*~~~Dready Mamas 2010~~~* - Page 18

[sg784]

Help!

I think I have fleas.

Im NOT shaving my head.

What do i do?

[inkedmamajama]

Originally Posted by sg784

I think I have fleas.

Im NOT shaving my head.

What do i do?

submerge your hair in a bath and soak with a mixture of water and apple cider vinegar...I would soak for a good half hour or so-like doing a deep clean...keep swishing your hair to actively move the bugs out of your dreads.


edited to add:

looks like eating garlic, and using lots of tea tree oil will be helpful. Also-are you sure the fleas are feeding on you? everything seems to say that fleas only resort to feeding on humans when there are no pets to feed on.

good luck mama!

[sg784]

The dogs have been scratching and I've saw a few on them last night. I was itchy all night and DD kept waking up and crying. I couldnt help but think she was being eaten up. I haven't seen any on me but i think Ive seen the eggs. We took a shower this morning and when i got undressed i could feel and see little white specks on my neck and shoulders. Flea eggs? I kinda panic'd and then changed all the bedding and have been doing tons of laundry... I gave both dogs a bath in dawn and then dr bronners peppermint. Lit a fire in the woodstove for them to dry off in front of and now its 80 in here :-) After that I rubbed them down with some teatree, neem and peppermint oils.

I washed my hair and then loaded up my head with Wedela rosemary hair oil and added some neem and tea tree for good measure. Im sure between the dogs and I my house stinks to the high heavens.

One of the dogs took off Wednesday and we didnt get him back till yesterday afternoon. When I saw him I snuggled up with him and loved him up. After I saw fleas on him I could only imagine millions jumping ship from him to my head. Ack!

[MoonStarFalling]

Supposedly fleas won't stay on a human head. They will stick around for a little bit and jump off, IME. You shouldn't have any issues after the treatment you did.

I have this darn split root I've been dealing with for a long time now, like a year. It was created when a well meaning friend flipped a few of my dreads through the roots. No amount of rubbing will get it to grow back together. I'm going to have to wrap it I guess.

[hadassah]

I had fleas a couple months ago, but now I don't!

I got in the shower and poured tons of plain vinegar all over my head and drenched my dreads til EVERYTHING got a good soak, I scrubbed my scalp a bit then put on a shower cap and left my hair alone for a few hours. Then I rinsed and washed with soap. That was it.


The only thing that has happened is I have flea dreams once in a while! WORST EVER!

[Mrs.aLifeofReilly]

Hi. New here and have been thinking about dreads for a couple years, but it was never a good time to start. Even though I have fine, thin, hair it always seems to want to dread up on me even from just sleeping with my hair down. I used to have waist length hair and was going to start dreads (since they kept popping up anyway) but had a traditional wedding to be in as a bridesmaid and didn't think the bride would appreciate my new hairstyle just weeks before the wedding. I ended up chopping my hair to my shoulders instead because I just couldn't deal with it.

That was a year ago and now I'm a bit sad that I did that I'm feeling the call to let it dread again since even at the current length it is always trying to do so. I don't want to fight it anymore!

It is just below shoulder length now so I may try to grow it out a bit more before dreading. The other thing that is keeping me waiting right now is some hair thinning issues. I thought it was just postpartum stuff, but even now 16 months later it still come out in clumps every time I wash, brush or run my fingers through. My hair volume is probably 2/3 of what it used to be. I feel like if I started dreads now I would probably only get a handful and they'd each be really tiny. Having my hormone and thyroid levels checked to see if there is another reason for this. Also guessing it could be vitamin/mineral deficiencies right? We're healing from food allergies so I'm sure I do have lots of deficiencies at at the moment.

I'm going to start reading all the past threads while waiting to start (think I'll do a combination of neglect and backcombing) A question:
So as they start to lock up do they get thinner or thicker than they were before? I'm guessing thinner as the hair gets more tightly interlocked? I know they get shorter too - if I did start with my just below shoulder length hair, how short would they get? Thanks!

btw - I looked through some of the pics in the thread and your dreads are all so beautiful!

[FarrenSquare]

They will start out large and soft and fluffy for the most part. There should be a few really good solid parts, too, if you back comb thoroughly enough. After time, they will get tighter and harder and look thin for a while. Generally most dreads will then start to shrink and get pretty loopy - which is totally normal and part of the process. In my experience, after the loopy stage dreads can actually start to thicken up pretty good! A lot of my dreads became gnarly and thick after the loopy stage, maybe you've seen a really beautiful mature set and you know what I mean?

~*~*~*~

I know it is just a crappy FB pic but my friend was snapping a few maternity pics while my DP spun some fire poi. I love the weird texture in my dreads in this one!

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._5298135_n.jpg

The dreads are 9.5 years old.

[inkedmamajama]

if you are worried about thinning hair, I think its better to dread! when your hair is brushable, the hair that falls out just falls out-on the ground, etc...but when its dreaded, the hair falls out and into the dread lock, creating a better dread.

ykwim?

[Mrs.aLifeofReilly]

FarrenSquare - that's a great photo!

inkedmama - that was DH's thought too, so we went for it this weekend

I was going to do mostly neglect, but I remembered how I usually end up with one big dread if I don't brush, so I neglected for a couple days, just so that my hair could let me know where it likes to separate and then DH helped me use those natural-ish sections to do some backcombing and twist and rip.

I ended up with 21 thin dreads and am hoping that they do fatten up, since right now I look like I have wires coming out of my head! I do like them though and am excited about the journey.

I must have pretty bad bed head every morning though, because when my DS1 saw me this morning he didn't say anything and didn't seem to notice there was something different about my head. I asked him what he thought of my hair and he glanced, said "its good" and that was it.

My DH and kids are the only ones that know right now. I didn't tell anyone else I was even contemplating as I know they wouldn't be supportive. My mom is in for a shock when we see her next weekend - I can handle her (or anyone's) criticism but I don't know if she'll be able to handle the dreads.

[Chicky2]

I so need to get a pic of mine up. I am officially entering the loopy stage. Oh my gosh, my head is a mess, lol! I sure hope this stage doesn't last long. Otherwise, I'd say it's pretty hard to mistake my hair for "damn, did she lose her hairbrush?" now.

FarrenSquare, love the pic. Beautiful belly, btw!!! I have a friend who use to do Poi. Her dh is a spinner (for like 30 years now).

Lia, good for you! My mom still hasn't said anything, but I'm a big weiney and have had my hair up all 3 times I've seen her. Of course, yesterday I had it in a bandana, but I was breeding rabbits and didn't want dust/fur in my dreads.

[Mrs.aLifeofReilly]

Ok, I took a couple pics.

This one, all the dreads are pulled to the front.

Here's the back.

As they grow in/ get messier at the roots I'm hoping they'll look more cohesive. And hopefully as my hair grows back they'll fill in and be a bit thicker/fuller.

I was playing around with styling and I think I found something that will look tidy for our closing this Friday. I braided them and then tucked the end under and pinned it, then tied a scarf/bandanna over my head to cover the roots. Loved the look of them braided together!

[inkedmamajama]

does anyone else find more loops after washing? its driving me slightly bonkers.

[majikfaerie]

Originally Posted by hram

Hey ladies, how many dreads do you have?

I had, I would say, around 100. But I have been busy and tired and havent been separating them like I should and they have knotted together like crazy. So much I couldnt pull them apart if I tried. So I just gave in and made about 30 bigger ones, combining 3-6 dreads together. Then I have all the ones that are still forming around my hair line. So I may have 50ish....

I always wanted smaller dreads but I just cant maintain them like I would have to. I feel so much better now that they are bigger. I dont feel I will have too much trouble with them. At least I hope not, if many more stick together Ill have one big dread.

I have about 10-12, depending on how you count them.
I used to try to separate them, I think I started with about 25, but eventually they stuck together and I had 13. I think I maintained 13 for a while, being a lucky number, but a while back I stopped separating and let them grow together at their will - they settled in at 10 and I don't have to rip them any more. that said, I have very very fine hair, and very phat dreads

Originally Posted by FarrenSquare

They will start out large and soft and fluffy for the most part. There should be a few really good solid parts, too, if you back comb thoroughly enough. After time, they will get tighter and harder and look thin for a while. Generally most dreads will then start to shrink and get pretty loopy - which is totally normal and part of the process. In my experience, after the loopy stage dreads can actually start to thicken up pretty good! A lot of my dreads became gnarly and thick after the loopy stage, maybe you've seen a really beautiful mature set and you know what I mean?

~*~*~*~

I know it is just a crappy FB pic but my friend was snapping a few maternity pics while my DP spun some fire poi. I love the weird texture in my dreads in this one!

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._5298135_n.jpg

The dreads are 9.5 years old.

gorgeous pic!

Originally Posted by Mrs.aLifeofReilly

Ok, I took a couple pics.

This one, all the dreads are pulled to the front.

Here's the back.

As they grow in/ get messier at the roots I'm hoping they'll look more cohesive. And hopefully as my hair grows back they'll fill in and be a bit thicker/fuller.

I was playing around with styling and I think I found something that will look tidy for our closing this Friday. I braided them and then tucked the end under and pinned it, then tied a scarf/bandanna over my head to cover the roots. Loved the look of them braided together!

they're looking great!


so, I just got back from being 4 weeks at rainbow it was AWESOME!
i have some new dread pics to upload as well. will post soon

[FarrenSquare]

Originally Posted by Mrs.aLifeofReilly

Ok, I took a couple pics.

This one, all the dreads are pulled to the front.

Here's the back.

As they grow in/ get messier at the roots I'm hoping they'll look more cohesive. And hopefully as my hair grows back they'll fill in and be a bit thicker/fuller.

Great start! I think they really suit you well! If you want them to lock up more at the roots, Here is a video I made a long time ago with some tips for roots! I say it isn't a long term solution, but since then I've found that if you repeat this method enough times, good things happen! Good luck!!

Love your loops, ladies! I know they seem crazy and untidy and you may think about different ways to get rid of them but don't! Not only are they an EXCELLENT sign your dreads are tightening up, you only get to experience the really loopy stage once! Love them for the phase they are in!!

[inkedmamajama]

Originally Posted by FarrenSquare

Great start! I think they really suit you well! If you want them to lock up more at the roots, Here is a video I made a long time ago with some tips for roots! I say it isn't a long term solution, but since then I've found that if you repeat this method enough times, good things happen! Good luck!!

Love your loops, ladies! I know they seem crazy and untidy and you may think about different ways to get rid of them but don't! Not only are they an EXCELLENT sign your dreads are tightening up, you only get to experience the really loopy stage once! Love them for the phase they are in!!

i do actually love 98% of my loops. There are about four individual loops that I despise but that is purely an 'ocd' thing. What drives me nuts though is that taking a bath/washing my hair makes my hair MORE loopy! I am sorta painted into a corner and need to wash in a bath because I have flaky issues from my psoriasis.

[odinsmama]

hello mamas!
I'm really wanting to start this process but have a few questions.
I had time to read thru about half of the posts in this thread and just can't do any more at the moment, so I'm sorry if these were already answered.

how are they to sleep on? I sleep on my back, have pretty thick hair, and don't like to sleep on a braid (though multiple braids would probably not bother me).

I know it is a process and things will be different at different stages, but do you end up feeling like hairs are getting pulled or does your scalp feel the same as pre-locks? does that make sense? I'll put my hair up in a bun and I'll feel like 3 hairs are in a bad spot and are getting pulled on really hard and I have to take it down and start over or give up.

what happens if you start off with layered hair?

how do you felt (was I reading that this was a tip for joining loose hairs?)? like with a felting needle??

thanks for sharing all your tips and experience!! I'm pretty surprised to find myself considering this. I've always liked the look of them but never considered them for myself until recently and now I'm obsessed with learning about them and have been dreaming about them.

[hram]

odinsmama - Im a total newbie, my dreads are only 6 months old so I dont know as much as the other ladies here but I thought I would reply to some of your questions.

As far as sleeping goes, I havent had much of a problem. Sometimes soemething will be uncomfortable but I just move my hair around and it goes away. I also sleep on a very soft pillow so my head kind of sinks in anyway. So no real problems there.

Sometimes I do get those one or two hairs that get pulled when I pull my hair up so have to redo it. Its mostly because it is shrinking up quite a bit right now so its just about too short to pull in a bun and I try to force it. But when separating them I somehow get hairs from one dread stuck in another dread and I have to pull htem apart or sometimes just snip two or three hairs. Thats more of a problem that any pulling when my hair is down.

I dont know anything about felting other than it can be very damaging if you over use it or use it to aggresively. And layered hair would be fine.

Good luck!

FarrenSquare - Thanks for the video, I tried it on my hair yesterday while doing my long over due separating and it worked great. Far far better than just palm rolling, which I have never seeen any difference when using it. But the way you did it, worked very well.

[majikfaerie]

yeah, I just flip my hair up above my head to sleep, but mine are unusually long and thick and also quite hard.

here's some recent pics of my dreads which may be NSFW but are actually quite modest
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4045/...e745ba753e.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4001/...d6f4b8c4_m.jpg

[Narn]

Originally Posted by majikfaerie

here's some recent pics of my dreads which may be NSFW but are actually quite modest
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4045/...e745ba753e.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4001/...d6f4b8c4_m.jpg

Cool!!

[MoonStarFalling]

odinsmama, I have thick hair and don't have any real issues sleeping. Sometimes one flips in my face to annoy me or one will be right under my ear. I just move them out of the way.

I was nervous about pulling hair and bald spots but never have had any issues at all. I have an extremely sensitive scalp. My scalp is fine though. When I pull my hair up I do it loosely. Too tight and I get a headache.

I actually felt with a tiny crochet hook, so pulling the hairs into the dread.