Forum Activity for @melony

Washing with the Dr.

Dread Maintenance

I fill glass/plastic bottles with warm water, then add a glob of peppermint scented dr bronners... then I add Tea Tree Oil, peppermint oil, and lavender oil, shake it up and then when I'm in the shower I squirt the mixture over my scalp all the way to my ends and massage my scalp and dreads with my finger tips. I let it sit for the entire time I'm in the shower, and when I'm ready to get out I rinse my hair really well with cold water (as cold as I can stand anyways)
It works well for me so far, and it smells AMAZING.

How many dreads should I have?

Introduce Yourself

This post got me curious how many dreads I have... so I counted, and there are a total of 45 dreads.. all of which are different sizes. some are half the width of a pencil and others are the width of three pencils, and everything in between.39 sounds like a perfect amount of dreads, whatever works for you and your hair is fine.

First crochet tam

Dread Accessories

I've been crocheting for a few months now.. mostly ear flap beanies for my babies...

But finally I got around to making myself a tam, and I'm really happy with the results!!

Heres the link to the video that I followed to make the hat.

updated by @melony: 01/13/15 09:41:28PM

What to do for some length

General Questions

You could try dread extensions?
Theres tons of info about it on google and youtube.
Seems like the easiest/cheapest way to go about it is to buy regular hair extensions from a beauty supply store and TnR or back comb the hair into dreads.

Hola

Introduce Yourself

Welcome! I love southern Cali, its a beautiful place! I live up north.. Olympia WA. I've heard that keeping beads in your hair early on can make weak spots in dreads. I would recommened using little rubber bands to keep the sections you want separate. But you may be pleasantly surprised if you just let your hair do what it wants... Maybe that section will stay separate on its own.To be honest I am a control freak, and the journey to dreads has been testy for me. I want to control and anipulate all my locs to be the way I envisioned them... but lately I've been realizing more and more that I can't control this mane. In order for it to thrive I just have to let it be!Good luck to you.

Baby dread question!

General Questions

I can't see the pics, but my dreads also have lots of loops throughout them... at first I put beads on the loops to flatten them to the rest of the dread.. but now all my dreads have loops in them. I've just learned to love my loopy dreads

Best Dryer For Dreads

Dread Maintenance

My dreads are still new and aren't mature at all.. but whenever I wash I wring my hair out as best I can... then I wrap it in a towel for about 10 min or longer. Then I use a basic hair dryer (one I've had for over 8 years.. lol) I put my head upside down and dry the roots for about 5-10 minutes.. then I let my hair air dry for a bit, and then I flip my head upside down again and dry the ends for about 5-10 minutes.. then air dry some more and dry again as needed.
I like to use the hair dryer, then let it air dry for a bit so I'm not just sitting there under the hair dryer for an hour like you said lol

Minimizing Shrinkage?

Dread Maintenance

Thanks for the input! I guess I will have to come to terms with the shrinkage!

Minimizing Shrinkage?

Dread Maintenance

Why do some dreads shrink so much as they lock?
Some of mine are really long, and some have shrunk to less then half their original size.
Does anyone know what I can do to minimize any more shrinking?
I'm thinking maybe if I wash less often they will be less likely to shrink?
Currently I wash every week and a half to 2 weeks, using essential oils and water, and I add baking soda to the mix when my scalp is looking extra greasy.

updated by @melony: 01/22/20 09:33:16AM

Face Wash

General Questions

I use a mix of baking soda and tea tree oil as a face wash, and tomoisturizeafterwards I use a small amount of olive oil