Please help me get started.

Hello, everyone.

I was wondering if you guys could help me get started. I'm a 23 year old white male of Italian/German descent with naturally curly hair. I've been growing it out for the past 10 months or so and it goes down to my shoulders, but usually kinda fros up.

How do I get started with the natural method? How often do I shower? How often do I wash my hair? What soap do you guys recommend? Should I wear a hat? Wooly hat or something?

As you can tell, I have no idea how to get started.

updated by @mark-valenti: 01/13/15 09:25:11PM

throw out the comb throw out the conditioners

there u started

wash when you want to 3wash 1-3 times a week is best

you canj use a dread soap like www.dreadlockshampoo.com the liquid i[]or bar or the baking soda recipe which is a no touch methodf o maybe best warly on

when u wash sghake out to dry then air/dru]iop/si]un dry not towel

in no time it will section itseldf and start tio knot

as it knots up u may se sections try to join together or become one or get too big seperate by ripping them apaert but dont rip apart would be dreads vbefore they start to dread only if they get too big or 2 dreads start to combine

dont wait too long to seperate tho or u will have a mega dread

theres nothing easier then dreading naturaly just wash and seperate thats all

a wool hat if looser like a tam isnt bad but isnt nesacary either it can help some

sea salty sprats on ocasion help too

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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Sounds like it should dread really easy. The cleaner your hair is the faster it will dread, you should wash 2-3 times a week. I use baking soda/apple cider vinegar rinse and sometimes Dr. bronners, I've heard great things about www.dreadlockshampoo.com as well. Wool hats are ok if they are loose but it's best to let your hair be free. The people here are awesome and have learned the hard way of dreading they have tons of advise and are great to talk to about damn near anything. Welcome and good luck of your journey!

yeah i use i mix of stuff dreadlock shampoo like soaring eagle said below i also use 1/3 cup of baking soda to a gallon of water let it sit until im finished showering then rinse with cold water followed with a asv rinse one cap full to a gallon water rinse with cold water toeliminate dandruff i wash every two to three days and sometimes wear a wool tam to bed and try not to touch your hair

Thanks, guys. I'll post a little picture diary of how everything is going and I'll be sticking around.

cool look forward to seeing your progress

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Well I rinsed my hair again yesterday when I took a shower, but no shampoo/conditioner for the second day in a row (I use those every day).My hair feels better without it. Feels stronger and curls tighter already.

It's going to be hard to not rinse my hair every day in the shower, but if it's what I need to do I'll have to do it. I can't wear one of those tams at work really (only company baseball caps) and I read on here they are bad when you are just beginning. I'll just have to go natural. I know I won't even care once I do it, but I'll care all the way up until then. As far as caring about what other people might say, but no one ever says anything besides my friends. Just a stupid fear.

I sweat a lot though with working out, playing sports, and at work. I don't want my hair to smell bad while I'm doing this or to be constantly itching it. What's the best way to go about this? I can't rinse it every day in the shower can I? Just run water over it and air dry? No running my hands through my hair or anything like that. I don't want to hinder the process, but I'm not one of those people who has to have dreads in one month either. I look forward to the journey and it's already started. Just baby stepping, but I want to commit myself fully to this.