Welcome. What soap do you use? And I can see from some of you pics that you probably interlock, get them retwisted, or some other technique to "tighten" your roots.
Whatever you are doing, it's obvious that it's causing damage. When you can see scalp showing between your locks, that is a sure sign of Traction Alopecia, which is a condition that leads directly to premature baldness.
Thank you guys so much for all the advice. I had no idea it was that bad, luckily I have only used the crochet method a few times just to realize it does not really work that well anyways. As for the lemon juice, I rarely use it but I had kept it in a spray bottle mixed with water and sea salt. I am just going to make a new one with only sea salt. I live in a moderately hard water area so I guess I should not use dr. bronners. I have been trying to find the right shampoo for me and was using the neutrogena very often with no idea that it was only supposed to be used a couple of times a year. Does anyone know how to fix the damage I have done to my hair or a better way to wash it in my area? I have been using the baking soda cleanse for about a week adding small amounts of ta tree oil and lavender oil, and seasalt, but I feel like I should also use a soap sometimes. Does anyone know of something I can get that I don't have to order online? or the ingredients i should useto make my own soap? it would really help!! thank you
Welcome to the community. The guys have great advice for you if you want your dreads to last for years or a lifetime. . have hard water, many dread soaps will leave behind a residue. Here is a map for you so you can tell what kind you have. Enjoy the site....peace
Welcome. Eagle's right about the crochet method. The only thing worse for locks is felting. Crocheting is actually worse for locks than wax. Wax can be removed over time. Crochet damage is there for life. You can heal up to a point, but it will never fully heal, because you can't reattach ripped up hair. Unlike some popular beliefe, there is no way to "safely" crochet your hair. The damage is on the inside, so you may not see the damage just from looking at them. But it's there. In time, your locks get frizzier, so you feel lik e\\e you need to crochet again. That frizzieness is your hair trying to fix itself. Recrocheting only makes the damage worse.
As for lemon juice... It's a citric acid. While not strong on the scale of top 6 strong acids, it's more than strong enough to seep into your hair shaft and break your hair down from the inside out. People use lemon juice to lighten their hair. That lightening is how the damage shows up
oh lemon juice is a nono too it seeps into the inner layer of the hair shaft (why it bleaches rhats where the pigment is) once there its too strong of an acid and slowly breaks down the hair eating it away from the inside
but gotta warn u crochets extremely bad fir dreads (i hope u only did it 1 time to start) and nutragena is a residue stripper thats extremely toxic only meant to be used a couple times a year
Thank you guys so much for all the advice. I had no idea it was that bad, luckily I have only used the crochet method a few times just to realize it does not really work that well anyways. As for the lemon juice, I rarely use it but I had kept it in a spray bottle mixed with water and sea salt. I am just going to make a new one with only sea salt. I live in a moderately hard water area so I guess I should not use dr. bronners. I have been trying to find the right shampoo for me and was using the neutrogena very often with no idea that it was only supposed to be used a couple of times a year. Does anyone know how to fix the damage I have done to my hair or a better way to wash it in my area? I have been using the baking soda cleanse for about a week adding small amounts of ta tree oil and lavender oil, and seasalt, but I feel like I should also use a soap sometimes. Does anyone know of something I can get that I don't have to order online? or the ingredients i should useto make my own soap? it would really help!! thank you
Welcome. What soap do you use? And I can see from some of you pics that you probably interlock, get them retwisted, or some other technique to "tighten" your roots.
Whatever you are doing, it's obvious that it's causing damage. When you can see scalp showing between your locks, that is a sure sign of Traction Alopecia, which is a condition that leads directly to premature baldness.
Welcome to the community Joel...peace
what kinda soap ya use?
Thank you guys so much for all the advice. I had no idea it was that bad, luckily I have only used the crochet method a few times just to realize it does not really work that well anyways. As for the lemon juice, I rarely use it but I had kept it in a spray bottle mixed with water and sea salt. I am just going to make a new one with only sea salt. I live in a moderately hard water area so I guess I should not use dr. bronners. I have been trying to find the right shampoo for me and was using the neutrogena very often with no idea that it was only supposed to be used a couple of times a year. Does anyone know how to fix the damage I have done to my hair or a better way to wash it in my area? I have been using the baking soda cleanse for about a week adding small amounts of ta tree oil and lavender oil, and seasalt, but I feel like I should also use a soap sometimes. Does anyone know of something I can get that I don't have to order online? or the ingredients i should useto make my own soap? it would really help!! thank you
Welcome to the community. The guys have great advice for you if you want your dreads to last for years or a lifetime. . have hard water, many dread soaps will leave behind a residue. Here is a map for you so you can tell what kind you have. Enjoy the site....peace
Welcome. Eagle's right about the crochet method. The only thing worse for locks is felting. Crocheting is actually worse for locks than wax. Wax can be removed over time. Crochet damage is there for life. You can heal up to a point, but it will never fully heal, because you can't reattach ripped up hair. Unlike some popular beliefe, there is no way to "safely" crochet your hair. The damage is on the inside, so you may not see the damage just from looking at them. But it's there. In time, your locks get frizzier, so you feel lik e\\e you need to crochet again. That frizzieness is your hair trying to fix itself. Recrocheting only makes the damage worse.
As for lemon juice... It's a citric acid. While not strong on the scale of top 6 strong acids, it's more than strong enough to seep into your hair shaft and break your hair down from the inside out. People use lemon juice to lighten their hair. That lightening is how the damage shows up
oh lemon juice is a nono too it seeps into the inner layer of the hair shaft (why it bleaches rhats where the pigment is) once there its too strong of an acid and slowly breaks down the hair eating it away from the inside
hi and welcome
but gotta warn u crochets extremely bad fir dreads (i hope u only did it 1 time to start) and nutragena is a residue stripper thats extremely toxic only meant to be used a couple times a year
Thank you guys so much for all the advice. I had no idea it was that bad, luckily I have only used the crochet method a few times just to realize it does not really work that well anyways. As for the lemon juice, I rarely use it but I had kept it in a spray bottle mixed with water and sea salt. I am just going to make a new one with only sea salt. I live in a moderately hard water area so I guess I should not use dr. bronners. I have been trying to find the right shampoo for me and was using the neutrogena very often with no idea that it was only supposed to be used a couple of times a year. Does anyone know how to fix the damage I have done to my hair or a better way to wash it in my area? I have been using the baking soda cleanse for about a week adding small amounts of ta tree oil and lavender oil, and seasalt, but I feel like I should also use a soap sometimes. Does anyone know of something I can get that I don't have to order online? or the ingredients i should useto make my own soap? it would really help!! thank you