Post shower care?

Hello my name is Matt, I am new to the dreadhead community I've only had mine for about 4 months now. I have read many articles about how to wash my dreads and dry them, but that seems to be where the advice stops. I am looking to get some pointers on what to do after I have washed and dried my dreads in order to keep them nice and tight together. What I have been doing so far is twisting them all the way down to my scalp and clipping them in place. Then I put on abandannaand sleep on them over night and untwist them in the morning.

Last night was the first night I just took a shower and left them alone. I have thereoccurringproblem of loose undreaded hair at the roots, which I'm told is normal, but what can I do to help aid the dreading process.

I also have some that are so skinny they just look like many strands of hair until you get to the ends

I'm not sure if there is really anything I can do to help the skinny ones but any advice is helpful. The girl who did these for me did not leave me with too much instruction, I hope twisting them and sleeping on it has not hindered my dreading process.

Thank You

-Matt

updated by @matty-mac: 02/14/15 06:33:20AM

First, you need to stop with the twisting. That is not dreading your hair. Besides, you are putting alot of stress and tension not only on your scalp but on your hair. Repeated twisting will only hurt you and your hair in the end. Many African Americans start their dreads by twisting, but it does nothing for causcasian hair but cause damage, and on African American hair, if constantly done...will cause the same problems. Hair will dread in its own time and in its own way. You do not need to "help it". Your hair knows what to do by itself. Dreading is a very long process for many people. I didn't have one knot for the first 8 mos. You have to be patient. The best thing you can do is leave it alone, aside from seperating after your shower. Seperating will keep the dreads from matting into a big blob...but that is really all you need. Make sure that you do not sleep on your wet hair....dry thoroughly outside or with bursts from a blowdryer. Likewise, do not put it into a ponytail or tam/hat wet. There is no magic to it. Stop looking in themirror, and don't worry about all the changes. It will look different from day to day. When it falls apart...trust that that is all apart of what it must do. Dreads are not hair that is stuck togethter, it is hair that is woven together, in its own special pattern:)

I just looked at your profile....your biggest problem is wax. Your hair will never dread as long as you are using it. You must remove the wax to progress. Hope you take some time to read about wax removal and then begin your journey fresh. Good luck and happy dreading!

okay thank you, and when you say to separate after a shower what exactly do you mean...should i use the clips just to keep things tidy on the scalp WITHOUT twisting the dreads before hand?

No, no clips Matty. Seperating is just keeping hairs from one dread out of another so that they are individuals and a hair doesn't stretch way across and pull, which can be painful. Seperating is not meant to create perfect little "bundles" of hair that must be segregated from each other...don't think of it that way. You will drive yourself nuts if you keep trying to keep each dread self contained. Dreads should be effortless in what we do..which should be only washing and seperating. The hard part is not controlling the process. Unless you are washing or seperating...you should not be touching your hair...and I promise, it will be fine!

awesome! i wish i had posted on this forum months ago, your advice is greatly appreciated. As a thank you I'd like to share my youtube channel with you. I have reggae style covers from all sorts of artists, anything from the temptations to mac miller, adele to bob marley and much more.

Enjoy!

Matty Mac Covers

Panterra's said it all.

Only thing left out was that you could use a seasalt water mixture in a spray bottle once in a while. It generally helps with the process. Don't over use or it will dry out your scalp and cause more damage than good.

Thanks Baba! I did leave that out, but only because I really want Matty to begin to embrace the simplicity of dreads and not get caught up in the should I do syndrome....butthanks Baba! Good point to add, well put

Baba Fats said:

Panterra's said it all.

Only thing left out was that you could use a seasalt water mixture in a spray bottle once in a while. It generally helps with the process. Don't over use or it will dry out your scalp and cause more damage than good.

Matty, glad I could help and thank you for sharing with me <3

Matty Mac said:

awesome! i wish i had posted on this forum months ago, your advice is greatly appreciated. As a thank you I'd like to share my youtube channel with you. I have reggae style covers from all sorts of artists, anything from the temptations to mac miller, adele to bob marley and much more.

Enjoy!

Matty Mac Covers

I thought that was why you might have left it out. That's why I made a point to say o not overdo it. when I first started using seasalt My scalp itched like crazy and I felt like I was going to tear my hair out. It's all about proportions and moderation.

Absolutely Baba! Again, very well said! (You are so smart XD)

Baba Fats said:

I thought that was why you might have left it out. That's why I made a point to say o not overdo it. when I first started using seasalt My scalp itched like crazy and I felt like I was going to tear my hair out. It's all about proportions and moderation.