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i wld like to share my dread journey.
i have tried everything, almost and am here to say that none of the methods or products were good for my dreads.
a friend backcombed my hair. not having any experience with this she back combed way too tight (from about 14" to 4") so what looked like dreads did not match the regrowth of that particular dread. so when the hair grew i had a fat dread on skinny regrowth. more on dealing with the breakages later by crotchet method ===== aaarrrgghhh
i believed hype about wax and knotty boy has a good website when u r researching these things. and the only shop in canberra where i live was an african hair salon and they only had knotty boy shampoo bar, conditioning spray and some other african hair conditioner. so i waxed dreads....over 2 years later the wax still works its way out of the dread and u can see white fluffy muck.. quite revolting,. i usually have to dismantle dread and remove wax. i have ordered some of this new wax off product and am going to try that to see how it works....
now as the dreads grew, as i said, the roots were thin compared to original backcombed portion, so i rubbed roots and palm rolled like mad. used loc peppa etc... i didnt think this helped much at all. so stopped using it.
then read about crotchet method of threading dread back thru root. i thought this might help make the dread tighter so i switched methods for 6 months and dread crotcheted. this is a radically different texture and look from normal dreads. like braiding...and dread got weak at the points where i changed method. the roots are tight with this method but it is bad bad bad. so now i have a section of dreads, the ones that survived...that is totally different from the rest of the dread.
then the word crotchet got me, and i read all the posts about repairing dreads with crotchet hook. i had so many thinned spots to fix. well the crotchet method i used is like felting. in and out in and out. from above weak spot and pull up...it thickens up thin part but breaks hairs and ultimately weakens spot even more.
these days i try not to do anything much to them. i still repair breaking parts with crotchet hook only cos i dont want to lose dreads. i may cut them off short and let the natural growth rule. havent decided yet
today im really stuggaling with my dreads. i twist and ripped my bangs yesterday, and then i decided i didnt want them dreaded today.. so i combed them out. buut then i couldnt stop. so i took out a couple more. and now im thinking i want to comb them all out. i got in the shower and put conditioner on my hair.. and now im just stuck. idk what i want and the reason i did this was to actually stick with it and grow and change. and now im trying to quit?! idk whats going on.. it doesnt make it any better that i come from a small town. its pretty country lol.. and my boyfriend doesnt like my dreads.. so he saw me combing some out and got really excited.. so now im just really confused.. ugh. i knew id do this to my self : (
Hey Guys n Gals of the dreadlockssite.
I'm new here and am looking for help. I've been really thinking about getting dreads for many years and in the last month or so I've decided there is no better time than the present. I know a handful of people with dreads and all of them used wax to create theirs. They look great but after reading up on the whole wax thing im quite unsure if I should use it in tiny tiny amount's or none at all.
Also what is the best way to prepare my hair. I intend to use the backcombing method to create the locks.
Any help that you guys can give me would be very much appreciated.
Thanks all
My dreads are almost a month old, and the search for the perfect way to wash them has been a little interesting. Baking soda, and bronners both leave my ends slippery and they unraveled half way up my hair. So I have been using trader joes tea tree bar soap, which I like. But I wonder if I could just rinse with hot water and scrub. I tried it this morning and my hair seems to be a lovely yet natural texture, and it dried super fast, when I was using shampoo and conditioner it could take all night to dry, and now, even with some small dready bits it only took an hour. I might try the same with my skin. I am definitely not down with stinking though, so that I'll update on that too.
Today, well the 19 of March, my dreads are 1 month old! Its exciting.
I do not notice how mine are progressing, but I have noticed a bit more loose hairs and loops, and I love the loops!
I will take some pictures after I go to sleep and wake up for the day I was just so excited that I had to post something now.
YAY!
Not really sure where to post this question, so here it is.
Currently, my hair is pretty fried--bleached a few times and dyed Lord knows how many. I've always had pretty oily hair, having to wash everyday. I was just wondering what things I could do to help prepare my hair and scalp for dreading.
Thanks so much! <3
Been poking around the site for about a week now, and figured I'd join. I haven't started my dreads yet but I'm SO excited to start!
My name is Jessica and I'm from the middle of nowhere, Wyoming. <3
The main reason I decided to go the natural route (w/ occasional seperation) for my locs is because for years I've worried about how other people will see me. I'm sick and tired of feeling nervous and anxious around strangers, friends, or even my family. Yeah, my mom complains about my hair, but you know what? Fuck it. I looked in the mirror today and saw my dreads finally looking like locs and I felt good. Yeah, maybe I shouldn't have done some twists in the middle, but I know everything will work out in the end. So I'm feeling good all around. :D
So I have a lot of thoughts about my hair/locks racing the last few days, I'm trying to recollect & organize them & get it all out.
I wish I hadn't dyed my hair. I absolutely love the color I got it to, but my roots are already showing & I don't want to keep up on the dyeing as my dreads continue to grow. I dyed it before I made the choice to dread, & it had been natural for at least 3 years before that, so long & I just finally messed it up, right before I would discover I didn't want to dye it again at all. Had I just waited another week. Now I'm debating what to do about the color since I don't want to keep on dyeing. Let it lock up & then once i have enough natural growth chop off the color? Will it look awful with my light roots & dark dreads? Should I just shave it off now & start from scratch? Will my dreads still be lumpy loopy & loveable if i cut so much off of them after they've formed? Would it be better if I started over now before I become attached to them? (Full of panicked questions aren't I?)
I got my liquid shampoo. It smells beautiful (nag champa, my fav!) A sample chunk of Dragons Blood. & some of the locking gel (since nothing is knotting yet). I waited for wash day, & when it came & I washed my hair was so fluffy & soft. But any definition I had of my sections was gone. I feel like no progress is ever being made. My sections shift & change, but no knots or loops happening. One of the reasons for switching to shampoo over bs/acv was henna fading. Baking soda strips color. I hadn't noticed any changes yet, but I didn't want the color I have to fade because it won't fade back to natural (unfortunately because that would solve a huge load of my issues) it will just fade to bright red. & as much as I love a good redhead, I do not make a good redhead. Well after 1 wash with the shampoo my color was lighter. More red, less brownish. I don't like it but I guess I don't mind. I am frustrated with the whole color situation & debating the razor anyways. I'll just let it keep fading, I won't be messing with the color anymore anyways. The shampoo kept my hair from getting oily next day (I was able to spread out my washes finally!) but it did dry out my head some & my hands a lot. I loved the smells, I wanted to eat my soap
My daughter slept on my wool pillowcase. In one night she had several matted knots in the back of her head. It took me all day to work through the mess. I want her hair. BAD. A month & a half I've been sleeping on that pillowcase, & not brushing my hair or conditioning. No knots. I brush & condition the heck outta her hair & bam! Crazy mess. I'm crazy jealous.
I had someone tell me nice hair, I had to choke on my laugh. I think she was talking about the color...no style or nice cut, no dreading, just an unbrushed flop. She knows me as a blonde normally.
I'm pretty sure there have been other ramblings, but it feels good to get these ones out of my crazy head. I'm not sure what my game plan is from here on out with my locks, I want them badly, but I want my natural hair again. I wish I hadn't screwed it up, & I wish my hair wasn't taking so long to knot up. It makes me hesitant for my original plan of "just grow them out, comb them out, cut off color & let them dread up naturally again", it just seems like it would take me ages.