Forum Activity for @renee-stewart

Getting a bit frustrated and needing help!

Help! Save My Dreads

Thank you so much for the support and advice. It is nice to hear someone else has re-done their ends and not suffered for it. I will try not to do it so much! They actually do fall out, though! I am really not doing this just to look the same in a year. I also did it so that I would NOT have to mess with my hair all the time! I was sick to death of curling, blowing dry, fluffing, spraying, etc. and still not being happy with the way my hair looked. It is so fine it would fall flat in an hour anyway! I have loved dreads for a few years and finally decided to go for it. I already tried your advice of putting some beads in - I hope that helps. Seems like a good idea. I also need to look up how to wrap dreads, because I've been wanting to do that, too, and it might help, or at least keep me from messing with the wrapped ones, ha ha! If you don't mind, please do let me know how the locking spray works; I was thinking of buying some too. Thanks again for taking the time to listen, understand, and help out!

Vanessa Ashley said:

apart from the dandruff, I have almost all the same things going on. I do re tnr the ends as well... I had let them be for a week or so, but they were almost completely undoing. I found that if I redid them they did lock up. for me personally. I only leave the ACV for like second then wash it out. I found that this way my hair doesn't get too silky. I use tea tree in the BS wash, and lavander in the ACV. I have been lucky not to have dandruff or too much itching. But I have very oily hair... Sometimes I even BS twice if needed. Second one leave on less time and use less water.I am waiting to get my locking shampoo (liquid) and the locking spray... I'll let you know if it seems to help, once I get them! all the best!

I too have been obsessing, but do try to remember to just let them be! I have noticed that the majority of the ones that are loosening at the roots have been re-locking, slowly but surely. But re-tnring the ends hasn't seemed to keep them from locking better or worse. I about a month and 1/2 in.... Also I have found the ones that have beads in them don't seem to loosen up. try putting some beads in them.

Getting a bit frustrated and needing help!

Help! Save My Dreads

I actually do suffer from these disorders as well. (I am not 'palm rubbing' or doing anything near my scalp, just tightening the ends so they look something like dreads! So I don't think - I hope anyway - that I could be causing that kind of damage. I'll have to check cuz I certainly do not want to go bald! So, if you don't mind my asking, how were dreads your therapy? I am genuinely sympathetic and interested! Also, what is T-gel, and did you mix it with your shampoo? And when you used the oils on your scalp, did you do it before you washed or every day, anytime it needed it, or what? I have been spraying water with tea tree oil onto my scalp for the itching, but it hasn't really made it go away. It is also hard to aim for the scalp and not get the hair, and I end up with wet, oily hair! The Q-Tip idea is great. Thank you so much for taking the time to share all the advice!

Britany said:

looseness is good, OCD twisting will lead to balding and permanent damage of the hair follicle. all you need to let go and let time and patients take over, i suffer from actual OCD and BDD and dreads have been my therapy and soon they will change you, takes time and love.

Getting a bit frustrated and needing help!

Help! Save My Dreads

Hi, everyone! I am at my three month mark with my dreads, which I did using TNR method. I am having problems with dandruff and with them falling apart whenever I wash them. I usually wash every 3 days with baking soda, which I let sit while I shower, then use a Bucks County shampoo bar on top of that. I also have the Lockin' Up liquid shampoo. Both are great shampoos, especially for suds and rinsing with my hard water. They are great, leaving my hair very soft, but unfortunately NOT great for dreading or locking on MY particular hair, as the wonderful softness seems to just make them come apart! In the very beginning, I used my all natural body bar soaps, which seemed great for dreading, drying out my hair and helping it knot up. Would that leave residue or cause problems? I used Tom's or Zum soaps. Recently I have been using adding tea tree oil to the baking soda and using an ACV rinse. The ACV seems to help a lot with the dandruff but REALLY leaves it soft and makes dreads come apart!

I am OCD and always re-twist-and-ripping the loose ends. It used to be loose just at ends, about 2 inches or less, but now it is about the bottom half of the dread!! They are locking well in the middle but loose at the top and ends. Also having trouble with the back of my head - don't have anyone to help and it becomes quite the mess trying to do it by feel!

Anyway, what is your best advice on the dandruff? And is there a way to wash my hair more gently so they don't fall apart as much, or a different soap? Should I wash in a sink full of water rather than under the hard(ish) spray from the shower?

I also have lots of loose strands, which I am at a loss on how to get them into a dread! I know you're supposed to 'let them do their own thing and they'll find their place into a dread,' but when I leave them alone, I just keep getting more and more loose hairs! (And if they do find their own place, it is invariably in a dread 4-5 inches away, ha ha).

BTW, I am white and have white girl very, very fine, straight hair!

I have sprayed with sea salt water, but it leaves chunks of salt in my dreads which are hard to get out. It does help, though. Has anyone tried the Magic Locking Gel from the shampoo site you link with? Any reviews or comments on that?

Any advice would be much appreciated!!! Thank you so much for reading and helping!!

updated by @renee-stewart: 02/14/15 08:12:39AM

Newly dreading, fine hair, lots of questions!! (Sorry - I'm going to be such a bother, I am sure of it!)

General Questions

So I've tried three times to do this reply and can't seem to make it work. What is the difference between Reply and Reply to Discussion? anyway, yeah I just didn't want to offend anyone who was so helpful to me, by seeming to 'disappear!' It just seemed kinda rude - I don't know. (I can be weird sometimes!) Sorry for the lengthy reply earlier. I appreciate your kind offer to message you though!

Anyway, my dreads are coming along. They need a little 'work' tho. I'm just very gently twist & ripping a little bit. Loose at top and ends, and just a few at a time, to help it along. Nothing like some of the videos on YouTube where they T&R a dread all at one time. I'll try to get some photos posted this week, after I wash it tomorrow and fix it a little! I don't know what my page even looks like, or if I have one! I'll have to figure it out eh? Thanks again for helping!

updated by @renee-stewart: 07/23/15 03:05:36AM

Newly dreading, fine hair, lots of questions!! (Sorry - I'm going to be such a bother, I am sure of it!)

General Questions

Hannah,

Yes, of course that would be great. I have not been online here since then, so apologize for taking so long to reply. I still haven't had a chance to upload photos, do anything - I've had an awful tragedy in my life. It was odd to see the date of my question and all the kind answers, (I had been reading a lot of the site but I guess I didn't officially join or post until that day/middle of the night before) because it was later on July 2 that I got the worst of news, and haven't been back since then. I thought I might make some kind of post on a general forum (or this discussion?) to apologize and explain my sudden absence after receiving so much support here. Didn't want anyone to think I just took advantage and split! I'm not sure what's appropriate. I felt the warmth and kind support here, yet hadn't had long enough to form closer friendships, so not sure what to do. But, I still have the baby dreads! Now it has been by total neglect for real, simply due to mental state! ha.

Anyway, thanks again for the advice & replies. BTW, I love your hamster picture. My daughter used to keep hamsters - they can be so sweet. Who knew? I also didn't realize you were from the UK. Normally I would be accosting you with questions about what it's like I've always been interested in real lives of people in other countries. Sorry for the length of this! Jeez I can sure go on . . . And I just realized this isn't a message anyway, since we never became 'friends'! so, I sent you a request, and I'll just post it as a reply - hope you'll see it! Renee

Hannah Moore said:

Haha thanks and no problem =] I think the only picture I have up of me is the one I took after I took out my tnr so dont have any dreads in that pic but Im not nearly at one month after taking them out and I have like 2 big knots and few small knots forming which is good considering my hairs still short and so thin =]

Would you mind me adding you would be nice to follow your journey?

Newly dreading, fine hair, lots of questions!! (Sorry - I'm going to be such a bother, I am sure of it!)

General Questions

Yes, that definitely helped a lot! Thanks so much for responding. After looking at your photo, I think your short dreads are really cute! Also, the two of us look oddly alike - weird, huh!? (Really, that could almost be a picture of me - one of my better ones though! haha). When my breakout clears up, I'll upload a picture to my profile, on a 'good day'!

Hannah Moore said:

Hey Im a new dreader aswell and I have very fine straight hair aswell and mine was only like 4 inches when I started. Ill try to answer questions best I can because having a similar hair type Ive done some research but other experts would be able to give better advice...

1. I have hard water aswell and the main problem Im facing is washing them as baking soda has to be done in a special way using bottled or boiled water and all this stuff otherwise it doesnt wash out properly and alot of other dreadlock shampoos arent suited to hard water. The dreadlocksite shampoos are highly recommended. I cant afford them at the moment but Ive seen others have great results from using them.

2. Since youre only 1 week along its your choice if you want to undo the backcombed one. 1 week isnt like youre undoing years worth of 'work' so yeh. I initially did tnr but then a month or solater decided to undo them because it personally felt like I was missing out on part of the journey and I didnt want any regrets. I sure the difference in appearence wont matter so its really your choice.

3. The way you twist really doesnt matter. By the sounds of it though youre retwisting? If so, stop right now! Let them do their own thing. Make sure the tnr isnt too tight because the idea is the tnr is just the blueprints of the dreads, they just outline the sectioning so them, they will unravel and they should unravel so they can knot up and form proper dreads. If theyre too tight this will never happen and theyll just be like braids. Its likely that some will comeout completely but dont do any more tnr just leave them they will section and knot up naturally whatever your hair type its just a matter of time.

4. All hair types will eventually dread with love, care and patience.

5. Since youve done tnr you really need to make sure that the roots are loose, you want about 1 inch atleast of free hair at the base to avoid tugging on the scalp that could cause further hair loss. Also make sure your sections are no bigger then 1 inch across at the scalp as this will be the thickness of the mature dreadlock and fatter ones will be heavier, again causeing more tension and cause hair to be pulled out.Ive heard people with mature locks say about how they rarely find hairs that have fallen out because when the hair ages and falls out naturally for whatever reason the hair just stays in the lock.

6. Yes its too early to use aloe you only want to consider that when your locks are really mature or prehaps if you have a special event that you need to look extra smart for but even then be careful. Otherwise be proud of your dreads and let them be free the wind will cause knots to form they need to move about to progress. If you really feel uncomfortable though you could wear a very loose wool tam, that way the wool rubbing against your hair will help a bit.

As for your extra question, like I said before its best to let them be free. Since my hair now is only like I dont knot 5.... 5 and half inches there isnt much I can do to style anyway but if you want to have them up Id just say to have them very loosly tied back.

Good luck on your journey hope my answers have helped a bit =]

Newly dreading, fine hair, lots of questions!! (Sorry - I'm going to be such a bother, I am sure of it!)

General Questions

Hi all you helpful folks! I have many questions, as I'm trying to start new dreadlocks on very fine hair and have thus far been only misinformed from other sites. So grateful I found this one and such friendly people with such absolutely gorgeous locks! Mine are actually staying together through a shower and coming along much better than I expected! (about a week along). I am trying to go as natural as possible but I know my hair type is going to need a little "help," plus I'm fairly impatient! Thus, I am also gently twist & ripping. Anyway, here goes:

1. Already found answer on shampoo & care while forming, but what do you think about the liquid shampoo on your shampoo link that's supposed to help them form? Is it recommended; does it really help? I do have hard water. Been using natural bar soap & it feels pretty good.

2. When I first started, I did one backcombed dread (recommended by other sites and even people I know). Should I comb it out and restart it? Won't it just look way different than the others, and not in the good way? Or should I leave it. Some have said it's their favorite one. Weird.

3. If you do t&r a little, do you twist always clockwise or (what makes more sense to me and seems to look better) twist away from the face on both sides, but make most that you can clockwise?

4. Are there some hair types that simply will never lock together? (I was more worried about this before than now).

5. I have had a problem with my hair falling out a lot (a whole lot really) even before starting these. Should I still try or could it cause a big hair loss problem? It may be hormonal, or because I never use conditioner, I don't know, but it falls out a lot.

6. Any tips on how to look halfway decent when I have to go out while in this beginning phase? I look pretty grungy & weird with this approx. 1/5 of my hair in what doesn't really seem like a dreading process just yet. Just scarves? Is it too early to use aloe?

That's about it for now. I'm sure it's plenty to keep several people busy! Thanks in advance for any tips. I'm excited, even though I know it won't be beautiful for a couple of years probably.

Hey, just one more: any tips on styling it in the early stages? Thanks so much!

Renee Stewart

updated by @renee-stewart: 02/14/15 07:57:42AM

Can't get rid of GUNK! Help :(

Dread Maintenance

The deep cleanse was a tutorial from 'Lazy Dreads" who has a lot of them that seem to make good sense. I have also seen other places that adding citrus juice to the mix aids cleansing. I think I was careful about the ratio, and he said specifically to massage the scalp and dreads. I knew about the vinegar causing a reaction, but not the lemon juice.

And the shampoo was Neutrogena anti-residue, That's what made everything else fall apart and pouf up, separate, and tangle into mats! Before that I also used T-Gel due to excessive dandruff. So the goo was possibly from dandruff? I could pull white flakes out, but it gradually got stickier and stickier, spread from just a few dreads to all of them, and is a total mess. How would you prevent or deal with dandruff getting in your dreads, since it seems almost everyone gets it?

Now I am trying to take them apart, which is a real bitch. They feel literally glued together! And tons of hair is falling out with the undoing. This has been a 5-month nightmare waste of time! Hours and hours and hours of time!

Can't get rid of GUNK! Help :(

Dread Maintenance

Dee,

I know this is an old posting, so I hope you see this! Because I have the pretty much exact thing happening. My personal feeling is that the white flakes that come out are soap flakes from bar soaps that got stuck in there, or possibly (yuck!) dandruff flakes? I think I have heard of that, but then they're a little big to be dandruff. Anyway, when I poke into the dread or pull it apart a bit, it is very greasy and gross. They're fairly new, I started noticing this about 3-4 months in, and now it's 5 months - pretty much no more dreads! I tried using Neutrogena clarifying shampoo; the dreads pretty much all fell out, all my hair stuck together in a huge tangle, and what was left was the really glued-together parts at the top. It's been a downhill silde since then.

I used a 'deep cleanse' of recommended baking soda, lemon juice, and a few different e.o.'s, soak them for 30 minutes, do a rinse soak in clean water for 10 min or so, then ACV rinse, another rinse. Did this TWICE, all it accomplished was to turn my hair to straw and give me a hell of a rash on my hands! (you're supposed to massage dreads & scalp in this mixture, so my hands were in it, it stained all my clothes, towels, etc., I had on or near me at the time as well! I am going to have to somehow undo the top parts that are still stuck together (unless I can find out how to get it out!) and start all over. Very, very sad:(

So if you found something that worked, PLEASE let me know! Thank you so much!

updated by @renee-stewart: 07/20/15 03:09:50PM