Hi Everyone

My name is Crystal. I have a 10 year old son who really wanted dreads, so I let him have them. He has had them now for a little over three months. So far he loves them, but I really know nothing about them. I am very glad I found this site. So far I've learned that I shouldn't be waxing them which I have been doing.

Some problems that I am having are keeping the ends locked and keeping the dreads from growing together especially in the back. Again I am very naive when it comes to taking care of them and would love all the information and tips that I can get. I am surprised by the amount of websites available and all of the contradicting information. Once I found this site I was like "aha" and can't wait to read through more of the discussions.

Thanks!

updated by @the-barbarian: 01/13/15 09:15:59PM

hi, i might be a bit of help here, from my understanding so far any wax should be washed out and no maintenance is the best maintenance. kind of a crazy misconception huh?

just washing with baking soda or a non residue dread shampoo.

I'm glad you're cool enough to not mind him having locks so young. my parents were against them even after I've had them for years.

You're right, wax is adefinite no no. There are a few posts about how to get rid of it. Something about boiling water and letting them soak. It takes time. Sometimes a few months to get it all out, other wise it will build up and can cause mold.

As for the back, just rip them apart. He might want to, cause it can hurt a little, it's better if he does it.

For the tips, just let them be. Dreadlocks act like sponges when wet. Having blunt ends makes them really hard to dry. those wispy ends let the water drip right out. They look messy, but they serve a great purpose.

How often does he was them? if you're using wax, probably not enough. at this stage, he should be washing his hair every 2-3 days. let them dry completely between washes. what kind of soap does he use?

Better yet, why doesn't he join this site and we can talk to him too. It'll be good for him to hear about all the trouble everyone else went through first hand. Everyone here is good people. all we want to do is help. Soaring Eagle is the founder, and is chock full of useful information.

i was afraid of that well the wax must be removed and thats very very hard to do so get on the wax removal process (info in the menu

)

next the ends shouldnt be locked unless they want to be locked loose tips alow water to run out the ends so they dry way faster

seperate the dreads often and they wont be hard to seperate do it while wett

the more u get the wax out the better they wilkl do

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Thanks so much! You guys are great! We wash with Dr. Bronners and he washes about every 2-3 days. Next step is to get the wax out! I am happy to hear about the tips.

that's good for washing. but yeah, get the wax out. Keep looking around the site. The dread maintenance page has tons of information. and the drop down menu at the top has the recipe for getting the wax out

bronners is great if your water alows it but use it very diluted 12 times more water then soap..oe=r even more like 17=8 or 20..u want it really diluted alot

in hard water though it will still leave sticky residue even at 40-1 so if thats the case these are bliss in any type water www.dreadlockshampoo.com

you wouldnt believe how many times weve had moms forcing their kids to wax even knowing how bad it was just cause they didnt want any loose hairs making them look messy so its really refreshing to meet a much more supoortib=ve mom

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Yeah, I didn't know about the diluting thing when I first started. It would take forever to wash it out. It's just as strong diluted, and is much easier to rinse.

The frizzy hairs are part of locking. they will clean themselves up as they mature, just let him know that they will not be tight and neat right away. some people are lucky and it takes a few months. other, like me, take a while.