Hello! My name is Meg, and Ive been lurking on here for quite a while, mostly because this is the only site that can actually give you REAL information about dreads without trying to sell you something or tell you to use wax. Well I have decided to dread my hair and I was going to use the backcombing method but thank jah my friends and I have put it off because we cant sit down for 12 hours. I was skeptical about the natural method bias on this form, but I think I may give it a try. I have stopped using conditioner for about a month and I stopped combing my hair. I am ready to dread up! But after reading all the forums I am still left with a few questions.Okay, so I have super curly hair, and after about a day of so with out brushing in the past I would have little dreads already forming. I was wondering at this point would I have any control over the size of my dreads? I dont want a uniformed look, but I dont want any super huge dreads either. I was also wondering if I do have any fatties growing if I could just rip them apart into two smaller dreads in the beginning.I also dont want to be walking around school or work with the same afro I have when I wake up in the morning. Is it alright to sometimes pull it back into a bun during the beginning? Or will that just set me back?Also, about how long does it take for your hair to lookwell dreaded. I know that dreads change and mature over time, but when will I have a full head of baby dreads?I would really like to go with the natural method but I dont want it to take a long time. A few people I have talked too have said their hair has take over a year to become completely dreaded. I know every bodys hair is different but I would feel a lot better going into this knowing about other peoples dread journey. If its going to take longer then a few months, I would rather go with the t&r method to start it and then let them do their thing from there.
updated by @flicker-wings: 02/14/15 05:31:18AM
I have quite a few questions about the natural method.
Super Curly hair is awesome for the natural method. You can do what is called ripping to control the size of your dreads. It helps and is less painful to do in the shower. It does take a while for them to look like dreads, like 8 months to a year to look awesome. But so do backcombed and t&r, I would say that going the natural way is the least damaging to your hair/scalp. When my dreaded I noticed they dreaded from the back of my head to the front.
yea i am in the same boat as you except that i have super straight hair and its kinda annoying to let have to wait but i mean you would have to wait anyway for them to mature.
yep, Nicks right,I actually thought exactly what you thought, (if you go natural you'd end up with a few giant locks)if you separate them right you never have to worry about that, i forget who it was (D maybe?) his were natural and he has over 100locksso I ended up going with backcombing instead, (Knowing what i do now, I woulda gone T&R or natural instead)T&R is a good alternative though, or you could go natural a few months, T&R what doesn't seem to be locking, w/e you feel is right for you,and yep you tie them back while they are locking, just let them down when you can.
As much as I would like to go the natural way, I am not comfortable walking around with my fuzy curly fro for eight months. I would be much comfortable walking around wih a head full of baby dreads using the t&r method. Thank you all for your input. I already have 3 dreads that I've had for about 6 months that have been matureing nicely. So I'm looking foreward to having a whole head of them. I'm gonna get started on my new ones tonight.Be easyMeg
Hey Meg,I used the Twist and Rip method, and it took almost 2 weeks for me to finish my whole head. It's a tedious process, and your fingertips will hurt, and you will be sick to death of having your arms over your head. I did the work myself, because I didn't like the way it came out when my girlfriend worked on themHere's what I learned for myself: twist and rip dreads, formed improperly, can come out stiff, lumpy, and looking like braids. I T&Red my hair pretty tight, hoping it would make the locks last longer. If you're going to do it this way, take your time, and accept that most of your work will be lost. Most of my T&R dreads came almost entirely undone in a couple weeks, except for the last inch or so of knotting near the scalp. This means that my hair is sectioned the way I want it, but it is dreading itself.I have straight hair, so T&R might be more effective for you, but I suggest that you T&R loosely to section your hair and encourage tangles. You're not making dreads, just setting your head up for a more presentable process.I find that tying my hair back when I need to look less messy (work) is a good solution.Final thought: Don't torture your scalp trying to press the knots all the way to your head. Leave at least an inch of loose hair, or you won't see any natural dreading until your hair grows out more.
Oh man! So many questions, but such good ones!We can help!Welcome, btw. Lovely to see you here, dear.Great start; no longer using conditioner and no longer combing! What I did (and it worked well, my dreads are about 2 months old and already very well defined) is I started washing my hair with plain Dove bar soap. You want to use something with as little oils in it as possible so that the soap can strip your hair of oils allowing your hair to have the correct texture to lock up tighter and faster. I also wear a wool dread tam or hat, which I sleep in to help my little hairs that haven't found their dread to pull themselves together using the static electricity from the wool.As for sectioning, I found that my hair went into the locks that it wanted to be in without my help. I think that you should let your hair section itself, and after a while you'll want to go through and do some maintainance by pulling appart the sections that have gravitated that seem to be loose in between. believe me, you'll be much happier about how your hair looks and how your hair sits on your scalp if you try to let it go as natural as possible. Here's a pic of the back of my head right now so that you can see for yourself how naturally dreading has helped the back of my head stay tidy and comfortable. 
Having let my locks piece out naturally, all of my locks are different sizes, but they're all the right size. I pulled some of mine appart at first, and now I'm having to combine them again, just because it didn't look right. Most likely they won't be super huge, so you really shouldn't worry.I tried to leave my hair down as much as possible when I first started mine because the hair needs to be able to move in order to lock up. I suggest getting the dread tam if you'd like to hide your hair away for a little while, but it is ok to put it up in a pony tail if you need to every once in a while. Try not to wear it up too much because it may cause the dreaded uni-dread (or beaver tail) or start to wear a thin spot into your dreads (no bueno).You should have baby dreads pretty early on because of your hair type. Curly hair dreads up nice, girl, especially natural. You don't need to twist and rip either, you should be able to just palm roll your locks once they start forming and they'll look real nice real soon.I hope that I could help!Good luck, mama. I'm sure they'll be gorgeous!~Peace&Love~jaimee
Having let my locks piece out naturally, all of my locks are different sizes, but they're all the right size. I pulled some of mine appart at first, and now I'm having to combine them again, just because it didn't look right. Most likely they won't be super huge, so you really shouldn't worry.I tried to leave my hair down as much as possible when I first started mine because the hair needs to be able to move in order to lock up. I suggest getting the dread tam if you'd like to hide your hair away for a little while, but it is ok to put it up in a pony tail if you need to every once in a while. Try not to wear it up too much because it may cause the dreaded uni-dread (or beaver tail) or start to wear a thin spot into your dreads (no bueno).You should have baby dreads pretty early on because of your hair type. Curly hair dreads up nice, girl, especially natural. You don't need to twist and rip either, you should be able to just palm roll your locks once they start forming and they'll look real nice real soon.I hope that I could help!Good luck, mama. I'm sure they'll be gorgeous!~Peace&Love~jaimee
I wasn't going to do it the natural way in the beginning, but now that I have started my dready journey, I'm so glad that I did. I have super curly hair too, so I know where you're coming from. Yeah you're hair doesn't look too good for awhile, but you get used to it. You grow with your dreads, you really do. And it feels really good not to have every day be a battle with my hair. To dress up for work, I use a flat iron on unruly ends, and my hairs still locking up fine. I wear it up almost everyday and that helps with the curly fro business. It's totally up to you, but natural is totally worth it if you ask me.
This honestly made me decided on all natural. thank you. much love Jammin' Jay said:
Oh man! So many questions, but such good ones!
We can help!
Welcome, btw. Lovely to see you here, dear.
Great start; no longer using conditioner and no longer combing! What I did (and it worked well, my dreads are about 2 months old and already very well defined) is I started washing my hair with plain Dove bar soap. You want to use something with as little oils in it as possible so that the soap can strip your hair of oils allowing your hair to have the correct texture to lock up tighter and faster. I also wear a wool dread tam or hat, which I sleep in to help my little hairs that haven't found their dread to pull themselves together using the static electricity from the wool.
As for sectioning, I found that my hair went into the locks that it wanted to be in without my help. I think that you should let your hair section itself, and after a while you'll want to go through and do some maintainance by pulling appart the sections that have gravitated that seem to be loose in between. believe me, you'll be much happier about how your hair looks and how your hair sits on your scalp if you try to let it go as natural as possible. Here's a pic of the back of my head right now so that you can see for yourself how naturally dreading has helped the back of my head stay tidy and comfortable.
Having let my locks piece out naturally, all of my locks are different sizes, but they're all the right size. I pulled some of mine appart at first, and now I'm having to combine them again, just because it didn't look right. Most likely they won't be super huge, so you really shouldn't worry.
I tried to leave my hair down as much as possible when I first started mine because the hair needs to be able to move in order to lock up. I suggest getting the dread tam if you'd like to hide your hair away for a little while, but it is ok to put it up in a pony tail if you need to every once in a while. Try not to wear it up too much because it may cause the dreaded uni-dread (or beaver tail) or start to wear a thin spot into your dreads (no bueno).
You should have baby dreads pretty early on because of your hair type. Curly hair dreads up nice, girl, especially natural. You don't need to twist and rip either, you should be able to just palm roll your locks once they start forming and they'll look real nice real soon.
I hope that I could help!
Good luck, mama. I'm sure they'll be gorgeous!
~Peace&Love~
jaimee
I feel you've made the right decision, for you and your hair. Have a good journey and Love your locks, namaste' Flicker Wings said:
This honestly made me decided on all natural. thank you. much love
Jammin' Jay said:Oh man! So many questions, but such good ones!
We can help!
Welcome, btw. Lovely to see you here, dear.
Great start; no longer using conditioner and no longer combing! What I did (and it worked well, my dreads are about 2 months old and already very well defined) is I started washing my hair with plain Dove bar soap. You want to use something with as little oils in it as possible so that the soap can strip your hair of oils allowing your hair to have the correct texture to lock up tighter and faster. I also wear a wool dread tam or hat, which I sleep in to help my little hairs that haven't found their dread to pull themselves together using the static electricity from the wool.
As for sectioning, I found that my hair went into the locks that it wanted to be in without my help. I think that you should let your hair section itself, and after a while you'll want to go through and do some maintainance by pulling appart the sections that have gravitated that seem to be loose in between. believe me, you'll be much happier about how your hair looks and how your hair sits on your scalp if you try to let it go as natural as possible. Here's a pic of the back of my head right now so that you can see for yourself how naturally dreading has helped the back of my head stay tidy and comfortable.
Having let my locks piece out naturally, all of my locks are different sizes, but they're all the right size. I pulled some of mine appart at first, and now I'm having to combine them again, just because it didn't look right. Most likely they won't be super huge, so you really shouldn't worry.
I tried to leave my hair down as much as possible when I first started mine because the hair needs to be able to move in order to lock up. I suggest getting the dread tam if you'd like to hide your hair away for a little while, but it is ok to put it up in a pony tail if you need to every once in a while. Try not to wear it up too much because it may cause the dreaded uni-dread (or beaver tail) or start to wear a thin spot into your dreads (no bueno).
You should have baby dreads pretty early on because of your hair type. Curly hair dreads up nice, girl, especially natural. You don't need to twist and rip either, you should be able to just palm roll your locks once they start forming and they'll look real nice real soon.
I hope that I could help!
Good luck, mama. I'm sure they'll be gorgeous!
~Peace&Love~
jaimee
