Forum Activity for @little-wing

How to separate dreadlocks when they are tight?

Dread Maintenance

Thank you very much!.

Well, I've been just cutting connecting hairs twice. I try to separate each time I wash my head, but I think I don't get at all the producedure. To me is like each time I wash the dreads, they really try hard to become congos.

So, not necessarily they have to be completely separated from one another?. Maybe I can take some pictures for you to see.

I started the journey with dreads between medium and pinky size, chest lenght, and now all the hair had shrunk over my shoulders. But I think, despite the cutting i've done, still have good size in my roots.

Thanks for the advices. I'm gonna try not to cut the connecting hairs.

How to separate dreadlocks when they are tight?

Dread Maintenance

Hello

I was wondering about how to separate dreadlocks when they are tight already.

I am only on my third month and well, I pretty much don't know much about. I'm gonna tell you the way I've done it (don't know if I'm doing well), but if you read this, would be lovely to share some information.

When all my roots get super messy after shower, seems like my dreadlocks want to get together, so... what I've done is to rip off the connecting hairs... when the dreads were loose, I was able to rip hair by hair, complete, without breaking it (I don't know if this is ok).

But now I have more tight dreads, and when my roots start to connect, I just try to losen the hairs a bit (now some are so tight to the point that I just can't take off hairs of them), so when they are the more losen I can get, I cut those hairs and just let them be part of all the hair flow (maybe in the future will become part of the dread, I don't know, because some are already too tight). Sometimes in the process of losen those hairs they break (also don't know if I have to take more care about this).

And also the process for me hurts a bit, but I try to be really careful on not pulling my hair too much, that's why It takes ages to me to separate.

But well, on this month, I have my dreads separated from one another but also with lots of losen hairs (you can take a look in my pictures if you want).

I just wanna know if I'm doing well, and to share advices. Sometimes I look my hair (comparing it with those tidy dreads I've seen around here), and I look like a homeless pretty much, with all messy hair and you barely can notice dread shapes. I don't care that much about the tidy looking fact, but sometimes I just don't know if I'm on the right way.

Well, take care!. Hope you can share knowledge. And sorry about my bad english, it's not my mother language, hehe.

updated by @little-wing: 01/13/15 09:30:29PM

Sussis T&R timeline 3 years

Member Journals and Timelines

They look great!. Why do you use the rubber bands?, for keeping certain shape?. Mine are getting quite funny shapes, I have one with a kind of circular tip, another one split in two tips, another one has blunt tip but also a whispy tip (two in one, really weird). And also I have looooot of loose hairs. Mine are already tight, but I don't know how tight is enough; some are really really compact, so I don't know if my loose hair is gonna join to them.

Actually I left some side bags loose, and believe me, I haven't brushed them and they just don't knot. I believe my hair is just not meant to know naturally

Sometimes I think about brush them out, I'm about to have 6 months and they look super messy. But then I come to your timeline and see how you embrace the stages and how patient you are and I think about keep going.

Yours look so cool!.

Sussis T&R timeline 3 years

Member Journals and Timelines

Wow!, really nice progress!.

I think mine look kinda the same, but a bit frizzy because I started them with crochet.

introducing myself

Introduce Yourself

Also dreadheadhq made me itchy and also dandruff. I got used to that until I finished the bottle. The only thing is true is that I felt my dreads a bit tighter. Also been using another shampoo but I'm almost sure I'm starting having problems with mold or mildew. I'm about to switch to acv and baking soda as soon as I can find vinegar here.

So I think you are making a wise choice.

My Journey From Waxy Salon Dreads to My NOW Wax-Free Natural Dreads!

salon and loctician dreads recovery

They look super cool!

It's not a race

Introduce Yourself

Well, I loved this entrance. I just wished I found dreadlockssite before getting dreadlocks done. Actually, before even get them done, I did a bit of research about methods and so on, and read already that putting strange things on the head was not a good idea, so thought that crochet or backcomb it was not thaaaaat bad, since was "natural".

I had to experience myself that even doing that kind of methods was a bad idea (at least for me), I can't tell about everyone else, since I think it depends on lots of factors but most important is probably the type of hair. At least from the girl I read who had her dreads crocheted after 3 or 4 years of having them, to my eyes they looked good, so I kinda trusted in the method... But afterwards I read she wrote she got them from time to time "fix" on salons (thing I never did, I just got them crocheted once and that's it).

My dreads started "nice", but as Baba wrote, after washings and time they changed a lot (you might see some timeline I still have on my profile page), some roots got thin, dreads got on my opinion overly compacted I could barely bend them, major shrinkage, my hair in general looked like a rat nest... So, because I didn't know if they would sometime recover from that, I decided to comb them out. After combing out my 6 months and a half dreadlocks, I found my hair damaged so I decided to cut everything short... I even thought about shave my head at some point.

Now, after 2 years, my hair has grown again... And because of some changed happening in my life and so... I decided to start a new journey, this time... freeform. I don't even care now about the time it's gonna take me.

I think, if I let my hair just do its thing and dread on its pace, it's gonna grow healthy and happy dreads. This journey is gonna teach me patience. I think is gonna teach me lot of things, to be true to myself, to see myself in the mirror beyond the hair appeareance and that I have to embrace them in all the stages. I maybe can't call it a spiritual journey, or maybe I can... I don't know, but what is true is that is gonna challenge myself, make me realise lot of things about myself and perhaps my environment, I don't know. For that reason, I want this journey now... Back then I guess I "got them" from the wrong reason and maybe that's why I had to comb them out so now I would be able to have a fresh start.

I guess people can do whatever they want with their hair. If I have the chance to spread the knowledge I now have, I do it... If they wanna listen and take advice, is nice, if not... then is their choice.

I think after all that's all about. And now I think I kinda understand better the deep reasons lot of people have with their dreads, the connection with them and all... And it's really a journey that every single person who grows dreadlocks for sure learns valuable lessons.

Did Dr. Bronner's Undo My One Month Neglect Progress?

Dreads Hair and Scalp Health

Hey!I am wondering something like that now. I am on the 5th week of freeforming and I've been progressing really slow. I did't used to have so "moisturised" hair before, my tendency was kinda little bit to dry. So I guess, Dr Bronner's have made my hair somehow oily and somehow is making the process slower. I think I'm gonna change shampoo for a week to see how it goes. I see the sections, yeah, but I haven't form any single knot yet. :/

dreadlocks crochet recovery timeline

Saved Dreads Success Stories

Wow!, I'm amazed about the look of your locs this days!. They look amazing.

I am just about to have my fifth month and started with crochet. Haven't done anything since then and I'm wonder how they are gonna look at the end. I hope good.

And yep, looking at your pictures it gives us lot of hope!.

DIY Infused oils and teas for hair, skin and medicine :)

Dread Maintenance

I think I wanna try the infusions. I feel like in between washes, if I put essential oils on my scalp, it smells great for some moment but later the same oil kinda becomes funky.
I really like to put essential oils on my bs, but also I've noticed that even by adding some drops, my hair gets extremely conditioned, and I wanna avoid that since it's been hard for me to knot.
Also I was thinking about using extracts, but I read the ingredients and it's not good idea since they use vegetable oils and I guess they might get rancid.
I was thinking about infusions but I don't know for how long the smell would be hold.