Forum Activity for @jxhippielovinpeace

vinegar alternative question [& natural living changes sharing :o]

Dreads Hair and Scalp Health

1. I mentioned in my (sorry, extensive) details that I am NOT looking to BUY any products (aside from DBs..) but thanks for the suggestion. I have only used the BS/ACV wash one time. I used about 1-2 tbsp of the ACV and YES I DEFINITELY mixed them (& mixed em well).

2. The biggest problem I think is that my hair itself is kinda in the middle (not oily exactly, but definitely not dry) and my scalp is DEFINITELY dry. I don't quite understand how that is possible but it always has been.

3. Again, not sure if you read my details but I mix DB liquid soap with BS and a lil salt. Does that change anything?

4. There's no way I'm gonna wash 2-3x a week. My scalp gets so dry it started to bleed if i just gave it a LEEEETTLE (little haha) scratch, before I started adding on the pine oil afterwards (now is a lot better, still dry though). I KNOW for a fact that washing that extra 1x or 2x a week (I only wash 1x a week) dries my scalp up (even if it locks/dries my hair nicely).

Thank you. I know they're citric acid, I didn't know that it would degrade the hair shaft. Thanks for the tip though! (that's why I dilute it in my hair wash that I make from scratch, very very measured).. but would it still strip the shaft?

really appreciate your knowledge

Baba Fats said:

1. Dr. Bronners is great in soft water. But the soaps from dreadlockshampoo.com are best. Out ofcuriosity how have you been doing the BS/ACV wash? Are you mixing the BS and ACV? How much ACV are you using? If you're using the right amount, there should be no vinegar smell at all afterwards.

2. BS is a base. It will raise your pH level and cause your hair to get fried if you use it alone. Unless your hair is naturally really oily, you need the ACV to reset your scalp and hair to a healthy pH

3. Castile soaps do not work in hard water. It will leave a residue in hard water. In soft water, it works wonderfully.

4. Dirty hair doesn't lock up well. And not washing allows your dirt, oil, residue, dust, etc... accumulate in your hair. I've heard of people not washing often, but this really doesn't work well either. For the best results locking, you need to wash 1-3 times a week.

And NEVER use lemon or lime juice. Both are citric acid. And citric acid is strong enough to seep into your hair shaft and degrade it from the inside out

vinegar alternative question [& natural living changes sharing :o]

Dreads Hair and Scalp Health

Howdy brothers and sisters of the earth!!

Sorry the following is so long. I'd REALLY appreciate any feedback, advice, or tips Also, feel free to ask me questions!

So I guess maybe I should just say this quickly I chose to dread for MANY reasons but one of the biggest was to go along with a continual process of living more naturally. It's been a beautiful journey so far. I have felt myself grow out of my flesh and closer to the Spirit and identify more and more with my soul instead of my body.

I've made a bunch of life changes during this journey (started before the dreads actually, the dreads were a "step" I guess you could say along side these changes, I have done a bunch of research before/during the various life changes (such as cutting down showering to 1-3x per week, using lemon juice to absorb body odor oils when needed, removing the hanging mirrors from my house, using borax to clean.. etc). One of the most fruitful changes I have made has been to stop buying as many store bought products as possible (started with clothing. NOTHING that is not fair trade, eco friendly, 2nd hand, etc etc). I just moved to one of the greenest states in the country am even more motivated to STOP using cleaning products that can't be found in a pantry..

I have been using about a tbsp (or 2) of Dr. Bronner's liquid soap (lavender scented diluted in water, about 2-3 tbsp baking soda, freshly squeezed juice from lemon (twice sifted), and kosher salt. About 2x per week. Then my scalp got RIDICULOUSLY dry once I hit my 3rd month (we're talking bleeding at times).So I started applying pine oil to my scalp. This has helped TREMENDOUSLY, but it still gets dry.

I tried doing the standard apple cider vinegar and baking soda wash, mixed in with about 10 drops of my pine oil. My scalp felt LOVELY but the smell of the vinegar.. I just can't do it again, not regularly at least. I just can't.

This all^ has to do with my question(s),

1. Do you know of any alternatives to the baking soda and apple cider wash? (I tried it, and the smell of apple cider made my stomach turn for DAYS... I really admire the people who do this super cleanse/wash, trust me, but I can't do it.. Just can't).

2.Do you know if just using baking soda & essential oils (or 'an essential oil') mixed in would do the trick to clean the dreadies?

3. I've heard mixed things about Dr. Bronners (liquid soap). Do you know (from personal experience or FOR A FACT) whether it DOES or DOES NOT contain residue? (side note:I use the bar for my face & my cleared my has cleared almost entirely. Yayay!)

I'm really really not looking to go out and buy more products (other than Dr. Bronners, because I can find his soaps conveniently AT the stores where I live). Not interested in dreadlock shampoo, knotty boy, none of that.

4. I'm thinking of going the "no hair washing" route altogether. There is SO much controversy over this, especially when you have dreads. But I've read up on it and it is a way of life that is AGE old. I've heard that your scalp and the natural oils they/the rest of your body produces adapt. Thoughts? Knowledge??

Thank you loves!!

updated by @jxhippielovinpeace: 11/12/15 10:36:54PM

the energy could destroy this place..

Introduce Yourself

Whoa! That's really beautiful! I think I will try praying outside then! Awesome stuff thanks for sharing (i'm in ny too, but nyc.. annoying loud city can be a great way to challenge oneself to being peaceful in the stress and chaos of the world around our bodies). peace be with you!

Starting over

General Questions

Respect. Wow. That's really brave of you!

I want to appreciate you all

General Talk

AWWW!! OH MY GOSH! Me too! So grateful for yall/these friends. <3

Don't go to the bar with dreads.

General Talk

Hahaha OUCH that's awful i'm so sorry.

wrapping the right way

Help! Save My Dreads

My word. So many replies! Thanks so much everyone!! Much thanks and if y'all want to continue to share your wealth please do

wrapping the right way

Help! Save My Dreads

I used wax then yes. Now I don't at all (not once). I use dr. bronner's (diluted) with water and baking soda (is that bad?? should I switch?

Thank you!

wrapping the right way

Help! Save My Dreads

So, a year and a half ago I had about half my head dreaded for about 6 months. I had wrapped a few of my dreads in wool thread (I think some were wool others were wrapped in embroidery thread). When I took one of the dreads wrapped in thread out , I my hair had turned PITCH black. Now I have VERY blonde hair, so it looked as though I had dyed my hair black. I cut it out right away in fear of it being mold. (as I took the rest of my dreads out, I saw that the others were perfectly clean on the inside).

It's now been a whole month and a half of my new whole head, natural dread journey! (yayay I am in it now for the long haul. I think the "dead dread" (the one with black shit in it last year) may have become gross because I wrapped it in wool thread too many times around too tightly(?). Does ANYBODY know what may have caused this and how I can avoid dread/hair damage (or even help) when threading/wrapping?? I would really like to wrap a few in some thread..

(I've seen a bunch of "how to's" online but I have a few questions:

1. what kind of thread?

2. when/how frequently do you rewrap, or take out the wraps?

3. do you take them out to shower?

4. will the soap (non residue, all natural, bar soap/liquid soap I use, alternating) work??

5. any other advice/suggestions?

(6. OH! Any other advice for helping tighten/strengthen weak spots?? My dreads are young yet so I am trying to redo the odd weak spots and nat them as much as I can, patience also being an ingredient but ANY advice I would love to hear!)

If it makes any difference my hair is locking up VERY fast, and I am loving this journey. It is so freeing and yet wonderfully challenging.

LOVE AND PEACE (HAPPINESS AND JOY) TO YOUALL <3

the JXist lovin', nature lovin', hippie

updated by @jxhippielovinpeace: 01/13/15 09:43:51PM

Rubber Bands

Dread Maintenance

I have SUPER fine Scandinavian-type hair (if we're gonna hair type..). Rubber bands have helped me LOADS with locking, by attaching a two strong spots to each other (with a REALLLLLy weak gap in the middle). I put them on a few hours after washing with non res dr. bronner's, slept in them for 2 days and removed them and my hair started locking together. From my (little) experience what makes rubber bands REALLY damaging is when you loop them too many times around your dreads, that's made for some pretty harsh weak spots, NO progress, and it IMPOSSIBLE (nearly) to cut them out (forget unloosing if they're too tight). Yes, they look silly but personally I don't think it's all THAT unnatural (and again not very harmful if using them the right way). My hair has a REALLY hard time locking, so I went out of my way to find light colored bands on amazon in bulk (since NOWHERE has bands for blonde hair). 2-3 days of looking silly really ain't that bad