Crochet - Newbie needs advice!

Hi all, excellent site you guys have here.

Ok, so I need some advice on a decision I know many of you will not like. My situation is, I have short hair (4"-6" approx) it is fine, oily hair. I am not in this for the long haul, although I have always wanted dreads I simply don't think I have the kind of hair that will lend itself well to them. So what I am about to do is mostly an experiment, I don't know if i'll decide to keep them.

I have found someone who does excellent work with a crochet hook (I know, I know, but i've made my mind up). There are a number of reasons for me wanting to use this method, and I don't plan on re-crocheting once the initial lock up is done with the crochet hook.

I really hate the feeling of oil on my scalp and I can't see it being easy to have the will power to wash infrequently enough to train my glands to secrete less oil, so I will probably end up washing them every day. I am very conscious of my hair when it is oily.

So my questions are, will washing every day be much of a hassle with such short locks? Will my new dreads done with crochet hook behave like mature dreads as far as drying time goes?

What is the best method to keep them tidy once initial lock up is done, WITHOUT going back to the crochet hook.

Any other advice will be appreciated, but please don't try and talk me out of using the crochet hook for initial lock up.

Thanks guys!!

updated by @glen-hawksworth: 02/14/15 03:49:44AM

do not do it dont crochet

if u wash every day u will always be oily

if u wash every daty they will never dry and will get moldy

crochet makes them waty too tight so they will dry even dslower

very very bad ideas

just wash 1 day less often for 2 weeks then1 day less for 2 weeksd etc by the time u get to every 3-4 days you wont be oily no more

twist and rip ..not crochet

it will dread just fine but dont screw up with crochert

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

As long as you know how damaging crochet is...and you still plan on going through with it. There are many people with dreads that wash everyday. Or every other day. I would not want oily dreads either. I am just lucky enough not to have oily hair, so i only have to wash once or twice a week.

To me beautiful dreads are not considered "tidy" dreads. Overly maintained tidy dreads have a real uniform shape (every dread looks the same...boring) gappy, scalpy look that I personally don't find appealing. I am not trying to be rude...just giving you my personal opinion. So to me the best method of maintenance is no maintenance.

Newly created crochet dreads will not behave like mature dreads as far as drying is concerned because they are not the same. Mature dreads are tightly knotted hair that has grown and formed over a long period of time. But there will be a difference between drying time of your loose undreaded hair compared to your crocheted hair. It will hold the water longer. So it will take a bit longer than normal to dry.

It is your hair. If you want to start by crochet...do it. No one else but you can make that decision. Make the decision based on what you want. Like you said, you are not sure if you are gonna keep em. Dreadlocks take lots of patience for the first year or so,No matter how you start. It is not something to jump into lightly so make sure it is something that you really want. If you plan on maintaining them to keep that real tidy look...you are gonna spend many hours with that hook in your hand. and lots of time worrying about them.

to me dreads are a form of freedom. No worry. No maintenance. No work. No stress.

But again, it is your hair, your time and your life. There is nothing wrong with you wanting to experiment with your hair. So good luck with what ever you decide to do!!

good point

part of preparing for dreads has to be preparing your self not to care so much how they look

surrendering to the naturwe of your hair

alowing it to form by its own will not yours

trust me we had many who had oily hair and dreaded naturaly

oily hair is caused by many factors

2 of which are

1 overwashing when you strip oils too much the scalp tries to replace oils when the replacement oils are stripped in jusrt a few hours the scalp freaks out and pumps out oil like crazy

2 acidity if the hairs too acidic it tends to over produce the hair can be made more alkaline by using baking soda withoit ackv or you can add a lil baking soda to the shampoo you use

using a hot wash with baking soda ceans the oils withoit stripping the oils leaving some healthy oils behind so the scalp wont start pumping out more

following a hot wash (whichh cleans the pores out and makes oils less thick so easier to remove) with a cold rince seals pores up tight so they dont pump out oils as easily

washing 1 day less often till u get to 1-23 times a week helps the scalop adjust to not having to pump out so much oil every single day

slower producction means far more days oil free b4 it gets noticibly oily

the day after it gets oily is the day u should wash

untill u get to that 1-3 times a week that yoir comfy with then u shouldnt notice any oiliness unless u skip a day or 2

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Im starting with short dreads, but even if you crochet eventually they will untangle and look frizzy again and even more so if you washing often. Crochet may look tidy at first but will eventually be the same as tnr or even backcombing thats why people who crochet have to keep doing it to maintain that look and thats why they weaken the dreads from continuous maintenance. If you still want drfeads do TnR and adjust the ratios of you Bs and acv, you can use more bs and less acv to help with the oiliness. Also with short hair its easier to hide your mess under a hat or tam etc if your worried,but part of the dreadlock process is accepting and letting go including social conventions that say eeeeewwwww dreadlocks (whether their mature messy or not).

If you still crochet you will set back getting mature dreads by 6 or so months and then the normal timeline but its alot, just dont ever do it again, and you can shower every day just keep dreads out of the water wash them every 3 days or somthing, but be prepared for them to loosen and read the forum before going and re crocheting or even worse waxing, dont put bands in yous hair either, whatever method you try to keep them in that first day look will only stop progress.

You wont find many that wont try and talk you out of crochet here, lots of people have had dreads break due to it, but if youre determined theres nothing anyone can say you will notice the difference eventually and have to start over. But it doesn't mean for you to not start dreadlocks with a different process and you will find help with oiliness and even tidying them up when need be.

Ok guys, I think you guys may have misunderstood a little. I don't plan on ever re-crocheting them, AND i'm not bothered about the tidy look of crochet at all. The main thing that attracts me about the crocheting (and I think this is dependant on the person who does it for you) if the lack of exposed scalp I have observed with other methods, and the one-sitting and done appeal. When I asked about maintaining without re-crocheting I was just curious about what (if any!) methods people use to do a quick tidy up once in a while without wax e.t.c not that i'm chasing the crochet first day look or anything, just curious.

I'm not bothered about "messy" dreads at all, only oily hair, and scalp, and this is less to do with how they look but how my head feels when it's oily, it's horrible.

I appreciate the thoughts guys, useful info about the baking soda thing, I will certainly try to get my washing frequency lower in light of this info.

Like I said this is going to be an experiment to see how I get on with dreads, I don't mind starting over if I find I really like it and want to do it "properly" with TnR, but for now my mind is made up on crocheting.

@Aussuelocker What are the bs and acv you mention?

fair enough that ur mind is settled.. problem with crochet is that it breaks ur hair more than less, thus meaning u will loose alot of hair so if you decide to undo them and go tnr u will have less hair,, section very well with backcombing and ull get ur scalp exposed.. and also yeh if done by proffs they will most likely look the same.. and taking dreads in and out also makes you loose hair wich is bad mkay

I've seen crocheting argued to death on a few places, the hip forums in particular. It seems that people can't agree on wether crocheting actually does damage your hair, if your careful, and if your not constantly re-crocheting for tidy ups. Don't know. I am aware of it though, and i've weighed up the pros and cons and I still end up with wanting to go for it

it absolutely does the 1 leading promoter of it tugged hus gf's dread wile crocheting and it came off in his hand with a very light tug

think about it your poking holes in the dread breaking hairs..perforating it to death

its extremely dammaging

and its totaly illogical tio believe otherwise

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

just tnr it i guarantee you will be way ha\ppier

i would never ever ever let anyone crochet mine..if they tried theyd have a fight on their hands

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1