Bug's Dreadline (aka plee for moral support) UPDATE 7/10/13: 1 YEAR PIC & VID - pic in first post.

What were your baking soda ratio's and what were your apple cider vinegar ratios? I have used this cleaning method and it worked pretty well but when I adjusted to more bs it did not work so well. Also, if you have hard water, try boiling it first before mixing the bs and see if that helps as well.

My ratios that worked well were:

1/3 cup bs, 20 drops each of lavender, tea tree, and rosemary, 1 gallon of water.

1 splash of acv (about 1 tablespoon-ish), the same amount of essential oils, 1 gallon of water.

I used a 1 gallon juice pitcher and the spout worked well for directing the mixture at my scalp whil I moved my hair out of the way with the other hand. I only left the bs on my hair for about 10 minutes or so. The acv mixture I left on for only 3 minutes.
Afterwards my hair felt clean and soft.

updated by @valrie: 07/23/15 07:48:40AM

i used roughly 1/2 cup BS to bout 5 to 8 cups water. a splash of ACV to same water. i have hard water but can't afford a filter and again i'm starting out stealthy so boiling the water my folks would be what the heck, right now i can justify the BS as being environmentally friendly. i know i've read on here that for really oily hair try jsut the BS with the ACV rinse so i know Valerie your all for ACV but i'm gonna try with out it for a few washes see where ti goes..

anyways if i can figure out how to do this here is my 2 week pic.. hair is slightly damp, the ends got a little wet when i showered.

updated by @bug: 02/05/15 10:12:49AM

UPDATE: So i tried just straight BS no ACV and and let it sit a full 15 min. my scalp wasn't all filmy and itchy the next day so yeah, and the majority of my hair was nice and light and frizzy. but the hair right close to my head was gross and greasy and actually harden when it dried. today i tried an experiment and rewashed just the top of my head with dawn dish soap. Massive improvement!! it's not quite as dry and clean as the rest of my hair but way better the the greasy gunk. So thoughts? should i stick with just the BS wash and figure the oil will even itself out eventually. or should i continue to use a tab of Dawn on the hair closer to my head to help cut the oil off where it's the worst?

e bs will make u less oily slowly wo id use that mosrtly but u can alternate if needed

how did u mix the bs was it strong enough?

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Your parents won't let you go the "no-poo" route in cleaning? no-poo is another term used for the bs/acv wash and people who don't have dreads use it as well. Maybe do a little quick research on no-poo and tell them that's simply all you are doing.

Definitely adjust your bs amounts. You said you are using 1/2 cup of bs to 5 - 8 cups of water?
The recipe that worked for me was 1/3 cup to 1 gal of water. When I did 1/2 cup I ended up with narsty scalp afterward (admittedly, this doesn't happen for everyone and that is why changing the ratios is important testing.)
1 liter is roughly 4 1/4 cups and 1 gal is 16 cup

Some people when using too high of a concentration of bs would find white crust on their scalp after it dries.... do you think that this is what it is?

So if you are using 5 cups water, then your bs wash is pretty highly concentrated. Try scaling it down and seeing what happens. Also, when you change ratios, doing it for a couple of washes before making a judgement because the hair and scalp need to have a period of adjustment to any changes.

Also, Dawn dish liquid will eventually dry you out overly much (think "dishpan hands".) I know how appealing that sounds considering your oil issues now but, it would be much better to find a cleanser that works for you. Focus on adjusting the bs ratios and if the bs doesn't work then you may just need to go a different route in terms of cleaning. Since you have hard water, Bronner's is out. The dreadlock shampoo will work in hard water but if doing that is not an option then I would suggest researching organic/residue free shampoos that you may be able to get over the counter that work in hard water.
Also, Rosemary and Tea Tree oils will help wonders with your current hair grease problem.

Bug said:

i used roughly 1/2 cup BS to bout 5 to 8 cups water. a splash of ACV to same water. i have hard water but can't afford a filter and again i'm starting out stealthy so boiling the water my folks would be what the heck, right now i can justify the BS as being environmentally friendly. i know i've read on here that for really oily hair try jsut the BS with the ACV rinse so i know Valerie your all for ACV but i'm gonna try with out it for a few washes see where ti goes..

anyways if i can figure out how to do this here is my 2 week pic.. hair is slightly damp, the ends got a little wet when i showered.

i was judging my BS by rough sight... i've bought i little measuring scoop now and my own box of BS so i can start playing with ratios now. i'm obviously getting somewhere because my mom commented my hair looked 'witchy' and was yelling at me to 'brush it or cut it off' .... *sighs* going job hunting in town yet again today so wish me like i'll find a job so i can dread in peace.

as for the oil i do to a full wash today so i'm going to see of the top of my head where i used the dawn will be oily again or still fairly clean, maybe i'll only need to use the dawn once to help break up the years of oil and and hair moisturizing products. sorta just give the the BS a head start.

In other news my mom hates the thought of neglect dreading, she wasn't pleased with me dreading at all but she really against neglect because of..well.. how neglected it looks. -_- ... but i'm determined!

Alrighty, added 1 month photo to first post. Sadly i almost look to be going backwards, but my 2 weeks pic my hair was a tiny bit damp yet and really oily at the time so at lest now it's light at fluffy. But anyways do i look bout right for 1 month? I'm figuring i'm ok since I'm only a month in.

My regiment is a generous 1/3 cup BS in 3 quart cool water in a small bucket I cleaned up. Dunk my head then use a cup to get what remains soaked, and giving a little extra attention to the top of my head that tends to run so oily. It sits for about 5 to 7 min. Then rise cool water with retractable shower head on 'power wash' setting as I call it lol. No ACV because I have hard water and oily hair.

I was washing every other day but i'm thinking that was too often, so this last week i tried going to just a Monday/Friday schedule but going three days no wash was too much yet and my hair got really gross so gonna try after every 2 days for now. it's getting there because when I started just skipping one day left it gross.

I finally got my hands on some sea salt. Expensive non iodized table sea salt for now, hope to eventually get some cheap oceanic salt from a pet store later. got that mixed up in a bottle and will spray my hair down a few hours before washing...won't rise before hand so the salt will be there when I use the BS.

still having trouble with oily hair on the top of my head. Don J suggested lemon juice once in awhile.. thoughts?

Ok here where I really need some advice. I found two different spots where I can get essential oils but here's my prob. I have asthma and allergies and tend to go into an attack with anything strongly scented like perfumes or incenses. AND I'm particularly allergic to anything flower. i can't even drink tea's with hibiscus or rose in, and I know I'm allergic to ANYTHING lavender scented. I think I'll be ok with Tea Tree and I was thinking of getting either Citronella or Lemongrass for a bit of added bug repellent. But i'm worried bout Rosemary since it's a flowering plant (even though I plan to get it anyways). But I definitely can't get Lavender. Since Tea Tree, Rosemary, and Lavender are the three big ones suggested on here... Any advice on a substitute oil I can get with similar properties but not coming from a flowering plant? Or would I even need one using Tea Tree, Rosemary, and Citronella(or Lemongrass). Also which would be better, Citronella or Lemongrass... I heard Lemongrass can attract bees....

So there's my 1 month update on DLS's 3rd B-day Weehee!

last pics lil dark to see details so ill jump on into the oils and iliness

oiliness takes time to adjust thyme (the herb( can help as well

esential oils

lemongrass may help prevent lice i dunno bout other insect citronella is a general bug repelant for flies mosquitos etc i believe eucalyptus might be a substitute

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Sometimes the process is 2 steps forward and 1 step back so, be patient.

As far as the Rosemary is concerned, do you have some in the kitchen to do a scratch test with? This is a common herb used in cooking so, if your family has any sort of spice rack then it will likely be there.

Also, if you find essential oils at a grocery store ask what their policy is on returning essential oils (or you can open it up in the market and take a whiff; if you are allergic you will know.) If they are okay with the return then just do a patch test at home with it. This is the best solution I can come up with in that regard.

I read that catnip tea is good for scalp/dandruff but I believe that is also a flowering plant.

The lemon juice has some of the same properties as acv in the fact that it is acidic and will smooth your cuticle layer however it is more acidic and can dry out your hair making it brittle. Lemon juice should always be diluted when used and not left in the hair over long periods of time. Lemon water can also act as a natural bleaching agent.

Euc is good for keeping away fleas. But it definitely overtakes the other oil smells in a mixture (I recently picked some up while working with treating my cats for their own fleas.)