Hi everyone..
Introduce Yourself
Hi everyone! It's great to be on here.
I live In Brighton in the UK, Right by the sea. Unfortunatly it is way too cold most of the year to go down and soak my dreads
I just signed up and am still exploring the site. I am liking what i read on here, loads of good advice.
Soaring Eagle suggested that I write up a comparison on NATURAL Vs WAX... I'll give it a go, hope I don't bore anyone who reads it.
Not too sure if I should post this in introduce yourself or maintenance or methods??
I just worked out I have had dreads on and off for the past 24 years..I am on my third dread journey.
The first dreads I had were formed with the help of a trip and using a bit of back combing then pure neglect. I had them for 10 years and never washed them once (that was just what everyone believed was the thing to do back then and there). The only problem I experienced with this method was that they did not smell good at all, especially if they got wet in the rain. and they were very heavy probably because of the build up of natural oils and god knows what else. In the end they had to go, It was impossible to comb them out, they were so tight so I had to shave my hair off So I think NOT washing dreads is really NOT the road to go down..
My second journey was very different. I started them off the same, with a bit of back combing and was prepared to let them do there own thing only I would wash them this time. My hair was just a frizzy mess. I was just about to give up when a friend of mine gave me a tub of knotty Boy wax.. I had never heard of it, but I did recall hearing rumors that some of the rastas near where I grew up used beeswax in their locks so I thought why not give it a go... At first I was really pleased with the results. They looked great and I invested in a shampoo bar from them and that is when the trouble started. That shampoo made my head itch like hell. so I continued to wash my hair with Bronners and use the wax as "needed" (nobody needs wax in there hair). Regularly for the first 6 months then less and less I had those dreads for about 7 years and by the end I was loosing my hair, had really bad dandruff, my dreads were stiff and had no movement. They had to go!! I decided to cut them to shoulder length and try to comb them out.. Because the wax had infact STOPPED my hair from dreading properly this was alot easier than I was expecting. took me about 2 days to comb them out. whilst combing them out I discovered that there was like a mould inside the dreads, horrible stuff.. I cannot stress enough to anyone just how bad this wax can be for your locks and your scalp..Thankfully with some tlc and essential oils the hair I lost returned. AVOID THE WAX!!!
I started my third dread journey about 4 years ago..I decided to start them at the end of the summer so I could just keep the frizzy mess under a hat all day (I worked outdoors) and I did use a bit of back combing at the start and then twist and rip.. I washed them regular with Bronners and EO's, I was getting nowhere with them. It seemed that every time I washed them, it undid any progress that had been made.. Then I heard about the BS / ACV method. I was a bit hessitant at first but figured that if I could put wax in my hair what harm could a natural product like BS do.. I could not believe how fast my hair started to dread up.. My scalp felt really clean and the dandruff that seemed to return now and then seems to be less and less, my hair seems to be alot thicker these days which I am not unhappy about .. I only ever use cold water, which is a bitch in the English wintertime. I tend to wash it less at this time so when I do, I use bronners as well. During the warmer months when I can wash it more often, i use just the BS and only use the ACV every other wash. I put a mix of mint, patchouli and geranium oils into the final rince and everyone loves how my hair smells.
So, In my opinion the only way to get locks that feel great and a healthy scalp which is the most important thing, is to use the BS / ACV / EO's method. I got my sister, who does not have dreads, to use it for her dandruff and she now swears by it..
Hope I didn't bore the hell out of anyone..
Tek care..
updated by @scoob: 02/14/15 04:42:18AM