Forum Activity for @cathy-givans

What is going on with the ends of my hair?

Dread Maintenance

It kind of sounds like it might be the same dulling/damaging issue I had with my last set of dreads. It kept getting worse and worse to the point that my whole head looked...dull? Not really a word for it. I ended up taking them out, (4 months of dreading down the drain) I then conditioned like crazy for about a month and am now starting over. I ordered a dread bar that should be here pretty shortly and I am only doing BS/ACV every few days (only one so far) until my bar comes. I was trying to find the link to the site on my own cuz I didn't want to lose the message, but there is a pretty big post about it on here. I will come back and post the link later. I am no expert when it comes to dreads, but like I said, it wasn't exactly residue but it wasn't really my hair either and from the way you described it, it sounds very similar.

Tips for Keeping Hands Out of My Hair?

General Talk

Lmao. Thanks SE! Have a tam pattern I want to try out and the yarn, so I guess it's time to get busy making it. Hopefully my hands won't be too numb lol.

Tips for Keeping Hands Out of My Hair?

General Talk

So I am starting on day three of neglect method and I need some help. I catch myself constantly trying to put my hands in my hair - mostly to rest my head in my hands (hands at the root) or to push hair out of my face. I have been using a scarf over the top of my head during the day to help, but I am concerned that the tightness of the scarf will prevent dreading. I have five kids and I write full time so I don't have a lot of time or money to invest in anything, but if anyone has some tips or can at least tell me if the scarf is going to cause an issue, I would so appreciate it! Thanks in advance.

updated by @cathy-givans: 01/13/15 09:12:57PM

An article I want to share

Alternative Lifestyles and Subcultures

Something I wrote about the 7 billionth baby and what it means for life on our planet. http://www.growingyourbaby.com/2011/11/02/who-is-the-seven-billionth-baby-and-how-does-it-effect-us/

updated by @cathy-givans: 01/13/15 09:12:57PM

Thinking about starting over with the natural method

Dreading Methods

In case you decide to take them out, thought I would share what I did. I saturated my dreads in conditioner and actually let the conditioner soak into my hair for about a day. The next day, I rinsed and re-conditioned. I noticed that taking them out was easier to do when they were wet and if I had one that was really stubborn about coming out, I would just add some more conditioner. Whatever you decide to do though, good luck! I am heading into day three of neglect and am already seeing some separating. Wish I would have started this way to begin with, but live and learn, right?

Ugly Scalp

Help! Save My Dreads

Welcome veggiemonster! So sorry you had so much misguided information. I have heard of so many saved dreads from this site, so I would definitely go with any great information you have been given. I don't really have anything more to add, just wanted to encourage and reinforce...Oh, and that little crochet hook...make socks. LOL!

washing and some really fine hair

Dread Maintenance

soaring eagle is right. That wax is a lot of your problem. I don't know how to fix that because I never used it but I hear it's next to impossible to get that goop out of your dreads.Also,the backcombing/tnr methods do come out easy (backcombing is worse, IMO) but the bead idea is great and it isn't damaging like rubber bands and the like. For baking soda rinse, dilute 1 tbsp baking soda with 1 cup water. Dissolve it really well and then pour into hair. I put mine into an oldV05 bottle so that I could have more control over where the rinse ended up but you can use almost anything that has a spout on it. Just make sure you washthe containerreally, really well. Also, I would recommend mixing it up each use just because the water gets cold and that kinda stinks. Don't forget the ACV rinse though. Same instructions as the baking soda.

2 weeks into neglect, Dr. Bronners or BS rinse?

Dreading Methods

Not having hard water is probably the reason you love Dr B's so much. I still love it for a body/face wash, despite the fact that I can't use it for my hair because of hard water. I noticed, with my skin, that I broke out more for a little while but now I have no breakouts on my skin - even in areas that have always suffered from breakouts. My guess - I had allergies to other soaps. It is a little drying to my skin but I just counteract that with a lot of hydration and by using an olive oil/brown sugar scrub on my skin in the shower. I also use Dr B's to make hand soap....speaking of which, I need more.

brittany leigh said:

I haven't yet tried the bs/acv, but was thinking about it just to get a real good cleanse in there. But I have been doing the neglect for 5 months now and I will swear by Bronner's. I started with liquid at first, I think I tried eucalyptus [tho I don't think it matters which scent you get]. And at first, I thought it made my hair feel weird. We don't have hard water either, so I was thinking about stopping using it. But after a month or two I stopped noticing the difference and my hair feels smooth and soft and normal now. I think it just had to get used to the change in soap. Now that I have experimented a little with some of Bronner's different products I much prefer the bar soap. I feel that it lathers up easier than the liquid [tho they both lather just fine]. And so far I haven't had too much trouble with dandruff. [ I wash my hair once or twice a week now, at first I was doing 3 or 4 times a week] I do notice a tiny bit say if I scratch my head real rough, but other than that it's been smooth sailing! Good luck with whatever you decide!

2 weeks into neglect, Dr. Bronners or BS rinse?

Dreading Methods

My problem wasn't my scalp. It was my hair. I had problems with both. Dr B's left so much residue in my hair, my dreads felt like I had gum in my hair. It didn't matter how much I diluted or rinsed. Baking soda made it look like I had dull hair - it was like I had baby powder in my hair without the powder. My hair started to look white. I have hard water though. soaring eagle just referred me to a site that sells dread soap bars. I am going to try that this time around and hope it works out better. (The site says it even works in hard water and I like that they are all about organic products that don't add to the depletion of our planet's resources.) My advice, consider the type of water you have before you use anything on your dreads. Can't comment on the dandruff since I didn't have any but soaring eagle is amazing at all of this dread stuff.

My Official Introduction

Introduce Yourself

So I am already in love, just reading the site. I will be ordering some soap as soon as I get paid on Tuesday! I love that it mentions hard water because I think that was my biggest struggle. I am sure the essential oils and beer willhelp with the moisturizing as well. I still use ACV, right?

I was worried that it might still be too soon to restart so I was putting it off. Plus, I wanted to be sure I had it down this time. I won't ever to tnr again. I think it was part of the reason my head hurt so bad and, even though they seemed to mature pretty quickly because they were so thin, they also had a very frizzy look (sign of damaged hair, right?) I tried everything I could to keep from taking them out but when I started breaking at the ends, I was done!

And nope, didn't do anything else. Some palm rolling but that was it. I didn't do wax, I didn't crochet. I knew how damaging all of that was. I was already frustrated that I was too impatient to do the natural method and chose to do tnr. But, now that I have had dreads for a little while, I think I have the impatience out of my system and can wait for my hair to do its thing all on its own. My only worry with the natural method this time around is figuring out how to keep my fingers out of my hair and figuiring out how to find time to seperate the bigger dreads. Having small dreads last time though, I am pretty sure I want bigger ones this time.

And thank you for the tips soaring eagle. As always, a pleasure hearing from you!