No Wash Dreads?? anyone done it?

I'm doing the same thing too, I just use baking soda, no vinegar, rinse with cool/luke water. I wash my hair Dreaded of course when needed. I've gone as long 2 weeks without washing, but when I do, I will use a lot of baking soda {2quarts water mixed with half cup of baking soda}. Rinsing is the most important for me. I like to make sure there's no excessive oil/dirt when it comes to squezzing whats remains in the dread itself. Honestly I think a month without washing is a bit much, but oils to help, like Lavender

updated by @javier-cruz2: 07/23/15 06:14:19PM

thanks for that - good to know it works! i think cutting out the acv will help loads - thats probably whats making my hair greasy again so quickly as the vinegar is such a strong de-greaser my scalp must think it needs to produce loads of oil to make up for it!! I can happily live with once a week or so knowing i can go a bit longer if i need to and that when i do need to wash when i'm camping etc all i need is a bucket, water and some bicarb! I have been using a shower head to rinse up till now but it disturbs all the baby roots that have started to curl round the dreads every time i do it - wondering if a bowl and a cup will be enough to rinse it? what do you use? ta x

Well I mix all items needed in to A Pitcher{BS,Lavender} The pitcher only holds 2 quarts of water and is wide as my hand. Just enough room to place my in and part or my forearm to mix when fill the pitcher.

The products I've use are Rosemary oil,Lavender oil,TeaTree oil. Careful with the teatree one. It uses are for antiseptic purposes. It could easily irritate the scalp and cause bleeding.

Thursday Plantation, I like their products. I've only used teatree oil/ toothpaste/ and cinnamon toothpicks

Lavender Harvest and Rosemary are Aura Cacia products.

They come in dark bottles, have droppers for measurement. I trust these products

thanks - i use tea tree, lavender and peppermint at the moment in every wash so i'll just keep doing that i think - the peppermint smells lovely!!

do you just rinse them out in a bowl of water or under running water? i guess its important to get the bs out properly.

Running water is best. your absolutely right.

Just thought I would throw this out there as this is an interesting topic to me. This girl on youtube says she does not wash her dreads and I think they are beautiful.

She does say a bunch of stuff I do not agree with though like using rubberbands!

I personally love washing my dreads and I do use the dreadlock shampoos SE is talking about. And I for sure believe that it helps the dreading process go quicker. But if you are not worried about that part then it doesn't matter!

I get very greasy roots and if this was years ago I would have been living in a tent for months on end and washing my hair happened when I made it to the couple miles away stream or it rained. So I can certainly see where it would come in handy to have the least greasy hair as possible when you do not have the means to wash your hair often.

I also almost never use shampoo or soap of any kind on my 7yr old and 2 yrs old heads. And they are doing just fine! I just pour water on their heads most of the time.

I have to wonder if "dirt" sticks to hair as much as it does to skin. I mean obviously if you are rubbing dirt into your dreads or rolling around in mud it is going to be an issue. But otherwise? I am not so sure. I def do agree that a good clean would be good at least once in awhile with dreads but your scalp might not need the same. Can't really say as I am not an expert on it!

Well I understand in today's society, living in a first world country people take advantage of washing their hair from time to time. But it occur to me that people from prehistoric time's or Egyptians didn't have modern umm... equipment. Anyways, the way I see it, the oil that human produce from the scalp catches the dirt flying around and eventually falls out due to the weight. Just a thought how the process might of happen ,even though washing dose have its benefits.

This is the same question I have. I'm looking for a mixture or method to use on my oily scalp in between washing so I don't have to completely wash my locs all the time. I know it prevents all the loose hairs from completely locking in, but I don't know what to do. Hopefully someone out there understands and can recommend a method...Thanks

mel said:

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

I did the first wash with just tea tree and bicarb yesterday - what a difference leaving out the acv has made!! Have you tries that Lisa? i know a bloke with waist length dreads who doesnt wash the length every time he washes them - he ties them back at the nape of his neck and soaks his scalp in the soloution - could you do that? Although i will tell you the length of my dreadlocks are beahving today like they havent been washed - before when i used acv all the loose hair and new growth would be fluffy and seperated(i have curly hair) and after a few days they were a bit oilier and started forming ringlets that wound themselves the dreads and looked likek they wanted to begin matting in - but every wash disturbed that . This time my hair looks and feels clean - not greasy - but the loose hair has stayed where it was wrapped round the dreads and after one night of sleeping on them some is tangling in nicely already!! i guess the acv was too conditioning. I also rinsed in cold water. Give it a go and see if it does what you need x

Lisa Wade said:

This is the same question I have. I'm looking for a mixture or method to use on my oily scalp in between washing so I don't have to completely wash my locs all the time. I know it prevents all the loose hairs from completely locking in, but I don't know what to do. Hopefully someone out there understands and can recommend a method...Thanks

mel said:

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

just keep an eye on your hair & scalp to make sure you aren't drying them out with the bakingsoda no acv route. if they start to dry out use very little acv when you need to. i am super oily & going without the acv for a bit really helped mine get on the right side of things, & the dreadlockshampoo bars were pretty great for my hair & oil issues too.

mel said:

I did the first wash with just tea tree and bicarb yesterday - what a difference leaving out the acv has made!! Have you tries that Lisa? i know a bloke with waist length dreads who doesnt wash the length every time he washes them - he ties them back at the nape of his neck and soaks his scalp in the soloution - could you do that? Although i will tell you the length of my dreadlocks are beahving today like they havent been washed - before when i used acv all the loose hair and new growth would be fluffy and seperated(i have curly hair) and after a few days they were a bit oilier and started forming ringlets that wound themselves the dreads and looked likek they wanted to begin matting in - but every wash disturbed that . This time my hair looks and feels clean - not greasy - but the loose hair has stayed where it was wrapped round the dreads and after one night of sleeping on them some is tangling in nicely already!! i guess the acv was too conditioning. I also rinsed in cold water. Give it a go and see if it does what you need x

Lisa Wade said:

This is the same question I have. I'm looking for a mixture or method to use on my oily scalp in between washing so I don't have to completely wash my locs all the time. I know it prevents all the loose hairs from completely locking in, but I don't know what to do. Hopefully someone out there understands and can recommend a method...Thanks

mel said:

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