Hey Everybody!

My name is Cristin. I just put in my first set of dreads, most of which were made by backcombing. Because I've heard such good things about the TnR method, I probably would have gone that route, but I couldn't get the hang of it. Unfortunately I messed with crotcheting them a lot at first. I stopped when I heard how damaging it can be. I also stopped waxing them around the same time, for the same reason. I put them in around the end of January, and so far all seems to be progressing okay. Now that I've just kinda been letting them do their own thing, I'm hoping they'll start recovering from any crotchet damage, especially since they're still quite young. There are some spots in some of my dreads that seem to not really be knotted. Those spots are like straight, smooth unkotted hair, that's about an inch or two long. I could just re-backcomb those places, but they're in the middle of the dread and I don't wanna mess with getting to it, and re-backcombing the rest of the dread. My hopes are that with time those spots will knot up too on their own..? Anywho, thanks for putting such helpful information out there. I'm glad to have found such a helpful community!
updated by @cristin-nessen: 02/15/15 06:32:30AM

well

u got wax in them which prevents dreading so its not good enough to stop weaxing you must agressivly remove the wax

the crochet will delay progress alot as well

you never ever rebackcomb they are young they should be loose so they will dread just remove the wax and give em time they will be fine

but the wax gotta come out

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

I know, I've been worried about the wax too. I've been washing with baking soda every 5-7 days or so (I didn't wanna wash too often while they're still young), and every time I feel like a bit more is making its way out. The longer hairs are starting to loosen up a bit, which I'm hoping is a good sign that it's coming out.

EDIT: Wow, sorry, I meant that I started my dreads the end of DECEMBER, not JANARY. It was the end of last month, so just a few weeks ago... not almost a year agao!

when they are young you should be washing more often. 2-3 times a week. Washing helps them knot up.

Mine are 5 years old and I wash once a week, sometimes twice.

You need to get the wax out, though. Dawn dish soap and boiling water for a few minutes on each lock. It can take a long time (sometimes months) to get it all out. Do it as often as you can. It'll set the progress back a little bit, but it'll be for the best

I'll have to try that to get the wax out! Also, I'm worried about washing so often because they unravel slightly towards the roots. I'd like to wash them more if that'll help them knot though. Any tips to help the knots not come out while washing? I wear a nylon and don't scrub too hard while I'm in the shower. Any tips to also speed up the locking? I do use a sea salt water spray, but so far I'm not sure if it's working much...

First: Don't wear a nylon. Get your hair wet. use a liquid shampoo or BS. DO NOT WAS YOUR HAIR. Just wash your scalp. If you use shampoo, scrub it. If BS, don't scrub.

2: they will unravel at first. and will probably continue to do so the first few times you wash. They will, however, quickly begin to tangle themselves back up again. All tnr or back combing is is a blueprint for where the sections will be

3: When you dry your hair, don't rub it with the towel, just squeeze excess water out and pat dry. Rubbing takes out knots, not tangles them more

4: sea salt works, but don't use too much. I do a light spray right before bed the night before I wash. Then I wash it out first thing in the morning.

But most important is to get all the wax out. Wax pretty much stops the entire locking process.

thank you so much for the detailed advice!

Ughhh wax... what a nightmare. So sorry. It sounds like you're on the right path. Mine are a week old now and have parts of the dreads that have unraveled and are smooth hair too.

I'm hoping I'm on the right path which method did you use to put your dreads in?