Mold?

hey all been dreading for almost 3 years now... formed by back combing. a few months ago, i noticed some black/grey stuff buried deep in a bunch of my dreads and it concerned me greatly. my regular maintenance now is baking soda/water/essential oil wash, sometimes ACV/oil rinse, sometimes just water/oil rinse. every once in awhile i use neutrogena residue free shampoo. i have used head and shoulders in the past but not on a regular basis and not often. i wash once to twice a week

when i first started dreading, i did use wax -- bad, bad, bad idea for anyone who is starting. just be patient and let them do their thing naturallly. i probably used wax for 4 months or so before i stopped. had to go to court a couple months after i put the dreads in and so went to someone to kinda "clean em up for me" make em tidy n stuff -- another bad idea fyi. don't ever let anyone else touch your dreads unless you are sure they know what they're doing. she GLOBBED the wax in my hair and after that point i completely stopped using it. my head felt nasty.

i did use a crochet hook too initially to kinda pull all the loose hairs into the dreads -- again, can i just say i started these off allllll sorts of wrong?? my fault for not doing the proper research but... sigh. anywho, i noticed that most of where the problem now lies is where i would dread ball the hair, tuck it in with the hook and then stick some wax over it to get it to stay. i can't tell tho if this black/grey stuff is mold? my hair does not smell when it's wet so i'm kinda hopin that means its just fuzzies.. it's just that there's soooooo much of it and its in like every single dread and its not only on the surface but deep down in the core it seems. my dreadies are blonde so it sticks out and is super duper noticeable too. i've tried the deep cleansing washes, tried soaking them, tried super hot boiling water to melt the wax and its still there. i guess if its just fuzzies and stuff i'm ok with it but i just really dunno how to tell the difference between dark fuzzies and mold and its actually really kinda starting to bother me. really don't wanna cut em...

updated by @julie2: 01/13/15 09:30:29PM

mold youd definately smell when damp the musty moldy smell surrounds you

it does look like it but it ccan be just crap stuck in wax
(i hope u dont dreadball anymore either)

what id recomend is

1 use vinager everytime u use baking soda..but

2 switch to a dread soap for regular uses and

3 do agressive wax removal following these steps

step 1 soak in straight undiluted vinager (acv) 10 min or longer then squeeze all yu can out the ends

step 2 use the hottest water u can stand and large ammounts of dawn dish soap and agressive scrubbing u may go through a few bottles before your done

step 3 use wax b gone from www.dreadlockshampoo.com

step 4 repeat steps 1-3 till your fairly sure u got it all out then..

step 5 repeat steps 2 and 3 or at least 3 several more times just to be extra sure its gone

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

SE is right, you probably have linty wax residue in your dreads. If it was mold you would most certainly smell it and if you were sensitive to it then you would also get sick (I usually get sick if their is mold residing in the same room as I am, even if it's a little bit at the opposite end.)

Follow the wax removal instructions and let us know how it turns out for you.

right on, many thanks for the responses will most definitely check this out. on a side note.. if it does just so happen to be mold, will the process SE gave me take care of that as well?

it might tho what works best for mold is

3/4 cup white vinager (not acv) 1/4 cup water 30-50 drops lavender oil pour on and leave on 24 hours dry in the sun

u can also brew a very strong thyme tea and do the same pour or spray on leave on

when u wash sit in the sun to dry the sunlight will help kill it too

if those dont do the trick neem seed oil will kill all parasytes most molds even leprocy but it has its own smell like..well dirt and it hardens when it cools so u got to heat it to liquify and apply and when it done its job id use a residue remover with very hot water

id work on getting he wax out 1st and se if that solves the problem

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

when i was living in the cabin in tulsa when we moved in the back porch was full of moldy clothes the mold sent chevy to the er like 5 times the 1st month i was sick too then we finaly got it out and buned the whole pile..unfortunately chevy went out then leaving it burn and the wind shifted i thought i was going to die i couldnt breathe my eyes burned i couldnt see the only way i could get a breathe at all was stuff a blanket in my mouth and take tiny tint sips of air through that

just momments before they got home it shifted again and cleared out so u couldnt even smell it no more but it was nasty im amazed i didnt eb=nd up in the hospitol

i also knew a girl that lived near me her mom was jehovas witness and kinda crazy too anyway the girl was always sick and afraid to tell hrr mom she showed igns of schitsophrenia and more i found out it could all be caused by mold which her house had alot of but she couldnt get her mom to do anything about it..it wass sad she just was getting worse and worse

some molds are very toxic its not likely that the real dangerouse kinds wil grow in your dreads but any mold exposure can caue infection s that dont respond to antibiotics and can affect your health in strange ways u wouldnt expect even cause halucinations

Valrie said:

SE is right, you probably have linty wax residue in your dreads. If it was mold you would most certainly smell it and if you were sensitive to it then you would also get sick (I usually get sick if their is mold residing in the same room as I am, even if it's a little bit at the opposite end.)

Follow the wax removal instructions and let us know how it turns out for you.

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

oh no! that's terrible... yeh i've heard of people having some crazy reactions to mold, but nothing quite that intense. some can even notice it as soon as they walk into a building if the problem is bad enough. but i hope your friend was able to get some help with her sitch!! as far as my dreads goes tho, that's why i'm kinda tempted to think what's in there is not mold.. i mean again, they don't smell at all. plus, while i'm not overly sensitive to mold or anything and don't have allergies that i know of.. you would still think that if it was in every dread on my head that i would have had some kind of reaction to it by now. but by looking at it... it sure seems like what i'd expect mold in dreads to look like. gonna try your process tho - just ordered the wax b gone fingers crossed this goes well! thanks again, much luv <3

soaring eagle said:

when i was living in the cabin in tulsa when we moved in the back porch was full of moldy clothes the mold sent chevy to the er like 5 times the 1st month i was sick too then we finaly got it out and buned the whole pile..unfortunately chevy went out then leaving it burn and the wind shifted i thought i was going to die i couldnt breathe my eyes burned i couldnt see the only way i could get a breathe at all was stuff a blanket in my mouth and take tiny tint sips of air through that

just momments before they got home it shifted again and cleared out so u couldnt even smell it no more but it was nasty im amazed i didnt eb=nd up in the hospitol

i also knew a girl that lived near me her mom was jehovas witness and kinda crazy too anyway the girl was always sick and afraid to tell hrr mom she showed igns of schitsophrenia and more i found out it could all be caused by mold which her house had alot of but she couldnt get her mom to do anything about it..it wass sad she just was getting worse and worse

some molds are very toxic its not likely that the real dangerouse kinds wil grow in your dreads but any mold exposure can caue infection s that dont respond to antibiotics and can affect your health in strange ways u wouldnt expect even cause halucinations

Valrie said:

SE is right, you probably have linty wax residue in your dreads. If it was mold you would most certainly smell it and if you were sensitive to it then you would also get sick (I usually get sick if their is mold residing in the same room as I am, even if it's a little bit at the opposite end.)

Follow the wax removal instructions and let us know how it turns out for you.