Forum Activity for @hannah-moore

Hello from England :)

Introduce Yourself

Yay someone else from England =D

You asked about methods for making it dread quicker well I would recommend just going completely natural. TnR is the 2nd best thing but I did TnR, had it in 3 weeks and then took it out because it felt like cheating to me and like I was missing out on part of the journey so yeh, just my opinion though. I had very short hair for about 7 years and then the last time I had it cut was about 8 months ago now and that was pretty much shaved off. I never needed to brush my hair because I never got knots even though I didnt condition just used a regular shampoo but then my hair is VERY straight and VERY thin so completely different to yours. At about 4 inches of hair I decided I was going to start my journey and thought like my hiars never knotted so Ill go for tnr and like I said regretted it and took them out. Its not been less than a month from taking them out, my hair is only like 5 inches so short in terms of starting dreads, and Im getting knots already just from changing my wash, little salt spray and sleeping on a wool pillow so if my hair type is doing that at 5 inches yours in theory should go quicker =]

And as soaring eagle said the Dreadlocksshampoo site is best thing for you as in England we have hard water which makes baking soda washes, dr. bronners and other common dreadlock washing methods difficult as the hard water doesnt wash things out so easy so if you can afford it definatly get some of her products.

Anyway sorry for the long message welcome to the site and hope you have a great journey =]

DEC plugs?

Dreads Hair and Scalp Health

Sorry I dont have a good camera with me at the moment I havent seen a really detailed picture but this one here...

along with ruling out other possibilities has made me think it is DEC plugs. Do you know what to do if it is DEC plugs? I could try something out and see if it gets rid of it or not because I cant find much stuff online except saying to use these shampoos which obviously would go against dreads.

updated by @hannah-moore: 02/05/15 10:12:49AM

DEC plugs?

Dreads Hair and Scalp Health

I know its definately not nits so that ones ruled out... I didnt backcomb.. so it may behairfollicles but I thought the folliclewould stay attached to the hair that had fallen out.. not cling to anearby hair.. thats whyI thoughtmost likely thing is DEC plugs especiallyafter seeing a pic of itnextto nit eggs and hair follicles

DEC plugs?

Dreads Hair and Scalp Health

I dont think its hair follicles I do see them sometimes still attached to the base of hairs that have fallen out but these little white ball things are like clinging onto the actual hair like a nit egg would be...

DEC plugs?

Dreads Hair and Scalp Health

Since changing the way I washed my hair Ive noticed hard white bits in my hair, like little balls. So I thought to myself it could be 3 things that I know of - nit eggs (definatly not), baking soda that hadnt washed out properly due to hard water (possibly), or dandruff (maybe but dandruff to me is flaky bits of skin so completely different to what Ive got).

So since this all started when I began using baking soda, I experimented a little with it using different quantities, leaving it in different times ect. but still had the white bits in my hair. So with the help of Vicky and another shampoo/natural product expert I made my own very basic shampoo. The problem with this is that it undid all my natural sectioning and me and Vicky are still trying to work out why this happened because according to her, none of the ingredients I used should have conditioned my hair. Anyway back to the problem of the white bits... theyre still in my hair after using the shampoo so the white bits arent baking soda.

I just had a look online and found something called DEC plugs (desquamated epithelial cell plugs). The internet says 'DEC plugs are common, solid white, or creamy yellow, non-problematic fatty globules that slide on the hair' they 'may occur when oil glands in the scalp work to compensate for the drying effects
of chemical treatments.' Even before starting my journey, the only hair product I used was just shampoo which I wouldnt really consider a harsh chemical treatment that would cause this and like I said, I only got the problem when I changed the wayI washed. And since beginning my journey all Ive done is try out the bs/acv (bs may have dried out scalp), the shampoo Ive made (which shouldnt do) and use a sea salt spray (most likely thing to dry out scalp but only started using it recently and had the problem before using).....

So basically I was just wonderingwhat you guys think? If any of you have had this? What I could do to get rid of them and prevent them?

updated by @hannah-moore: 01/22/20 09:33:16AM

Natural or Twist N Rip?

Dreading Methods

I have no idea what type 3c/4a hair is but whatever your hair it will eventually lock up naturally and seeing as youre african american Im guessing you have the type of hair that will lock up pretty fast.

I would definately recommend going natural. You said yourself you dont want them even or neat or anything like that so why bother tnr? I initially done tnr but felt like I was cheating and missing out on part of the journey so I decided to take them out and start over. My hair is probably the complete opposite to yours (its very straight, fine and now about 5 inches), it used to never get brushed yet I never got knots. After changing a few little things like the way I washed and dried my hair and sleeping on a wool pillow Im getting knots already and Im only like just over a week in from going natural. If my hairtype can do that imagine what yours will do.

Its totally your decision though but I personally would say go natural. Hope you have an amazing journey.

Dreading 8 months from a caesar

Introduce Yourself

For most people their hair doesnt noticably dread until about 6 inches... if that picture is after 8 months from a ceasar your hair hasnt grown much (guess you have really tight curls) but you do have what looks like a few little dreads so thats great and theyve most likely shrunk a little so that probably makes it seem as though your hairs hardly growing. If you want to spead up your hair growth I really recommend taking biotin.

I had my hair kept short for about 7 years and about... 8 months ago now my hair was last shaven.I never brushed my hair but because my hair is so straight and fine, totally different to yours,itliterally never knotted. For the first 7 months my hair grew to about 4 inches long without a single knot. Then I found this site and just I got recommended biotinwhich has made my hair grow like crazy. Just changing the way I wash my hair and sleeping on a wool pillow andIm getting knots at last =D

Good luck on your journey =]

Natural is clearly the way to go

Dreading Methods

Im exactly the same as you, I did tnr about a month ago now, but felt like I was missing out on the journey and cheating. After 3 weeks of it I decided to start over and like you, I cant believe how quick its going especially as my hair is so fine, straight and only about5 inches now. In the past my hair has never seemed to knot. I had very short hair for 7 years but before that it was fairly long and even then I rarely had to comb it. Its suprising how much difference a few small changes can make like the way you wash and dry your hair.

I totally agree that natural is the best way to go and wish you luck on your journey =]

My hairs not dreading up :(

Dread Maintenance

I was like you in that I shaved my hair, didnt brush and in 7 months didnt get a single knot. If you want to go natural apparently you wont notice it locking up until your hair is abotu 6 inches. I started taking biotin about 3 weeks ago and my hair seems to be growing really fast so I would just take that to speed up your hair growth and continue what youre doing. Make sure youre washing with a suitable shampoo or bs/acv, sleep on wool pillow etc. and let your hair do its thing =]

Aloe Vera?

Dread Maintenance

I have 2 aloe vera plants which would probably be the best way to get hold of the gel. They werent that expensive and easy to extract it but it depends how often you have to apply it to your hair (I dont have a clue about using aloe vera for dreads sorry) but I use the gel to clear up my face.

All you do is cut off one of the outer leaves right at the bottom. Then very carefully just cut the egdes of the leaf literally only just taking of the spikes and then you can peel back the skin of the plant on the flat side. I peel back a little and use it like a pen to apply it to my skin and when it dries you just make another cut in the flesh so more gel comes out. If you just want the gel though you would peel the skin back about 5cms then make alot of cuts into the flesh to cut up all the cells to get the gel being careful not to cut the other side of the leaf and then you can scrape that section into a container and do the next 5 cm and the next etc.

But Im not sure how you would store it to keep it fresh maybe put in the fridge? But would probably only be good for a few days. If you have to apply it to your hair every day then buying it is probably better or youll have no plant left after 2 weeks xD The aloe plant does produce baby plants though so if you can succesfully replant them then youve got yourself a free plant =]