Forum Activity for @kelsey-cliche

To Seperate or Not?

General Questions

It is completely up to you and your personal preference. I have split two larger dreads and I don't regret doing it. One I split early on into 3, and they dreaded up just as fast as the other ones. I combed it out starting at the tip, then tnr'd it into smaller sections. The other one I split more recently because the way it sat was painful. I loved how big and loopy it was, but it was irritating my scalp too much. I wear my hair tied back at work, though, so that could have also been bugging it. Just weigh the pros and cons.

2 Dread Theories

General Talk

I also have a drullet. Hehe. My hair is medium thickness and only a little wavy. I did bs/acv for about 9 months or so. I switched to shampoo and massage my scalp now, and I'm getting way more knotting. It could be a combo of things though...water type, hair type, etc.

Melatonin

Introduce Yourself

Worked for a while* bah autocorrect...

Melatonin

Introduce Yourself

From what I understand, melatonin should be used temporarily to help readjust your sleep pattern. Eventually you build up a tolerance and it takes more to work, which can be dangerous. Small doses of melatonin worked for me for a whole, but then I started getting side pain along with it, so I quit. Are you on any other meds? I would speak with your doctor about it to make sure they don't interfere or at least to make sure your dosage is safe. Also be careful with mixing alcohol or other depressants with sleep aids. Shutting off electronics an hour before bed, learning to meditate, or re-evaluating your room can help. I sleep so much better when I kick my fidgety, snoring dog out. Good luck!

How to cope with all the negativity?

Dreadlocks Journey Emotional Support

When I get comments about my hair or tattoos, I tell the person politely: "you don't have to like it." They really don't have to, and the reasons for my self image has nothing to do with pleasing them. It can be angering that people so readily give their negative opinion, but I'd rather not waste my time and energy being upset about it. I'm only concerned about what I and a few select people I trust think. I agree that confidence goes far!

Extremely dry, itchy scalp!

General Questions

Could you be reacting to something in the shampoo? Hopefully the oil helps!

question

Introduce Yourself

You can also eat foods rich in biotin. Off the top of my head, eggs, nuts, and leafy greens are.

would wraps help?

Dread Maintenance

Your hair looks great at 7 months! Much faster than me! I'm at 13 months and my hair is taking a long time to dread underneath. For me, switching up my shampoo & putting beads on the loose sections is encouraging knotting. I was doing BS/acv, but Trader Joes tea tree tingle + ACV rinse is working the best for my hair and water type. I've also found that gently backcombing near the top of the section before putting a bead on helps speed it along. Some would say that puts you back at day one, but it's worked for stubborn ones to at least start a loop. It's different for everyone. Good luck!

How tight are your roots?

General Questions

My more mature locks are about that tight also. I finally had to split a larger dread because any way I tied it back pulled on it too much. It can be painful!

New Locks

Introduce Yourself

My hair is about half dreaded, half loose. On my dreaded ones, most of my roots are locked almost completely to the scalp--I can maybe fit a finger through. I haven't done any maintenance other than separating. Shampoo will depend on your hair type, water type, and personal preference. I just bought Lush Seanik and I like it, but it seems a tiny bit too conditioning for me to use all the time. Maybe once a month. I've tried bronners and bs/ACV, but my favorite has been trader joes tea tree tingle shampoo and an ACV rinse. *shrug* so you may want to try a few and see what works for you.