save my dreads from dread wax!

Okay so here's the story.....I probably should have read into dreads more when I started.I started with a crap load of wax and have been using it with back combing, and twisting for a while now.. Started with this stuff I found in a beauty store that ended up having petroleum in it, which I eventually learned was bad, now Im using knotty boy. Now im starting to read i shouldnt use wax at all! I dont think my hair would have stayed without it though, it was pin straight and rather thin...Anyways I worry a lot about the condition they are in.. Sometimes they seem okay and other times I think they are screwed... This paranoia sucks big time! I really don't want to have to shave my head or start over or something..Some of my dreads have weak spots or "uncombed" spots.. And one of my dreads is completely thinned out, possibly from over back combing?Also, when I first started my dreads I got a friend to help me with the back combing, none of us knew much about dreading I suppose but we read up on it a bit online. I was using the petroleum wax at the time as well. Well they didn't stay together well and they were quite loose! Another girl I was hanging out with at the time says her cousin had dreads and she would knot her dreads, like pull off a piece of hair and wrap it around the root or something... Me like an idiot, not knowing a lot of about dreads let her do it to my hair.. When I got home I realized how terrible my hair looked and worked on doing my best to undo the crazy knots and I washed the crap out of them and even added conditioner just to loosen the knots.. We got them apart andincorporated them into normal dreads... I ended up getting in a fight with the girl who initially said she would help me and she bailed on me! So I had to do this on my own, luckily my mom was around to help me out but neither of us know much about dreads!Anyways I've had them for about 4 months now, some of the dreads are fine but some of them have weak spots.. Some of them are formed on the root at the top and at the bottom but weak in the middle.. And some are just plain thin! Haha so frustrating!! Someone please tell me what to dooooo... I cant really afford the salon or anything professional, Ive done all of this on my own! So some "do-it-myself" tips would be great!Im just going to add that I have bleached my roots, and some of the dreads lightly, as my dreads are light blond and my natural color is a darker shade of blond..Ive included some photos, I literally just took. I just showered, and dried them, and now I've decided I'm not going to wax them like I normally do. Sometimes they look a lot more scragglier than this too, lol. Its hard to figure out how to style them.. Also, one side of my head is a lot better than the other, lol!Waiting to hear what to do next! *i have more pictures of them, if needed!
updated by @katie-griffin: 02/03/18 02:47:15PM

ok you are officialy my pet projectsighwell 1st off all hair dreads thin straight u nevber had to backcomb wax or do anything at allnow u got a hell of alot of wax..and top priority is wax removal..thats not easy at all (and if u went to a salon id disown u at least maybe spanku too salons would screw u worse!)after thew wax is gone well then theres noth9ong to do but let em dreadread the dreaducation and wax removal threads and if u use any im things add me..ypur my personal project now if i can save ya from that waxy mess id concider4 it a great successand i know youll have amazing dreads when we get u wax free..hugs im sorry u fell for bad infoyour home npw in the best place to learn about real dreads


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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Haha yesss thank you so much for taking me on as your pet project, hahaha. I've been so worried about my dreads! Its a great relief to hear I have found the right place for help :D Was a bit worried I would have to get rid of them or something... That would be awful!Okay, I'm going to read the wax removal, and get to it ASAP! I'll let you know how things go.And yes I have msn messenger and facebook! I can private msg you my msn addy and facebook info right now!*hugs back* Thanks again for your help! Im off to read that thread now. :D

i want you to do a full before and after wax documentation thoughincluding how much better they dread feel and look after removing it all


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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Don't get upset if some of your dreads fall apart...It's normal when you do the wax removal...

Wow.. This is one of the reasons I have fallen in love with this community. So supportive and helpful. Really looking forward to seeing the transformation of your dreads once the shit is cleaned out of em and nature takes it's course.

thanks to wax pushers she used 1 a/2 jars of petroleum based and a full har of knottyboy waxclose to 3 jars in 4 monthsshes a sweet beautiful girl whos been through alot on her quest to get dreadyso please everyone be really supportive in her recoveryi feel like were having a wax intervention and rehabi think once the wax is all cleaned up things will look and feel much betterbut she may also find her 4 months of waxing has stalled her at 2 weeks of dreadingbut once shes cleanned up i think she'll progress nicely and have some beautiful dreads someday\u know i never wanted to put these companies out of business just urge them to change how they do business be more honest and responsible for the damage they do..but ..every once in awhile i see just how much harm they can do and ..well i really would not feel bad if they went out of business at all


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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Yep I hear ya on your last comment there SE. I took another look at one of their sites earlier today and it's so contrived and full of hard sell marketing. Like an infomercial of their products that you "need". It's one thing to associate the dread culture with peace, love, acceptance and equality for all, another completely different agenda to make money off people through misinformation while putting up the facade of that association.Just like clean water, or the opportunity to look at a beautiful horizon, the most naturally occuring hairstyle should be free. soaringeagle said:

thanks to wax pushers she used 1 a/2 jars of petroleum based and a full har of knottyboy wax
close to 3 jars in 4 monthsshes a sweet beautiful girl whos been through alot on her quest to get dreadyso please everyone be really supportive in her recoveryi feel like were having a wax intervention and rehabi think once the wax is all cleaned up things will look and feel much betterbut she may also find her 4 months of waxing has stalled her at 2 weeks of dreadingbut once shes cleanned up i think she'll progress nicely and have some beautiful dreads someday\u know i never wanted to put these companies out of business just urge them to change how they do business be more honest and responsible for the damage they do..but ..every once in awhile i see just how much harm they can do and ..well i really would not feel bad if they went out of business at all

Okay here is an update!We started out by doing the boiling water technique, we did a couple, it kind of worked not to badly, but my mom burnt me a couple times so I put a stop to it, haha.. So I took some dish soap into the shower, and washed my hair thoroughly about 3 times, and it feels sooooo much better already! I tried pulling a bit of the black lint the wax left in my dreads but it pulled out a bunch of my hair and I didnt want to mess with them anymore for fear the might fall apart and be even thinner! But washing with dishsoap has helped a looottttt, and it feels so much healthier and nicer already! I'm definitely not doing to touch wax ever again and stop messing with my hair haha.We also tried the hot iron after my hair dried but it really didnt make that much of a difference, I think I'll just continue with the dishsoap for a bit. Orrrr I might just use my regular shampoo in like a week or something hahaha, I just pulled off a piece of dread off the end of one! Oh god! That one was seeming like it was going to come off for a while though, I think the wax was just holding it on, its the one I over backcombed..Ill post a couple pics of my hair after the shower with dishsoap, should I just keep using it everytime I shower and eventually it might get out the wax a bit or..?So anyways what should I do next!? Hopefully nothing... hahaha..here's a few pics: http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo203/ktg420/P6230178.jpg http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo203/ktg420/P6230195.jpg http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo203/ktg420/P6230205.jpg http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo203/ktg420/P6230194.jpg http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo203/ktg420/P6230210.jpg Think I got all the angles there, haha.

They look WAY better already! Katie Griffin said:

Okay here is an update!
We started out by doing the boiling water technique, we did a couple, it kind of worked not to badly, but my mom burnt me a couple times so I put a stop to it, haha.. So I took some dish soap into the shower, and washed my hair thoroughly about 3 times, and it feels sooooo much better already! I tried pulling a bit of the black lint the wax left in my dreads but it pulled out a bunch of my hair and I didnt want to mess with them anymore for fear the might fall apart and be even thinner! But washing with dishsoap has helped a looottttt, and it feels so much healthier and nicer already! I'm definitely not doing to touch wax ever again and stop messing with my hair haha.
We also tried the hot iron after my hair dried but it really didnt make that much of a difference, I think I'll just continue with the dishsoap for a bit. Orrrr I might just use my regular shampoo in like a week or something hahaha, I just pulled off a piece of dread off the end of one! Oh god! That one was seeming like it was going to come off for a while though, I think the wax was just holding it on, its the one I over backcombed..
Ill post a couple pics of my hair after the shower with dishsoap, should I just keep using it everytime I shower and eventually it might get out the wax a bit or..?
So anyways what should I do next!? Hopefully nothing... hahaha..
here's a few pics:
http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo203/ktg420/P6230178.jpg
http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo203/ktg420/P6230195.jpg
http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo203/ktg420/P6230205.jpg
http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo203/ktg420/P6230194.jpg
http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo203/ktg420/P6230210.jpg

Think I got all the angles there, haha.

updated by @island-mamma: 07/22/15 05:40:27PM