~~ Dready Mamas 2012?~~ - Page 12

[Becky Wheeler]

I'm ready to take out my dreads! My hair is so oily! Is there some sort of shampoo I can use? Almost a week of this and I. feel. so. GROSS! Please help, or I'll have to take out my dreads. 

[rjruiz_415]

What do you wash with again? I started out washing with just diluted liquid Dr bronners. Also, I don't recall what your hair washing regime was before, but I think it could just be your scalp getting used to less washing... Evening itself out... I would just continue to wash like normal, and just tie it up like normal so you don't have to deal work it most all of the dready problems In the beginning totally fix themselves.

[Becky Wheeler]

Originally Posted by rjruiz_415 

What do you wash with again? I started out washing with just diluted liquid Dr bronners. Also, I don't recall what your hair washing regime was before, but I think it could just be your scalp getting used to less washing... Evening itself out... I would just continue to wash like normal, and just tie it up like normal so you don't have to deal work it most all of the dready problems In the beginning totally fix themselves.

I'm using baking soda. Don't have ACV. I'm doing it every 2-3 days in the bath because my shower head is too powerful and was undoing my dreads at the roots. When I was shampooing and conditioning, I was doing it almost everyday. It's just really embarrassing to appear unwashed, especially since hubby's initial impression of dreadlocks was that they're dirty. :/

And is it okay to keep my hair up a lot? It won't unravel my dreads?

[rjruiz_415]

okay, lets see if I can get these to work:) I will post all of them, cause i love nothing more than looking at random repetitive pics of other peoples dreads,lol!

So, i wanted super uniform dreads (ROFL.....) but i was too impatient to have someone perfectly section my hair... so I just randomly grabbed chunks that seemed about right, and backcombed. I think I could have backcombed more, but oh well. I did it all my self, it took 3 days, and from day 2 on, my hands hurt like hell... 

Day 3 (as soon as they were all done) you can see the back of my head was pretty separated

1wk old, after their first shower - straight under a strong shower head, with diluted dr.bronners

1 month old

and then 2 months (well, to be precise, 10 wks...) they totally got all squigly on me, and they are just crazy... so much for uniform dreads-lol!

[delicate_sunshine]

My hair was getting all gross so I started washing with Dawn dishwashing liquid and it seemed to help.  Worth a shot.

[rjruiz_415]

you know, a fair amount of the roots came CRAZY undone on mine... like halfway down the dread:/ I just took a deep breath and let it go:-) It is so nice to just let it go. They are going to be crazy and unruly, and that is totally cool! The thing is, even if they do come undone, if left alone, they will find their own groove and dread back up. That is what is happening with mine. I spent a fair amount of time ripping them apart as well (except for a few I wanted to let congo together) and now they are much easier to handle. I would take a shower, personally. But then again, I dont really see how tight your dreads are, i would not think that a shower head could undo even a little hair knot - i had never heard that about not using shower heads before. 

[ZoeStarshine]

Originally Posted by Becky Wheeler 

I want them to be done in a few months. I'm thinking about finding a salon that will backcomb for me, though. I don't know anyone locally who can/will help me(I have crunchy friends, but not THAT crunchy lol). I have been trying to 'acclimate' my hair to not being washed daily because I WAS washing it with Herbal Essences shampoo every.single.day. At the end of 2 days without washing it, it's extremely oily. After it starts to not be so oily, I'm going to start bs/acv. Backcombing seems the most practical way to dread for now.

Best source of accurate dreading information is GUDU. Now, moving on, I'm not sure why you think you shouldn't wash your hair with dreads, but suffice it to say, clean hair dreads better because natural scalp oils keep your hair from matting up. Honestly, the drier they are, the better and faster they will dread. I could tell you why wax is HORRIBLE for dreads and why baby dreads just generally don't look presentable unless you decide to spring for the added cost of finding someone local to crochet them for you, but GUDU's memories are seriously the best resource. When I started my dreads two years and four days ago, by backcombing followed by neglect, they helped prevent me from making a lot of stupid decisions based on word of mouth.

Edit: Wtf, it was showing one of Becky Wheeler's old posts as the end of the thread. Sorry for the late post!

[yippiehippie]

Yes, there's no reason not to wash daily, Becky. BS is drying for me, but maybe Dr. bronners will work better for you. I'd do showers instead of baths, but never heard about the shower head doing anything to them. Also, don't underestimate salt water sprays/soaks!

I'm getting sick of the summer and how annoyingly thick these babies are. I have to put my hair up sometimes b/c it's sooooo hot, but then I have a HUGE lump in the back of my head, making it hard to drive. Plus it hurts to have it back after a while! I can't wait until my locks are long enough to knot together up. This summer might be my last w/dreads:(

[Becky Wheeler]

Originally Posted by rjruiz_415 

you know, a fair amount of the roots came CRAZY undone on mine... like halfway down the dread:/ I just took a deep breath and let it go:-) It is so nice to just let it go. They are going to be crazy and unruly, and that is totally cool! The thing is, even if they do come undone, if left alone, they will find their own groove and dread back up. That is what is happening with mine. I spent a fair amount of time ripping them apart as well (except for a few I wanted to let congo together) and now they are much easier to handle. I would take a shower, personally. But then again, I dont really see how tight your dreads are, i would not think that a shower head could undo even a little hair knot - i had never heard that about not using shower heads before. 

I was thinking the same thing today. People do neglect dreads, so even if dreads come undone, if you neglect, they'll come back into the dread.

[Buddhamom]

I used Whole Foods own brand shampoo, the mint one so it kept the itchies down and I washed every three days.  Needle felting is when you take a felting needle (can get at any craft/sewing store) and just felt them like you would crafts. Just plunge it in and out but be careful as they are barbed. The other thing is you can actually put pantyhose over your hair like a hat while you wash.  It holds them tightly in place during the first month or so.

[Becky Wheeler]

Oooohhh! Yeah, that's another thing, is the itching! I'm assuming it's residue lifting from my scalp because I'm not shampooing or conditioning.

[rjruiz_415]

I don't know what causes it, but I know it is super awful. but it does go away. I promise:-)

[Becky Wheeler]

It could also be from the dreads pulling on the hair roots too. Who knows. I know it'll go away. Thank you all for the reassurance. 

[scruffy too]

My favorite shampoo is a shampoo bar from KnottyBoy.com - I've been using them for over 6 years. (I love all of their products.)

I've also heard of using Dr. Bonners, I just haven't found any where I live.

Any shampoo without conditioners is ok - I've used Herbal Essence "Drama Clean" and Neotrogena "No Residue".  Anything with Mint or Tea Tree Oil will really help the itchies.

Your scalp with itch if it's not getting washed regularily.  I've been washing them about twice a week until this last year.  Now I seem to be back to once a week just because it takes them so long to dry and it's a PITA.

[Becky Wheeler]

Has anyone ever cut their dreads shorter , so they had a different look for their dreads? I hear they can get really heavy after they're super long.

[scruffy too]

I've been seriously considering chopping my dreads - not sure what "short" is by your definition, but I was thinking shoulder length or so.

They've just gotten so heavy (down to my waist/butt) and are really heavy when I wear them up.  But really hot and get caught in the back of my pants when I wear them down.  And as I mentioned before, take forever to dry.

So yeah, I've been saying all summer that I'm gonna cut them, but haven't done so yet. 

[mamayogibear]

Oh wow this thread has taken off since I was last here! For the itching rub your scalp, you can mix an itty bitty bit of peppermint oil with aloe vera and it is niiiice. But it does mostly go away once your scalp adjusts to the new poo routine.

RJ you hair is soo long and pretty, keep up the good work!

[mamayogibear]

Originally Posted by Becky Wheeler 

I'm ready to take out my dreads! My hair is so oily! Is there some sort of shampoo I can use? Almost a week of this and I. feel. so. GROSS! Please help, or I'll have to take out my dreads. 

dreadlocks shampoo from bucks county soaps kicks butt!!! or just using bs and acv should do it but it takes a while for your scalp to adjust. if you have hard water do not use dr. bronnors it leaves build up. if you have really hard water strip your hair with citric acid or the hard water build up can prevent the strands from knotting tighter.

[mamayogibear]

Originally Posted by keylimecutie 

I need advice once again... I have had my dreads for almost 5 months. The top of my head is dreading up beautifully ( kind of kinky but they are actually dreading and shortening). However the whole right side of my head has come undreaded. In the last month I have tried to palm roll, backcomb ( my hair seems immune to this now... I can back comb all I want and the next day it has fallen apart), I have tried neglect the last 9 days just wearing them up, in a bandanna or elastic ( I am a nurse and have to wear them up at work). I wash them every 4-10 days in baking soda depending on how my scalp feels. It just boggles my mind that some are doing great and parts of my hair is flowing free... I am thinking about throwing in the towel... But it makes me so sad to think about it! I need advice, encouragement, etc. do you think the twist a rip method would be a good way to go?

twist and rip is worth a try, or if you have a crochet hook google felting dreadlocks. it's easier than it sounds, lol.

[Becky Wheeler]

This is what my dreads look like. I don't know if you can see very well. I'll take another pic....

Do they look okay for being 2 weeks(?) old? BTW, I have the rubber bands in, because I'm paranoid about them coming unraveled. LOL