Roots?

I seriously need a different method for knotting up my roots. The whole "clockwise rubbing" thing works, but it *hurts*. I have a pretty sensitive scalp, and for the whole thing to just *ache* after knotting up my roots kinda' makes me not want to do it anymore -- except that I can feel it when the roots start to grow out and it's a really funky sensation. So if anyone has any other methods they'd like to share, I'd really appreciate it.
updated by @van-dorn: 03/21/21 08:08:31AM

I'd suggest just not doing anything. Dreadlocks aren't supposed to lock directly to the scalp. There's got to be some growth coming in in order for the hair to lock. You're only doing more harm trying to force it to knot. Plus, any amount of pain is an indicator of a problem. You shouldn't feel any pain.

anything manually that tightens locks at the scalp also pulls out some hair and breaks some too leaving even more loose hair to grow in. Sleeping on your dreads and letting them move around is all you need to do to dread those roots.

Yeah you'll have undreaded roots (like 2 inches or more) for a while. It's normal.How long have you had dreads? Rubbing causes the roots to weaken, as would crochet.I think it's also making your scalp wicked sensitive. Just stop "maintenance" all together and it'll be fine. Wear wool on your head and it'll help it lock up.

why would u waste your time by 'rubbing your roots' , when they dread on its own...?

the elastics probably hindered your progress ans well as the crochet and Shae butter is really conditioning so i have no idea how that would help the knotting???? That's more for dreads that are already locked up tight. Your dreads aren't supposed to go right to the scalp that can lead to premature dread loss down the road.Interlocking(pulling the dread through the root) is also really damaging and pointless. Just leave em alone they will take care of themselves.

kelley lea said:

all true. i "twisted and ripped" mine in rubber bands and had problems with 2 or 3 not knotting at the root. it was like a dread that just... stopped, kept getting further and further from my scalp. coulda been the method, but they just didn't knot. i originally crocheted those, quit that, rubbed em, and pretty much quit that. i work raw shae butter in the roots which probably helps. they're all knotting up there own way now.

do nothingthe roots take care of themselves u dont gotta rub or do a thing they dread on theyte own


--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

very vewry bad idea crochet is horrible just leave em alone

kelley lea said:

crochet? try taking some of the loose hairs outside and threading them back through the root. this might hurt more than clockwise rubbing though, depending on how much you twist the dread and/or how tight you pull the hair through.
when you 'clockwise rub', how far out from your scalp are you pinching the dread? try going out a little further. this might help the roots knot up without pulling them away from the scalp so much, you know.

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1
updated by @soaring-eagle: 07/23/15 08:57:48AM

when your dreads are young they have 1-3 inches loosenormalas they mature thats reduced but u gotta ler it reduce on its own no forcingby 8 months or a year it will be 1/2 inch and holdthereforcing it tighter is a really bad idea


--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

um, wow, you want to tighten you roots but wonder why it hurts? have you ever made a pony tail to tight? same thing, dreading to close to the scalp can cause the hairs to pull and be painful, crocheting would just make it worse not to mention the damage it would do as far as weakening the dread at the root which could cause them break off where they were crocheted and may need constant upkeep or it will just undo itself because your not really knotting the loose hair, your just tucking it into the dread, to hide it.hair dreads on it's own anyway, so anything done to "maintain" half the time ends up hampering progress and causes more trouble down the road; all these products and gels and tools and special what evers, it's funny, with straight hair we just comb out the knots ripping the hair out at the root and hurting ourselves as well as our hair, some even use straightening irons and products that damages the hair further just to make it straight, which would say to me that keeping your hair straight is unnatural and is damaging and painful, and really doesn't need to be done but we forge on with relaxers and special shampoo's and who knows what.now with dreads, we let our hair do what it wants, sometimes it gets started with one method or another but the idea is the same, a natural, product free, worry free, healthy lifestyle, which, at least in my experience, makes people with dreads pretty chill, because they've let go of the stresses of vanity and accepted that this is me, naturally, beautifully; when you start getting caught up in the vanity they lose meaning and become a mess of products and stress that ends up with a shaved head or a bad attitude from all the constant worry and focus placed on how your dreads look and then when you ask for help you can't accept that something might fix itself over time so your left constantly looking to find out how to fix something that isn't broke and regret your dreads because you backcombed and person a has better looking dreads because they crochet and person b has great dreads because they went natural and person c yadda yadda yadda, it's just a big circle or regret over something that should be a happy, positive experience.and even though i hate to repeat anything from them regarding dreads, on dhhq's site i found this in the faq's:How do I dread my roots as they grow?You don't, Jah does! But you can help Jah out. (No disrespect to Jah was meant by that comment, Rastafari believe that Jah forms your locks and the shape of your locks is influenced by your personality) The roots are always the last part of the lock to dread. In the first few months all you can really hope for is to keep them looking good. They won't really tighten and start to lock by themselves until the rest of the lock has tightened completely. The roots are, by definition, the point where the hair grows out of the scalp. Since the hair follicle's continue to push the hair out straight and unknotted (the knots don't ever come pushing out of your scalp pre-formed) you'll always have some undreaded or straight hair at the roots. It doesn't seem possible that straight hair held at both ends could lock at all. The hairs that are actually doing the locking are the new baby hairs growing out of the scalp and the ends of the old mature hairs that just fell out but can't go anywhere cause they are being held in place by the rest of the dread.sorry, i don't mean to vent or come off as rude, but man, i don't understand how there can be so much information on why you shouldn't do something, yet people still suggest it