Beginner here :]

Hello everybody :]

My name is Dominic and I have a great interest with dreading! This is the second time that this has come into my mind. The first time,I didn't research much,but this time I did more digging. Thanks to Eagle,I am going to grow natural! As you can see,my hair is pretty long,and I'm one that just adores the long hair. It fits my personality,and I feel dreads will complete me! I'm not doing it for the style of it. I just love everything,nature,and I have been losing touch with Mother Earth.

So I have two questions: I work in retail (supermarket) ,so will pulling my hair back in a ponytail effect the whole process? I have to keep it back in work,sadly. This is my first official day,by the way! :] I washed it for the last time,last night.

And I'm still unclear about washing my hair. What can I use and do I towel dry the hair in the beginning?

Thank you in advance! I'm so excited to start this journey. It feels right,deep inside my heart!

updated by @dominic2: 02/14/15 10:29:30AM

Glad you got the help you needed to get you off to a great start with your natural dreads. As for tying them up for work, a shoe string is perfect to use, they can be tied fairly loose and the texture of the string keeps it on. If you must tie it tight, do it just before work and take it out at the end of your shift. You will find that you might have to separate your sections more often in the area they get tied up. I started by T&R and made a posting how to care for them and what to expect, most of it would still apply to you, so check it out for washing tips etc....enjoy the fun journey...peace

http://www.dreadlockssite.com/forum/topics/just-starting-out-what-to-expect?xg_source=activity

Thank you for the tips,and I did check out your page :]

So would those hair ties be a problem to use,before any dreads start to form? There's no metal band in the middle. Gah,I dislike those kind. I have just been loosely tying the hair back with it,and letting the hair breathe after. Or would using a shoe string be more better to use in the beginning? I just want to do this correctly and not set myself back because of the hair tie issue :]

Welcome glad you're able to start out the right way. Well, tying them back often might make them dread a bit slower, or you might have to separate them more often to stop them all joining together, but besides that it'll be fine, just make sure to tie them back loosely.

As for washing, a non-residue shampoo is good, or some people use baking soda and apple cidar vinegar with some essential oils added. I suppose you can towel dry if you want, but washing hair is great in that it helps your hair knot up and dread, but at the same time, it can undo a bit of the progress with all of the touching and messing with the hair. So you can towel dry, but if you feel you'll undo the progress you're making, just let it dry in the sun or something

As long as ties have no metal, no rubber on the outside and are not tight, use what you need to for work. The tighter they are, the longer the set back for maturity as the knot faster when free. I just prefer the shoe string, due to how loose I can control it without it falling out. Since you always need to wear it for work, let them be free at all other times. If it sets you back a little in time, oh well, the wait is well worth it for sure....peace

Dominic said:

Thank you for the tips,and I did check out your page :]

So would those hair ties be a problem to use,before any dreads start to form? There's no metal band in the middle. Gah,I dislike those kind. I have just been loosely tying the hair back with it,and letting the hair breathe after. Or would using a shoe string be more better to use in the beginning? I just want to do this correctly and not set myself back because of the hair tie issue :]

Thank you Tara! It does suck that I have to tie my hair back,which was a big concern of mine. I've dealt with the bashing of having long hair,but hold my ground with it :] I just wish I could just keep it down. I'll try to attach a picture of what it looks like now. Still learning the site :]

updated by @dominic2: 02/05/15 10:12:49AM

I'm certainly in this for the long haul :] Took me a few years to get to my current length and many many crazy bad hair days!

Thank you for all of the advice :]

the Barrellady said:

As long as ties have no metal, no rubber on the outside and are not tight, use what you need to for work. The tighter they are, the longer the set back for maturity as the knot faster when free. I just prefer the shoe string, due to how loose I can control it without it falling out. Since you always need to wear it for work, let them be free at all other times. If it sets you back a little in time, oh well, the wait is well worth it for sure....peace

Dominic said:

Thank you for the tips,and I did check out your page :]

So would those hair ties be a problem to use,before any dreads start to form? There's no metal band in the middle. Gah,I dislike those kind. I have just been loosely tying the hair back with it,and letting the hair breathe after. Or would using a shoe string be more better to use in the beginning? I just want to do this correctly and not set myself back because of the hair tie issue :]

Well, when it's tied back it constricts the hair a bit, so if it can't move around like it usually would, it won't dread as quickly as it might have if they were kept down. But don't worry, it's not like it'll do any damage or set you back loads, just keep them tied loosely and keep them down as often as possible and they'll be great

Great picture, your hair looks like it's already dying to dread, so I think you'll have no problems there.

I will totally take all the advice to heart!

And yes,I have wavy hair,naturally. Whenever I don't brush it,it gets tangled,knotted and everything. I think my hair type is better good for dreading. When all dreaded,I'm sure I can freely wear it with pride! Especially since I heard that your hair shrinks a bit.

You really have beautiful hair and dreadlocks will look awesome I'm at 5 weeks into my natural dreadlocks journey and I keep my hair in a ponytail alot (because it's been so hot here lately!) and my dreading process didn't go bad at all. My hair is actually dreading pretty fast. But yeah, I need to separate more often. To dry my dreadlocks, I just wrap them in a towel for a bit, then let it dry naturally, so I don't need to touch them to much. Have fun in your own journey