Forum Activity for @devon

Lint caked in my dreads... :(

Help! Save My Dreads

Hello! I have now had my dreadlocks for two and a half years, and they are strong and beautiful. I have developed a bad habit of picking out the ends when I'm stressed or distracted, and now there is a considerable amount of straight hair at the end of each dread. While doing this, I have uncovered a large amount of blue and gray lint and little sticky places in my dreads. Every dreadlock has this lint in it...

When I first embarked on my journey years ago, I used Knotty Boy's lock gel-- a combination of hemp oil and aloe vera and good-smelling things. It had no wax in it and used natural substances, so I thought it was fine to use. Now I believe that this gel has remained in my locks, causing these little sticky spots, and had attracted all of this lint to my hair when I slept after applying the gel.

I feel that my beautiful dreadlocks are "dirty", with these fuzzy lint things being caked in them for years. People have commented that they have a bit of a musty smell, and I don't believe there is a way to remove the lint from my dreadlocks as they are now.

So... I have thought about cutting off my dreads and rocking the short hair look. I am also considering trying to take my dreads out, and start a new set fresh. My question is, what is a safe and natural way to remove dreadlocks? IS there actually a way to get the lint out? And can we spread the word that this "locking gel" is no good? Thank you for your advice.

updated by @devon: 01/13/15 10:00:15PM

Are icky lemons okay to use on dreads?

Dread Maintenance

No way! I had always thought that lemons help dreads lock up. Not that I need it, my dreadlocks are mature. I had no idea it was harmful.

Are icky lemons okay to use on dreads?

Dread Maintenance

Hi everyone! I have an old lemon that has some brown spots and has been sitting out... Do you think it would be okay to use in a salt spray mix for my dreadlocks, or is spraying icky lemon in one's hair not cool?

updated by @devon: 01/13/15 09:53:01PM

Is there a way to un-blunt crocheted dreadlock tips?

Help! Save My Dreads

I had used a crochet hook to blunt my tips maybe seven or eight months ago.. That was the only thing I used the crochet hook for- I know of its evils and regret it! I wanted my dreads to look more noticeable at the time, and now that they're mature I feel that the blunted tips look odd and only serve to hold water in. If only I could set back time! The tips are very tight so I'm not able to just loosen the tips up... Does anyone have suggestions or experience with handling this? Could I use some sort of conditioner or something? Thanks for your advice and input.

updated by @devon: 01/13/15 09:33:56PM

Curious about a potentially "outrageous" method of thinning dreadlocks..

General Questions

Thanks for everyone's help!

Curious about a potentially "outrageous" method of thinning dreadlocks..

General Questions

I've hair dried my dreads before.. What is that supposed to do, loosen the hairs? And I'm not sure who Baba is haha. Thanks for your suggestion =D

Curious about a potentially "outrageous" method of thinning dreadlocks..

General Questions

Thanks for your reply Soaring Eagle =) The gel gunk actually rises out when you wash your hair, so none of it is currently in my dreads. It was mostly made of aloe vera and hemp oil. Some of my dreads are about an inch and a quarter thick in some places.. It seems more than that because of the tightness.

Curious about a potentially "outrageous" method of thinning dreadlocks..

General Questions

I've been growing dreadlocks for over a year now, and the thickness of some of my locks is concerning me. A few of the thicker ones take over a day to dry, so I'm worried that I could get dread rot and that these locks aren't rinsing out and being cleaned properly. They're also very tight.. I had used Knotty Boy's lock gel a good bit when I was just starting the dreading journey, and I believe this is the reason why these larger dreads are so almost unnaturally tight (I have never used wax and I no longer use the gel). I'm not really actually considering trying this method, but I am curious... What would happen if one were to take a knife and, probably starting from the root of the dread, cut a dreadlock vertically in half so that it became two dreadlocks? My hair used to be straight, so I think that the amount of hair I'd slice through would be minimal, and the dreads would probably stay together because of their tightness. I'm mostly just curious, this seems like an extreme resort haha. Thanks for your input and/or advice =)

updated by @devon: 01/13/15 09:33:01PM

Dish Soap For Dreads, No Other Options

Dread Products

Hey there- I bought a bottle of Knottyboy liquid dread shampoo at Fishbone when I decided to let my hair dread in June. Four months later I'm not even half way through the bottle; that stuff lasts forever! It uses natural herbs and hemp to bring nutrients to your dreads and cleans them very well. I wash my hair two to three times a month and have never had problems with it being dirty. I don't mean to play up this "name brand", but I recommend trying it out. Don't getfrustrated with your dreading journey; your hair is doing what it WANTS to do.

I'm four months into my dreading journey with twist-and-ripped dreads, and they're doing this wonderful curving thing... My dreads are bending upwards until they latch up to an upper part of the dreadlock, and then morph into that portion. The extent of the shrinkage is amazing. Just like SE said, they'll get shorted before they get longer. Embrace the process!