~~ Dready Mamas 2012?~~ - Page 10

[mamayogibear]

If you start washing with baking soda it will help keep the oil in check. You should not have to use wax if you are willing to look 'nappy' for a couple of months. Nice dreads are very clean, the hair has to be clean to lock together. If there is dirt in the cuticle of the hair shaft it will not actually loc it will just stick together till the dirt is washed off.

You could start to rough up your hair shafts now before you dread it by spraying it with sea salt.

Try to convince your husband that dreads are clean and if he wants to make sure you'se are clean he can put them in for you to ensure their cleanseliness.. it's worth a shot;)

Since you want uniform locks it would be best to start by sectioning them off with brightly colored rubber bands. I say bright ones because that makes them easier to locate and remove after T&R or BC. You really don't need to go to a salon to do them, unless you want to. Dreading hair takes no special talent, even I can do it. So chances are your crunchy friends would be willing to help if you bribe them with something yummy, that's been my motivation for helping with locking hair several times:P Just have them watch  a few you tube videos on twist and rip as well as backcomb and crochet.

The best things about dreads is that even if they don't get put in 'right' as long as you don't use wax or a dredperm they self correct and knot up anyways!

[Becky Wheeler]

Originally Posted by mamayogibear 

If you start washing with baking soda it will help keep the oil in check. You should not have to use wax if you are willing to look 'nappy' for a couple of months. Nice dreads are very clean, the hair has to be clean to lock together. If there is dirt in the cuticle of the hair shaft it will not actually loc it will just stick together till the dirt is washed off.

You could start to rough up your hair shafts now before you dread it by spraying it with sea salt.

Try to convince your husband that dreads are clean and if he wants to make sure you'se are clean he can put them in for you to ensure their cleanseliness.. it's worth a shot;)

Since you want uniform locks it would be best to start by sectioning them off with brightly colored rubber bands. I say bright ones because that makes them easier to locate and remove after T&R or BC. You really don't need to go to a salon to do them, unless you want to. Dreading hair takes no special talent, even I can do it. So chances are your crunchy friends would be willing to help if you bribe them with something yummy, that's been my motivation for helping with locking hair several times:P Just have them watch  a few you tube videos on twist and rip as well as backcomb and crochet.

The best things about dreads is that even if they don't get put in 'right' as long as you don't use wax or a dredperm they self correct and knot up anyways!

I actually posted on my local attachment parenting facebook page and there are a few ladies that have/had dreads that are willing to help. One of the ladies swears by the twisting method.

[mamayogibear]

Originally Posted by Becky Wheeler 

I actually posted on my local attachment parenting facebook page and there are a few ladies that have/had dreads that are willing to help. One of the ladies swears by the twisting method.

Awesome! It's soo much easier to have a few extra hands on your head:) Twist and rip does yield almost immediate dreads unlike other forms but you have to make sure to not twist with regular rip intervals or else you end up with a braid like pattern. But all and all it is a great way to get uniform dreads! I can't wait to see pics when you do dread up:)

[Becky Wheeler]

I'm excited to start and ALSO to show hubby that they're not dirty at all. He also didn't like the idea of home birth and I did it. He still sings my praises for standing my ground. :)

[Becky Wheeler]

Unfortunately, I think I'm going to hold off a few months for my dreads. :( My hair is just not long enough. It's a bit below my shoulders, but it became considerably shorter when I T&R my hair for a "trial dread". I don't want awkwardly short dreads. lol

[Phishncarrie]

Hello dread Mamas! I've enjoyed reading all of your posts. I have thought about getting dreads for the past 10yrs and finally this summer I did it. So far i have had a love/hate relationship with them. It's nice to know I'm not the only one! So two products I have learned to love is Lush's Juniper shampoo bar (fights oil big time!) and Knotty Boy Tightening Gel (makes your hair crunchy at first, but after a day it's perfect!). Our family is going to see Phish in 2wks and I can't wait to buy some glass beads! Once I get a good pic I'll share!

[HuntressMother]

Hello beautiful dready Mamas!

I have a few quick questions for all of you:

I have been dying my hair black since I was in middle school.  I chopped off all of my hair ( over 19 inches! ) and donated it all to locks of love last year. My hair is now a little past my shoulders in length and I have still kept up the the dying. Recently, I decided to stop dying it black because I would love to dread my hair and would prefer for it to be my natural meduim-light brown color. I recently dreaded Dhs hair ( about 2 1/2 months ago ) and they look amazing...I am jelous.

I would love to go ahead and dread my hair but:

1) Will this look weird because my hair color will grow out and I will not be dying it black again? Should I just wait until the black has grown out to dread up?

2) Will the length be awkward considering that my hair is about medium length?

3) Has anyone here dreaded their hair when it was about my length? If so, how did it look? Does it take dreads a long time to grow longer? Also, what is the best, most natural way to dread regrowth?

DHs dreads have been very easy to keep up. We did it the all natural way and didnt use any products at all. His hair was naturally very curly and course so more than half of his dreads look mature already and we have removed more than half of the rubber bands on the bottoms. BUT- DH did make the mistake of trimming off the wispy ends under the rubber bands and though his hair is still dreaded very well, some where trimmed a bit too short and have unraveled slightly and have a square look, but it really isnt too bad. He washes his dreads every 3-4 days: First we wet them well and pour a mixture of half water and half white vinegar through them to remove any smells ( he works in a chemical plant and the smells stick in his dreads) next we use a baking soad scrub for his scalp and dreads and then finally we wash them with a bar of organic goats milk cedar scented soap. Then I spray them with a sea salt mixture and blow dry them. I say 'we' because I always wash his dreads for him to enssure that he doesnt miss any.  Just wanted to share that information with you dready vet's out there to make sure were not doing anything 'wrong'.

I will be very thankful for all of your advice and opinions!

PS: I will post some pics of my handwork on DHs hair ASAP.

Thanks in advance!

[Becky Wheeler]

 HuntressMother, my "medium length" hair is what is stopping me dreading my hair right now. I did one dread, via the twist and rip method and it was SO SHORT! I don't think I'd like how short they'd be once they started locking up. Short dreads are cute on guys, but for me, I don't think so. LOL

[HuntressMother]

Thanks, Becky! Im pretty sure Ill be waiting right there along with you. * Sigh * oh well... I guess I can spend my regrowth time collecting dread beads so when that day finally comes, I will have plenty. Lol.

It makes it even more hard to wait when I have to look at DHs beautiful dreads everyday..but hey, atleast I can be proud of my handy work!

[Becky Wheeler]

Couldn't you start some dreads at the bottom of your hair? Your bottom layer of hair? I've thought of doing that until the rest of my hair is longer.

And collecting dread beads in the meantime is a GREAT idea :) I saw some really beautiful ones the other day I was thinking about trying to get.

[ShadowMoon]

Originally Posted by Phishncarrie 

Hello dread Mamas! I've enjoyed reading all of your posts. I have thought about getting dreads for the past 10yrs and finally this summer I did it. So far i have had a love/hate relationship with them. It's nice to know I'm not the only one! So two products I have learned to love is Lush's Juniper shampoo bar (fights oil big time!) and Knotty Boy Tightening Gel (makes your hair crunchy at first, but after a day it's perfect!). Our family is going to see Phish in 2wks and I can't wait to buy some glass beads! Once I get a good pic I'll share!

Hello fellow Phish phan!!!! Have a great time at the shows

Huntress ---I started my dreads about a year ago when they were just above my boobs. There has been a bit of shrinkage and they currently hang just below my shoulders. I used twist & rip and crochet which tends to shrink less than other methods. Or so it seems...

I have dark blond hair and always would highlight it pre-dreads. My hair now looks "dip-dyed" with the highlighted strands towards the bottom and my natural color growing out on top. I don't mind it but it's definitely noticeable.

I haven't actually done any maintenance on my dreads so I have tons of loose hairs and regrowth. If I decide to tidy them up I'll probably have some of it crocheted back into my dreads. I like the craziness though so we'll see.

I wash my dreads 1-2x week with water and a bit of foaming dread shampoo. I have very thin hair and thin dreads so the washing process is fairly easy. You DH's routine sounds ok as long as he's allowing them to dry thoroughly between washes and making sure the soap is residue free.

[Becky Wheeler]

I don't think I'll be having dreads.  My husband and I are at odds about them and always have been. He said before that he wouldn't be in the same bed with me if I did it because he thinks they're dirty. But the other night when we talked about it again, he said he wouldn't have sex with me, either. I would rather have normal hair and not conflict our relationship than have dreads and compromise our relationship. I'm sad that he has this outlook. *sigh*

[Chicky2]

When I started my dreads, my hair was halfway down my back (to where my bra hooks).  It shrunk to about an inch below my earlobes.  I did them myself w/twist and rip and backcombing.  I don't do a thing w/the new growth except for ripping it away from a dread way far away it wants to congo with, lol.  I just rip them apart in the shower if they start to do that (less painful in the shower!).  Took about 8 months for them to be extremely low maintenance (as in not having to rip half of them apart daily).  Eventually new growth will find its way into a nearby dread or make it's own.  I started w/about 42 dreads and now I have 52 w/a couple more forming at the nape of my neck.

Huntress, can you get your hair back to almost your natural shade and then dread up?  I would think that would be best.  A big amount of baking soda may help to strip some of the color out.  For your dh's dreads, I think you are doing overkill on the wash routine.  Just a tbsp or so of baking soda and a bit of water to make a paste, scrubbed into the scalp and rinsed really really well, followed by a TBSP of apple cider vinegar in 8oz or more of water, mostly on the dreads and not the scalp, followed by another really good rinse will do great.  The vinegar is your conditioner.  All smells will come out that way. 

Becky, your dh sounds extremely unsupportive and well, kinda rude.  How dare he threaten to with hold sex if you dread up!  Seriously?  That is not the way a relationship works.  That kind of crap would have had me dreading up and dying them all sorts of different colors.  Then I'd buy a nice new vibrator and put it on his side of the bed.  But that's just me and I don't put up w/that junk.  I'm sorry he's being so rude about this.

My dreads are now 2 years old and have finally started to look like they are growing.  I expect over the next year they will get back to the length my hair was when I started.  :o)

[Chicky2]

P.s. lots to people have a love/hate relationship w/their dreadies for the first 2 years.  They do shrink ALOT.  The sooner you dread, though, the sooner they'll finally get long.  I want mine long enough for my dh to use as reins.  Yeehaw!

[Becky Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Chicky2 

When I started my dreads, my hair was halfway down my back (to where my bra hooks).  It shrunk to about an inch below my earlobes.  I did them myself w/twist and rip and backcombing.  I don't do a thing w/the new growth except for ripping it away from a dread way far away it wants to congo with, lol.  I just rip them apart in the shower if they start to do that (less painful in the shower!).  Took about 8 months for them to be extremely low maintenance (as in not having to rip half of them apart daily).  Eventually new growth will find its way into a nearby dread or make it's own.  I started w/about 42 dreads and now I have 52 w/a couple more forming at the nape of my neck.

Huntress, can you get your hair back to almost your natural shade and then dread up?  I would think that would be best.  A big amount of baking soda may help to strip some of the color out.  For your dh's dreads, I think you are doing overkill on the wash routine.  Just a tbsp or so of baking soda and a bit of water to make a paste, scrubbed into the scalp and rinsed really really well, followed by a TBSP of apple cider vinegar in 8oz or more of water, mostly on the dreads and not the scalp, followed by another really good rinse will do great.  The vinegar is your conditioner.  All smells will come out that way. 

Becky, your dh sounds extremely unsupportive and well, kinda rude.  How dare he threaten to with hold sex if you dread up!  Seriously?  That is not the way a relationship works.  That kind of crap would have had me dreading up and dying them all sorts of different colors.  Then I'd buy a nice new vibrator and put it on his side of the bed.  But that's just me and I don't put up w/that junk.  I'm sorry he's being so rude about this.

My dreads are now 2 years old and have finally started to look like they are growing.  I expect over the next year they will get back to the length my hair was when I started.  :o)

I thought it was kind of horrible. He also thinks that sleeve tattoos are gross on a woman, which is also something I want to do. I am tempted to call it semi-emotionally abusive, but I'm not sure....

[HuntressMother]

Wow, Becky. Your DH woudnt care for me at all: I have a half sleeve on my left arm ( soon to be full sleeve ) and will be starting my full sleeve on my other arm soon as well as a chest peice. I think both sleeves and dreads are beautiful, and obviously you do as well. If thats what YOU like and thats what YOU want for YOUR body, you should do whatever makes YOU happy regardless of what your seemingly unsupportive DH would have to say about it.

Im sorry he's being so selfish about your wants and desires. Sounds like he needs to lighten up and learn to respect your choices.

PS: I think you would look wonderfully magical with dreads and sleeves.

[Chicky2]

Originally Posted by Becky Wheeler 

 I am tempted to call it semi-emotionally abusive, but I'm not sure....

Not semi.  And I am sure.  I hope this is just one thing in your relationship and not a clue to how it is all the time. 

[Becky Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Chicky2 

Not semi.  And I am sure.  I hope this is just one thing in your relationship and not a clue to how it is all the time. 

No, not at all. It's pretty much the only thing we disagree about and it makes me want to do it all the more. But I don't want it to create a barrier, either. I just have to ask myself this question: How badly do I want these dreads? Bad enough for negativity in our relationship?

[Becky Wheeler]

Originally Posted by HuntressMother 

Wow, Becky. Your DH woudnt care for me at all: I have a half sleeve on my left arm ( soon to be full sleeve ) and will be starting my full sleeve on my other arm soon as well as a chest peice. I think both sleeves and dreads are beautiful, and obviously you do as well. If thats what YOU like and thats what YOU want for YOUR body, you should do whatever makes YOU happy regardless of what your seemingly unsupportive DH would have to say about it.

Im sorry he's being so selfish about your wants and desires. Sounds like he needs to lighten up and learn to respect your choices.

PS: I think you would look wonderfully magical with dreads and sleeves.

I just don't think I'd be happy with my decision if DH was unhappy with it, ya know?

[Becky Wheeler]

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=148397311967196&set=a.119111904895737.19072.100003907844125&type=1&theater

I couldn't post a picture on here for some reason, so here's a link. I decided to do my dreads using the twist and rip method. I want to leave my bangs out so I can do more stuff with my hair, but I think I made the "bangs" section too small. I might have to take out the front two dreads.