Forum Activity for @karen-guy

HELP Losing the Faith

General Questions

My son, daughter & myself are all on this journey. My daughter started the last week of July 2013. I have had a difficult time with separating her hair almost from the beginning. Her hair always wants to be one big mat. She has long hair past the middle of her back. It is fine(but a lot of it)and just a little wavy, but mostly straight.A lot of the sections are all balling up to about 3.5 inches, her hair was about 18 inches before she started. I have scoured the website, everything says just let it be, it will work itself out. I just can't imagine these fat little balls of hair will grow into long beautiful ropes. Will they just stay like this for now & grow from there? A lot of my hair underneath has done this as well. My son's has not done this at all. He does have a different texture than my daughter & I. My hair is similar to my daughters', the only difference is that mine is very wavy.If I didn't say I was worried about all the shrinkage I would be lying. To be honest my having dreads has been 20yrs. in the making. Meaning I have always been afraid of short hair therefore I have not let my hair dread for fear of short hair. I know even if all my hair shrinks to 3.5inches it would grow but it would be years before I had long hair again.We have all gone natural/neglect with just washing about 3 times about separating as often as necessary.Any words of encouragement, past experiences that were similar, or just some faith headed my way would be great thanks.Karen, Willow & Eli
updated by @karen-guy: 01/13/15 10:00:31PM

Grace and Bella's Dread Progress- 1 and 2 months

Dreads in the Family

Love the pics! My youngest daughter is 10 & her dreads are about 3.5mth and I am jealous too(I started letting my hair do its thing about a month after her) my son who is 12 also has started the journey. Remind your sister to be true to her heart and give her strength when she hears comments from others. Enjoy the journey!

stinky dreads?

Dread Maintenance

My daughter & I are having the same problem. soaring eagle sent us in the right direction. I just ordered Rot Knot from the Dreadlock shampoo site that is recommended on this site. I can't wait to get it the mail. I am tired of smelly like mildewy laundry.hope that helps?

Stinky/Sour smelling scalp

General Questions

Not the dreads, definitely just her scalp that have an odor & yes I have to get my nose right down on her scalp to smell it. We are washing her hair every 2-3 DAYS, NOT weeks just to clarify. We are only about 2mth. in, could she really have mold that quickly? We only wash her hair in the morning so they have all day to dry, just for that reason. I will definitely get some dreadlock shampoo, should we get the liquid? She still has hair that is free and loose from any knots. Thanks again

Stinky/Sour smelling scalp

General Questions

We have been using Trader Joe's Tea Tree Oil Shampooand nope, no visible issues.Unlike my son and I which both haveflaky issues, but these were present before we started letting our hair do its thing. I purchased the mention oils for flaky scalp and will try them. I am just most concerned about the stinky scalp on the little ones head at this point.Thanks:)

Stinky/Sour smelling scalp

General Questions

So I kissed my little girl goodbye on the head today only to get a smelly almost sourwiff of her scalp. Not wanting to have my daughter be thought of as the little girl with smelly dreads, deepening peoples misconception of dreads(dread are dirty, etc.)pleaseoffer some advice. I have read through many of the old topics and just notsure what it could be coming from. She washes about 2-3weeks & I often help her and really scrub her scalp, because I know she isn't doing it so well. She swims 3x/week with a swim cap and dances also 3x/week, so lots of activity. She is 10 and her dreads are about 2mth along now. Any & all advice welcomed. My son & I are also on this journey, but I have notnoticed the same issues with either of us.

Read more: washing dreadlocks guide - dreadlocks forums http://www.dreadlockssite.com/page/washing-dreadlocks-guide#ixzz2fTOLR7ry
the best place for real dreadlocks
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

updated by @karen-guy: 01/13/15 09:57:59PM

What do you wash with?

Dread Maintenance

Great thanks. Definitely want the shrinkage to be minimal. We use up the liquid & order the bars. What do you keep the bars in so they don't just dissolve in the shower?

What do you wash with?

Dread Maintenance

Oh wow I didn't think about that. My daughter has some that have shrunk so much & seem like what you are describing: hard & shrunken a lot! When would you say to start using bars? My daughter & son are about 4 mth & I'm about 3mth.

What do you wash with?

Dread Maintenance

Thanks John. I noticed the TJs tea Tree dried my hair & scalp out(left it feeling itchy). I think I will alternate between Vicki's Dreadlock Shampoo & the Trader Joe's Refresh Citrus(no SLS, which is good, right?). Thanks again

What do you wash with?

Dread Maintenance

Hi all! Two of my kids & I are on this journey. When we first started I we tried the BS ACV method and it seemed to leave my son's hair dry & with an itchy scalp. So I then went in search of a shampoo that would be residue free, readily available & relatively affordable & easier for the kids to use(like a traditional liquid shampoo). I ended up using Trader Joe's Refresh Citrus Shampooo & Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle Shampoo. I then noticed my daughter's head having a bit of that clothes left in the washer, musty smell. I'm not entirely sure it was from the shampoo leaving build up, more leaving wet hair tied up or sleeping on damp hair. I came to the site looking for answers & purchased Rot Knot & some of the liquid shampoo from Vickie's site. Amazing! Did the trick on my daughters hair, no more stinky dreads. I also love having my hair smell good again(TJs shampoo didn't smell bad, just no smell). So I absolutely love the dreadlock shampoos but looking to supplement with a slightly affordable shampoo. I will definitely continue to use the dreadlock shampoo, but with 3 of us using it, it can be a little pricey. Just wondering if anyone knows about the Trader Joe's,is it safe for dreads, residue free? Wondering if I can alternate using the Trader Joe's & the Dreadlock Shampoo? Thanks for any advice.
updated by @karen-guy: 07/22/15 11:42:11AM