Forum Activity for @akal-sahai

What's Next?

Dreading Methods

I think just leaving it alone and starting neglect, but condition after a mild stripping will do. the aspect of letting them form on their own is a gentle process in itself, causing the least amount of damage, even compared to how most people normally care for their hair with maintenance.You'll know when to separate, because it will feel like the roots are one massive tangle with separate "dreadlings" hanging from them. Not really dreads, but sections of hair starting to find their buddies and form a section. After you wash and it dries, you'll notice this huge tangle, and I have to leave mine alone until it dries to make any sense of it because when it's wet it feels like an insane mess and is hard to do anything to until dry. My hair's really wavy too so that might be part of why mine feels like that.So, wash and let it go, and as it starts forming it's tangles (mine took 3-4 weeks to really get that tangly root mass) pull the root tangles apart by section to keep them sectioned. it's really random sections, and if you have root tangles already from the crocheted ones then you probably already have most of your 'base" dreads (sections) going.Your hair will get better and stronger because hair always does as new hairs come in. We lose and grow 50- 100 new hairs daily. It'll get better, and when it feels like your hair isn't really doing much of anything at all, it likely means that you're right on the cusp of all kinds of new dreading activity going on. Life always seems to work like that.Oh, and the baking soda wash works really great! I also recommend Maylee's Garden shampoo bars (you can find her in the dreadshops section). They have a very excellent conditioning aspect to them, made my hair much softer after washing than baking soda alone, and quite clean too. Smells fabulous, my entire family is in love with them, husband, kids, all of us.

natural neglect dreads in weeks not years

Dreading Methods

All the regular old suburban moms at my kids school were all "for" my dreading process when I updated on FB (lol) that I was going to dread my hair. Then they wanted to know what happened because the t&r I had around my face were loose and they thought I took them out. They all are shocked that it might take a year for them to be more separate like the dreads they have pictured in their minds and all I ever hear is "OMG I DON"T HAVE THE PATIENCE FOR THAT!". Then when I try to explain that YES I WASH my hair (first question when I say I'm letting them form naturally is "so what, do you just not wash your hair" and insert that awful tone of voice like you grew up in the valley) and it's a really nice journey of letting go and how spiritual it is...well, they stop listening and begin to want to talk about something else. No one has freakin' patience for anything. You're right SE, people do sound like contradictions by saying they wanted dreads for x number of years only to want to have insta-dreads from the salon.I get asked "what happens if by the time a year comes around you want them out?" Now, why the hell would I go down this path if I didn't like them? Well, they don't understand the process anyhow so I guess they don't understand the mentality. Like my DH always says, "there's nothing wrong with you, you're just talking to the wrong people".Thank the gods for this site so there's a safe haven.

goals visions destinations.

General Talk

I had wanted dreads for a while now, but sometime in April I kept talking about it and my husband told me he didn't understand why I kept talking about it and wasn't doing it. I realized he was right... I don't usually put things off. Looked dreads up and found a loctician in town, then found that crocheting them sounded weird, so researched that.... found a yahoo answer post of all things with SE directing someone to this site. Came here, the rest is history.I started of wanting a hairstyle, and realized that i wanted a journey instead. How perfect is that? i love the journey of everything, there was no way I was giving that gift up once I knew what dreads were really about.It's not about hair, it's about connection. One more connection to the rest of everything. Yoga gives me oneness, my family gives me oneness, being outdoors gives me oneness, dreads give me oneness. We are organic creatures and the more we allow ourselves that option of BEING, the more happiness, love, and peace we fill up with. It becomes like a river that keeps flowing.It's a constant path of enlightenment, and I love it. I didn't know that I wanted something out of this when I first started. but I am SO glad I did, because it has helped me move back towards myself that I had let slip away. My husband told me that he has never seen me so happy as I am now, so complete, so myself, except for maybe about 12 years ago... and now I've got it back, and that's all I want out of it. To just BE and enjoy the ride of it all.

Strange family issues...

General Talk

As hard as it may be, right now, you may just need some distance because trying to be the person that keeps doing the "right" thing by talking with them is only draining your own energy and letting chaos and negativity into your life. They try to remove their own pain and negative hate by passing it onto you. There are so many people like this, and my family is very similar, but different.I don't even speak to my brother anymore because he is such a ball of negativity and hate that no matter what I say, he says something rude or stupid, and none of it is useful or even close to what a "normal" person would constitute as "normal". He's 36 so I can't blame it on youth any longer. Lesson was, time to move on, since he's not ready to do it, he has to stay in his broken place without me. My parents too.Hugs to you, and just give yourself some time away and see how things unfold. There is a point in our lives that we realize that some people really are just toxic to us and the world around them, and we cannot change them, and we only keep hurting ourselves by continuing to try to have that connection with them that would be ideal, or usually close to how happy, positive people interact. We all have our own battles to choose, and even for people we love, we cannot continually sacrifice ourselves to try to have a relationship because it's what we know would be "the right thing to do" if they would just treat us right. Because honestly, the right thing to do is to create and spread happiness, not take abuse from others because that is the only thing they are choosing to offer no matter what we try to offer them.After my crazy dysfunctional family growing up with abuse, alcoholics, anger, hate, family going to jail, pulling guns out on each other, and them only getting worse, and me running straight into abusive relationships with my ex boyfriends and ex husband, my advice is just ..... give yourself time away and don't try to fix people that are so broken they only keep draining and hurting you. Protecting yourself is just as important as helping others. Much love and peace to you!

Free Beads

Dread Products

Hey guys, we were out camping so I just got the messages now. Paula's went out already, I have Zuri's address, and i can send out some to Zachary, Serena, JahWillProvide, and Jessica, but I need your addresses. Serena, I didn't copy down your address in the friend request so now the system ate it and it's gone heh heh.Beads are all spoken for and gone now. Peace to you all ~

Free Beads

Dread Products

Forgot to add, you ladies are both in the US right? If so, then drop me a message where you'd like me to send them and they will be on their merry ways to you soon No prob sending them to both of you.

Free Beads

Dread Products

*edit* Beads are now gone, peace until next time ~Hey there, I've got some wood beads for free, nothing fancy, just simple wooden beads. Just shy of a 1/4" circumference inside, works great for ends that aren't too thick.Colors are burgandy, blue, natural, green, black. There's at least 20-ish, I didn't count though Whomever needs them, speak up and they're yours, I don't need anything in return, they just need a new home.

updated by @akal-sahai: 02/14/15 10:58:23AM

Neglect Method Question. (For all those who have gone Neglect)

Dreading Methods

Ah, there's just lots of options, and options are good That means that you can get the same result by manner of many methods, just pick what works for you personally, with what you've got on hand or can acquire easily. Aaron"TheLegend" said:

Wait you're boiling the leaves, see that is what confuses me there are SOOOO many methods to do something for your hair, it's just nuts. Some people talk about sea salt spray bottle, now you're talking about a spray with thyme tea. You can do a peppermint spray too right? Or put it in a baking soda mix, either or works correct? Also I'll try that two cups of water on my head coming time to wash me hair anyways.

Neglect Method Question. (For all those who have gone Neglect)

Dreading Methods

crap - I mean thyme oil. rosemary's good too, but mostly for dryness which is not what you need. If you know of anyone who has plants nearby you you could always steep some thyme sprigs in water and use that until you get the oil. There's also a group on here for trading, maybe someone has something to trade for. I'm a huge fan of peppermint, so yeah peppermint oil, steeped leaves, or even some standard peppermint tea would work in a pinch. Aaron"TheLegend" said:

Yeah i don't have any rosemary, I should get that, nor do I have beads or a tame. Sighs i need to find me a job.


But thank you very much Christina! That's a lot of information! I'll soak all that up, I have to get that Rosemary and peppermint oil asap!

Neglect Method Question. (For all those who have gone Neglect)

Dreading Methods

After about a month (maybe 3 weeks) I noticed the back of my hair underneath was tangling up. Washing it 2x a week was helping a lot because after it dried, it would knot up more. it basically felt like a huge tangle at the base of my head, and I just separated it so it would not be one huge one but sections. now I have some cool actual tight dreads going on to some degree in that area. I'm around nearly 50 days in or so.The oiliness is going to slow progress for you. Combat the oil with rosemary oil in your wash and that should help. You can wear a wool (or alpaca or llama, basically any protein-based fiber, from an animal) tam, beret, hat, etc while you sleep (rubs your hair around in a gentle manner to encourage matting) or while you're out and about.Everyone's hair really is different, in texture, in oil or dryness levels, as well as straight to wavy to oily. My hair btw is naturally very thick, coarse, and wavy if I leave it alone. It would tangle at the base of my neck normally before I started dreading it.It's going to look "worse" before it dreads, but by that I mean it will look looser and seem like it's doing nothing, then suddenly it will start to feel like it's tangling, then matting, then dreading in more of a progressional manner. Wash a couple times of week, using the rosemary to combat oil, and if you want something else, spray it with sea salt water a few hours before you wash to help it tighten. Keep the salt off your scalp so you don't end up getting your scalp to think it needs to make more oil.PS I started with some t&r, but soon gave up on them and although it looks like my hair isn't really sectioned, if I tilt my head you can see it separate into the sections and if I feel it I can feel them really starting to knot up (just lots of loose hairs all around them masking it in appearance).Good luck