Forum Activity for @sean-osborne

Dreads & Power Tools - how 2 protect?

General Questions

So I gave up on dreads last Winter, figured my hair wasn't long enough. Now I've been cleaning only for around 6 weeks, and I've got some pretty healthy proto-dreads forming at the back of my head, and a few starting on the sides.

My hair is super-fine and tends to be oily, which means it doesn't dread easily. I'm trying to baby it along as best I can, so here's what i really need to know: What do I do to protect myself while working?

I've been simply sticking my hair - dreads & non-dreads alike - in a sloppy ponytail to keep it out of my face, but I'm not sure that's best for encouraging dreads. Other options include: A knit watch-cap covering everything, or a small knit tam (see profile pic) that my sweetie made.

I'm a bit leery of using the tam for work, because I don't want to trash it. But it seems the watch-cap would just squish everything down, and the ponytail seems like it would interrupt the dread process. Anyone got an idea or two?

updated by @sean-osborne: 01/13/15 10:05:57PM

Hey Now! New guy, no dreads yet, could use advice

Introduce Yourself

Its not real long, only shoulder-length now. Gonna try the baking soda mix for awhile. Thanks for the idea!

And yeah, it was pretty clear the donation was optional, it just seemed like the right thing do do, cause i know bandwidth isn't free.

Hey Now! New guy, no dreads yet, could use advice

Introduce Yourself

Hi there people - I went wandering around the web last week looking for advice on how to start dreadlocks, and after lots of places tried to sell me stuff I found this place. Since you weren't trying to sell me anything, I gladly paid the 3 bucks when I joined the forum - thanks for being real! =^)

One of the first things I read was Soaring Eagle's post on natural dreads, which made so much sense that I decided the only way to go is nature's way. So on Saturday I stopped brushing my hair, stopped using conditioner, and I've been washing my hair with African Black soap (the lumpy stuff, not the pretty bar-of-soap-for-the-middle-class-droids stuff) since then.

So here's the thing: I know it's only been 6 days, but I'm not getting even the slightest hint of knots at this point. I look like a generic crazy homeless guy (not that there's anything wrong with that) but my hair isn't knotting.

There are three possible reasons I can think of. First, I have really fine hair, and even after almost a week of no brushing it's still really soft. I could probably run a brush through it right now. Second, my scalp has always put out a lot of oil, which keeps my hair pretty soft as well. And finally, I have a habit of running my fingers though my hair, which might be pulling apart any small knots that are trying to form.

Anyone have any advice, thoughts, encouragement, or random koans?

Thanks!

updated by @sean-osborne: 01/13/15 10:01:42PM