Forum Activity for @xyz123

Questions On Ways to Start/Maintain Dreadlocks? Etc.

Dread Maintenance

I've had dreads for a year+ now & am thinking about cutting them off & starting over. I made a lot of mistakes prior to & during the time I've had dreads that have damaged my hair. I would like to know the do's and the don't's as far as dreading & the whole process, maintenance, etc. I am biracial so my half grows like a fro & curly. Is it better to start with skinny dreads or just start with medium sized? - Do skinnies lock up faster than thicker dreads? Does the shrinking process take the same amount of time as with thicker locks? / What is the best method into creating the locks? I don't want them to look clean an perfect, but I don't want them to look unpresentable (Neglect cannot be am option for me). & why is this the best method? What's the best way to lock up the roots? I used clockwise rubbing, because I was told that would do the trick, but due to that I lost quite a few dreads. So I know that's not a good idea. I've also heard interlocking isn't good either. / What product should I use for locking, etc.? Should I use a wax/locking gel at all? Why or why not? / If I were to get skinny locks, would it be easier to make them into thicker dreads than if I were to start off with medium sized dreads? I did this before & now they shrunk dramatically & I feel it won't be years 'till they can even become thick. / By wearing a wool beanie to sleep, does that do more harm than good to my hair? What's a natural way to speed up the locking process if I didn't use wax? / Any suggestions, opinions, experiences, advice, etc. are more than welcome. I'd be very appreciative if all of these questions were ans.'d because these all are concerning the accidents & poor experiences of my dreadlocks. I'm not sure about cutting them 'till May, but I would still like to know in advance if I decide to restart this process over.
updated by @xyz123: 01/13/15 09:18:25PM

Not sure if my dreads are even growing?

Help! Save My Dreads

I can't undo the info in my post but I meant that I've had my dreads for 13 months not 11. So a yr. & a month+

Not sure if my dreads are even growing?

Help! Save My Dreads

It won't allow me post photos via iPhone but on one of my previous discussions "Why don't I have many dreads" or something like that there's a decent photo from about 2 - 3 months ago. It's pretty much exactly the same but since then I feel like I've gotten some more progress in hair growth with the little ones but not much of a difference at all. Sounds like a dumb question but is there anyway to "undo" the interlocking I've done or is it too late? The dread-braiding I can stop 'cause any time I shower it loosens from the dread usually.

soaring eagle said:

when u tnr then your setting back progress you just want to leave em alone

try sleeping o0n the back of your head

seperating keeps them from growing together thats all you should be doing

\yea interlockings a bad idea

the dread braiduing wasnt too great either

can u post pics of front sides and back?

Not sure if my dreads are even growing?

Help! Save My Dreads

What do you mean by "wrap them"? & I don't plan to do it any time soon, when they get long obv. I want like, maybe 17 - 22 or so remotely thick ones. Hopefully I'll get to do that. I heard also it's better to start off with smaller dreads (in size) because they lock up faster & are easier to put together.

Baba Fats said:

congo them with beads or wrap them in help if you want to get thicker ones. I started with 23 and wanted thicker ones than that. I congoed a bunch together, so now I have 12 massive ones and 3 or 4 little ones that I will probably congo together when they get longer. you'll still have the skinny bottoms which look awesome flowing off of the fatties they form.

Not sure if my dreads are even growing?

Help! Save My Dreads

No, like actual braiding (I think they call it dread-braiding? IDK). I interlocked two of my dreads in the back, guess that wasn't a good idea. & what will separating them do? I am biracial actually (black & white) so my hair isn't the same texture as either race, so it's hard to determine what to follow, etc. Also, what do you suggest I do to the small ones in the back that can hardly be considered dreads? I have three different textures of hair overall, as odd as that sounds. The top of my head is typical, biracial, curly hair. The sides are a bit more rough and coarse, leaning more twds the black. & the back of my head, is SO soft, so whenever I try to re-dread the blank spots, they come out as soon as I get them in. I use TnR only, no twisting or nothin. But my question is directing twds tha back dreads which are very soft on texture. I would leave them alone as you say but I don't want nothing to be there because literally out of the entire back of my head, I only have three mature, locked dreads. I'll leave a majority of everything alone & I'll give 'em three months like you said (with the exception of the back ones & the one in the front I saved). What do you suggest?

soaring eagle said:

the braiding the roots as in interlocking? abd the root rubbing and trying to tighten the roots were all bad

u want to leave the roots alone do nothing to tighten the roots

let them tighten themselves over time

as i see it your just another victim of bad information

everything youve done to the roots has harmed them

stoip it all

stop rubbing

stop braiding

stop doing anything to the loose hairs

stop messing with the roots completely

wash them

seperate them weekly or..maybe less for a bit every couple weeks unlress they get hard to seperate then more often

give them 3 months of doing next to nothing to them and then you wuill see a diference starting

were you black i think you said? id do a good treatment of a mix of aloe and jojoba to give em a lil bit of a treatment to prevent more breakage

if your not rubbing and interlocking they will be fine

Not sure if my dreads are even growing?

Help! Save My Dreads

Yah I was, sad to say. I shoudlntve listened to all of those "informational" sites on dreading. I didn't know what I was doing was actually harming my dreads. I just wanna fix all this without having to start all over. Sucks I didn't know what to do from the beginning or I wouldn't be here now. Aha :/

elke.in.alaska said:

Processed hair can be very brittle and prone to breakage that's why I asked, but doesn't sound like that's your reason Were you aggressive with your root rubbing?

Not sure if my dreads are even growing?

Help! Save My Dreads

Well, the one in the front that started to thin in the middle, the loose hair around it, I braided on to that dread. For a whole 9 months I pretty much did nothing with my hair but clockwise rub and palm roll (& that was only the first 4 - 5 months). I honestly wish I would have known all of this before or I wouldn't be having this huge dilemma. & before like I said I did nothing after those 5 months to my hair but wash them, I use this pomade @ the roots to perhaps help with the moisture I guess?I also would like to know of it be possible to get thicker dreads in time? I have about 30 of 'em, including the 1.5 inch "dreads" which are pretty small as far as thickness goes, as well. The largest dread I have in the back is the size of two of my fingers, most of them are th size of a finger, and the smallest are smaller than my pinky. & I want them all to eventually be around the size of my thickest dread. Do you think it's possible at all or is it too late because my sectioning isn't done, all-correctly.

Baba Fats said:

yeah, clockwise rubbing destroys roots. That's probably what did them in.

mine shrunk for about a year. then stayed aconstantlength for a good few months before they grew again.

when you say you added hair, you mean that you took loose hairs near the lock and tried to tangle them into it, right? That's not bad. It depends on how you did it. If you did it be rubbing the root and trying to twist them in, that's what caused the breakage. Twisting and root rubbing rip out more hairs and damage the root to a point that it will be really hard to fix itself, if they even can.

How did you dad "help you with moisture"? washing them often, and a spray bottle with jojoba/essential oils/water will help dramatically with keeping them soft and healthy.

Not sure if my dreads are even growing?

Help! Save My Dreads

What do you mean "What about bleach or dye?"? Have I? Yah, first time I've ever put any sort of dye or anything in my hair but that was literally less than a week ago. & it's a slightly lighter brown & I did them @ the roots of only three of 'em, as a 'mark' to see if teyre growing or how much they're growing. I'm not necessarily underweight, I'm pretty small though. I only weigh about 114 lbs. now & am 5'8". Yeah, pretty small, but not unhealthy-small eh.

elke.in.alaska said:

What about bleach or dye? Malnutrition can cause brittle hair as well. Are you under weight?

Not sure if my dreads are even growing?

Help! Save My Dreads

Damn. I wish I would've known that. I did my research on the whole tightening roots & the sources stated that, that was what needed to be done. & I had my girl kinda braid it sorta @ the root from all the loose hairs around it & what not. It doesn't look braided @ all. It worked, though.

taye said:

the clockwise rubbing can break the hairs at the roots. It is not a good thing to do. I am curious as to how you added hairs to the dread to save it. Have you been crocheting your hair?

Not sure if my dreads are even growing?

Help! Save My Dreads

I'm not sure what happened, exactly. Just that the one's in the back became very lose, I tried redreading them (TnR) & then my hair just came out like that. On three different dreads. I had two on each side break & lose a lot of hair but the damage wasn't as bad (6 to 4 in. instead of 5 to 1 in. like the back). I also had two in the front, one broke off in the middle, completely, & the other is still here, the middle started to thin but I saved it so it should be good now. I literally have done nothing known to cause this. I know I'm not balding or anything. My dad told me it was a lack of moisture on my scalp, so he helped me with that & now I'm just trying to be patient. Thing is I could be a lot more patient, but I'm just so anxious just 'cause of all the breakage & stalling of the growth.

Baba Fats said:

Give them time. Mine shrunk to half the original length and then grew faster then they did before I locked them.

Eagles right, they go through a stage where they shrink. then a stage where they seem to stall out on you. Then after a little while they will start growing and you wont be able to stop them.

And yeah, what happened that they broke off? I mean, I've lost a few from week roots, but none have ever broken off in the middle