Help and advice please for new dreads I'm sooooo confused!!!!

Okay Hello im Harriet and I've like just this minute signed up hahha! Im so glad I've found this website its has helped me loads already but will all the information I'm just so confused by it all and what to do ect. So I'm really new to dreadlocks my hair has only been dreaded since the 7th of April so like 1/2 days ago so there pure babies and i got them using the backcomb and crochet method. I actually didnt know how bad for you hair the crochet method could be until the day after when i found this site and read everything so the crochet needle is away and never again shall be used again but I'm wondering like what will happen to my dreads now, will they fall out or anything or like how do i maintain them now without causing more damage?

Also (i know sorry long post but I've got so many questions, i dont even know if I'm in the right place haha!!!) I've heard of a few people washing their scalp (and been recommended) with "Simples" Pure soap and just letting it rinse down into the dreads like twice a week and then for a deep clean I've been told to use "Aussie" Mega shampoo and to dilute it and just squeeze it into the dreads then rinse it all out about once a month. Both of these products use natural ingredients and are perfume and colour free but since finding this site I've heard a lot about baking soda and other things but nothing about the products I've been recommended and i just dont know what to do or what to use.

Help would be so much appreciated right now because I'm just stuck!!! i dont know what to do !!!!!

updated by @harriet: 02/14/15 09:17:22AM

For some reason, the link to the pic isn't working.

The BS wash is really just the simplest method. I haven't tried it yet because for me it's easy to find soap made specifically for locks. If you ca't find Dr. Bronners or it costs too much to ship soap for dreadlockshampoo.com to you, go with the BS wash. It's really easy and doesn't need any scrubbing. Wash way more than once a month, too. You should be washing ever 2-3 days in the beginning. Liquid soaps are better for baby locks. Once they mature, you could, if you want to, switch to a bar, but it's notnecessary.

Sorry to hear that you crochet them first. Just stop doing it and let your hair fix itself. It will take some time, but if you only did it the once, to start, it'll be ok. It's when people use that method over and over again for long periods that they risk locks falling out. Don't worry. They'll be ok. Crochet hooks just tighten your locks too much and can cause baldness around your roots. If you let them be from now on, they will grow out and your new root growth with thicken up and be fine. The dreaducation link at the top of the page has a ton of really good info on what you should and should do.

Maintenance is not necessary. If you let them go naturally, they will be beautiful. And if you don't mess with them, then you can tell any employer that you are letting your hair lock up naturally and that it's a spiritual process. You can't be forced to cut them for a job. If you keep them maintained then it's a harder arguement, because them it looks like you are treating them like a hairstyle that you are not serious about.

Welcome. We're all hear to answer questions like this. Don't be shy

First of your dreads are not gonna fall out! lolI do support putting down the crochet needle<<Never pick it up again. Second I just tried the Baking Soda andwater to wash my dreads! AWESOME COMBO! Its all you need..Second you can use like rose water or like lavendar all nautural to give it scents..Some people use Sea salt sometime as a Loc tightner also.Give those products you are currently using to friends..your locs don't need anything but love and the natural products and not commercial ones!The very simple houshold products work just fine..>>THEY WORK!!!

Good luck on your journey!!! Blessssssssssssss

Thank you both of you for help !!

i think I'm going to try the baking soda wash. Tomorrow will be my third day so i shall wash them then and see how it turns out :D!!!

Thank you

Just letting you know, so you wont be surprised, the first bunch of washed will cause your hair to untangle a lot. That is natural. Dreadlocks are a one step forward two steps back process, until they are mature. They look awesome before you wash them. You might feel like you did something wrong because all the effort you went through to knot them comes undone after you wash them. Don't worry. They will knot themselves up again as the mature. Don't re back comb them or anything. It'll just make you feel like they are taking forever to knot because they keep coming undone. Most methods to start them just set up the blueprints for where you want the sections to be.

Sea salt might help a little bit, with keeping them locked, but don't expect to com eout of the shower and have them looking just like they did today.

And for the sea salt. You want a 3.5% mix of salt to water. That's about what ocean water is. Any more could dry out your scalp and make you super itchy.

Good luck. Let us know how it is. And if you get a chance, I do want to see what your locks look like. try and post a pic

Okay thank you!! when i finish washing them ill try not to panic haha!! Ill try putting some sea salt in to see if that works any better ! am i right in thinking after i wash them i can just throw them up into a towel and dry them with a hair dryer. I have rubber bands in at the tops of my dreads to keep them in at the roots so i won't make the dryer to hot so i dont melt them.

And yeah i have a picture on my profile i think but ill upload one tomorrow of my first post wash dreads hahah!!

Thanks again

Thanks for you advice aswell on my bands on the tips. As soon as i have washed tomorrow i shall take them out. Will the bands at the roots be okay to leave in for a little longer? On some dreadlocks sites they advise you to leave bands in the roots for the first two months but i was only planning on leaving mine in for one month unless they were really bad in which case id leave them in.

Take the bands out. They hurt more than help.

And after you wash them, you can wring the excess water out with a towel, but you should let them hand loose to dry. Air drying them is always better. the only time I'd recommend a blow dryer is in winter, when you have somewhere to go really soon, or if you have super fat locks. Other than that, You should not put them up in a towel for more than 5 minutes. Just let them hang. Go outside or something and let them dry in the sun. That's the best way to be sure they are totally dry. As babies, they should dry pretty quickly. As they mature, they take longer to dry.

And don't rub your head with a towel. Just use it to squeeze extra water out. Rubbing causes knots to come undone.

I didn't notice the ones at the roots. Take them out too. If you really wanted to leave any bands in, use them only at the tips. The ones at the roots are the ones that stand the most chance of getting sucked in and rotting

Will do and thanks again for the help! i so needed this i have been so confused!