White specks in roots

Technically you should just focus your soap at the scalp and let the run off wash your dreads. Yours are so young in the dreading process that this is all you need to actually clean them. When they mature you can physically wash your dreadlocks but I don't believe that it's particularly necessary. This would be a great question to post to SE or Baba who have mature dreads.

With the Bronners and the Dreadlock Shampoo there is quite a bit of lather (from what I've experienced) so having that run off into the hair does actually clean it. With the BS/ACV you aren't supposed to work it in at all. It's powerful enough to get the grit after leaving it on for a a bit and then rinse it away.

updated by @valrie: 07/10/15 09:05:23PM

my personal opinion is bs is the way to go especially in the beginning. you don't HAVE to follow with an acv rinse. i myself found the acv rinse to be too conditioning in the beginning. one thing though, bs won'tdissolvecompletely in hard water. the water must be boiled first or you can save yourself the time and just get a shower head water filter like i did. bs is super cheap and like valerie said can even be purchased at the 99 cents store. bs is great because you don't need to actually touch your hair at all while washing. just pour over your head (aim for your scalp), let it sit for a few minutes and then rinse. rinse really well and then follow with a cold water rinse. bs will give your hair the right texture to knot up plus theres no worrying about residues and such left behind. if you do decide to stick with the bar soap or get a new shampoo just know that almost all of it is going to leave a residue of some kind. i use shampoos forconveniencesometimes but always go back to bs/acv for a good clean.

Just curious, what do you use to reverse the alkalinity of the BS if you do not use the ACV?

So BS does react differently with hard water. I thought so but wasn't sure. I know the Bronners does for a fact.

Heather said:

my personal opinion is bs is the way to go especially in the beginning. you don't HAVE to follow with an acv rinse. i myself found the acv rinse to be too conditioning in the beginning. one thing though, bs won'tdissolvecompletely in hard water. the water must be boiled first or you can save yourself the time and just get a shower head water filter like i did. bs is super cheap and like valerie said can even be purchased at the 99 cents store. bs is great because you don't need to actually touch your hair at all while washing. just pour over your head (aim for your scalp), let it sit for a few minutes and then rinse. rinse really well and then follow with a cold water rinse. bs will give your hair the right texture to knot up plus theres no worrying about residues and such left behind. if you do decide to stick with the bar soap or get a new shampoo just know that almost all of it is going to leave a residue of some kind. i use shampoos forconveniencesometimes but always go back to bs/acv for a good clean.

Does BS stand for baking soda or bar soap? I have baking soda. What do I do with it?

& what is "hard water"?

when i first started my journey my hair was super soft so doing bs washes without the acv really helped get my hair into the right condition for dreading. some people need to do acv because the bs can dry out your scalp but i never had a problem with it. within the last few month i started to add a mild acv rinse because i feel now that my hair is more locked up that i want a bit more softness.

yes, hard water pretty much sucks when your trying to wash your dreads without crappy store bought shampoos. bronners liquid leaves slime. the bar does a better job but i think thats due to the citric acid in it. kind of like a natural chelating ingredient. it still leaves soap scum though so a bs soak is necessary. i found an organic shampoo that i really loved but of course they decided to update their formula and now i can't use it. i really haven't found anything else that i love more than bs/acv. at least i know my hair is truly clean:)

Valrie said:

Just curious, what do you use to reverse the alkalinity of the BS if you do not use the ACV?

So BS does react differently with hard water. I thought so but wasn't sure. I know the Bronners does for a fact.

Heather said:

my personal opinion is bs is the way to go especially in the beginning. you don't HAVE to follow with an acv rinse. i myself found the acv rinse to be too conditioning in the beginning. one thing though, bs won'tdissolvecompletely in hard water. the water must be boiled first or you can save yourself the time and just get a shower head water filter like i did. bs is super cheap and like valerie said can even be purchased at the 99 cents store. bs is great because you don't need to actually touch your hair at all while washing. just pour over your head (aim for your scalp), let it sit for a few minutes and then rinse. rinse really well and then follow with a cold water rinse. bs will give your hair the right texture to knot up plus theres no worrying about residues and such left behind. if you do decide to stick with the bar soap or get a new shampoo just know that almost all of it is going to leave a residue of some kind. i use shampoos forconveniencesometimes but always go back to bs/acv for a good clean.

lol. sorry. it stands for baking soda on this site. acv stands for apple cider vinegar. everyone has their own recipe that works for them. for me i use a 32oz. juice pitcher and fill it with water, add 1/2 cup bs and then mix really well. i add about 5 drops of tea tree oil and 5 drops of rosemary oil. mix or shake up and then pour it over my dry hair. i stand over the bathtub to do it so i can hang my head down. i tried washing my hair standing in the shower the other day and it was so hard to rinse all the way down to my scalp plus my hair is super heavy now so my neck was killing me. anyway, i pour it over my head and then catch it in a bowl thats sitting in the bathtub. i then pour the caught water back into the pitcher and do it again however many times i feel i need to. i get my fingers in at the roots while its soaking a couple of minutes and scrub around just to make sure my scalp gets really clean. then rinse really well. then i do an acv rinse. fill the pitcher up with water again and then i add 2 tbs. of acv and then shake or stir. pour it over my hair and then rinse. it sounds like a lot of work but really its super simple.

MamaKittyLove said:

Does BS stand for baking soda or bar soap? I have baking soda. What do I do with it?

I definitely have to write that down. I am so new at all of this. I'm sure once I get the ingredients it won't be as difficult as it seems Thank you!! & I do both of those things twice a week? Or Mon/Wed/Fri?

Heather said:

lol. sorry. it stands for baking soda on this site. acv stands for apple cider vinegar. everyone has their own recipe that works for them. for me i use a 32oz. juice pitcher and fill it with water, add 1/2 cup bs and then mix really well. i add about 5 drops of tea tree oil and 5 drops of rosemary oil. mix or shake up and then pour it over my dry hair. i stand over the bathtub to do it so i can hang my head down. i tried washing my hair standing in the shower the other day and it was so hard to rinse all the way down to my scalp plus my hair is super heavy now so my neck was killing me. anyway, i pour it over my head and then catch it in a bowl thats sitting in the bathtub. i then pour the caught water back into the pitcher and do it again however many times i feel i need to. i get my fingers in at the roots while its soaking a couple of minutes and scrub around just to make sure my scalp gets really clean. then rinse really well. then i do an acv rinse. fill the pitcher up with water again and then i add 2 tbs. of acv and then shake or stir. pour it over my hair and then rinse. it sounds like a lot of work but really its super simple.

MamaKittyLove said:

Does BS stand for baking soda or bar soap? I have baking soda. What do I do with it?

hard water is water with a high mineral content. most of the US has hard water. my water is so bad that we have to let it run a minute or two so that the horrible sulfur smelldissipates. it also leaves ugly rust stains on all of our sinks. we don't even drink or use our water for cooking. justdisgustingcity water. i told my husband that the next house we buy we are looking for one with a whole house water filter.

MamaKittyLove said:

& what is "hard water"?

wash your hair when you feel like it needs it. if your scalp is itchy, a little greasy, or whatever then wash it. i tend to wash every 3 or 4 days. i don't have a set schedule though. it takes my hair a good 10 - 12 hours to dry so if i have plans that don't involve me being able to wash in the morning then i'll wash another day. washing really helps your dreads to lock up though and in the beginning your hair is going to dry a lot faster so you can wash every other day if you like. just make sure your hair is bone dry before washing again. constantly wet dreads is a big no no.

MamaKittyLove said:

I definitely have to write that down. I am so new at all of this. I'm sure once I get the ingredients it won't be as difficult as it seems Thank you!! & I do both of those things twice a week? Or Mon/Wed/Fri?

Heather said:

lol. sorry. it stands for baking soda on this site. acv stands for apple cider vinegar. everyone has their own recipe that works for them. for me i use a 32oz. juice pitcher and fill it with water, add 1/2 cup bs and then mix really well. i add about 5 drops of tea tree oil and 5 drops of rosemary oil. mix or shake up and then pour it over my dry hair. i stand over the bathtub to do it so i can hang my head down. i tried washing my hair standing in the shower the other day and it was so hard to rinse all the way down to my scalp plus my hair is super heavy now so my neck was killing me. anyway, i pour it over my head and then catch it in a bowl thats sitting in the bathtub. i then pour the caught water back into the pitcher and do it again however many times i feel i need to. i get my fingers in at the roots while its soaking a couple of minutes and scrub around just to make sure my scalp gets really clean. then rinse really well. then i do an acv rinse. fill the pitcher up with water again and then i add 2 tbs. of acv and then shake or stir. pour it over my hair and then rinse. it sounds like a lot of work but really its super simple.

MamaKittyLove said:

Does BS stand for baking soda or bar soap? I have baking soda. What do I do with it?