Help! Tried to fix mold and then it led to another....

I washed my dreads today and they smelled awful! I guess the last time I washed them I didn't rinse well enough or I they were not try enough before going to bed. I've had them 3 years with no problems. anywho, So i read up on how to fix mold issue...I soaked mydreads in rubbing alchol for about an hour and then washed them with clarifying shampoo. After that I filled my sink wth with and added lavender oil, orange oil and tea tree oil. soaked them in the sink for a little but and then jst put them up in a towel for about 4 or 5 hours.I went to try and rinse the oil out but after the water almost gave me frostbite my dreads still have that oily feeling. I think I used way too much tea tree oil. I tried to find some information on if I should wash the oil out with shampoo or what....I usually wash my scalp with head an shoulders ( i learned not to do that) and my dreads with either tea tree or eucalyptus Dr. Bronners for the sake of repeling bugs(my house is right next to the woods), so i dont want to wash all the tea tree scent out. I only wash when my head starts to itch and my face starts getting oily. Sometimes it's a month and sometimes its 2 or 3 months.I dont like useing chems on them but today the shampoo was nessiary. And the head and shoulders was too until i learned of other things..So, what should I do to rinse the oil out? or is it okay as is? Help plzz!!!
updated by @amazing-grace: 02/14/15 11:18:27AM

Rubbing alcohol is not very good for the scalp....And I'd recommend washing your dreads at least once a week. Try using the baking soda wash that is explained elsewhere on the site.

never put them uop in a towel for hours whenh wet thats guaranteed mold leafe em unbound to dryok 1 mold removal recipieversion 1 3/4 cup white vinagar 1/3 cup water 30 or more drops lavandar oil sopray ojn ands leave onversion 2 a very strong thyme tea spray on leave on andeither way..sun dry at least awhikehow much oil did u use?to remove oils heat..hot water loweers viscocity so the oils are thinner easier to removean oil cutting agent can be used i used too much neem oil recemntly so washed witg bronners for 1sy time in a year (been only using thre deep clean baking soda all year)if your very oily try dawn dish soapi would definately recomend you do a baking soda acv deep clean sincde u wash so infrequently it will remove a ton of dirtid do it twice a week at least for next couple weeks (remember sun dry as much as u can) and then u can slack off if u wantdo your dreads feel stiff and hard? if so u may have alot of mold in there so really soaking in the vinagar mix and repeating for a couple weeks is best


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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Yeah i didnt really like the idea of the alchol but i hate the smell of vinegar. Im not sure exactly how much, i guess about half a shot glass full of the tea tree plus like 5-10 drops of the others. I wasnt thinking when i did it. The semester is about to end andi have tons of homework and studying to do so i was rushing so that i could get in as much homework as i could today.I didnt leave it up in the towel the whole time either. I left it up long enough to soak up the drips of oily water. Then i took it out and tied it up in different positions throughout the whole day and when i went outside i put it down.Also i did use hot water. I did it so that it wasnt to hot to touch so i could work it around and then i would turn the cold completely off and blaze it. I knew hot would get the oil out. But i guess i just used way too much.and...they are really hard in random places where there is alot of hair that knotted but they are not stiff.It's late now and they are getting pretty close to being dry so would it be okay to leave it in overnight and I'll do te baking soda wash tomorrow morning? I dont want to try an do it now and go to bed with them soaked. I would wash them once a week but that adds to my chances of them getting moldy. I dont spend alot of time doing anything strenious or outside because i spend 99% of my time in school or doing school work so they really dont get that dirty.Thanks guys! I really appreciate it. Im glad I found this place!

air poluyanys are enough to get ya dirtyyea u can wait i guess i let mine dry over night hangin off the side of the bed but theyve already drip dried a good 8 hours by thenmine takes 38 hours to dry completely but never had mold except when i tied em up wet i always leave em down till totaly dryi have a feeling your hard spots are buildup mold (u never waxed i hope?)washing often wont make u mold as long as u leave em unbound to dry let em hang and they'll be fine..umm are your tips blunted? that can increase drying time alot and hold in waterwhen its hot out i have a neurological condition that makes it so i dont sweat so to avoid passing out from the heat i dump water over my head all the time to cool my brain.. water washing swimming etc wont make u mold unless u bind them up tying them or putting in any kind of hat before they dry completelyofcourse if u waxed the chances are greatter so u will want to try your hardest to remove all traces of wax


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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

oh and thats an extreme ammount of teatree id never use more then 1/3 the ammount of other oils like i use 10 drops teaatree 30 rosemary 30 lvander in my deep cleana shotglsass is severe overkill


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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

I never waxed. and my hair is so think that i have to tie the top part away fom the bottom or the bottom wont dry. But im always moving them around in different positions and letting the top down an then back up so they arent just staying put. I read several posts of people doing what i did today that works great for them and they said they used the same amount of oil. Some a little more or lesss. And i used like half a shotglass not a whole one. maybe a little less.Som tips are blunted and some are not. I never did any twisting or any messing with them other than ripping them apart. And as for the hard parts, alot of those places i remember them dreading. a big or little ball formed really quick and really thick and really dense and then the rest of the dread slowly formed around it and created that hard ball. So most of those i know arent mold. I watched it happen.How can i tell if its mold?I agree that the polutants are enough to make dirty. i am going to start washing more often but not every week. I tie my hair up all the time without even realizeing it. It drives me nuts having my hair all over the place when im trying to study or do anything else. I usually have them down when im just chilling out tho. So me personally my chances would sky rocket if i washed that much.

ell you'll know by the smell when damp if theres a problemand sun drying and the vinagar soakimg worked well for me but i did repeat it for a couple weeksand now when i do the baking soda wash instead of acv i use a strongerr white vinagar rince with lavander just as a precautioinalso if your dreads are really thick that can add to the increased riskbtw rge vinagar smell fades fast and its nowhere near as nasty as alcaghol..alcahol can nearly shut your lungs down especialy if u have any breathing issuesim way too tired to type srry


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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

I know. The alchol almost knocked me down. I didnt realise it would be that strong. Vinegar...ehh..i hate the way it smells. I use it to clean alot and if it touches anywhere on my skin it makes me several days to get the smell out. It smellls like i soaked some garlic cloves in vinegar ad rubed it on me. I couldnt imagine dumping in on my head an having it dripp and all that. But I'll give it a go....Do you know of anything else besides vinegar that is natural and will work just as good? Or almost as good?No worries im tired too but i still have tons of homework to do but i guess u missed my question before... How can I tell if those hard spots are mold or not?Thanks again

oh by smell when wetumm when u use the vinagar ontop of the baking soda they nutralize eachother so minutes after u rince theres no smell at allbut when u soak all week to kill mold it fadesbut like i said u can substitute a strong thymne teatake a good cupfull or so fresh or dried thyme simmer 20- min till its good and dark strain and cool then spray on wetting them pretty good ..let it stay on all weeksun drying also helps a ton


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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1