share your dreading mistakes so others might avoid the same dreadlock mistakes you made

Exactly...that's the law in Florida.I remember being able to sit on the front porch or at the park, hang out , braid hair, and even add colored yarn to dress up the hair.Well, not anymore, you can be fined for "practicing without a license". I am sure money is the motive... soaringeagle said:

you need a liscence to braid and wrap hair?????/
can u be fined for braiding yoiur own without a liscence?

i definately think we need to make a list of good and bad loctitians

Zynobek said:

The Board of Cosmetology within The FL Department of Business and Professional regulates the license. Dreadlocs are governed under"cosmetology" if you use chemicals(dread perms and dyes) and "hair braiding and hair wrapping", if you don't perm or use dyes.
But, the education does not focus on any natural loc methods at all.
So to answer your question...I have no idea who wrote the guidelines...
There shouldn't be any guidelines for locs anyway, except "Do No Harm & Do No Damage".

updated by @zynobek: 07/28/15 04:19:44PM

Haha thanks for the advice on hitting a bong, very good advice I will remember! gr8fuldreadgrrl said:

I've skimmed through some responses and decided to chime in...

~My first locks where done in a salon, with a dread perm. NEVER NEVER fall for this. I lived in green bay, and someone told me this was a good idea, i musta been high to fall for it. Not only was it backcombed all to hell, they put perm rods in and perm it to stay. (might i add, i PAID for this.) Then i could not wash it for 3 months. I am surprised my hair did not fall out. Surprisingly i kept those locks for over a year.

~Never hit a bong and let one fall in your face. It will torch all the way up. Like a sock. Stinks too.

If you have done something really dumb to your young dreads, might as well just start over right away. You will be much happier in the long run.

Actually the "crap" never washed out. Most of it was cut off...I had a "stylist" tell me to soak my hair with "Dawn" dishwashing liquid to dissolve the petroleum.I never did...just cutting them and starting over was the better choice ;-] Anubis said:

Ouch, poor girl...Petroleum products will make your hair brittle. I'm assuming whatever shampoo you use is pretty mild so it would take awhile to get the petroleum crap out. And I totally agree about the smell. =/

Zynobek said:

My biggest mistake was having my locs started with Beeswax containing petroleum. The stuff does not wash out and makes your hair smell too, no matter how much you dry it! My hair became very heavy and so weak that I started getting bald spots. I had to cut 12 inches off of my hair and basically start over ;-{
Well, after that, I used a lot of "over-the-counter" locking gels and didn't like them either. My locs were not holding together. Finally I gave up, found a good shampoo and cut the aloe from my back yard. Guess what...that worked. The less I do to my hair now, the better it grows.

I've only had one set of dreads and i don't feel like i've come across any mistakes.... when i was real young people told me to put honey in my hair haha i did that and was sticking to everything!!! Bad idea! I never put anything but shampoo in it ever since. I would say to just let them go... its amazing how they continue to dread without even touching them. You do have to rip them apart at times unless you want giant monster dreads.

Jessica, you just reminded me that at one time before I found how I was going to dread my hair. That I would ask everyone that had dreads at my job, that how did they go about getting them. One guy told me he got honey or pancake/waffle syrup and he put it in a bowl and let it sit outside for like 2days. Then he put it on his hair while twisting. I looked at him and smiled, and asked him "What about ants?". Some people I tell ya.

haha i know.. ive heard some crazy stories and its just really funny because you dont have to put anything in them and everyone always tries all these random things.

every thing that i have done and shouldn't have i learned from. i waxed for a couple weeks and stopped. i crocheted until i realized what i was actually doing to my dreads. and i did all the dh recommended maintenance and i stopped. let them dread on their own and they grow into something more beautiful and natural than you can imagine.

I've had 2 sets, the only mistake I made with my first set was using regular shampoo and washing them to often. And well then again cutting them, that set had alot of bad memories.The first set was also backcombed and certain parts of my head hurt from the weight of the dreads, and from sectioning them oddly.My set I have now, I made one mistake on.About a week ago I was at my friends house and I really wanted to wash them. The only shampoo he had was VO5 with tea tree oil. I did dillute it and rinsed really well. It was alright for about a day or 2. Then I guess the SLS residue started to irratate my scalp and itch, got flakes. I kind of thought I had lice, but I did a baking soda rinse and a acv to get rid of it and it solved my problems. I figured since I hadnt used regular shampoo for 14 months, my scalp wasnt used to the harsh chemicals, and I believe thats what it was.

i have soo many congos its crazy ive tried to rip it apartone time i was trying to rip it and i riped the dread out xDahahayeah dont rip congosthats what i learned

i have soo many congos its crazy ive tried to rip it apartone time i was trying to rip it and i riped the dread out xDahahayeah dont rip congosthats what i learned