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dread gurusPermalink Reply by ☮ soaring eagle ॐ on May 1, 2010 at 1:17pm

haha totaly

and heres the thing too..
people who backcomb theyre dreading experience is way different
day 1 pain pain pain for hours and hours followed by pride they can show off theyre goofy looking sideshow bob "dreads"

day 2 pannic.. help my dreads are____ (falling apart getting fuzzy becoming loose looping flattening getting bumps etc)

week 1 disgust: omg my dreads arent dreads anymore im concidering___ (crochet wax salons..basicly screwing them up)


eventualy (if they resist and learn patience) wow my dreads dreaded..


natural experience
day 1 wow my hairs not doing much but im loving what theyre doing and im loving not having to do anything
day 2 : wow its doing something i dont know what its doing yet but i love watching it do it
dat 2 already see something happening its so exciting
week 1 its messy but i see sectioning going on and starting to get knotty
week 2 therers loops and lumps and all kinds of craziness going on its so amazing and exciting
eventualy wow i love how unique my dreads are and how easy it was to dread..



i wouldnt ever go any other way but natural..its all about the journey not the destination..
either way u go u will arive at dreads..so why not enjoy the ride?

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Permalink Reply by Jessica Reyes on May 1, 2010 at 1:25pm

amen to that brotha, amen...lol
I never tried any other methods, but the backcombing thing seems to just turn out to be natural anyway cuz when they come out...it's like back to where they started, and actually it seems like (especially my hair) that the backcombing actually STALLED the dreading process cuz now they have to all come undone in order to dread in a way that makes them ACTUALLY STAY. lol. I definitely would have had some more progress by now if I just had left em alone. lol. It's all good though, it's working out, just gotta continue patience...

☮soaringeagleॐ said:

haha totaly

and heres the thing too..
people who backcomb theyre dreading experience is way different
day 1 pain pain pain for hours and hours followed by pride they can show off theyre goofy looking sideshow bob "dreads"

day 2 pannic.. help my dreads are____ (falling apart getting fuzzy becoming loose looping flattening getting bumps etc)

week 1 disgust: omg my dreads arent dreads anymore im concidering___ (crochet wax salons..basicly screwing them up)


eventualy (if they resist and learn patience) wow my dreads dreaded..


natural experience
day 1 wow my hairs not doing much but im loving what theyre doing and im loving not having to do anything
day 2 : wow its doing something i dont know what its doing yet but i love watching it do it
dat 2 already see something happening its so exciting
week 1 its messy but i see sectioning going on and starting to get knotty
week 2 therers loops and lumps and all kinds of craziness going on its so amazing and exciting
eventualy wow i love how unique my dreads are and how easy it was to dread..



i wouldnt ever go any other way but natural..its all about the journey not the destination..
either way u go u will arive at dreads..so why not enjoy the ride?

• ▶ Reply

dread gurusPermalink Reply by ☮ soaring eagle ॐ on May 1, 2010 at 1:42pm

well actualy backcombing does more then nothing, it permanently damages hair

every hair on your heads covered in scale like follicles that are normaly combed flat that protect the weaker shaft beneath the scales when you backcomb your peeling these follicles up exposing the weaker shaft and sometimes breaking them off (and sometimes ripping hair right out at the scalp too)
the follicles pealed up are like kicking off roof shingles a roof with missing shingles will leak and cause more damage to the entire roof structure.
in very light 80's style backcombing just to create vollume this would cause split ends that needed trimming often (theres no way to repair the damage it is permenant)

backcombing to make dreads is way more damaging because its way more agressive

Jessica Reyes said:

amen to that brotha, amen...lol
I never tried any other methods, but the backcombing thing seems to just turn out to be natural anyway cuz when they come out...it's like back to where they started, and actually it seems like (especially my hair) that the backcombing actually STALLED the dreading process cuz now they have to all come undone in order to dread in a way that makes them ACTUALLY STAY. lol. I definitely would have had some more progress by now if I just had left em alone. lol. It's all good though, it's working out, just gotta continue patience...

☮soaringeagleॐ said:

haha totaly

and heres the thing too..
people who backcomb theyre dreading experience is way different
day 1 pain pain pain for hours and hours followed by pride they can show off theyre goofy looking sideshow bob "dreads"

day 2 pannic.. help my dreads are____ (falling apart getting fuzzy becoming loose looping flattening getting bumps etc)

week 1 disgust: omg my dreads arent dreads anymore im concidering___ (crochet wax salons..basicly screwing them up)


eventualy (if they resist and learn patience) wow my dreads dreaded..


natural experience
day 1 wow my hairs not doing much but im loving what theyre doing and im loving not having to do anything
day 2 : wow its doing something i dont know what its doing yet but i love watching it do it
dat 2 already see something happening its so exciting
week 1 its messy but i see sectioning going on and starting to get knotty
week 2 therers loops and lumps and all kinds of craziness going on its so amazing and exciting
eventualy wow i love how unique my dreads are and how easy it was to dread..



i wouldnt ever go any other way but natural..its all about the journey not the destination..
either way u go u will arive at dreads..so why not enjoy the ride?

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jessica Reyes on May 1, 2010 at 1:45pm

Wow, damaging?
Oh man, even more reaosn to forget the idea...
AND YES I HAVE HEARD OF BURNING and it doesn't sound too crazy...lol

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dread gurusPermalink Reply by ☮ soaring eagle ॐ on May 1, 2010 at 1:58pm

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&ar...

backcombing damage closeup pics

normal undamaged hair

2nd 1 is normal for adults shows the scale like paterns more clearly


now backcombing damaged hair

(this is from light backcombing only (2nd) 1st is more like the damage youd expect from agressive dreading type backcombing)

on that page rtheres also chemical and perm damage and heat damage examples

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Permalink Reply by Mr. Nickel on May 1, 2010 at 5:22pm

I will have to agree with knottysleeves on this one--though I am by no means an expert. I just feel that my hair is naturally resistant to the intitial conditions required to dread. I have very straight hair and it gets oily, quickly. I used a normal shampoo before I wanted dreads but I never combed and I never had tangles, even after sleeping on it for hours. I used to hike, alot, also. I've done 2 week, 3 week trips and my hair was just the same afterwards.

I've only started a couple weeks ago, today, and some of my hair is loosening, quite a bit, actually, but I am already seeing tiny progress in the stuff that somewhat held together.

Those pictures are crazy, Soaring. I didn't know backcombing could be so damaging, but I didn't do it too hard, so I shouldn't have too much damage I don't think.

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Permalink Reply by Jessica Reyes on May 3, 2010 at 9:08am

Yes to start it definitely sections hair greatly...
Perhaps I mightve done mine wrong, either way I feel now I'm going to have to not only wait for them to dread, but first UNRAVEL, lol...oh wellz...lol
And wow those pics are NUTS!!!

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Permalink Reply by Jack Roth on May 3, 2010 at 9:47am

i backcombed my hair with no regrets and guess what ? it worked really well :)

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Permalink Reply by Iain on May 3, 2010 at 12:57pm

everyone's hair is gonna react a differently to each method, generally I think that the easier it is to tease hair or the curlier it is can have a lot to do with how well it works initially, no matter what though they (as in starter methods) all go through the same phase of loosening and doing things such as SE mentioned that will cause anyone to "Freak Out"

Hell I did, haha :P

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Permalink Reply by Sarah Cadario on August 14, 2010 at 2:40pm

Did it dread tho?

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Permalink Reply by Jeffree Vega. on August 14, 2010 at 3:37pm

I agree with this

I backcombed my hair to start and have had no problems at all. Like knottysleeves, I did it slowly and gently, taking four days all in, and not one of my dreads came undone.

I've also loved my journey. Watching every loop form, each dread going like a zig zag. It's watching them tighten, mature and turn into true dreads that is the best part of the whole experience. 

Yes, backcombing doesn't work for everyone and people will do what they want with their hair, but for some, it is just as rewarding as going natural

Knottysleeves said:

Well, I backcombed both my sets and have no regrets. It was the right decision for me. For my second set, I tried three months of patience/natural and barely had a single knot on my head... I wasn't prepared to wait another 3 or 6 months, so I gave up and backcombed. It was just the start my hair needed, and it started dreading up almost immediately. The trick with backcombing is to do it gently, slowly, and tightly so the tangles stay together. If it hurts, you're doing it wrong! Yes, damage can occur if you backcomb too aggressively -- but you shouldn't be hacking away with the comb. Damage is minimal if you do it properly. Yes, some parts will unravel before they dread up again, this is totally normal because your hair is shifting around as it learns how to knot, just like with any other dreading method.

Backcombing is good for forcing your hair into sections (if that's what you want) and getting the process started, but it's only a START. It's not "making dreads overnight" or anything like that. It's not for everyone, but it can be a great help for some hair types if done properly.

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Permalink Reply by Makaila on August 14, 2010 at 4:38pm

My friend backcombed my hair for me and its dreading pretty nicely. I can feel knots forming, loops, etc. The backcombing didnt hurt me at all, and it took about only a couple of hours for my whole head. And like knottysleeves, i was doing it to force them into sections- not to have overnight wanna be dreads.

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