dreads feel soo different after getting maintenance done... :(

ah i feel so guilty. i'm in Bangkok for a few days and a friendly hippie on Khao San road offered to fix up my dreads. I always fight loose hairs so was glad to have her do it but she went crazy with the crochet hook, it hurt like hell and now all my dreads feel *sooo different* then before, i think i'll cry... They actually probably look better (i always had tons of loose hairs) but they feel so much tighter, therefore actually also thinner, and just all of them feel kind of the same...im probably overreacting but i just feel so guilty i dont know what to do with myself. I've always tried to be as natural as possible before. will my dreadies be all right??
updated by @matt4: 01/13/15 08:47:38PM

Oh my I'm sorry you felt that you needed to do anything to maintain your dreads. :o( Crochet is pretty damaging especially when done super tightly. I don't think there's much that can be done now except maybe condition the hell outta your hair and try to get it to loosen up. They will probably always be thinner now. Loose hair is totally normal and not something that needs to be fixed. I would be extra careful with them from now on. You want to make sure you avoid damaging them any further. Maybe keep them moisturized and be extra gentle with them. Good luck I hope everything works out ok for you! Many Blessings

yea what she saidand anytime anyone offers to "fix" your dreads just laugh at themj because they wont fix anything just mess em up


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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

ughhh what have i done... it's so stupid, i really got didn't have a problem with my lose hairs, i know it's normal, i just started talking to the lady and didn't think much of it when she offered to help... they feel like sticks now, it's so terrible. I am so depressed about this, im not even sure if i shouldn't just cut them and start over... I put so much love, so much time, so much effort into them, shit, i just can't forgive myself for letting this happen...so what about the new growth though? will it be extra tight like that too, or will it be normal? I just lost any interest in travel or anything, want to go home, im so depressed about this...will certainly try some conditioners, and i hear the jojoba oil may help loosen them up too, is that right? What about just washing it with regular 'head and shoulders' shampoo or such every day for like a week or two - i know residues are bad cause they make the hairs slip out and all, but in this case i guess that's what i want, no?thanks for both of yours advice...

Don't worry...I crocheted mine once, albeit more gently than someone else may have, and I ended up unhappy with how hard they got and how different they looked. I've done nothing for several months now, and they are all loose again with tons of zigzags. It seems to me that dreads are constantly evolving, and I'm sure if you leave yours alone for a while it will be just fine. : )

Thanks so much for saying that! I feel like i've destroyed my hair and you've just given me some hope for it being ok again.

sadangel777 said:

Don't worry...I crocheted mine once, albeit more gently than someone else may have, and I ended up unhappy with how hard they got and how different they looked. I've done nothing for several months now, and they are all loose again with tons of zigzags. It seems to me that dreads are constantly evolving, and I'm sure if you leave yours alone for a while it will be just fine. : )

Nah, it'll be fine! You only did it once; there's people who do it daily and worse stuff than that, I imagine. It might take a while, but it'll loosen up. The one I spent the most time crocheting stayed tigher than the rest for a while longer, so just be patient and it'll work out.

oh no I'm sorry! I really didn't mean to freak you out!!!!! I just meant that once it's crocheted you can't undo it. I certainly didn't mean they won't end up ok or you'll have to cut them. I think being careful is a precaution for later on down the road and the conditioning should help for the immediate tightness. It will take some time to recover but they should be ok. Please don't freak out too much what's done is done and there are lots of people on here that have crocheted in the past.

Matt said:

ughhh what have i done... it's so stupid, i really got didn't have a problem with my lose hairs, i know it's normal, i just started talking to the lady and didn't think much of it when she offered to help... they feel like sticks now, it's so terrible. I am so depressed about this, im not even sure if i shouldn't just cut them and start over... I put so much love, so much time, so much effort into them, shit, i just can't forgive myself for letting this happen...

so what about the new growth though? will it be extra tight like that too, or will it be normal? I just lost any interest in travel or anything, want to go home, im so depressed about this...

will certainly try some conditioners, and i hear the jojoba oil may help loosen them up too, is that right? What about just washing it with regular 'head and shoulders' shampoo or such every day for like a week or two - i know residues are bad cause they make the hairs slip out and all, but in this case i guess that's what i want, no?

thanks for both of yours advice...

thanks much everybody. from now on, im not ever doing anything to my hair and certainly not letting anyone else touch it heh