natural dread process: a few questions

Hi everyone,

I became interested in dreadlocks recently so I've been doing a lot of research and I'm verryyyyyy happy that I found this forum b/c this's exactly what I was looking for when I began gathering knowledge on taking he natural path with hair.

Anyways, I have a few questions regarding shampoo bars as well as seawater & freshwater washing. First off, here's some details:

-my hair's about 7 inches long and I have some pretty thick hair (my hair cutter/stylist that I used to use years ago always used to say that I had the thickest hair in town haha); so my hair's very wavy and tends to knot or at least clamp together in it's sections by itself pretty easily (i haven't combed or cut my hair in a year, and i stopped using conditioner as well as using my fingers to take out any knots about a week ago).

-I just ordered some maylee's shampoo bars (both the orange and the nag champu). until those are in i'm still using some non-natural crappy shampoo (tresume)

-my water source is going to vary a lot (i'm temporarily at home now with regular showers), but it's mostly going to be very soft water, such as pouring water on my head along with VERY close access to saltwater.

question 1:I've heard amazing things about Maylee's, but I want to ask if it's fine for when I'm starting out the dreading process. I ask because I've NEVER used a shampoo bar before on my hair and I know a lot of the maylee's reviews on these forums can be from people that have been growing their dreads for awhile, so I just want make sure. I'm also open to other natural shampoo suggestions but I need something that's very portable (unfortunately, home-made mixtures are out of the question for me, I need something smaller such as a natural shampoo liquid itself or shampoo bars).

other questions:

again: i'm going to have access to seawater more than any other water source, but my other water sources will be soft water (just pouring water) and sometimes hard water (showers) but my alternate sources of water will be less seldom than seawater.

-how many times should I wash my hair per week (around once per week maybe?)

-how many times should I get them wet but not wash them? is there a max to this since i want to allow my hair to dread and of course not be too wet all the time to the point of mold?

-which types of water (seawater or freshwater) should I use for when I shampoo and which types (sea of freshwater) should I use for just getting my hair wet?

-I know seawater helps to lock dreads but at the same time i'm worried about the rumors (or facts) that seawater can really dry out your hair. how do you know if you're hair's getting to dried out from seawater? i've been in the sea many a times, but not with dreads. this way if I know this I can decide for myself if my dreads having been getting too much seawater or not.

Sorry I have so many questions but in janruary is when I'm going to be traveling for a long time (mostly across beaches) and i'll only have internet & computer access via libraries or computer cafes of some sort, so i'll only be able to research stuff like once a week or two if i need help.

thanks ahead of time to anyone who's read this long post and/or attempts to respond to my questions, i will be looking forward to your feedback and advice (if I get any!)! peace & love, Ryan

updated by @arrows-of-the-rainbow: 02/14/15 10:42:52AM

(by the way, i promise my posts in the future won't be so long. I just have a lot of questions starting out. sorry for the double post, not trying to spam!)

I'll try to keep this concise.

Question 1: I haven't used Mayles, so I can't answer for that. I used Dr. Bronners teatree bar soap. All you want to do is scrub down your scalp. Forget your hair. As you rinse, the soap will run through it cleaning it. It should be fine for starting out. And fine for later too. As long as your soap doesn't have residue, you're good to go.

Staring out, you want to wash your hair 2-3 times a week. But you need to make sure it completely dries between washes.

Salt water does wonders for your locks, but too much and your scalp becomes itchy and dry and your hair becomes brittle. If you plan on being in salt water often, I'd say wash it with soap and fresh water once a week, and get it wet in salt water the other 2 times. When you normally shower, between hair washing times, tie your hair back and keep it as dry as possible. As your locks develope, you'll want to wash them less and less often because 1: they act like sponges and take longer to dry. 2: they don't need it as much. Washing helps the locking process.

I'd probably use the fresh water for washing with shampoo.

Good luck with your process. Are you going the neglect method, or do you plan to twist n rip? You can reply here and many other will be glad to reply to you. Eagle's the greatest help with any of your question, but you can feel free to message me if you've got any other question

he answered everything wonderfully but.. maylees doesnt work in the hard water too well

for hard water try these www.dreadlockshampoo.com i love maylees but i think these are even betteer

the liquid might be better till they are well formed

salt water shouldnt stay on for days so after being in the ocean at least so a rinse it can be a couople hoirs later but ..do rinse the salt out

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

thanks so much for the responses, this is exactly the type of advice I looking for. I'm going to use the neglect method (as well as possibly seperating). I'll ordera liquid shampoo (from dreadlockshampoo.com) and possibly a bar as well. thanks again! I'll respond when I have more questions, I'm sure I'll have many to come.

Alright, I got a couple more questions now:

I'm considering getting a tam, whether i'll need the support of it in forming dreads or not i guess only time will tell. My question is what size? I was checking out Hippie Willow and this tam seems like a good choice for beginning dreading: Black Wool Slouchy Hat Dreadlock Tam (direct link below); it's 100% wool, 10'' at its widest point, 9'' deep, & 21'' long but can stretch too. I was going to measure my head right now but it says it also has a string for tightening/loosening as well. Let me know what you think or if there's other stuff I should be considering as well.

link: http://shops.dreadlockssite.com/HippieWillow/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=49

My other question is how often do people tend to separate their dreads during the early stages?

I prefer a big floppy one, myself. You're hair needs more room to move around, and some tams can be prett, but restrictive to movement. Plus, your locks are going to keep growing. why by one now and a few months down the line realize it's getting to small for you. better to have one a little too big now and will fit perfectly later on.

PLusone on Etsy has a great selection, and you can give her your choice in colours and whether you want a brim or not, and she's more than happy to make it custom. Mine took a week, and she was upset it took so long. She's a fast worker, and her prices are outstanding. She'll even give you a selection of beads for decoration if you want

I'm wearing mine in one on my pictures on my page

http://www.etsy.com/shop/plusone?page=1

hmm that measurement seems like she measured accross not around i always measurw around the hairline then ball up the dreads and measure hairline to j=hairline across the tioop

diferent ppl measure diferently u might want to asj=k her how to nmeasure and ask her to add a page with how to measure

i know i think mine was 24 round 25 over several years ago so 10/9 seems small unless thats accross not around rthen its much bigger

seperate as needed some thats weekly some several months some daily even several times a day

but

dont seperate what will be a dread!

some ppl were so worro]=ied bout congos they seperated constant;y and never let them dread

let them form rip em if they form too big

or when 2 forming dreads try to become 1 dread

if u find any hairs connecting 2 dreads together rip em

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Here are some quick answers.

I use neutragena residue free shampoo
My washing 'policy'...I wash like a day or two after I feel like it is too dirty. I don't even keep track I would say maybe once a week. Probably less than that.
I get my hair wet if I swim or bathe. (i'm pretty low maint.)
I don't use saltwater or any oils or anything. But would swim in ocean if possible!! ha
I make sure that my hair isn't wet when I am going to sleep, but that's because it gives me a headache, not because of mold--that just comes in the same hand.
I would not want to wear a hat alot because lint is probably drawback I have found to my hair! The only thing that bothers me..
I haven't had to seperate anything yet, and I thing this is a persosnal thing.. if, when, and how often.

Okay, question on towel drying! i'm guessing fully towel drying hair in the early stages is counter productive? i've been doing this every wash (2 weeks in, 4 washes so far) and just thought about the fact and there isn't any concrete statement on the forums clearing saying don't do this so thought i'd ask. i'm thinking of switching to doing just a little towel drying to get the first initial layer of water out of my hair then sun drying the rest of wetness out.