Forum Activity for @baba-fats

avoid dirty lakes?

Dread Maintenance

No problem. Is the pond close to your house, or is it a drive away? You might want to contact a fish and wildlife service and ask if they could send someone out to take a look at it and take some readings.

avoid dirty lakes?

Dread Maintenance

mud wouldn't be killing fish. It would be making it a shallower pond, but not deadly to animal life. Some chemicals can make the pH balance out of whack, but it's not dangerous to swim in. You can swim in lake Tahhoe, but no animals will ever live there again.

It's a matter of what kind of chemicals are dumped. If it's a fertilizer plant, the nitrogen and phosphorous added to the lake won't hurt you. If it's a tanning plant, then the chemicals released will hurt you.

It also doesn't have to be a factory. If there are farms nearby, it's going to be nitrogen runoff. That will kill fish, but not you. It'll be causing algal blooms that will be the cause of fish deaths

avoid dirty lakes?

Dread Maintenance

Is it dirty because of chemicals, or eutrophication? That is the big question. If there are chemicals then you should absolutely not swim in it locks or no locks. That's just dangerous.

If it's just dirty with pond scum, then the extra nitrogen should not hurt your locks. You'll just want to be extra attentive when you wash them afterwards. Pond scum is a bacteria that grows into those huge algal blooms that tends to kill everything in the lake because sunlight no longer makes it's way under the water.

If I were you, I'd look into the surrounding area. Find out what watershed you are living in. Then look into whether or not there are factories along that main river/body of water, or if there are any upstream on any tributaries to that body. Most ponds are fed by underground springs. They still count as part of the watershed.

If fish are dead in there and there is no algae, stay out of it. I'd even recommend calling a wildlife resource and having someone come out and test the water. If the spring is contaminated, it could also be leaking chemicals into your drinking water.

If it is just pond scum, wash VERY VERY well afterwards. I'd even say to get yourself some lavender soap, or other anti bacterial soaps, to kill everything just in case. That kind of bacteria does not live in dry conditions, so once your hair dries, it'll be fine, but for the period of time that it is wet, you don't want bacterial colonies living in your hair. Not to mention that some of those bacteria do not die when conditions change, they just go dormant and then grow again when it's better suited for them.

I guess what I'm saying, in the end, is that you could swim in it, and be extra careful. Or be on the even safer side and find a new pond

Sorry about the rambling

Is Dr. Bronner's good for dreads?

Dread Maintenance

That's an awesome idea. I never thought about it. I guess I never noticed it because My hands always end up dry after I use it. But that makes so much sense. Good to know if I'll be traveling

Hellooo from Scotland!

Introduce Yourself

Welcome. glad you started searching the site before you started locking.

almost 3 months. Should I take rubber bands off my roots ?

Introduce Yourself

Looking at that last picture. How big are those sections? They look like they could easily be 2 inches wide. Are you sure you want them that big. I like sections that big, but just so you are aware, they will turn into locks a wide as your wrist.

If you want locks that big, PM me and I'll give you some pointers on how to take care of them when you wash and dry. Massive locks do not dry the same as smaller ones. When they grow out to be that hick expect them to take upwards of 10 hours to dry completely

almost 3 months. Should I take rubber bands off my roots ?

Introduce Yourself

What they said. luckily it looks like none of them are on super tight. after 3 weeks they shouldn't have done much damage, but bands can squeeze locks too tight and cause crimping which will create weak spots on your locks.

You should never use bands. I did when I first started and I've got a few crimped points on a few locks that haven't healed themselves after 5 years. Take them off now. They look great. locks tend to loosen a little before they tighten. It;s part of the process.

All of those loose hairs will get sucked into other locks. if you want to use anything, get beads to put on your locks. Beads work better because they can freely move up and down your locks.

Not to mention that if a band gets sucked inside a lock and dries out it can rot and cause rotting inside a lock. You don't want anything to rot in your hair . That's nasty

flapping

Introduce Yourself

It fixes itself, but you know what I do. I sleep on the left side almost all the time too. So I just take my hair and pull it above my head and toss it over the end of the bed. The it's out of my way and I don't flatten that side of my hair out

Tidy dreadies

Dread Maintenance

mine are 5 years old, and I still have loose hairs. It comes from new hairs growing in and not yet locking or getting sucked into other locks. In time they will. But then more hair will grow in and take their place. after a while those loose hairs will be less noticeable.

But your locks look great. I wouldn't worry about them. When you look at yourself in the mirror, you are seeing yourself more closely and more critically than anyone else is likely to see you.

If they really bother you you could always tie them with a wrap to a lock nearby or put a bead over a lock and tuck the loose hair in with it. That'll help coax them into tangling with a lock.

Completely New To Dreading HELP

Dreading Methods

Patting it dry is ok, but not ideal. When they start to mature you can take the towel and wrap in around you locks and squeeze excess water out of them, but you wont have to do that until they are more mature. When you shower after a match or race/training, just tie them back and try to keep them out of the water. We're not saying not to shower when you get gross