Hi! New dreads and a couple questions.

Hey everybody! Im Ben. I just did my dreads yesterday. I decided on dreads almost 5 years ago. Did a little research, bought a kit from DreadHeadHQ, and thank goodness just left it sit and never used it. Here I am almost 5 years later and i'm tired of my boring straight hair, considering cutting it all off. Regain my interest in dreads and decide to go for it. Thankfully I did more research and did not use the old kit. I did use the DreadHeadHQ shampoo but thats all. After that I did twist and rip with no products. I was very concerned because my hair is super thinning and my hairline is receding and I just didn't know if it was gonna work out. I think it turned out good and i'm very happy with them. Now, my loose hairs are pretty crazy. I'm just concerned that with the amount of loose hairs I have, they are bound to grow into the dreads that aren't in that section. How bad is that really going to end up being for me? Also, is there any shampoo that I can buy from certain stores that is recommended? I just don't really want to have to order my shampoo online. That is last resort. I know there is a store in my area that used to sell to salons only but now its open to the public and they have tons of stuff. If there is any brand or store where its located that you can point me to I would be very greatful. Thanks!

updated by @ben-dro: 01/13/15 09:56:40PM

hello & welcome!

I'm glad you found this website before you used that kit!

Don't worry about the loose hairs, they will eventually join into the surrounding dreads. You just have to keep up on separating them, because you don't want them to turn into congos. It's best to separate after a shower, it hurts less..

And as for the shampoo, you can find Dr. Bronner's soap at walmart, I think or at any health store near you. Works great as long as you don't have hard water.

Hope this helped :D

if u use bronners dilute it 12 times more waterthen soap if u got hard water use www.dreadlockshampoo.com

u can also use baking soda and acv (not mixed together)

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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

When my girlfriend did TNR, her sections kinda rearranged themselves however they wanted. It was real sketchy lookin at first, like it would just be on huge tangle mess, but once she got a little more length on it the loopiness settled down and dreads were forming perfectly. As far as dreadlock shampoo, just cuz it says it's for dreadlocks doesn't mean it's good for them. Definitely avoid sodium lauryl sulfate (or anything that sounds similar), fragrances should be essential oils, if it just says fragrance, that's another way of saying, we don't want you to know what we actually are putting in here. For the loose hairs I see two options, either you can tear the dreads apart, ripping the hair, or you can pull the few strands connecting the dreads out, which will save your hair from being torn and in the long run add to the strength of your dreads, but in the meantime will add to the loose strands flailing about your dome, and in effect slow down the dreading process. It is very important to keep the hair near the scalp somewhat loose, this allows it to move around, loop, knot, and dread itself. Too tight and the tension on the scalp could cause you to lose hair (though that's more of a concern with salon practices). Good luck n BLESS!

Thanks for the replies. Everything at dreadlockshampoo.com my change my thought on not wanting to order. All their stuff seems like it would feel and smell wonderful. Ill just make sure to keep the loose hairs separated. Also, all the way up the dreads is alot of frizzy hair sticking out of them. I assume they will all suck into the dreads, it just seem like I have sooo much of it.

well yes and no lots will suck in andyou'll have less but you'll always have siome

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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1