like i'm dreading my hair either. i have about 7 sections that i backcombed last month that are going crazy and the rest is just messy hair. i seriously considered combing it all out that night.

it'll be 5 months next week and i'm feeling so defeated. my hair does not like to knot. i have some separating of sections and a little knotting at the tips but it's not progressing from there. it's been like that for months. i tried putting beads in but they all just fall out everywhere. i know i need to be patient but i see all these people on here that are around the same time frame as me and they have such wonderful progress. am i going to be one of the ones that has to wait 2 or 3 years for dreadlocks?

i don't mean to make this a pity party. i just want to know that someday i will get to leave the house without a hat or scarf on and feel proud of my hair. right now that is not an option:(

updated by @heather: 02/14/15 07:50:41AM

make it an opyion

u decidse wether to feel pride or shame in how u look

negative thinking causes negative results

feel good about the lil progress u made and be proud of it and believe it or knot (opun inttended) they most likely will kot up faster

try smaller beads that jam on tight

lets see thoee sexy dreadies

show em off and be proud

rawr

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

r u doin sea salt and wool tams?


--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

i'm really trying to accept everything my hair does or doesn't do but being a girl i still want to look nice. i have some pretty small beads and i get them in my hair but they just slide right out in a matter of hours because my hair is so soft. i'll see if i can get smaller beads. my hair is sectioning into these really small sections so it's hard to find a bead that will hold. i have really thin hair. i'm going to post pictures of my hair next week for my 5 months then you'll get to see all the mess i'm dealing with. yes, i'm doing sea salt sprays and wool tams. i even wear the tam to bed sometimes.

i was just looking at your 4 months pictures the other day and thinking that your progress was on a roll now!!! if i were you i'd break out some rubber bands and put them around your sections. most of the time the bands break off in a couple weeks and leaves behing a nice little knot in the area where the band was... *prepares to get kicked for suggesting bands*

i did this to help my tiny bang dreads along and it worked quite well.

i really wish you were here, too i don't know of anyone in my area with dreads. i feel like a i have a wealth of knowledge now compared to 5 months ago just because of all the wonderful help and information on this site. i just have terrible hair for dreadlocks. i didn't comb it out because i REALLY want this and i didn't want to regret it but it was tempting. i haven't seen anyone on here with hair similar to mine. i wasn't blessed with my mothers gorgeous thick hair instead i got my sperm donors high forehead and thin hair. doesn't work so well for a girl.

the backcombed one are kind of weird. they have this big squiggly "s" at the bottom thats really tight and then smooth hair for about 4 - 5 inch up. will that dread normally? i'll try to get a quick pic.
Knottysleeves said:

I'm sad that it's not going well for you. I know how patient you've been all these months!

I'm almost tempted to say you need to roughen up your hair a bit (ie., slight damage) to get it to hold. The only sections that seem to finally be doing something are the ones that you've repeatedly done t&r / backcombing on, right? Your hair is in such good condition that it's kind of working against you. I really wish I lived closer to you because I'd be happy to help out in person to get some stronger tangles going...

instead of bands do a wrap instead

on the tips use hemp or embroidery thread just wrap an inch and letit go

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

thanks i wash every other day or two. i just got the kiss my face whenever shampoo and its great. i used to have an oily scalp but since i don't wash everyday now my scalp is pretty normal. you might want to try desert essence tea tree lemon shampoo. it's made for oily scalp and hair. its great but a little too drying on my scalp right now. i'm going to try it again in the summer when it's not as dry out. makes your hair squeaky clean.

funny, my hair seems to be knotting/separating better on top. the under part is silky smooth. i'm preparing for a really weird mullet in the future.

Kristina P said:

Oh I'm sorry. I feel like that too, sometimes.
When i need to go someplace special, i put it up in an up-do/claw.

You could get a pretty clip even and pull it back.

I'm only at 2 months and know it's gonna get worse before it gets better.

What's your washing schedule? I have been washing every other day with Kiss My Face and using sea salt in a spray bottle and spraying it on the days i don't wash. [i work out every day and my scalp and hair get really greasy, even sleeping makes it greasy]

I also, prettyvigorouslytowel dry the underneath hair when i wash.

Underneath is where my hair isn't knotting, i could still run a combthroughit, its so smooth.

funny thing, i leave my hair down when i go out and it has a few bunches of tangles and looks very uncombed, but no one says anything. i just wonder what they are thinking.. lol

Hang in there!!

Kristina

towl drying that way can be undoing all your progress


--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

okay, well here are some really crappy cell phone pics. its a rainy, yucky day so outside pics with the good camera are out of the question. i put little brass beads at the ends of some of the sections to encourage knotting. it shows you how small my hair is sectioning.the crazy zigzag pics are the backcombed natural sections i did last month. there's only 5 of these on my head like this. notice how all the knotting is on the ends and then smooth hair for about 5".

updated by @heather: 02/05/15 10:12:49AM