Fixing Damage from Long Term BS/ACV washing?
Dreads Hair and Scalp Health
Thanks for the info everyone! Will make the switch as I planned.
Forum Activity for @cam
Fixing Damage from Long Term BS/ACV washing?
Dreads Hair and Scalp Health
Hey everyone, I'm almost 3 years into my dreading process (100% neglect) and have been doing the BS/ACV rinse since about day 1. Over the last few months I've noticed my hair is incredible brittle to the point that some of my dreads became very week and even had a couple break off part way down (YIKES!). At first I thought it was maybe damage from using hair ties early on in the process, from tying them back too tight, or from an art-related alginate malfunction. Lately my partner who washes her hair the same way (no dreads though) had a conversation with a friend about how her hair seemed more brittle, and the friend said that the BS wash method might be to blame.
I did some research on this site and others and it seems like that's a very plausible reason. I basically have been doing it twice weekly or less often since day 1 (a long time at this point!) because I love the method. I'll admit I kind of picked up the BS/ACV process haphazardly in the beginning and have taken to pretty much eyeballing the ammountt of baking soda and apple cider vinegar in my rinses, and I definitely have the ratios all wrong which is something I'll need to fix.
In the mean time, are there any good methods of rehydrating and strengthening my hair? I am thinking of switching back to the dreadlocks shampoos from Bucks County Soap which I used for a while but abandoned in favor of the BS/ACV rinse - mostly because I was a poor college student - haha! Will this help cure my ills? I'm nearly at the point where I'm worried a strong wind will cause my dreads to disintegrate but I hope it doesn't get to that point.
updated by @cam: 01/13/15 10:05:04PM
dreadlocks shampoo review after extended use
Dread Products
Oh and I ran out of time to edit, but her hair still smells great days later.
dreadlocks shampoo review after extended use
Dread Products
I've used this soap maybe 2 or 3 times in the last couple weeks, switching over from the baking soda...
AMAZING! I'm hesitant to keep using it, because it does make my hair very soft and my dreads loose, so I mostly am planning to use this soap for special occasions and travelling. My hair feels even cleaner than when I use the BS wash, and being able to work the soap into my hair makes the whole process feel more "official" I guess.
I also lent my bar to my girlfriend, who has no dreads but has been washing less often and using BS/ACV, etc. to reduce her impact on the environment... And she loves it! She likes to see how often she can go without washing her hair before it starts too look oily, and with BS/ACV it's just a couple days, but with this soap even 3 or 4 days later her hair still looks like she just cleaned it! Amazing soap, and I would recommend it to anyone! Smells great, feels great, works great. Just be careful with baby locs, as everyone else has said.
updated by @cam: 07/09/15 11:35:20PM
New Dreadlock Shampoo Bars
Dread Products
Hmmm... I've been looking for something like this for when I don't have time to do full BS/ACV or for when I'm travelling... I've read so many great things that it seems foolish to NOT order one for myself at this point! I'm not too familiar with the herbs, oils, etc. used in most of these scents though... Could someone help me decide which one to order for myself? I may just stick with peppermint since it's always been a favorite of mine, but I'm also feeling a bit adventurous.
Also, hi fellow Cameron!
updated by @cam: 07/10/15 06:01:32AM
First update! 1.5 month natural dreads!
Member Journals and Timelines
Okay apparently youtube doesn't like my video format and I can't figure out how to fix it so I'll try and get it to you guys another time.... Sorry!
First update! 1.5 month natural dreads!
Member Journals and Timelines
Haha yeah, definitely I have had people come up to me and try to convince me that I should be backcombing, or that they want to get a dread perm because they are impatient and I always tell them that they should just go the neglect way because it's better for your hair and much more rewarding!
I just made a kind of hack-and-slash video because I wanted to take a break from writing essays... Not my best work but you can kinda see everything. I'll take better pictures tonight probably and post those as well.
I just counted and I'd say I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 dreads with plenty more hair to form more in the more "hidden" layers.
Here's my video, sorry I mumble a lot...!
This iframe is not allowed
Edit: The video is still being "processed" by youtube so it might not show up right away...
soaring eagle said:
i bet so i bet ya laugh at ppl who say they dont have the patience to go natural huh
First update! 1.5 month natural dreads!
Member Journals and Timelines
That picture may actually be closer to 3 weeks in now that I think about it, but I did have some dreads starting to form within the first week.
soaring eagle said:
question did u have dreads forming already 1st week? looksde like it
First update! 1.5 month natural dreads!
Member Journals and Timelines
Hey everyone. It's been a bit over a month and a half since I started my process and life has been busy enough that I've yet to do an update, so I figured now was as good a time as ever!
The process of dreading my hair has been a huge journey for me, and one that I've found to be nothing other than incredibly rewarding. To begin, I cut my hair about four to five inches shorter than it had been because I was worried it would be too hard to manage. I started washing every other day with doctor bronner's every other day to get used to not washing quite as often, and soon after switched to the BS/ACV rinse as needed every 2 or so days. In the beginning the biggest problem I had was serious dandruff, which I have completely fixed with patience, time, a bit more rosemary oil in my BS rinse, and upping the amount of ACV I followed up with. Since then, I've never felt cleaner than when I do the BS/ACV rinse and almost wish I could get dirtier more often so I could do it all the time because it's so nice and relaxing.
I originally planned to make my first update around a month in, because at that point I was so excited about my journey. Almost exactly a month in was the first time someone stopped me to comment on my dreads and ask questions, which was very exciting for me. My "oldest" dreads at that point had been mostly flat, but were beginning to round out over time which was cool to watch as it happened. Every day I'd wake up and find a new patch of hair that was just starting to dread and catch stuff around it. I was also concerned about the way my hair was parting, so I started shifting the part every day based on how my hair was dreaded and now my usual part has become a bit less defined and the hair around it seems happier.
Since then, almost the entire back of my head has formed some pretty tight dreads. The right side of my head is also almost completely dreaded since that's the side I sleep on every night... haha. My left side is also starting to catch up with some interesting little buddies. I stopped separating my dreads for a while because I was worried that I might be hindering some of the younger guys, but now I need to separate almost every day to make sure the back isn't congoing into one huge dread. On the other hand, I've had a few of my pencil-thin dreads congoing into more full-looking dreads which has been cool to see.
ANYWAY, enough talking except to say that those of you who are just starting off KEEP GOING! Your hair will always exceed your expectations, and if it starts to bother you just sit back and enjoy the fact that it's out of your control... it will turn out for the better. I stopped expecting results right away and wishing that my hair would dread faster and found myself happy with how my hair acts and excited by how it changes from day to day.
Here's pictures for y'all:
How my hair looked before dreading (and cutting... never took a post-haircut picture unfortunately)
http://imgur.com/CeWw8 (This might be like a week in?)
One month in:
Today!
I might try and get some better pictures, or even a video soon if people are interested. Cheers and thank y'all for your time and help!
updated by @cam: 01/13/15 09:12:07PM
Parted hair and young dreads?
General Questions
Hey all, I just started my dreads about a month ago and they're coming along greater than I even imagined! The only question that I have is, as a guy who's had long hair for many many years my hair has "learned" a very very defined part down the center and the dreads seem to be forming pretty uniformly around that part. Is there any way of making my hair "unlearn" the "nice-looking" part down the center and be more prone to doing everything and anything?
updated by @cam: 01/13/15 09:10:29PM