*~~~Dready Mamas 2010~~~* - Page 27

[Sharlla]

idk the website says it's made out of "all natural products" whatever that means http://www.hothairwraps.com/instructions.html

[majikfaerie]

welcome anno :)

[GuavaGirl]

Hi, I'm new.

I'm seriously considering getting dreads done within the next couple months.  I live near Portland, OR and I'm thinking of going to "the dread goddess at Akemi Salon. Does anything on here have any experience with her or the thai style (crochet).  

Also, I'm wondering about hair thickness.  How do I know if it's thick enough to look good with dreads?

Thanks!

[Sharlla]

From what I read natural is the best way to go but twist and rip is the less damaging way to dread over back combing and crotchet. 

http://www.dreadlockssite.com/page/dreading-methods

I'm from Oregon too :) 

[Indigo73]

If you have the time (or the type of job) to let them do their own thing, go natural.  Mine are crocheted and I am quite happy with them.  But I do work in an office, so needed a quicker method.  I get my roots & locs crocheted to prettify them once every couple of months.

[canadiangranola]

I got the thai style done with crochet hooks this past week and here's what I think do far. They are far tighter and more formed from the start than my previous attempts (with backcombing have been.) Far less fuzzy, and look pretty good right away (although I know they'll loosen up with time and have to really form themselves, I feel this was a good start. I have to worry abit about public appearance b/c of hubby's job, so couldn't go with neglect anyway....

It hurt like hell though, and took 7 hours for my shoulder length hair. And the downside would defintaely be the expense, as you can imagine, 7 hours in a hair place isn't cheap :(. 

IN any case, it was good for me, she used no wax at all, which I was so happy about.

Anno

[ShadowMoon]

Originally Posted by GuavaGirl 

Hi, I'm new.

I'm seriously considering getting dreads done within the next couple months.  I live near Portland, OR and I'm thinking of going to "the dread goddess at Akemi Salon. Does anything on here have any experience with her or the thai style (crochet).  

Also, I'm wondering about hair thickness.  How do I know if it's thick enough to look good with dreads?

Thanks!

Stephanie. "The Dread Goddess" is awesome! I have friends that have gotten dreads put in by her and they were thrilled with the results. If I lived near Portland I would go to her in a heart-beat!

[GuavaGirl]

Ok, well that's good to hear, everyone.  I was so confused about reading info from the link posted above, because that site is so down on the crochet method....saying that doing them and maintaining them that way is horrible and makes really weak dreads, it's awful to maintain, and maintaining them that way is like death to your hair...etc.

canadiangranola:  can you post of pic of your newly dreaded hair?  (maybe you already have?)  I'd love to see.  ...Yeah I'm curious as to how I can sit in a salon chair for 7 hours!  My place says it's 4-6 hours (and I have long hair) and it's $200.  

 I'm worried that if I ever move too far from stephanie or she stops doing her thing.....if it will be possible to find others to do maintenance.  How to people with other types of dreads tighten them up?  palm rolling? rubber bands?

Thanks!

[Sharlla]

i dd check out the DG website and saw that she was very anti natural method, I can understand that though, she's selling her dreading services. of course she wouldn't recommend DIY.  my caucasion hair is dreading up wonderfully on it own and the dreads are fairly uniform as well.  it's been 8 weeks and I'm extremely pleased with the process.  it doesn't even look messy :)  However you want to do it is ultimately up to you. I just know that for me the whole dread preparation process of backcombing, crotchet etc was not something I was interested in.  i looked at a lot of progress pics from people who did the different method and I liked the natural dreads (neglect) the best

[mamayogibear]

Wow reading this thread is making me want to dread my hair again... I have had dreads on and off for about half of my life. Most recently I cut off a two year old set after my son was born and boy do I still have some short hair. I have had two completly natural sets with only twist rip and rolling. I have had a back combed set with no and a backcombed set with wax. I have never gotten them done 'professionally' and only really loved the last two natural sets of dreads. The other two seemed to be artificial and structured instead of an extension of my crown chakra. I would think of each dreadlock as an extension of the petals of a lotus flower on the top of my skull. So yeah my advice for anyone who is new to dreads is get rid of shampoo and combing/brushing. Wash with water only or saltwater to 'rough' up the cutical of your hair if it is super soft and fine like mine. Never use wax! Once they form deep clean with BS and acv every six months or so. And remember it's all love, love your dreads and you will see them as perfect no matter how fuzzy or mis shapen they may be:)

[odinsmama]

So I'm definitely getting residue from my baking soda wash.  I use it pretty dilute, about 1 T to about 3 cups of water and use only about 1/8 of that each time I wash (every 2 or 3 days).  I've been rinsing my scalp only with acv because it seems to soften my hair and loosen my baby dreads in the process.  I know if I rinsed all my hair with the acv I would be less likely to have the residue but I don't want the dreads loosening up so much.

I tried using some dilute Dr. Bronner's today but I'm worried that it'll be too drying on my scalp over time.

Any other washing suggestions?  

[Sharlla]

i got this stuff, the rock star scent is my fav http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&sc_id=59611&seller_id=12013&op=new  at first i didn't like it because it felt so greasy but after my hair dried it looked and smelled wonderful so I usually wash my hair 2 times a week with it

[mamayogibear]

wash with salt water with a few drops of eo's for a good smell about once a week. seriously salt water helps it lock up so much. I think one of the dread companies sells bottles of salt water for 10 bucks, lol. also nothing is wrong with just using water to wash with... i only used bs and acv on my locks every couple of weeks or if something gross came in contact with them, like spit up or dog drool.
 

Originally Posted by odinsmama 

So I'm definitely getting residue from my baking soda wash.  I use it pretty dilute, about 1 T to about 3 cups of water and use only about 1/8 of that each time I wash (every 2 or 3 days).  I've been rinsing my scalp only with acv because it seems to soften my hair and loosen my baby dreads in the process.  I know if I rinsed all my hair with the acv I would be less likely to have the residue but I don't want the dreads loosening up so much.

I tried using some dilute Dr. Bronner's today but I'm worried that it'll be too drying on my scalp over time.

Any other washing suggestions?  

[majikfaerie]

I wash using *only* water; have done since 1998. I just stand under the shower and give my scalp a really thorough rub and let the hot water run through it.

[snugglebug14]

so i have pretty naturally curly hair and my dreads love to try and curl up on me. makes them look all wild. sometimes it's cute, but often it looks more like i just don't wash my hair than like i have dreads. it gets especially bad when i wash them or get them wet at all. will they eventually lock up enough and start looking more like dreads? is there anything i can do to help tame them or encourage them to straighten out?

[odinsmama]

thanks ladies!!  I think I'm going to have to do a rinse with acv and see if I can get this icky residue out.  And then I'll go from there...

I did plain water once and I was SUPER oily afterwards.  I know it would take some time to adjust but I was just ridiculously itchy after that.

Perhaps I'll try the salt water and occasionally plain water, I'm trying to avoid soaps and shampoos if I can.

[majikfaerie]

the thing about using soaps and shampoos is that they strip the natural oils from you hair/ skin. Your body needs some oils, so it freaks out and goes "omg no ooooil! better hurry up and make more". Then you wash it all off again the next day with more soap. and thus the cycle continues. your body gets into the habit of overproducing oils, and you're stuck in a cycle of having to use soaps.

Stopping soaps/ shampoo means that for a while, most folk find their body still on over-production of oil for a while, but if you perservere for a few weeks, it comes back into a balance and you'll find you no longer *need* to use all those products. You stink less, sweat less and are generally cleaner, washing with only water and a scrub-cloth.

[Sharlla]

you can no poo (baking soda and ACV) for while.  you can also try a natural shampoo that doesn't have all the junk in it. 

[Chicky2]

Snugglebug, the only thing I can think of is to try wrapping them.  I don't know, but I'm still in my first year dready, too.  I think they sound cute!

I want some of that rock star soap, lol.  I mostly just use water, but was thinking I'd like something other than the smell of campfire in my dreads.  I've been cooking outside alot. 

I found that it took a couple of weeks for my oils to reset themselves and all.  I just tossed my dreads up in a bandana, or in a loose ponytail and didn't worry about it.  When I read what MF said earlier, the words from a song "Speaking words of wisdom, let it be..." came to mind.  'Tis true.  ;o) 

Odinsmama, how long into dreading are you?  I found that the itchiness got ALOT better after 6 months.  It's part of the process, w/all the tiny hairs being pulled in ways they aren't used to.

[Indigo73]

My dreads were rather "curly" through about 6 months or so.  Once they started shrinking they stopped trying to act like my former mop top.  I think I have some of my funkier loops (which I adore) because of my curly hair.

I had the itchies through about 6 months too.  But now, no problem unless I've gone too long between washing which is a couple times a month these days, with thorough water rinses and scalp scrub whenever I shower.