Forum Activity for @jxhippielovinpeace

Thinking about getting dreads in a salon but the process is so expensive?

General Questions

Ayy. Actually, if your hair is naturally nappy ("african-type" hair), it should only take about 6-8 months. I have the opposite type of hair (which IS supposed to take about a FULL YEAR, plus some probably) to lock and also mature. I'm pretty sure it also depends on how often you wash, what you use, etc. I wouldn't make generalizations (time wise especially) like that.

Baba Fats said:

Nappy is what you want. That's how they start out. it takes, on average, a full year for locks to mature. You do have to separate the sections, though. Otherwise it'll just knot into 1 giant lock. So separate them into the size sections you want your locks to be. Ignore how big the section of hair looks. Focus on the root section size. When your locks mature, they will be that size. 1 inch sections is typically the largest most people want. Any bigger and you run into drying time problems.

vinegar alternative question [& natural living changes sharing :o]

Dreads Hair and Scalp Health

No problem!I took down all my mirrors, even though my house was* dark, for a number of reasons. Wanting to needing to see my image was definitely not the only reason. But in regards to seeing ones image and the mirror I see myself, and I'm SUPER critical.. but anyway,

First of all, I wanted to make vanity as hard as possible to struggle against (or easy to win the battle with.. if that makes sense). Then, along with this challenge and decision I realized how unnecessary mirrors are when you are trying to eliminate the other things in life keeping you vain (vain in an outward way). I stopped wearing makeup almost altogether. I also stopped becoming so self critical. When there is no mirror there is little option to edit yourself.. we don't need to. This was SO hard for me at first but what it boiled down to (and what the struggle continues to boil down to) is the question (for me anyway) "are you gonna believe the lies that satan tells you, or that the world tells you, about not being good enough? Or, are you gonna trust that you were created fearfully and wonderfully, and admit that when you edit yourself you are editing a creation of God, who is greater than you, and who loves you?" another question I let my mind ask my consciousness is "you are beautiful, why do you need a mirror to confirm or challenge this fact? Why are you giving your appearance a say when it comes to how beautiful or confident you are as a person?" Lastly, I really realized that until recently, people didn't have mirrors (unless they were rich).. so there's no need for them. I don't need more light than light-colored/painted walls, some windows sun-light, getting up earlier, and spending more time outside can give me. At night or when it's darker, I don't need to have tons and tons of light, I can make life more romantic and light some candles I also, have sprouted a great appreciation for art. The space that mirrors take up on my walls can be replaced with lots and lots of art (not that I had very many mirrors anyway). I'm learning to make tapestries, water color, sketch, oil paint, and am gonna use the space to display some of my film photography.

Cheers,

JX

endless answer, but that's why I got rid of them. It's been worth it, trust me It's a fun challenge even if it's temporary.

*"was" past tense because I just moved to a lovely new home with LOTS AND LOTS of light.

the Barrellady said:

Sorry, this is a little off topic. You took down all your hanging mirrors, just wondering why? My living room has 7, kitchen has a 4x8 foot, same as bathroom-plus 1 above sink, hallway has 3, dining room has 1, this is just on them main floor. I love bright rooms and these mirrors bounce the sunlight all around.

I don't wear makeup, can get ready to go out within 5 minutes or however long it takes to throw on jeans, so the mirrors are definitely not an image thing, nothing would be further from the truth.

Mirrors can be used for other things than admiring ones image.....Peace

vinegar alternative question [& natural living changes sharing :o]

Dreads Hair and Scalp Health

I did. Thank you!!

taye said:

Stop with the salt. Salt isextremely drying. You should never ever use salt in your shampoo. It is ok to spray a very very diluted sea salt water mixture on your hair a few hours before you wash...but keep it off your scalp.

vinegar alternative question [& natural living changes sharing :o]

Dreads Hair and Scalp Health

muchas gracias love! yes, I cold head rinse if I'm rinsing at all (but mostly because I try to close off my pores with cold at the end of a shower.. good to know this helps the scalp too!

Kato said:

hi there, its so good to hear people making positive green choices!
if you hate the smell of the acv you could try putting essential oil of lavender and rosemary, i fi d this combination great for soothing and makes the smell alot better.
peace and blessings to you.

vinegar alternative question [& natural living changes sharing :o]

Dreads Hair and Scalp Health

TOTALLY. VERY VERY VERY therapeutic for me. Awesome to see you've discovered this too (before me lol).

Baba Fats said:

I just like taking down mirrors because it completely prevents you from seeing what your locks look like at any given time. You can't just walk up to one and look, and you can't accidently catch yourself in one. To me, it's theroputic to not be able to see myself. Plus I'm just creeped out by mirrors. It's my pet peeve

vinegar alternative question [& natural living changes sharing :o]

Dreads Hair and Scalp Health

I definitely know what ya mean, regarding the sudden surprise of shop window reflections. Luckily I don't have to deal with those too much any more, now that I live in a very beautiful, mountainous, rural area. It's going well though!! :D My scalp NO LONGER HAS ANY SORES!! Ignoring my dreads in now this much easier. TRUE TRUE neglect is working WONDERS for me

Noodle-Doo said:

It's been a few weeks now. How's it going, JX? Any better? Sore scalp is nasty, it's so hard to leave it alone...

That thing about mirrors was interesting. I really like to see what my hair's been doing, coz I think it's so much fun when it changes. Remember the first time my shadow looked like it had locks instead of my old hair, I was like "who-hoo!". And if I suddenly see myself in a shop window, it always surprises me that I've got little dreads now. Ever noticed how seeing yourself by accident is a different experience, like you see yourself as other people do, or something? It's fun seeing how people have different views on things like that. I used to hate mirrors, too, and kept a towel over it unless I needed it to shave or whatever.

vinegar alternative question [& natural living changes sharing :o]

Dreads Hair and Scalp Health

Oh my word! Thank you all for the numerous replies/sharing wisdom/partaking in this discussion (or perhaps "debacle" of mine).

Update, since it's been a while since I posted this:

Against the advice of most, I have pretty much stopped washing my hair. I actually did a few hours ago today, because I felt it was time to, but I essentially didn't wash my dreads or scalp since I posted this however long ago it was. I actually realized HOW dry my scalp was, once I stopped washing and it actually healed. No more dandruff. No problems.

Cutting down to washing 1-2x per week (which is how much I've been showering anyway) helped. But since then I've cut down further and stopped washing my dreads (and only wash my scalp really every 3 weeks (maybe 4 weeks?).Honestly, I can't tell you how much it's helped me.

I cut out using anything other than a TINY bit of dr. Bronners and a few sprinkles of baking soda (and of course water). When it's gotten irritated (which is RARE now that I've stopped washing, or "over-washing"for me that is).

I plan on giving my dreads a good wash (with liquid dr. bronners and BS) every few months. I try to keep my head out of the water in the shower as much as possible but have just been rinsing my scalp and hair about 1x a week.I work on a farm and little specks of dirt do appear from time to time on my scalp (oddly though, not typically IN/ON my dreads). When this happens I kinda rub them off, pick them out, as best I can, then rinse that night.

Hope I answered all your questions, or responded in ways that might be helpful to you! Thanks again for replying to this forum.

Best,

MC (or JX)

vinegar alternative question [& natural living changes sharing :o]

Dreads Hair and Scalp Health

Lol. Actually I never DID do the volcano experiment in MS I was home schooled and my experiments mostly involved observing the natural environment surrounding me/collecting twigs and leaves/growing plants! I will use ACV penultimately, before resorting to a no-wash "routine". Thanks for all your help Baba.

Baba Fats said:

NEVER mix BS and ACV together. that's probably the biggest problem, and mostdefinitelywhy your scalp would bleed. BS and ACV mixed together create a lot of heat. If you ever made volcanos in middel school, you mix BS and vinegar. It foams, fizzes, and gets hot. This will completely fry your scalp. The BS should be rinsed off WELL with plain water before you do the ACV rinse.

vinegar alternative question [& natural living changes sharing :o]

Dreads Hair and Scalp Health

haha thank you I'm very grateful for the motivation that has appeared in my heart.

I will definitely give that a go, especially since that is the easiest/most convenient thing to try (and no, haven't tried just simply doing that yet!).

muchas gracias!

Noodle-Doo said:

That's great that you're happy with the positive changes to your lifestyle!

It seems like your scalp is reacting badly to something you're putting on it. Have you tried washing with just diluted Bronners, without adding anything to it? I found that to be really conditioning, it might help with the dry scalp. If you make it as simple as possible, with less ingredients, then change it 1 thing at a time you can work out what is upsetting your skin. May take a while to settle down, though.

vinegar alternative question [& natural living changes sharing :o]

Dreads Hair and Scalp Health

Awesome!! Thank you so much

Tim said:

There is a South Indian washing recipe on here somewhere. It involves besan flour (chick pea) and coconut oil etc. Just search in the little box above. Just a thought.

peace and blessings

tim