Concerning the use of rubberbands.

so you were using them in the beginning to keep the sections apart? Definitly keep sharing experiences! That's what a forum is all about! :o)
updated by @naturalwomyn: 07/20/15 01:42:25AM

Yup, when my hair was being dreaded the bands were in to hold them in their sections and since then I've found that they keep the dreads nicely seperated and actually help them dread - sometimesI miss it when one comes out and the dread has quite a bit of straight growth at the roots.

Sorry to hijack the thread!

Interesting. I think yours might be the first hand account of someone with mature dreads actually using rubberbands. I can see how they might help keep the sections in place. I wouldnt use that many tho just incase i forgot to take a few out;wouldnt want them to get swallowed up.

Cathy said:

Yup, when my hair was being dreaded the bands were in to hold them in their sections and since then I've found that they keep the dreads nicely seperated and actually help them dread - sometimesI miss it when one comes out and the dread has quite a bit of straight growth at the roots.

Sorry to hijack the thread!

yes, it would work good if you wanna make only one dread with them.
I had 4 small dreads that came together as a congo and just by using rubber bands I made one big dread.

Don't put them too tight andkeep them onfor at least 3 weeks or more.

I started out with bands at the roots, tips and a few in the middle and now I have one permenetly in a dread! I tried to dig for it to remove it but was breaking hairs so I said the heck with it and its still there!

It's a shame you don't have a pic - I'd be interested to see your bleached dreads, there are plenty of horror stories that bleach makes your dreads rot, I'm not a fan of the use of chemicals aspect but I can't get past my love of the look of light coloured dreads

Cathy said:

I'm probably going to get lynched for this but......all of my dreads have rubberbands at the roots and always have. My hair would be really straight and fine so doesn't dread very well when left to its own devices. As my boredom relief I go through the bands and take out the ones that lose their stretch regularly and as I get my dreads bleached they all get taken out and replaced every 2 months.

I think as long as you keep an eye on them it's fine.

Never attached pics before so sorry if it's huge! I'm a bit nervous about the bleach damaging them too but I make sure they're rinsed very thoroughly. On the downside it does make them quite dry for a week or so after, can you recommend anything to soften them up a bit? If you fancy lighter dreads you could try lemon juice? I know it works for "normal" hair so I don't see why it wouldn't for dreads!

updated by @cathy: 02/05/15 10:12:49AM

wow! your hair is really pretty! looks like the rubber bands didn't do any harm to them.

Cathy said:

Never attached pics before so sorry if it's huge! I'm a bit nervous about the bleach damaging them too but I make sure they're rinsed very thoroughly. On the downside it does make them quite dry for a week or so after, can you recommend anything to soften them up a bit? If you fancy lighter dreads you could try lemon juice? I know it works for "normal" hair so I don't see why it wouldn't for dreads!

updated by @heather: 02/05/15 10:12:49AM

Thanks Heather