Baby dreads, too much sea salt, and my solution.

So, FYI all non believers, over salting is really really really easy to do.I know this has been covered before but I figured I would have my 2 cents as well.

My dreads were crispy. I didn't realize how crispy until I moisturized with the raw coconut oil.

I didn't want to saturate my dreads and lose any progress or kill any of the newly born natural dreads that have been popping up here and there the last couple weeks.

So what I did was moisturized my hands and ran them through my hair. I did this a couple times just to make sure I had touched all the dreads at least once. Some of the particularly dry ones I made sure to squeeze before I touched any other but otherwise there was no palm rolling or anything like that. Just running freshly moisturized hands over my hair.

I didn't coat my hands like crazy or anything. Just used the same amount I would use to normally moisturize my hands.

After running my hands through a few times I wrapped my dreads around each other in different directions, like making a bun, a few times, kinda just rubbing them all up against each other to kind of spread it out. If that actually helped, I don't know, but it makes sense to me! Then I took a hot bath, sat around for a while, then did my standard BS/ACV rinse routine.

Today my dreads feel AWESOME. Better than they have ever felt before. They're softer than they were in the first few days of starting them but not in the sense that they've loosened or anything. If anything else they've been tightening and looping even more than usual.

In a way it's a bad thing because I just want to fondle my hair all the time but I definitely recommend this light application of raw coconut oil for salt damaged hair. I also recommend not using salt in the first place. It's really really easy to over do it. It seems almost like crossing a line. You can do so much but once you reach the limit you better not go past it because it's going to get bad fast.

updated by @tied-up-in-knots: 01/13/15 09:21:03PM

Just so people know when I first started my dreads I never use salt never went in the ocean, I was in the mountains. Over drying your scalp and hair isn't necessary. Drying slightly might help over drying does not help.

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

The crazy thing is I two really low salt mixes in one week and everything was great. I did another light application a couple weeks later and everything went to hell. It wasn't awful like hair falling out or breaking but I did not like how my dreads felt at all. It was not pleasant.

I can't imagine anyone continuing after feeling dreads like mine but I imagine if someone left the salt on for a long time it could easily end up worse in the same amount of applications.

It's just not worth it. I do believe it helped at first but I should have quit after the first time. I was addicted to the idea of doing things to my hair. Now that I've balance it back out I'm sticking to just keeping it clean. No magic fixes.

I'm really just glad I managed to not over do it the other way in trying to reverse the damage. I know that coconut oil can be very conditioning. I'm going to leave it at this one application and see what happens. If my hair crisps back up then I will think about doing it again. As it is my hair feels really nice.

And just for the record, I kept the salt away from my scalp, just rinsed the body of the dreads. I was concerned for my scalp but not enough for my dreads! The third time was just a spray on application. All the salt was rinsed out within the hour. If not sooner as I have no patience and take no watch into the bathroom.

Allow me to be the example of how easy it is to over dry your hair so others think twice about doing it themselves. Stop at one and then wait several months if you are dead set on it. But really, just don't do it. Even moisturized my hair is moving along doing it's thing. Heck, with how many loops I've acquired since I moisturized my hair I'd say that it's moving faster now that it's not all crunchy.

I wish pictures could show how dry they were. But while they looked nice they felt horrendous.

soaring eagle said:

Just so people know when I first started my dreads I never use salt never went in the ocean, I was in the mountains. Over drying your scalp and hair isn't necessary. Drying slightly might help over drying does not help.

how about somewhere where the weather is very humid? I feel like mine are starting to look worse than before.. and I stopped maintaining them at all like you suggested. I turn one year in September since the last time the crochet has been in my hair (or maybe next month, because that time it didn't really count.. I was just playing to see if I can tighten some of them). I'll upload a photo here so you can see what I'm talking about.

soaring eagle said:

Just so people know when I first started my dreads I never use salt never went in the ocean, I was in the mountains. Over drying your scalp and hair isn't necessary. Drying slightly might help over drying does not help.

typical crochet recovery look at all that hair popping out everywhere its way more then if u went natural why becxcause thats what crochet does breaks hairs that pop out a week later needing more crochet to pull em in breaking more which pop out so u get "hooked" on hooking yea u become a hooker haha u constantly fight to control the problem your causing

it takes a long time to recover from crochet the more u did it the longer it takes

aloe can helo=]p loosen them up so they can start to dread right sooner and can smooth the loose hairs down temporarily but it looks like your loosened enough to dread now so sea salt will help tighten them back up when they start to dread right are u getting loops yet?

dont worry they will get better just tge recovery cab take a long time thats why i never recomend crochet even once

Razvan said:

how about somewhere where the weather is very humid? I feel like mine are starting to look worse than before.. and I stopped maintaining them at all like you suggested. I turn one year in September since the last time the crochet has been in my hair (or maybe next month, because that time it didn't really count.. I was just playing to see if I can tighten some of them). I'll upload a photo here so you can see what I'm talking about.

soaring eagle said:

Just so people know when I first started my dreads I never use salt never went in the ocean, I was in the mountains. Over drying your scalp and hair isn't necessary. Drying slightly might help over drying does not help.

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

thanks.. that picture was taken 2 months ago.. now they're starting to look better anyway, but there's lots of loose hairs, that, if not tied at the back, doesn't look anything like dreads. I only used the sea salt once before and I must say, it does seem to work. the thing is, weather is so humid, I'm sweating all the time, especially my neck is always sweaty.. and at the same time winds are blowing really hard. guessing this type of weather is not really for dreading (I may be the only white guy over here with them).

soaring eagle said:

typical crochet recovery look at all that hair popping out everywhere its way more then if u went natural why becxcause thats what crochet does breaks hairs that pop out a week later needing more crochet to pull em in breaking more which pop out so u get "hooked" on hooking yea u become a hooker haha u constantly fight to control the problem your causing

it takes a long time to recover from crochet the more u did it the longer it takes

aloe can helo=]p loosen them up so they can start to dread right sooner and can smooth the loose hairs down temporarily but it looks like your loosened enough to dread now so sea salt will help tighten them back up when they start to dread right are u getting loops yet?

dont worry they will get better just tge recovery cab take a long time thats why i never recomend crochet even once

Razvan said:

how about somewhere where the weather is very humid? I feel like mine are starting to look worse than before.. and I stopped maintaining them at all like you suggested. I turn one year in September since the last time the crochet has been in my hair (or maybe next month, because that time it didn't really count.. I was just playing to see if I can tighten some of them). I'll upload a photo here so you can see what I'm talking about.

soaring eagle said:

Just so people know when I first started my dreads I never use salt never went in the ocean, I was in the mountains. Over drying your scalp and hair isn't necessary. Drying slightly might help over drying does not help.

I was actually thinking about shaving those loose hairs close to the neck, at the margins, heard they eat vitamins anyway, but that would asume some maintenance, which, is kind of against the "rasta" beliefs

Razvan said:

thanks.. that picture was taken 2 months ago.. now they're starting to look better anyway, but there's lots of loose hairs, that, if not tied at the back, doesn't look anything like dreads. I only used the sea salt once before and I must say, it does seem to work. the thing is, weather is so humid, I'm sweating all the time, especially my neck is always sweaty.. and at the same time winds are blowing really hard. guessing this type of weather is not really for dreading (I may be the only white guy over here with them).

soaring eagle said:

typical crochet recovery look at all that hair popping out everywhere its way more then if u went natural why becxcause thats what crochet does breaks hairs that pop out a week later needing more crochet to pull em in breaking more which pop out so u get "hooked" on hooking yea u become a hooker haha u constantly fight to control the problem your causing

it takes a long time to recover from crochet the more u did it the longer it takes

aloe can helo=]p loosen them up so they can start to dread right sooner and can smooth the loose hairs down temporarily but it looks like your loosened enough to dread now so sea salt will help tighten them back up when they start to dread right are u getting loops yet?

dont worry they will get better just tge recovery cab take a long time thats why i never recomend crochet even once

Razvan said:

how about somewhere where the weather is very humid? I feel like mine are starting to look worse than before.. and I stopped maintaining them at all like you suggested. I turn one year in September since the last time the crochet has been in my hair (or maybe next month, because that time it didn't really count.. I was just playing to see if I can tighten some of them). I'll upload a photo here so you can see what I'm talking about.

soaring eagle said:

Just so people know when I first started my dreads I never use salt never went in the ocean, I was in the mountains. Over drying your scalp and hair isn't necessary. Drying slightly might help over drying does not help.

definately wouldnt shave thoe loose hairs will dread up when they are reasy

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Ok so I if have this stuff...argan oil....is this safe to use on my baby dreads? The only reason I ask is because I think I might have over done it with the sea salt ....any advice