dread rejuvination

I have been growing dreads for about 2 years now. I have been letting my hair do its own thing mostly, but when I started I did screw around twisting them and lightly ripping and tearing. I think this threw them off their course a bit and some of them look super nappy and unkempt. My hair has a very flat color to it now, especially the back. I was wondering what I could do to save my dreads before I decide to start over with little twists. Any advice on helping the color of my hair and taming the frizz and ugly knots. Would anyone recommend a little bit of wax for the wiley back ones before I cut them?

updated by @evan-miller: 02/14/15 11:25:18AM

hell no no wax no wax no wax lets see pics but what have u been washing with

wax would be a huuuuuuge mistake!

worse idea ever

the color change is probly due to what u wash with ..lint..or dryness

a hot oil treatment will bring em back to life (assumming your african american?)

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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

okay, I didn't think I would resort to wax. probably just wrap a few up and get some larger beads. some of them just have big paddles and lumps, I think a bit more time will help cover up all the ugly bumps that I think were caused from backcombing with my fingers and t&r. I have washed with the acv rinse and then baking soda rinse, I then started using non residue grease cutting dish soap, and now I am using a shea butter shampoo that I think has helped. I am not african american. My biggest problem is just the back of my head, anything to do about that?

Woa Woa. NO wax. Wax would only make the problem look fixed for now and then cause HUGE problems later that are VERY difficult to fix.

Just let them heal themselves. Stop messing with them. If you want to do anything, get some tea tree oil and mix it with Jojoba and water in a spray bottle. Spray it in your hands and rub your locks like you're palm rolling, but very gently. Also spray some on your scalp to helprejuvenatethat. All you want o do to maintain healthy lock is to maintain a healthy scalp. The rest will do it's own thing.

As for the frizz, you could wear a tam. They help control the movement of your locks, but still let them rub up against each other. And it won't look goofy

alright, I will see where they go in three months from now. I was thinking that the messy dreads would look better when they are longer and will smoothen out when they become more mature, but I have been dreading for over two years and I was wondering if the damage isirreversible.Also, I have just started showering every other day on average. I roll each dreadseparatelybetween my hands with shampoo. This seems to have helped my dreads become thicker. I was wondering if showering every day to every other day would help tighty up my hair and return the color back to its natural blonde color

stop rubbing shampoo directly into your locks, first off. All you need to do it keep your scalp clean. As you rinse it off, the soap will run through the locks cleaning them. Otherwise it's really hard to get it all out. Then you run the risk of mold. After 2 years, you don't need to wash every other day too. once a week should be good.

If you wash everyday your locks don't get a chance to dry out completely.

The oil treatment would be the best chance to restore some liveliness and colour to your hair.

Washing does help tangle your hair, but over doing it will cause more damage than good

so what is the oil treatment that you guys are talking about?

and I was thinking of just taking yarn of some sort and wrapping up most of my dreads in back, maybe allowing the loose hairs that make the back of my head look messy form their own dreads

If the locks are fully formed, which they should be at 2 years, you could wrap them in yarn. But the oil treatment I am talking about I mentioned a few posts ago.

Get a little spray bottle and fill it with mostly water, add some Jojoba oil and (depending on the size of the bottle) 10-15 drops of tea tree oil.

Tea tree is great for your skin and scalp. the jojoba is too, but it's really used to cut the harshness of the essential oil. Water just to water it down so you aren't walking around with oil hair

Spray some on your hands and them gently gently palm roll in into your locks. You can also spray it directly onto your scalp to help nourish it.

The oil will add a little shine back into your hair, but will also help heal it and repair any damage that may have been done to your scalp.

But before you do that, I would wash your hair like mentions before. Don't rub the shampoo into your locks. And then rinse very very well. You want to make sure you get out any shampoo that might be stuck in there. Rinse again with cold water (Cold water is really good for tightening up locks)

alright, thanks a lot man.

I guess my only other question before I post up pictures of my hair is about starting over. If I decide to cut it I would like to get dreads forming when my hair is still pretty short. I feel that this will prevent some dreads from going too whacky. After having dreads already will my hair be prone to dreading, and dread with 4-5 inches of growth? or if you recommend I brush them out, would I even be able to this late in the process, and if so would my hair, again, dread faster then it has in the past couple years?

I don't really see a need to start over, but if you wanted to, all hair is prone to knotting. It doesn't matter if it was locked before. You won't be able to brush it out now, but it might be able to start with 4-5 inches, but it'll take longer. It won'tnecessarily lock faster or slower. It all depends on how you treat it. I wouldrecommendthat if you want it to start earlier, you should to some tnr, but it's not a must I'd like to see pics before you decide.

Why would you want to start over anyway?