knotting slower due to water hardness??

well, i did find the dandruff shampoo you recommended and the chelating shampoo, too. i think the chelating one is going back to the store. i washed my hair with it today and it did get all the build up out of my hair but it also stripped my hair of any and all moisture and left it feeling like dried hay. just awful. it actually makes a crunchy sound when i touch it. not good. my son washed his hair with the garnier one and he said his hair has never felt so clean. i might try that one next. i'm also going to give bs/acv washes a go again. i've been adding bs to my shampoo mixes all along but i think i want to try a more hands off when washing approach and see if that helps the underside to knot. how much acv do you use in your rinse?

thanks so much for chiming in here, panterra. you know i love you and really appreciate your wealth of knowledge that you share with everyone. {{{big hugs}}}

Panterra Caraway said:

Okay, looks like it is about time that I step in here. As for hard and soft water... Soft water leaves hair and skin luxuriously soft...so soft, that it makes washing soap out VERY difficult. I guess I am spoiled because I grew up in a household where my parents used a soft water service every month and paid through the nose for us to have soft water throughout our house. I can explain it this way...ever use that tissue that is advertised to be easy on your nose and contains aloe vera? It feels kind of slimey, like someone already blew their nose on it! That is what softened water feels like! Like you are pouring lotion on your head and body. So, no...a resounding no! This would not be the answer to helping hair dread. Expensive shower heads are just a small scale version of soft water tanks and will give you the same result. It will waste your money and sorely disappoint you. Heather, you mention chelating shampoos in another post. This is a point of controversy, because there has been no concrete evidence that chelating shampoos even work. Besides that, you are only truly needing to remove mineral deposits if you are using chemicals on the hair (as in color, bleach or perms) and the minerals create a barrier. I have had clients who live in rural areas and they use well water, which can react with haircolor negatively...in this case a chelating shampoo may be of some help but quite frankly I would reach for another product before I would trust that to rebalance my client.On to my next topic...Hair health. I have said it before, andI will say it again. If anyone goes into dreading with the belief that they will continue to have healthy hair they are fooling themselves. Healthy hair will not dread! People on this site most especially cling to the notion that because they are not using chemicals that their hair is healthy. That is completely not true! For hair to knot adequately enough to dread, the cuticle layer ofhair hasto be severely compromised and that is a fact. There are degrees of damage...things that are breakage inducing, like crochet and back combing. But healthy hair will not knot! Healthy hair, unless of a very specific texture does not frizz. When you just wash your hair and don't cut it you are never replenishing it either. Hair is dead matter...therefore, if you do not replenish it...it is deteriorating and that is also a fact. The only live component of hair is the follicle (which is inside your scalp). So for a frank explaination as to why you are notdreading...you have to stop holding on to the notion that your hair will remain healthy. I clung to this impossible notion for 8 mos. and it was the reason I was so unhappy and disappointed. I keep thinking that somehow, my healthy hair would dread and it will not...I promise you that. Cutting and the use of a protein rich (the very substance hair is comprised of) conditioner to protect and replenish hair is theONLY way to keep it healthy. You may think that your hair is brittle and dry...and I am sure that compared to how it used to be it is...but you yourself said that the underside is healthy...and until it is all compromised you will continue to be disappointed. I don't believe that chemicals are our friends...but I do realize, as a professional that just because our grandparents used BS to wash their hair it isn't somehow a organic, magic solution. Afterall, BS is used to strip off residue to prepare walls for painting! Let's just all be real here...dreaded hair is damaged just by the simple concept that it is dreaded. A pregnant woman can not also be a virgin (unless you are... well, you know who) and dreaded hair is damaged hair. You just try to keep the level of damage to a livable level. Enough to achieve dreading, but not enough to lose hair through baldness or breakage. Oh, and P.S. to some members here...ACV is not a conditioner!!!

updated by @heather: 07/09/15 10:24:35PM

Heather, I hope I didn't come off sounding mean and harsh. I love you too and I know that you are stretched to the end of your patience rope. I just don't know how else to put it in reference to the hair health issue. So many people here don't seem to want to accept the concept that dreads are basically "controlled damage". No, I am not advocating harmful methods such as crochet, or even backcombing. But, in all honesty....all dreading does some sort of damage. I wish that it wasn't the case. I would give anything to have the healthy hair I used to have but all dreaded...it is just not possible. I am glad that I can offer knowledge when asked. I have spent my entire life doing hair and want nothing more than create hair experts by educationing anyone willing to listen I think hair is important <3 As far as the BS and ACV...I tend to think that equal or near equal amounts on each is a safe bet since what you are doing in actuality is balancing the ph. If you find that the hair feels a bit softer than you like, up the BS...if you find the hair to be too dry, up the ACV. Hope that helps.

Heather said:

well, i did find the dandruff shampoo you recommended and the chelating shampoo, too. i think the chelating one is going back to the store. i washed my hair with it today and it did get all the build up out of my hair but it also stripped my hair of any and all moisture and left it feeling like dried hay. just awful. it actually makes a crunchy sound when i touch it. not good. my son washed his hair with the garnier one and he said his hair has never felt so clean. i might try that one next. i'm also going to give bs/acv washes a go again. i've been adding bs to my shampoo mixes all along but i think i want to try a more hands off when washing approach and see if that helps the underside to knot. how much acv do you use in your rinse?

thanks so much for chiming in here, panterra. you know i love you and really appreciate your wealth of knowledge that you share with everyone. {{{big hugs}}}

Panterra Caraway said:

Okay, looks like it is about time that I step in here. As for hard and soft water... Soft water leaves hair and skin luxuriously soft...so soft, that it makes washing soap out VERY difficult. I guess I am spoiled because I grew up in a household where my parents used a soft water service every month and paid through the nose for us to have soft water throughout our house. I can explain it this way...ever use that tissue that is advertised to be easy on your nose and contains aloe vera? It feels kind of slimey, like someone already blew their nose on it! That is what softened water feels like! Like you are pouring lotion on your head and body. So, no...a resounding no! This would not be the answer to helping hair dread. Expensive shower heads are just a small scale version of soft water tanks and will give you the same result. It will waste your money and sorely disappoint you. Heather, you mention chelating shampoos in another post. This is a point of controversy, because there has been no concrete evidence that chelating shampoos even work. Besides that, you are only truly needing to remove mineral deposits if you are using chemicals on the hair (as in color, bleach or perms) and the minerals create a barrier. I have had clients who live in rural areas and they use well water, which can react with haircolor negatively...in this case a chelating shampoo may be of some help but quite frankly I would reach for another product before I would trust that to rebalance my client.On to my next topic...Hair health. I have said it before, andI will say it again. If anyone goes into dreading with the belief that they will continue to have healthy hair they are fooling themselves. Healthy hair will not dread! People on this site most especially cling to the notion that because they are not using chemicals that their hair is healthy. That is completely not true! For hair to knot adequately enough to dread, the cuticle layer ofhair hasto be severely compromised and that is a fact. There are degrees of damage...things that are breakage inducing, like crochet and back combing. But healthy hair will not knot! Healthy hair, unless of a very specific texture does not frizz. When you just wash your hair and don't cut it you are never replenishing it either. Hair is dead matter...therefore, if you do not replenish it...it is deteriorating and that is also a fact. The only live component of hair is the follicle (which is inside your scalp). So for a frank explaination as to why you are notdreading...you have to stop holding on to the notion that your hair will remain healthy. I clung to this impossible notion for 8 mos. and it was the reason I was so unhappy and disappointed. I keep thinking that somehow, my healthy hair would dread and it will not...I promise you that. Cutting and the use of a protein rich (the very substance hair is comprised of) conditioner to protect and replenish hair is theONLY way to keep it healthy. You may think that your hair is brittle and dry...and I am sure that compared to how it used to be it is...but you yourself said that the underside is healthy...and until it is all compromised you will continue to be disappointed. I don't believe that chemicals are our friends...but I do realize, as a professional that just because our grandparents used BS to wash their hair it isn't somehow a organic, magic solution. Afterall, BS is used to strip off residue to prepare walls for painting! Let's just all be real here...dreaded hair is damaged just by the simple concept that it is dreaded. A pregnant woman can not also be a virgin (unless you are... well, you know who) and dreaded hair is damaged hair. You just try to keep the level of damage to a livable level. Enough to achieve dreading, but not enough to lose hair through baldness or breakage. Oh, and P.S. to some members here...ACV is not a conditioner!!!

i n mature dreads i use4 equal ammounts in young dreads id use lot less acv unless it is real dry

if you were adding bs to the shampoo and scrubbing thats why your slow i bet unless u only scrubbed the scalp

if u tery the bs without shamooo without toucghing at all i bet u see a difference

i tried that antidandruff shampoo too and kloved it i think ill use it every so often as needed

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

i only scrub my scalp. i just let the shampoo drip down the rest of my hair. i dilute a little shampoo and a tbs or two of bs in a squirt bottle of distilled water. i squirt it directly on my scalp. i'm going to alternate bs/acv washes with shampoo/bs washes.

soaring eagle said:

i n mature dreads i use4 equal ammounts in young dreads id use lot less acv unless it is real dry

if you were adding bs to the shampoo and scrubbing thats why your slow i bet unless u only scrubbed the scalp

if u tery the bs without shamooo without toucghing at all i bet u see a difference

i tried that antidandruff shampoo too and kloved it i think ill use it every so often as needed

@panterra you weren't harsh at all. i think you just tell it like it is and i appreciate that. i'm so beyond frustrated with my lack for progress. as you know this is one thing in my life i was excited to accomplish but i'm not feeling so happy with it anymore. its just dry, stringy, ugly hair. i wasn't blessed with a ton of hair like a lot of the girls on here and its become less and less with stress and age. in hind sight, i probably should've just t&r and moved on from the very beginning but i was inspired by you and naturalwoman and really hoped the neglect way would somehow work for me, too. i'm just getting sick of waiting for it to finally be dreadlocks. i have a ton of unknotted hair and i still shed hair all over the house. i told myself in the beginning i would give it a year and then decide if i want to continue but i really don't want to give up. i don't know if i want to wait another year though just to see if anything changes. i feel ugly andembarrassedfor my very patient and understanding husband that has to look at me every day. ugh:(

I think if you gave up now, you would always wonder.I have thought many times that perhaps if I could see and feel your hair...maybe I could suggest something else or have an idea. I really would be willing to drive out to see you. I don't drive the freeways, but my husband would take me I am sure. We could meet and if you want, even have lunch. Maybe if you saw my hair too, it would giveyou a chance to feel the texture and we could see if it is just a matter of your hair being too healthy or if something else we haven't even considered is going on. I know it sounds crazy, but I can just feel hair and know certain things about it. It is a skill that I have honed over the years, but any good stylist relies on the power of touch. Tell me what you think. I would behappy to finally meet you and see if there is more that can be done to change your frustration into joy <3

wow that is amazing. very moving panterra

i would love that! we could trade our crochet items we made, too. maybe we can meet half way like diamond bar or something. i'll message you so we can plan it out:)

Panterra Caraway said:

I think if you gave up now, you would always wonder.I have thought many times that perhaps if I could see and feel your hair...maybe I could suggest something else or have an idea. I really would be willing to drive out to see you. I don't drive the freeways, but my husband would take me I am sure. We could meet and if you want, even have lunch. Maybe if you saw my hair too, it would giveyou a chance to feel the texture and we could see if it is just a matter of your hair being too healthy or if something else we haven't even considered is going on. I know it sounds crazy, but I can just feel hair and know certain things about it. It is a skill that I have honed over the years, but any good stylist relies on the power of touch. Tell me what you think. I would behappy to finally meet you and see if there is more that can be done to change your frustration into joy <3

Sounds like a great plan !!!!!

Heather said:

i would love that! we could trade our crochet items we made, too. maybe we can meet half way like diamond bar or something. i'll message you so we can plan it out:)

Panterra Caraway said:

I think if you gave up now, you would always wonder.I have thought many times that perhaps if I could see and feel your hair...maybe I could suggest something else or have an idea. I really would be willing to drive out to see you. I don't drive the freeways, but my husband would take me I am sure. We could meet and if you want, even have lunch. Maybe if you saw my hair too, it would giveyou a chance to feel the texture and we could see if it is just a matter of your hair being too healthy or if something else we haven't even considered is going on. I know it sounds crazy, but I can just feel hair and know certain things about it. It is a skill that I have honed over the years, but any good stylist relies on the power of touch. Tell me what you think. I would behappy to finally meet you and see if there is more that can be done to change your frustration into joy <3

this community is really amazing!

keep it up )