Terrible itching and some questions after 9 months of dreads...
Dread Maintenance
Hi There!First of all - i'm so glad to have found this page! I've been getting most of my info from dreadheadhq and knotty boy pages so far, which never really helped much...Well i spent the last couple hours browsing the forums and found some very helpful info but i figured i'd share some of my dread experience so far and i was also hoping to get some advice!Well, i've had dreads for just over 9 months, i used the backcombing/palmrolling to help them form. And well, the biggest issue i've been having is just absolutely terrible itching, pretty much non-stop from the beginning of my dread experience. The first few weeks i figured it's normal. I was using the knottyboy shampoo. After a couple months of washing twice a week i tried changing washing routines, i tried washing nearly every day, then i tried washing once a week, but i felt no difference. I switched to the dreadheadHQ shampoo, which i still use now, but i also feel no difference whatsoever. I love my dreads and i'm pretty persistent, but the constant itching, especially in hot weather is driving me absolutely nuts. At the beginning i had some dandruff for a while - that went away pretty quickly, but the itching never stopped. Sometimes i have to scratch so bad, i make my scalp bleed. I'm quite positive there's no bugs or mold or anything though.Another issue (though maybe it's supposed to be like that?) is that my dreads are just very stiff. If i grab it at the root and point it up it'll just stick straight out. I've sort of gotten used to it by now, but it can actually be painful sometimes if i try to put my dreads up or just style them in any different way. It starts really pulling me at the roots and hurting (even though all my roots seem to have plenty of wiggle room). I've read somewhere that this may have been due to constant palm rolling (i have been rolling the dreads pretty much nonstop, but after reading that a few weeks ago i stopped, though my dreads are still all pretty stiff.I was also going to ask about loose hair and fuzz issues and such (they get frustrating at times) but after going through numerous answers about lose hairs i feel pretty reassured that everything's fine with my dreads
So really, i'd mostly love to get some advice on what to do about the itching. I saw people suggest something with baking soda and vinegar but i wasn't able to find clear recipes/proportions? Also, as an added difficulty i currently live in Vietnam, where to be honest, i have absolutely no idea where i'd even start to look for specialty items like special oils or such if necessary. Baking soda / vinegar should be easy to get, but is that all i'd need?and just one last thing - after finding this page, i feel i've been using all the wrong advice from dreadheadhq and some other pages - so, actually - should i continue to palm roll my dreads from time to time? Should i still rub the roots to keep them in order? how about thumb-rolling the tips?Sorry this is pretty long, but i appreciate any advice and big thanks for being a great resource about dreads
matt
updated by @matt4: 01/13/15 08:39:43PM
