Yeah I used to be in the ocean every day and it doesn't really work well with dreads because they never fully dry out which could cause mildew or mold. I can only imagine one large dread would take forever to dry out fully. Now I only get a chance to surf once in a while anyway so it's not an issue.
I've been off the grid for 5 years. Spring water, solar panels, wood stove and composting toilet and my dreads have stayed fresh and clean. Finally got a well last year and i"ll admit it's nice to have "real" pressure and seemingly endless water to shower, do dishes and drip line my garden. Though gravity fed wasn't all that bad with nearly 100' elevation drop on my property, a solar booster pump added some glorious psi that I wouldn't have given up for anything. I'd say dreads are meant to be in nature anyway - where "dirty" means actual dirt.
WOW I just realized how awesome it is that we have a community like this to not only talk about our love of dreading, but also to communicate things so personal and introspective to open ourselves to each other. It's truly a great thing! Sara, I believe that starting your dreads may be a new path in life that will lead you to many new and uplifting experiences as mine have for me. Nothing can stop you now!
It comes in bars liquid and a paste. In san Francisco rainbow coop has it and in santa cruz food bin herb room has it but it can it be found in natural food stores and African import stores also the internet is probably easiest.
Songhai black soap has only two ingredients palm flowers and kernels. In my experience it does not leave an oily or moisturizing feeling. There are many other black soaps onthe market all of which except songhai I have seen contain other ingredients. its the only true pure black soap ive ever seen.like it says on the bottle "using is believing"
I don't have hard water so I guess I can't give you a definitive answer, but as far as i know any soap in hard water would cause soap scum - like Heather said. That aside I would still give it a try.
Okay so I know there are many different "dread" soaps out there, yet there is only one soap I will ever use. Songhai black soap. Not saying these other soaps aren't good or succeed in their intended result, but I'm passionately devoted to this soap and it's simplicity. I'm the unknown spokesman and face of Songhai. If you've never used it give it a try. Liquid for the dreads and bar or paste for the body. Once you go Songhai black (soap), you'll never go back.
When I first started my dreads I didn't wash them for two weeks or so and wore a tam every day for that period. I'm not going to lie, I also used a small amount of bees wax, which I've come to realize is pretty taboo on this site, but hey it worked for me. I didn't do any sort of aggressive rolling or twisting - just let it do it's thing. After that first two week period I started washing my hair 3-4 times a week with black soap, which obviously helps them lock up by getting rid of lubricating oils and that dreaded wax (pun intended). I haven't added any more wax for over seven years, and they seem to be happy and healthy. I'm just recommending what worked for me personally, not advocating any sort of "best" method. Maybe I would have been better off without the wax, but I suppose I'll never know.
soaring eagle said:
and why would u recomend not washing or waiting to wash when washing is the 1 thing that helps dreads rdread the most
yeah I agree. I'm not advocating actually using Irish spring junk for your hair or body, I was just trying to explain that a "no residue" type soap has always worked best for me. I use black soap which also has a feeling of no moisturizers left behind. It may just be a personal preference, but hey whatever works for each individual is best.
My best advice would be to go as long as you can before washing your hair. When you do wash use a soap with no moisturizing properties. Think irish spring dry if you have ever used that stuff. Wearing a tam in the beginning stages will help a lot with the fly aways especially if you dont want to use any bees wax. it may seem daunting now but once they havetaken root you wont really have to do anything. Good luck.
