Forum Activity for @lexi3

Mature dreads itching, but no apparent cause??

Dreads Hair and Scalp Health

I've had my dreads for 2 years. My head has been very itchy recently too. I think it's a winter problem.

Most of the year my scalp produces a healthy amount of oil and I wash it with Dr. Bronners Tea Tree Soap or Nag Champa bar soap once a week. I might get mild dandruff after 5 days without washing at worst.

But the winter I started my dreads, last winter, and this winter; my scalp has been dry, itchy, and tight feeling. I have yet to find a real working cure though. There is no dandruff. No lice.

I've been washing my hair in room temperature water about every other week now. And I keep a homemade mixture of essential oils (jojoba and nag champa diluted with extra virgin olive oil atm) in an eyedropper and apply it directly to my scalp when it itches. It works wonderfully. But after a day or so, my hair absorbs every last drop of it and the itching comes back. Without realizing it, I went through an entire eye drop bottle in a week. Even though I can't feel it, that means there's A LOT of oil in my hair right now. And I don't know if that's bad or good. Is there a more permanent fix? Would rinsing with apple cider vinegar help? I have no clue what it smells like, but I definitely don't want a vinegar scent in my hair. Is there a problem with the products I'm using?

I'm worried that my bleach blonde hair is going to all fall out before it dreads up :(

Help! Save My Dreads

I mayy have exaggerated on how damaged my hair is. Most of my hair is fine. its only the dreads that i pulled apart and remade that seem to have any significant damage. I only took 3 dreads that were too big and turned them into 7. The amount of hair that fell out was no more than the size of a strawberry when wadded up. And like I said earlier, one of the newer dreads is only a few inches long. When it happened I was definitely nervous and panicky about it. I was worried more hair was gonna break and fall out, but they don't seem to be getting any worse. No more hair has fallen out. The dreads aren't falling apart or getting frizzy, if anything they seem to be tightening up along with the rest of my dreads. I have been spraying "kendi oil dry mist" stuff on them, though. And I think that's helped. It's a hair strengthening spray that I've had forever. It's formulated so your hair actually absorbs it. It's made to get rid of frizz, protect it from heat, and repair damage, but it doesnt do anything to condition or detangle. I used to not like it because it made my hair feel slightly greasy, but now with dreads I really like it, cuz you can't tell.I think the reason it happened is because before I decided I wanted dreads, I used fortifying creams that were stuffed full of proteins to keep my blonde hair from breaking. I haven't been using it..obviously, so my hair has been drying out. I think that's fine so long as i keep it in dreads and just dont cause any more strain to it. I feel like if I brushed out all my hair, it would be more damaged than it was before I had dreads and more damaged than it is now, so that probably wouldn't even be worth it. I'm kind of afraid to mess with it anymore to be honest. All I do is palm roll it to hide the frizzies. I got some dr bronners. I just havent used it yet cuz i havent felt like i needed to wash my hair yet.

I'm worried that my bleach blonde hair is going to all fall out before it dreads up :(

Help! Save My Dreads

Thanks. I kind of already decided im not touching it anymore. no mantainance of any kind except maybe pulling apart congos. atleast for a few months. and i'm not worried about them coming undone. i expect that to happen. and before i TnRed my hair i wasnt running my fingers through it on a daily basis or anything...i just could. and as much as i wish i did, i didnt have the patience for completely natural dreadlocks :/ i havent dyed my hair in months, but like you said, damage to hair is pretty permanent. hopefully theyll start locking up when i get the right shampoo. and hopefully no more hair will break off so long as i dont touch it

taye said:

"I could still run my fingers through my hair." That could be one of the problems. It is the same thing as combing, just substituting fingers for the actual comb. It usually takes a lot longer than 3 weeks for any knotting to start. Sometimes it takes months for the smallest knots to form. I have never bleached my hair, but anyway if i was in the same situation I would not touch my hair. If it comes undone or loose...do not redo it. If it comes completely undone...leave it undone. Let the damaged part grow out and cut it off. Start your dreading journey with healthy hair. Hair is dead protein, so it can't heal. Redoing the TnR just caused added stain and friction to already damaged and brittle hair.

Panterra will be able to give you advice on the existing damage. I trust her knowledge

I'm worried that my bleach blonde hair is going to all fall out before it dreads up :(

Help! Save My Dreads

is there a specific dr bronners product that is best? cu i think i can definitely buy that nearby.

soaring eagle said:

thats why it wasnt dreading naturaly and why u twisted and ripped and have breaking hair

if u had the right shampoo it would dread right up

options

www.dreadlockshampoo.com is some of the best

baking soda and acv very popular tpoo]

dr bronners diluted 12-1

baking soida and axcv u cabn get at walmazrt maybe bronners too i dunno

and yea it matters in the 1st weeks if u used the rigfht studff u wouldnt have had to tnr

I'm worried that my bleach blonde hair is going to all fall out before it dreads up :(

Help! Save My Dreads

Yeah, i'll look into that. thanks.

I'm worried that my bleach blonde hair is going to all fall out before it dreads up :(

Help! Save My Dreads

I haven't bought any special shampoo yet. I've been using normal shampoo. I figured it wouldnt matter in the first week or so. money's just been tight. but i need to go buy some thats good for my dreads. what would you recommend? is there anything i can buy at walmart or something like that?

I'm worried that my bleach blonde hair is going to all fall out before it dreads up :(

Help! Save My Dreads

A little over a month ago I had straight thin bleach blonde hair. My hair is fried and unhealthy. I used to shampoo and condition it daily. I've wanted dreads for over a year. so about a month ago I stopped brushing and conditioning my hair. I just shampooed it every other day. After a good three weeks of nothing happening. (i could still run my fingers through my hair.) I decided to sit down and start making them. I made my dreads with the twist and rip method. I did it wrong lol. So all of my dreads have really tight knots with loose spaces in between. but I'm not really worried about that. I figure theyll become dreads eventually anyways. My concern is that my hair is falling out. I made a couple of them too big. I was looking kind of scalpy in some places. so yesterday i took 3 of them apart as gently as i could with my fingers, reseperated them into smaller sections. and then used the twist and rip method again. (this time the correct way lol) but a TON of hair started breaking off and falling out. one of the new dreads is only like 4 inches long now. the rest of my hair is shoulder length. the remade dreads just feel so weak and brittle. I'm worried about them. :/ I dont want 3 big bald spots on the top of my head. what should i do? should i leave them alone and just not touch them? or is there something i can do to strengthen the hair that wont loosen the knots?

updated by @lexi3: 02/14/15 07:44:54AM