Hi

Good day everyone,

I really want to grow dreadlocks, my hair is approximately 5-6 inches long, soft and thin, a bit curly also. For the past several days I decided that I will try to forget about my hair, no more shampoos and combings, do the organic method. On the third day, my scalp felt itchy and oily so I decided to wash my hair using the baking soda method, did the ratio I've read on this site, to tell you the truth I felt so fresh and clean and the itchiness is gone.

What bothers me is that my hair become somewhat wet-looking and shiny which I don't really like. Also my hair felt slimy while I was rinsing my hair after the baking soda wash. Are these normal??

Few more questions from me. Is it OK to not wet my hair when I'm doing my usual everyday showers? After a few days of neglect I started to notice the natural separation of my hair which I really enjoy waking up to every morning. I know dreadlocks is all about patience but I need to know the ideal hair length for them to start dreading.

updated by @jobo-alvez: 01/13/15 09:56:59PM

hair will shrink when it locks. I think the general rule is that you'll lose at least half the length of your hair...the curlier the hair, the more length you lose. my hair was probably around 2.5-3 feet long when i started...and is now a little over a foot.

your hair shouldn't be slimy or oily after doing the BS/ACV rinse. my guess is you might not have rinsed it all out. it could also be your natural oils, depending on how long it's been since your last wash.

in the beginning, it's important to wash your hair often so that the natural oil from your head doesn't help your locs slip out. However, it's good to wait a couple weeks before your first wash to allow knots to form.

my advice would be...if you've just started (whether T&R or backcombing or nothing) don't wash your hair for two weeks so the initial knots can form. after two weeks, wash as often as possible (maybe 3-4 times a week...every day, if you want) but be gentle. try squeezing soap into your dreads (like a sponge) rather than rustling your hair all about your head (how i used to wash)

i hope this was helpful.

i would recomend washing every 3-4 days from the begining dont "squeeze soap into t]your drads" just wash the scalp only then rinse thru the dreads

as for the sliminess

did u add any oils to the bs/acv

did u use bs seperarely from acv and rinse out the bs b4 using acv

how much acv was used

definately dont wait 2 weeks without washing u should wash every few days from the start

your hairs long enough

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Thanks Sarah and soaring eagle for the response.

I didn't add any oils. I just used 10 cups of water : 1 cup of baking soda. I didn't use acv though.

I'm thinking the oiliness was because of the water cause I wasn't sure if it was soft or hard water. I'll try with processed water next time or maybe I didn't rinse it enough.

Is it alright to wash my hair with Dr. Kaufmann Sulfur Zinc Oxide soap. My cousin told me it will lessen the oiliness.

Hi!

My hair sounds a lot like yours. My hair is around 4(at it's absolute shortest in the front) to 6 inches. So far it's been going good with no problems. (I have pictures up of the progress)

When you're starting dreadlocks you want to make sure to continue washing your hair with a residue free shampoo. A lot of people stop washing their hair or wash it only once a week. If you were washing it more than that before your head will go into "What's happening?!" mode and start producing more oils. Some people have said that the scalp can become very itchy as well.

I use an awesome all natural, residue free shampoo bar that I found through this site's shops that they featured. I just lather it up in my palm(reduces the risk of getting soap chunks in a dread) and make sure to get the scalp nice and clean. The suds and bubbles will naturally just find their way down the rest of your dreads so you don't need to super apply shampoo directly to the dreads. I usually shampoo my hair Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. If I was doing something sweaty or dirty, working outside, etc. I might go home and shampoo that day as well.

I try to not wet my dreads unless I'm shampooing them. My hair has always taken a very long time to dry, and them being in little baby dreads makes it that much worse. Whenever I do wash them I make sure to blow dry until they're at least 85%-ish dry. What I usually do for the everyday showers is just get a shower cap. I've seen some people using plastic grocery bags or old t-shirt wraps too.

As for the smiley stuff.. not idea! Might be the sebum oils, etc. on your head doing something odd because of the shampoo habits.

Hope I helped and I hope your journey is amazing!

Whew! Long post!