Forum Activity for @baba-fats

What do you wash with?

Dread Maintenance

As you look around the forums, you'll notice that many of the people here talk about dreadlockshampoo.com. That is because it truly is the best shampoo for your locks. Vicki designed it so that no matter how hard or soft your water is, her shampoo will always rinse out completely, and won't leave any residue.

Now you may wonder: "What about Dr. Bronners or the BS/ACV wash?" "Thats what I was always told to use".

For many people, BS/ACV or Dr. B's is a great choice. However, Dr. Bronners is a castile soap. Castile soaps are great. But what no one ever tells us is that if you have hard water, castile soaps don't rinse out well. if you have normal straight hair, it's no big deal. But with dreadlocks, the residue from Dr. B's will build up and cause mold/mildew problems, and weigh your hair down. BS does not break down completely in hard water. This causes it to build up in your hair.

I tried to find a few maps of hard water that will help anyone new to locks. If you are not sure about what your water quality is. See below. Hopefully it'll help. If you are still unsure, you can always call you local water treatment facilities. They are generally very friendly and helpful. I have tried to call for a few members, but they require more information than I had on hand. Like An address, and name. (I don't know why they need that information). But they are governemt agencies, so don't worry if they ask for beurocratic info.

updated by @baba-fats: 11/15/15 06:19:33PM

This website inspired me to go natural 2 years ago (after an unfortunate battle with T&R), so I owe you guys some progress pics

Member Journals and Timelines

You're definitely not alone. I'm one of a number of us that took a while to lock up. I didn't see any progress for about 1 year. Ixchel didn't see progress for about 8 months. I know if I wanted to start over I'd go completely natural

Washing.

Introduce Yourself

The first time you rub your hair like that, you'll create a few tangles. But the next time you do it, you undo all of those tangles and knots. It's not worth it.

When you scrub just your scalp, the soap rinses through your hair as you rinse it out. That's all you need for the most part. You only ever need to scrub your locks if you get the super dirty or have product in them. The only product you don't have scrub out is the gel from dreadlockshmapoo.com. It is completely water soluble and breaks down within a few days. In water it completely washes away

I had a dread fall out!!

Introduce Yourself

I've had this happen in the beginning. If you are doing anything to your roots, stop. This includes crocheting, twisting (even just a little), root rubbing, interlocking, and separating to the point that you can see your scalp. In fact, like Eagle said, stop separating anything that is even remotely thin. Let them congo together and thicken up.

I'd also really recommend not even touching them when you wash. Don't scrub or rub your scalp at all.

If you're wearing any hats or scarves, try to not wear them as much, or at all. Both help thin out your hair.

Some questions about my dreads

Dread Maintenance

That's exactly how crocheted and waxed locks will always look. That is because they are not locks. They are not mature. In fact, if you tried to pull one apart, it would do so very easily. Mature locks should only be able to be pulled apart if they are brushed gently for weeks-months with a ton of conditioner

Some questions about my dreads

Dread Maintenance

Like Brandi said, you can't undo the damage. But if you don't mess with them anymore, they will turn out ok. Crocheting does delay progress by about 6 months. And they will be messier for a while because of it. But don't freak out. Your locks will turn out fine. 1 session with a crochet hook isn't enough to destroy locks

So many mistakes!

Help! Save My Dreads

I didn't crochet. But I did back comb a few, TnR a few, interlocks a couple, tie knots in others, palm roll, and root rub.

You aren't alone in having some fall off. I even have a video on my page showing how 1 fell off while I was washing them. It That one fell off 6 years after I last messed with it. So be aware that it might not be over yet. But The ones that I didn't mess with, and the natural sections of the ones that I did mess with are strong.

If you stop messing with now, only the tampered with sections will see any more damage in the future. But the rest will grow out healthy and strong

wearing a hard hat

General Talk

If you're wearing a hard hat, I'm guessing your working in some type of construction area. Am I right? In that case, I'd be more concerned about all of the dirt and dust getting into your locks. Keep your hair covered with some type of cloth. Not a durag, because that will restrict movement and delay progress. But something to minimize the amount of dirt that gets stuck in your hair.

And keep working to get the wax out. How have you been trying so far?

hats

General Talk

Like a baseball cap? Or a beanie? Both constrict movement a bit too much and will delay progress. Neither will mess up your locks. But if it's too tight, like a beanie, it will cause your locks to grow in flat for a while

Dreadlock myths debunked

General Questions

I don't really know why I feel like starting this discussion. Most of us know the facts, since we have locks. But I saw a film tonight that showed a bunch of people with locks. Some were amazing and completely natural. Others were obviously tampered with.

So I feel like asking you guys: What are your favorite/least favorite myths about locks? Those ones that the mainstream media tells us, that are completely untrue. This can include ones your read about on other sites, see in videos, even just the ignorant comment you hear on the street.

updated by @baba-fats: 02/03/18 12:46:52PM