Crochet and waxed dread rescue (apologies for the ramble)

Hey, im quite new on here,I'vehad dreads in the past but went about it the complete wrong way, crochet, backcomb, wax, lock peppa and all the other things that claim to be good for dreads... they ended up having to be removed, was a lil bit heartbroken! I wish i'ddiscoveredthis site back then because by now they'd have been 3 years old *sigh*

Anyway, thatskind ofbesides the point...

Tomorrow im going to be starting a mate on the Baking soda wash and the ACV, but I was just wondering a couple of things

1) Since he's been using wax for a loooong time will using those do the trick of removing that much build up or is there anything else anyone could recommend to useas well?

2) I know crochetingisn'tgood for dreads and he's been doing it for years... might sound like a daft question but if he just... stops doing it...willtheystart to sort themselves out or is he going to be stuck in an endless cycle of crochet from now on? is it best to just leave them to do there own thing once sorted?

Anyway... I'vedefinitelyrambledon long enough for now.. any advice any of you could give me would bephenomenallyappreciated by both myself and him

all the love

updated by @sammie-k: 02/14/15 11:35:18AM

step 1 have him join

step 2 throw away the crochet hooks

step 3 remove wax

step 4-20 keep removing wax keep removing wax keep removing wax long after he thinks its all gone

steps 21-40 condition to loosen yup the crochettes tighteness and smack him everytime he thinks ahbout fixing a loose hair

steps 41 on when it starts t o loop and dread right just do nothing

intermediatary steps to deal with dandruff and crustyness

throw away he dreadheadhq shampoo

switch to baking soda and teatree rosemarty pepermint

do the acv extra strong after to assist in removing wax and loosening the crochet tighteness

taking the 1st step joining heres most important

from thre we can guide him

if the problems are too severe even after a year it might be best to start over but hqard to say without seeing how bad it is

are u starting over?

be sure u asdd yoir reviews to the dreadhafhq/knottybot y reviews page in the guides and pages dropdown menu

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Hahaha, thanks yeah imdefinitelygonna be sending him this way. Im heading over there tomorrow so i'll prod him... no... SHOVE him this direction I think its allsolvable, he's just been given very bad advice for the last year, I reckon once the wax is out and they've had a good clean it should hopefully just be a case of letting them settle back into natural life. poor things are caked in the stuff at the moment! not lookingforwardto steps step 4-20 too much but step 21-40 sounds fun... I shoulddefinitelyget a special 'DONT YOU DARE TOUCH THOSE DREADS' stick to poke him with! haha. So just using theACVand bicarb will do the trick for the wax if we wash it enough?

yeah im hoping to very soon, growing my hair a little bit first and trying to see if work will allow it..althoughi might not be there for much longer so that may not be an issue at all

whats thebestway to start them off again? when i do get them back i want to do it right... it was pretty awful having to get rid of them last time

soaring eagle said:

step 1 have him join

step 2 throw away the crochet hooks

step 3 remove wax

step 4-20 keep removing wax keep removing wax keep removing wax long after he thinks its all gone

steps 21-40 condition to loosen yup the crochettes tighteness and smack him everytime he thinks ahbout fixing a loose hair

steps 41 on when it starts t o loop and dread right just do nothing

intermediatary steps to deal with dandruff and crustyness

throw away he dreadheadhq shampoo

switch to baking soda and teatree rosemarty pepermint

do the acv extra strong after to assist in removing wax and loosening the crochet tighteness

taking the 1st step joining heres most important

from thre we can guide him

if the problems are too severe even after a year it might be best to start over but hqard to say without seeing how bad it is

are u starting over?

be sure u asdd yoir reviews to the dreadhafhq/knottybot y reviews page in the guides and pages dropdown menu

no bs and acv will not be enough to remove much wax wax is pure evil to get out

step 1 soak in undiluted acv at least 10 min then squeeeeze the dread root to tip like your squeezing out toothpaste this will remove alot

then very hot water hot as he canstand and lots and lots of dawn dish soap scrubbing like crazy this will remove more

repeat like crazy then he might need to move on to 1 of the orand=ge oil based solvents to get the rest

renmm0oving wax is a real chore

when your ready to sr=tart ..lose youir comb

let it dread

thats the best way

if u cant (job) twist n riop

Sammie k said:

Hahaha, thanks yeah imdefinitelygonna be sending him this way. Im heading over there tomorrow so i'll prod him... no... SHOVE him this direction I think its allsolvable, he's just been given very bad advice for the last year, I reckon once the wax is out and they've had a good clean it should hopefully just be a case of letting them settle back into natural life. poor things are caked in the stuff at the moment! not lookingforwardto steps step 4-20 too much but step 21-40 sounds fun... I shoulddefinitelyget a special 'DONT YOU DARE TOUCH THOSE DREADS' stick to poke him with! haha. So just using theACVand bicarb will do the trick for the wax if we wash it enough?

yeah im hoping to very soon, growing my hair a little bit first and trying to see if work will allow it..althoughi might not be there for much longer so that may not be an issue at all

whats thebestway to start them off again? when i do get them back i want to do it right... it was pretty awful having to get rid of them last time

soaring eagle said:

step 1 have him join

step 2 throw away the crochet hooks

step 3 remove wax

step 4-20 keep removing wax keep removing wax keep removing wax long after he thinks its all gone

steps 21-40 condition to loosen yup the crochettes tighteness and smack him everytime he thinks ahbout fixing a loose hair

steps 41 on when it starts t o loop and dread right just do nothing

intermediatary steps to deal with dandruff and crustyness

throw away he dreadheadhq shampoo

switch to baking soda and teatree rosemarty pepermint

do the acv extra strong after to assist in removing wax and loosening the crochet tighteness

taking the 1st step joining heres most important

from thre we can guide him

if the problems are too severe even after a year it might be best to start over but hqard to say without seeing how bad it is

are u starting over?

be sure u asdd yoir reviews to the dreadhafhq/knottybot y reviews page in the guides and pages dropdown menu

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

thanks muchly luv, i'll get ion it today and prod him your direction

Just be easy with him. He's had very high maintenance dreads for a long time now, crocheting can be addicting, specially when he isn't used to all of the loops, loose hairs, and wonderful things that come with just letting go! You have to think about it as not only a rehabilitation for his dreads, but for him also. If you push too hard about the crochet hook (which i think is gonna be harder to have him drop than the wax) he might just get annoyed, and keep wanting to do it his way. If he can't stop with the crochet altogether, let him cut back gradually, gradual, is better than him getting discouraged, and quit quitting altogether good luck to you both! keep us updated on his progress if he doesn't decide to join :D

I'll be nice Irememberhow protective I was of mine I was when I had them, the thought of people messing about and changing how I did things wasn't that appealing at all! I think the crocheting may be ok but I wont push it too much just yet, gonna focus on getting the wax out first and go from there I reckon.

His mate that did his dreads for him is the one that usually does the crocheting, I had a word with him last night and he was really up for stopping. turns out that he had to cut his off because of waxy build up and them thinning at the top... Im guessing that would have been the crocheting? Either way, having the creator and crochet-er on my side really helps lol. Im gonna send him this way too because he really wants them back but it scared of having to go through all that effort only to chop them again.Everyone'sbeen so lovely and helpful on here so far though, I think it would putanyone'smind at ease aboutgettingdreads again

Im sure they will join but if not i'lldefinitelykeep updating and im sure i'll be about asking lots of (probably ridiculous and simple) questions lol

xxx

wekll tell him "all that effort" is why he had to chop them and dreads should be effortless just let them happen

if you put any edfffort into them it should be only the 1st day then leave them alone but its best to do nothing from the start and let them dread

all the effort he put in only made things harder..and worse

get them both to join we'll get em on the right path and get them dreaducated

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

a note on wax....

Wax is a high density fat. It's usually made from oil (parrafin wax) and it is a non-polar substance and therefore can only be dissolved by other non-polar substances/solvents.

It doesn't mean you can "Break it down" but it means you can "loosen it up" enough so that you can, in theory, push it out of the hair/locks with sufficient water.

This means that whatever you/he use/s to clean out wax it has to be the sort that is used to break up solid fats. Dish soap is common for that but it tends to do better with liquid fats than solid fats, which is why it tends to take a "lot" of work with dish soap to get the wax out of the hair.

There is a trick my father taught me for cleaning "difficult" fat or fat-based chemicals off of one's hands (such as tar) but I don't know how well it would translate to hair.
It goes like this. "Start by making it worse".. get a semi-solid fat (such as butter or margarine) and let it soften to about room temperature, then lather it into the hands (or hair as the case may be) because the softer fat will loosen up the harder fat. Then wash your hands (hair) with dish soap (cause it's made to loosen up fat).

When I've done this with my hands, it takes one quick wash to get 'em perfectly spotless while others are scrubbing away with those brush thingies trying to get the grease off their hands.

BUT LIKE I SAID! I don't know how well this translates to hair! So... maybe keep that in mind as a "LAST" ditch attempt to salvage something you've practically given up on!

Also, Most acids (like citrus acids or vinegar) won't actually loosen the solid fat up much at all... so while it can help chip away at buildup, bit by bit, it's not likely it'll make it "go away".

Getting off topic here, but thank you for posting that. My fiance is a mechanic, and comes home with black hands, and washes his hands with ajax -.- if it bleaches your tub, it's probably not good for your hands, plus it doesn't really do much.. But he's a man.. And MY man, and knowing that, he's hard headed hahaha , but again thanks for posting, i'll have him try that when he gets home from work :D

Hans Miniar Jnsson said:

...

There is a trick my father taught me for cleaning "difficult" fat or fat-based chemicals off of one's hands (such as tar) but I don't know how well it would translate to hair.
It goes like this. "Start by making it worse".. get a semi-solid fat (such as butter or margarine) and let it soften to about room temperature, then lather it into the hands (or hair as the case may be) because the softer fat will loosen up the harder fat. Then wash your hands (hair) with dish soap (cause it's made to loosen up fat).

When I've done this with my hands, it takes one quick wash to get 'em perfectly spotless while others are scrubbing away with those brush thingies trying to get the grease off their hands....