The journey of wax removal

Right, so last year at the end of May I took the first step on the journey to dreadlocks. I researched for a couple weeks, and unfortunately only found JohnnyClean and DreadHeadHQ and other such NONSENSE. So I got suckered into buying wax and worked, a few at a time, over the next couple months. I stopped using the wax about 3 months in... too little too late. My dreads have been shrinking up and actually knotting up quite a bit since then, however a large amount of them are super hard and stiff (see photogs). I've been alternately washing with BS/ACV and naturalish shampoos (burt's bees, etc.) even before I started dreading, and I feel like it helped get some of the initial wax out. There are no residual signs of wax on the outside, in fact they're very dry and look seemingly healthy.

I've been researching wax removal recently, and tried to find De-Solv-It at both Walmart and Wegmans to no avail. Instead I grabbed Method Dish Soap, which is biodegradable and has a very short list of ingredients. Took an extremely hot shower and used about a third of the bottle and scrubbed until my hands were sore and my fingers raisin-y. It smelled nice and the outsides of my dreads were *literally* squeaky clean, however some of them seemed to have gotten even harder on the inside and shrunk up even more! I'm super frustrated and trying not to consider cutting them off because I've put so much effort and energy into their lives and am quite attatched.

Please help if anyone's got any good suggestions.

*note: the photos are from before I washed with the dish soap... pretty much the same after though

updated by @kristalynn: 02/14/15 02:05:57PM

vinsager heat dish soap all remove some some being the i]operative wiord they will scratch the sura-face thats why wax can resist 5 years of washings and trying to remove it

www.dreadlockshampoo.com has a wax remover that is very es-ffective howevere still mighttake a few tries to remove it all

it uses citrus to dissolve it lijke the dissolvit stuff but safter for hair

then use very hot warer abnd a dish soap most use dawn cause dawn is so good at cutting greae it does a god job of renmoving wax

after using the wax renmover u use the dawn and very very hot water

or the sghampoos sold on that site might be good too they get u super clean

but whatever workdes for u

the key is persistebce

wax is very hard to remove and it takes alot of effort

ogh also

if u used dreadheadhq wax they claim to offer a free wax remover now with alot of restrictions and conditions but since they sell ot fir 28 dollars u can try grtting it free ..even if u dont use it i bert its all harsh chemicals

the 1 from dls is 3all organic vegan

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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

cool man thanks. I'm on a low budget being in college and all... I think I'm gonna try a recipe I saw involving baking soda, tea tree oil and lemon juice. How do you feel about that? I'll probably end up ordering the wax remover stuff though at some point. And yea totally not gonna trust anything from DreadHeadHQ, although I might leave a bad review.

I'll try to keep yah posted

add your review here

http://www.dreadlockssite.com/page/dreadheadhq-and-knotty-boy-bad

i dont think that will do you much good tho u can try if it dont help the wax renover will

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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Funny thing: I was bored so I took a knife and sliced a dread done the middle (one that had a particularly rock-hard bulb at the tip) and there is no visible residue inside *see photog*. It also dosen't feel sticky or gooey or nasty at all, in fact it looks and feels the same as the outside. So now I'm completely stumped as to why they are so hard...

hmm if they are very dry they can be too

but they are stiffg as well so i still think its wax

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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Ok, I'll keep going with some deep cleaning... maybe I just touch them too much? I find myself playing with them ALL the time. My friend makes fun of me for it, could that be a cause?

Also maybe I'll deep condition the one I halved to see if it loosens up or whatever. I guess just time will tell. If there's one thing I'm learning from this whole process; its patience haha

ounbds like a plan u never cri]=ocfhetted right?

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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

nah man i don't even know how it works

haha all i crochet is yarn

ok good how biut palm rolling

try some jojoba or aloe in your rinse

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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1