Help - Mold in Dreadlocks :(

Your dreads are like a tight seive really...you'll never get every single piece of fluff and old scalp out of them, and I'm sure you'd know by now from some kind of stink whether or not you actually had moldy dreadlocks. It's probably mostly belly-button fluff You maybe need to be less obsessive about removing every bit of lint etc!

 

mine are 18 years old, and come in contact with the floor all the time, rugs, pillowcases, blankets hats toweles clothes all leave behind lint thats visibly trapped in the dreads, (much more so if u used wax, but its unavoidable in any dreads especialy older dreads, unless your careful to wrap em in a microfiber wrap that will protect them from all fuzz (today i pulled a feathger out of mine that was nearly entirely swallowed insite a dread, needed tweezers to grab the tiny bit that was sticking out)

if u used wax, mold certainly is a worry, but its odvios if u have mold, when wet they will smell funky

if u put em in a wool hat wet u cxan get a funk smell too, but thats sorta a transferred wet wool smell, with possibly a hint of mildew, but that is easily removed with a washing or a day in the sun
a real mold issue builds up over time
and probly needs something to hold it in like wax

i guess if u get alotta food in your dreads that may cause issues too if u go long periods wothouit washing

but in wax free dreads molds not a major concern usualy.
(except possibly in super thick dreads)

 

never used wax. hair does smell kinda like a wet dog when its wet.

recently noticed a lot of flakes and dandruff locked in near the roots, as well.

and honestly i've never had such bad dandruff in my life as i do now.

 

rosemary ..read tyhe herbs for your head thread'and do the deep cleanse (1st post in wax removal sticky)
they will get rid of dandruff

the fluffs most likely fluff
does the wet dog smell linger?
i never ever noticed mine smelling bad except the 1 time i put on a wool tam with em wet

i guress if ui got a ton of woool trapped in em u can get that wet wool funk.

see if the deep cleanse without lemmon, just teatree and rosemary doesnt clear u up good

 

yeah it does linger for a bit, pretty much as long as its still wet.

 

hmm
could be mold, hardto say u didnt use wax so its not as likely, but still possioble especialy if you wear em in a tam wet alot
or if yioyur tam leaves a ton of fuzz it could be trapped wooll funk
hard to say

better to try an anti mold treatment to be sure (strong teatree might help, or alcahol, or..maybe witch hazle? not sure, apple cidar vinagar might help too maybe.
talk to bcmomma in herbs for the head thread.)

attacking mold wont hurt u if tyheres none there to kill its just to rule it out
if it is just wool funk..well
best to stay away from a tam that leaves alott wool fibers behind.
i have alot thats visible near the tips, from many years co,lecting fuxzz and still dont think its enough to stink that i notice so im guessing if u dont got a lil mold then its probly a whole lotta wool.
(i dont wear a tam often at all, only in extreme heat when i need every single dread off my shoulders)

 

well im thinking it really may be mold now.

yesterday i was grooming them a bit, and once i dig down into the center of a nice fat one, all i find is HUGE clumps of this blue/white stuff. some of it is darker like a tan/grey/yellowish color. it just seems impossible for it to be fuzzies trapped in there, THAT much of it. this seems to be in just about every dread. its starting to bother me more each time i find more of it. im seriously just considering chopping all my hair off. its been 6 years, i kinda want to be able to run my fingers thru my hair again and to just start over.

 

How often do you wash them? And when you say huge, how huge? I know that's a stupid question, but this topic interests me as I had to deal with similar stuff (I think). I stuff started to notice was near the ends after I had washed my dreads, little grey bits, like fuzz, but the dreads smelt musty when they were wet.

 

so you use shampoo and conditioner? what kind? it's probably dirty soap scum in the middle of your dread. most shampoos and nearly all conditioners leave residue.

 

mine are nearly 19 years and i got a whole lotta fuzzes in thge ends
im not about to dig in deep to the center but i can tell its fuzz by the wide varieties of clolors, alot white but blues grets greens reds you name it

imsure if theres a decent mold treatment though it certainly wouldnt hurt ya to do it just in case..but i think your probly bein lil paranoid

 

Mine used to smell a bit funky when they were wet, especially when it wouldn't stop raining for an entire week and I had to bicycle back and forth to school so my dreads didn't really have time to dry propperly. Then I did the deep cleaning stuff with a lot of teatree and it really helped against the smell.

 

I created an account just to reply to this thread and I gotta say... I have had my dreads for 20 months and thought I took pretty good care of them up until now. I have noticed for the last month that every time I rinse my dreads in the shower, they would smell awful (like a wet dog) and I too was worried that it was mold. So I started searching around and came across this site.

It is not mold. It caused by using wax a long time ago when I first started my dreads, even though I did cease to use it about 6 months ago.

The powdery grey/green stuff, as everyone here is saying, is just fluff and build up. If (and I think you mentioned that you do) use products that leave residue, this will only burden you more. Conditioners and traditional shampoos are designed to coat hair to create that silky smooth effect. It does not rinse out of dreads with water, so never use it.

I suggest a proper dread shampoo like Knotty Boy which comes as a liquid or a bar, or Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap. I have also heard of people using Pears natural clear soap, but I am not sure that their recipe is the same as it was years ago, so you may want to try it with caution.

With having used wax in the past, it allows all sorts of things to stick to it and build up over time, including sweat and skin cells (which is probably the grey you see).

There is a fix to this woe.

I filled my sink with the hottest water I could stand and tried this ACV wash.

(Make sure your sink is thoroughly cleaned and free of household cleaners)

In the sink of hot water, simply add apple cider vinegar, pure lemon juice, and sodium bicarbonate. I use enough of these ingredients to make the water a bright yellow, and enough baking soda to create a strong bath bomb effect.

soak your dreads thoroughly for about ten minutes while scrubbing them.

Lift your hair out and ring it completely. You will see the water get very dark (which surprised me quite a bit).

Drain that water out and you will see all that powdery particle in the bottom of the sink (GROOOOOSSSS!!)

Rinse, refill the sink and repeat this ACV wash again for about 3-5 washes. It will depend on how much dirt comes out.

I noticed after the first ACV rinse that my dreads didn't smell as strong.

When you are satisfied that your dreads are clean, hop in the shower and just thoroughly rinse with plain hot water.

I noticed that my scalp felt like I had a fantastic menthol scrub, any itchiness I had was gone, and my hair was lighter in weight AND colour.

Squeeze dry with a clean towel and either air dry or blow dry COMPLETELY before bed.

Going to bed with damp hair makes your pillows damp and musty. This will only continuously add to your mildew problem every night after that. I actually just threw my pillows out and got new ones.



Do this every two or three months, and you should be fine with regular shampoos every week or two in between with proper dread shampoo. Do NOT use conditioners if you don't need to. Avoid Gels and products as well. If you experience problems with dry scalp or fluffy dreads, maybe try using a bit of organic Virgin Coconut Oil on your dreads sparingly. (It is also good for your skin as a moisturizer) and won't build up with proper washing.


Hope this helps you out! Let me know how it goes. I sure was shocked at how much it helped me.

 

Amino Scalp Therapy Shampoo could help for removing deep impacted dirt and helping your locs to grow out faster too. It doesn't have any sulfates or harsh additives either.

Also, If you're experiencing mold then it could boil down to 2 issues:

1. You're in an environment with mold spores, and that includes the water you use to shower/bathe

AND/OR

2. You're not drying your locs after washing enough

Try to tackle either or both of these possibilities. Removing the mold from your hair won't do much good if you're still in contact with it and promoting its growth around you.

Try a deep cleanse also:

Baking soda
Apple cider vinegar
Sea salt (himalayan or celtic)
Lemon juice

Mix equal parts into a small mixing bowl and add it to a sink full of hot water, as hot as you can stand, and scrub your hair. Rinse and repeat and then wash/condition as normal.

 

I've found that this works really well:
http://ragingrootsstudio.com/dread-rot-cleanse/

I know that for me part of the issue isn't getting my hair dry enough in the past. Plus generally I work out 5times a week, skateboard, and do physical work with disabled people so I sweat like an Arab in an airport.

C/S,
Rev J