No Wash Dreads?? anyone done it?

hi - my dreads are over 2 years old and ive been using the bicarb/vinegar wash routine and it works fine but i'm getting fed up with having to wash my dreads every 4/5 days otherwise the regrowth and roots look greasy. Before dreads i hadn't used any shampoo/conditioner/products on my hair for years - just water - i got through the greasy stage in a few months and then my hair self cleaned. Surely i can do the same with dreads?? i realise while its greasy it wont dread up as well but that stage will pass and then my hair will be clean so it should dread up fine again? Anyone have any experience? I'm pretty sure the van dwelling travellers of my party-ing days didnt wash in bicarb/vinegar every few days and they all had fab dreads!!

thanks x

updated by @mel2: 02/14/15 02:28:11AM

clean? it wasnt clean it was less greasy theres a diference

1 guy joined that hadnt washed in 8 years and complained about how heavy his were at 1/3 the length of mine they weighted about 3 times as much ..all dirt

dirt dont wash out with water only

all your doing is producuing less oils not getting it clean..at all

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

i get what you mean about the dreads needing cleaning and that was my concern - i was imagining doing a deep clean on them once a month or so but only the ends - not my scalp. But you're wrong about unwashed hair not being clean - i was like that for years and have no doubt that my hair was clean, i used water on it on a weekly basis so could see after a few rinses the 'dirt' coming out. Also both my kids have never had their hair washed - they're 8 and 2.5 - and their hair looks and smells beautiful, it is clean! its one of those things you need to experience to understand properly. I realise it might not work with dreads but was looking for opinions on whether it could be done - i was imagining doing a water and tea tree wash once a week for scalp health and the bicarb/vinegar deep clean on dreads but not scalp every 3/4 weeks.

i would think your scalp would become a disaster fast i went a couple months only cause we had no way to wash and it was pure hell i was so desperate to wash i washed it outside in the drivewaywhen it was 12 degrees out ..brutaly cold but i was so desperate to wash them i had to

i dont know why youd want to wash less i love love love washing how much better they feel after every wash have u tried the dreadlockshampoo.com bars? youd probly want to wash twice as much as u do now if u did

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

within a few days of washing my roots and stray hairs are greasy and then i HAVE to wash - i hate having to do it and would like to be able to go longer, i'm imagining periods of time when im camping or travelling and dont have access to bicarb and cider vinegar. I'm remembering how ungreasy my hair was after a few months of stopping using products(ie stopping trying to degrease it and letting it regulate itself) and wondering if there was a way to get my roots to that stage and still keep the dreads clean!

baking soda is all you will neeed to keep a clean head so your hair will dread. making sure you onlyt rinse your haior with cold cold water will help regulatre oily hair too. i used to hsave greasy hair too, once i stopped washing with hot water the oily hair and scalp got better

Castaway J said:

baking soda is all you will neeed to keep a clean head so your hair will dread. making sure you onlyt rinse your haior with cold cold water will help regulatre oily hair too. i used to hsave greasy hair too, once i stopped washing with hot water the oily hair and scalp got better

cheers i will try cold water - had heard that before but forgotten it!

do you mean just a cold bicrb wash then cold rinse and forget the vinegar?

ta x

This thread kinda got me thinking. Before soap, shampoo or baking soda, didn't people just wash their hair with plain water?

like i say its something you need to experience to understand!! my daughters hair is waist length blond ringlets - people stop me in the street to tell me how lovely it is. She has never had it washed - it is lightly sprayed each morning with water containing some essential oils and then brushed well - the brushing dislodges anything in it. It smells and feels and look beautiful. The same as mine was clean and healthy when i just used water on it. This wasnt an arguement i wanted to start - i know my hair can self clean because i experienced it for many years, anyone elses opionion or experience with their own hair is up to them. I was after anyone who had experienced not washing the roots and how they dread up after you get through the greasy period - i am sure it would work if i could find a way to keep my scalp healthy and the dreads clean. Then i would be free from the twice a week washing routine - which i would like and would be so much asier when travelling / campingthanks

thanks for the advice about acv - i will stop using that. i have clearly said i have every intention of still cleaning the dreads - i imagine they would be nasty very quickly without washing them . i said i intended to do the bicarb deep clean as often as needed - and was looking for experience of how long that might be. But the thing id like to change is regularly washing my scalp in something that is removing the natural oils and therefore encouraging my body to produce more oil there. If you need un greasy roots for them to dread up then going through the oily stage until your hair self regulates might well work - as i said twice earlier i intend to use water and tea tree - and after the advice given here will also try a little bicarb - to keep my scalp healthy, but would like to be free of the cycle that has happened where i wash my dreads and a few days later my hair is greasy again and needs to be washed. i have a lifestyle that means i will not always be able to keep this routine up for longer periods of time and was looking for solutions.It would seem to me that my roots and my dreads themselves could easily be looked after and kept clean with 2 different methods, allowing me to go longer without cleaning or looking greasy. Maybe i didnt explain myself well enough. thanks again for advice