Couple dreads are super thin near the roots

Fux. Anyone have this happen to them? Would beads help? Are they even likely to actually fall off? God damn it.

 

depends how brittle your hair is
i had some baby dreads that was super fat and heavy at the ends but super skinny at the root. i ended up cutting off the fat end, to take some weight off the root.

if there are loose hairs near the roots you can try and crochet them in or something, or what ive done for most of my dreads is congo them together to make fatties - im scared that as they get longer, they roots will get thinner etc, which is why im fattening them now

 

Not sure how beads would help. Unless somehow you managed to trap extra loose hair under the bead so it would lock into the dread. Generally a bead is just going to squeeze a dread a little and add more weight.

You can trim the dread a little so it isn't so heavy and won't pull on the root as much. You can try and congo it into another dread or you can try and get some more hairs to lock into it by either wrapping some loose root hairs around it or (if you must) crochet them in.

 

this

 

Actually a bead would act the same way as a rubber band with less damaging consequences. I leaved rubber bands in my hair when I started the process kind of my accident (long story) and dreads formed underneath the rubber band and pushed them off. I have a couple of beads/coils on my dreads and the fact is that they are forming behind them is pushing them off.

Another way that I'm working on mine is doing a scalp rolling technique where you hold a dread between 2 fingers at the end of the tight part and roll them into your scalp for about 30 seconds which starts for lack of a better phrase a "Pile of Knots" and pulls some of the loose hairs around the dread into them. For the next couple of days take about a fingertips width of the tight part of the dread and make a clockwise circle with your thumb and fingertip for about 30 seconds as you do this that circular motion will pull up towards the root. This creates friction and makes new knots and tightens up the dread bit that has already formed. Usually after I shower I do the same clockwise rub using a bit of tightening gel on that last inch or so that I had been working this is a temporary solution like putting a rubber band or bead on it leaving a bit at the end loose to form itself. And the tightener washes out.

Granted, on this forum I've been told I'm full of shit and all of that is making my dreads from slower I've found this isn't the case. I've figured this out based on trial and error. Products don't make things progress slower. Misuse of products make things progress slower.

Generally speaking my rule of thumb is that if I can't pronounce the name of ingredients or generally don't know what they are they aren't going into my hair.

C/S,
Rev J

 

You've not been told that you're full of shit. The problem is that your dreadlocks are young. A few people have previously tried to help you along based on their older dreadlocks and greater pool of experience, but you refused to accept any criticism and decided you already knew everything you needed to know. Also the problem with your trial and error is that things you do to your dreadlocks now might not become apparent as problems until months down the line. For example someone could very merrily put wax in their dreadlocks now and not realize the negative effects until a few months down the line and if you choose to believe that products don't make things slower, go ahead and have at it :2thumbsup:

I'm also puzzled by why you won't allow things that have ingredients that you can't pronounce. I won't touch shampoos and soaps that don't have unpronounceable chemicals in, because those unpronounceable chemicals are anti-fungals and anti-bacterials which tend to be useful. I'm not saying that you need them, but automatically rejecting something because you don't already know what it is will probably limit you slightly. Personally I'm not a chemist, so therefore I'm perfectly fine with someone who knows more than me picking out the ingredients for a shampoo.

With regards to the actual topic at hand. The root rubbing you recommended really is not beneficial here. While you may find it makes more knots out of your loose hair, it really isn't the problem that kokujin is suffering with. The dreads are thin in the roots, as in not enough hair. Rubbing the roots will not strengthen and add more hair, it may cause more knots and it may cause more hairs to break, further weakening the roots. That's why crocheting, wrapping and trapping loose hairs into the dread root have been recommended... and not root rubbing.

 

Bubble +1

 

I have a few that are very thin at the roots. I have never had any breakage from the root since I've been dreading. The breakage that I've had has always been about half-way down, or near the bottom, which just gradually got thinner, to the point where I just pull it off. Not that that's happened very often.

I would say joining them together would probably be your best bet, but it won't necessarily mean you won't get breakage, but it'll take longer. I'm talking years here. There are some weaker points on some of my fat ones which will probably break in the end at some point. In other words I'm not sure fatness of the dread necessarily protects against breakage. So, yeah, just to kind of contradict myself, congo it if you're worried about it.

 

First off, it's not that I'm not open to criticism. I've learned from people who have had dreads longer then you have been alive that no matter how long you have them there will always be parts of your dread that aren't mature or "new dread" as your hair is constantly growing and your roots will always need maintenance. The technique I was describing is basic root maintenance. And actually that technique with the scalp rolling and finger rolling is exactly what you are describing in your last sentence. I should have added that the rolling against the scalp will wrap loose hairs around the root and the finger roll will push them in tighter.

Secondly, I only used a small amount of wax on half of my dreads until doing research and finding out about potentially damaging effects of long term usage and they look alright but what I'm doing now is working better thank you. The tightener I'm using in my is primarily a mixture of Aloe which is a moisturizing agent and great for brittle hair, Lime which is mildly acidic but used in alot of over the counter shampoos, and Seaweed which contains sea salt which is god for tightening all of that loose stuff in and other nutrients which are good for hair. As for wax there are numerous types and kinds of wax used for different purposes. It's not like you go down to your local surf shop and pick up a puck of Mr. Zogs Sex Wax which is mostly carnuba which is used on surfboards and in numerous floor and car waxes and rub it into your hair. The other thing I do use is a mixture of Rosemary, Lavender, and Sea Salt. I've already discussed Sea Salt so I'm leaving this out of the equation. Lavender has been used for hundreds of years as an anti-fungal with no negative effects and it smells nice. Rosemary has also been used for hundreds of years to combat dandruff and again has no negative side effects.

Which leads me to my last point. I hope you are being facetious about wondering why I don't want to put anything with ingredients in my hair I can't pronounce. Here's a short list of things that have been used in the past and some that still are that were believed "Harmless":

FD&C Red #2, was used for years in food until they realized that it was a carcinogen.

FD&C Yellow #5, is still used in most foods even though it has been found to aggravate symptoms of ADD and ADHD.

Aluminum, Yep that stuff your beer cans, soda cans, cooking pots etc. are made of has been linked to the development of Alzheimer's disease.

Asbestos, was once used in gas mask and cigarette filters, automotive brake pads, pipe insulation, the position inlays on 1960's Fender Guitars etc.

D,4,5,T better known as Agent Orange was used during the Vietnam War as a defoliant that they believed was harmless if a human inadvertently inhaled it. Years later they figured out it caused Lung Cancer.

DDT. I love this one. Before it got banned in first world countries for fucking up the environment (they still use it in third world countries) they actually used to spray you down with it during your initial Army physical.

I know I kind of got off track in my response to your question about hair products. But the ingredients in hair care products have only been used for the last 50 or so years and we really don't know what side effects can come from their usage. Where as Tea Tree Oil, Rosemary, Lavender etc. have been used to do the same things for hundreds of years and we know what side effects if any there are to their usage.

C/S,
Rev J

 

I have no interest in arguing about a subject that can't really be proven either way, especially not since (judging by the picture in your signature) I'm sure we'd find little to disagree upon given a different subject matter.... but:

You learned from people who have had dreadlocks longer than I've been alive and yet no one advised you against the con that is dreadlock wax? I'm not trying to be mean or insult, but you seem like someone who is really careful about ingredients and side-effects but you didn't research the ill effects of most branded dreadlock products? General consumer hair care products are full of unknown substances but waxes are totally cool on that front?

But that's it I fully understood the root technique, it's a perfectly fine technique for dreadlocked hair with loose roots and idle hands. But I still don't think it's going to be particularly useful for this particular problem. I'd try and be pretty careful and treat a thinning dreadlock root delicately, I'm not a fan of crocheting dreads but I think in this case it's a safer bet.

It's arguable how much tightening a the gel actually does, but I'd just watch the aloe. Although it's a magically cure-all for lots of things, it does leave residue in dreadlocks if you put too much in and push it into the dreadlock.

I can understand your caution when it comes to ingredients and chemicals, I just personally don't agree. A world like that would have the higher educated running around with modern day advances in medicine and a significant proportion of the population...well, not quite so well equipt. I entrust my chemicals to those who've spent far longer studying that field than I.

Now, we can all relax and (probably) agree that Fender should have just stuck with the clay dots and avoided that asbestos all together. Ah and nitrocellulose .... all though that has its own health risks.

:sunny:

 

big disagree

i do NO root maintenance and mine lock up just fine.

jus sayin

 

I completely read over that. No your roots will definitely not always need maintenance. If you keep playing with them, yes they will, if you leave them alone they will do it themselves. I understand it's difficult to believe until you actually see it happening, but roots will knot themselves, but they won't do it if you mess with them because you disrupt knots they've made themselves. I can say that I've not root rubbed, twisted, crocheted... touched may hair other than to wash and dry it for over 5 years and they seem to be doing the job fine by me...

 

If you rip excessively, it's a self-feeding cycle, it messes up your roots and also makes them want to felt more.

Same with crochetingg, and that sort of thing.

I think the worst thing you can do with thin dreads is mess with them. And if you bead them, it might help in the LONG run, if you can really get a bunch of hair pulled through the root and then held in with the bead. But a few times I made congo's happen with little crap, or put loose crap in a dread, by just pulling it through the root and never touching it again.

A bead could also go horribly wrong, and further hinder locking at the root.... and cause the breakage of the lock.

I'd say, if you're really worried, jam some stuff through the base, but the best you can do is be gentle and not touch it.

If it's going to fall off it's going to fall off, it's not some sign dreadlocks ruined your head, just don't go telling squares who talk about how dreadlocks give you scalp cancer, about your locks falling off it just means that that knot reached it's end....

 

root rubbing? i had dreads down to my waist. not once did i root rub, crochet, or any of this bs. will always have to work on your roots? wtf??

 

yeah 5-6 years I guess my hair's been growing. I had to cut 2 off (okay, they were not in special places).

but I have one now that I see that's SUPER THIN at the root, beutiful baby on the front of my head... I wanna cut it... but I want it to stay.... aah... lol

 

quick! cut them off before they fall off