Natural vs Back-comb vs Twist n Rip

Natural vs Twist n Rip vs Back-comb

Which would you choose?! I'm hearing too much difference in this...

 

Natural > T&R > Backcomb > Everything else

 

well I DID choose T&R..

 

t&r for me

 

Twist and rip also. They've held their shape better than the backcombed ones, and it didn't seem as painful.

 

i backcombed originally and wouldn't do it again. so take that for what it

 

When I made this thread, a few people said backcomb THEN Twist and Rip... Would this hold better then just backcombing or just twist and rip? Or would that just be stupid?

 

Some people did a mix between tnr and backcombing
Tnr has better look results both in the long run and instantly.
I wouldn't advise tnr and backcombing the same dread.. would be damaging.

So just TNR!

 

I don't know about long run. I can't say that I think my dreads look bad in anyway or any "worse" than twist and rip a year and half later. Within the 6 months to a year mark is where you see differences but as you get past that, assuming the hair hasn't been further fucked with, it doesn't make a difference...natural included after 2 or 3 years.

 

I vote you look at some of the dread threads and even some of ppl's profiles and see whose dreads you like. Then find out what they did.

 

yep

 

in my opinion natural dreads are the best in the long run. however i like my hair to be somewhat presentable most of the time, so i did not opt for natural dreads.
i opted for the backcombing method. backcombed dreads with no maintenance look better in the early stages than twist and rip dreads. in the long run, i've seen that they pretty much end up the same.
keep in mind that many people who backcomb put maintenance into their dreads consistently through their locking process. this has a huge impact on the final product, which is worse than backcombed dreads that dont get touched, and twist and rip dreads respectively.

 

the opposite is true. one of the main advantages of twist and rip is that it looks better at the beginning than backcombing.

 

http://www.hipforums.com/newforums/showthread.php?t=364273&f=209


methods and what to expect

neglect

the neglect method generally consists of washing the hair and ripping it into sections. hair will mat on its own given time. this method usually takes the longest but creates the most unique types of dreads. expect random shapes and sizes, crazy looking kinky loopy things, and a bird's nest on your head for a few months.

it usually takes a few months before your uncombed hair starts to actually look like dreadlocks. it took me about 8 months before they sectioned themselves out and at least 16 months for them to fully 'lock'. it is different for everyone, though. for some with bone straight it could take longer than those with kinky hair. this also depends on your level of activity and whether you wear a hat or not and how you sleep and how you towel-dry your hair and a bunch of different factors. eventually, however, all hair will lock on its own.

it is important to keep your hair clean, as greasy hair doesn't hold knots well.

those with especially kinky hair might end up with a huge ball of matt if they don't rip the sections apart, while others barely have to rip at all (i have ringlets, so they kind of sectioned themselves- i had to rip a few times when they started to get too big and pull on my scalp).

this method is sometimes called 'natural'. the description 'natural' does not do it justice as many consider backcombing to be a natural method. neglect is the best way of describing the method to avoid confusion.

backcombing

backcombing is probably the most popular method. this involves sectioning the hair and combing it towards the scalp with a fine toothed comb. usually this takes a few hours and is painful for some people. it is easier to have a friend do it, but can be done alone with a mirror and some patience. some choose to backcomb very tightly, others choose to loosely comb the hair into sections.

this method creates puffy balls of hair that eventually tame down after a few washings and tighten up to create dreadlocks. with this method, sometimes the knots created by backcombing have to 'fall out' or undo themselves before locking back up. this usually happens in the first three months and can be pretty upsetting to those who are concerned with how 'tight' the dreadlocks look. usually with this method, a real matted appearance starts to take hold from 6 to 8 months and are usually 'locked' from 12 to 18 months. this is just an estimate, though, and doesn't apply to all hair types.

braid

this is a method i've only seen once or twice. this is very simple. if you braid the hair and then leave it alone, the new growth will come out dreaded and some parts of the braids may even lock themselves. after a few years it still looks like half dread, half braids, though. if you decide to try this method, post pics and your experiences, as it is probably the least used method.

twist

this is the easiest way to lock afro and super kinky hair types. twists take a bit of maintenance but once they start to lock, only require ripping to prevent massive congos. its simple. just section and twist.

twist n’ rip

although there is no 'official' definition of twist and rip dreads that i have seen, it usually consists of twisting or rubbing the hair with either the hands or some sort of material (wool is usually used), grabbing the tip, dividing it into two sections and pulling them apart to create a knot near the root. some choose to backcomb the root first, while others prefer to rub their entire head with some wool cloth before sectioning and ripping. sometimes this is done in the shower before letting the hair dry and ripping it then.

this seems to be a pretty effective method for starting the locks. faster than backcombing it seems. there is some disagreement on whether or not this method is better than backcombing. in my experience, dready timelines show progress is faster and more 'controlled' than with backcombing and you usually get to skip that puff ball stage.

crochet

the crochet method is a combination of backcombing and using a tiny crochet hook to gather the hairs together. usually this method is done by loosely backcombing a section then rapidly poking a tiny crochet hook in and out of the section at every angle. this is the most abrasive method and definately causes damage to the hair follicles. some people say it causes breakage months and years down the road. others say it is fine.

this method creates instantly neat, clean looking sections. this is probably the neatest method, but at the price of doing extra damage to the hair. if you want to know more about it, do a google search or look through the forum. the jury is still out on this method and many disagree on whether it is helpful or harmful.

combination

some people use a combination of these methods. experiment and post your results as well as pictures. let the entire dread community learn from your success and failure with these methods (or create your own).

TIME

this is the MOST important factor in dreadlocks. they aren't an instant thing. NO, your freshly backcombed sections aren't dreadlocks yet. NO, your two week neglect sections aren't dreadlocks yet. with any method, it takes months and years to form fully mature dreadlocks. there is no easy way to go about having dreadlocks. like i said before, TIME is the master.

 

side note: You don't have to rub your roots or do anything prior to twisting & ripping your hair. You can simply go at it

 

I backcombed about 60% of my hair but it all fell out and then like one or two dreads former naturally, the ones underneath and these past few months I twisted and ripped any that weren't dreading...

But if I had to do it again I would twist and rip since those stay in, are easy to do, and look better than backcombing and you can get much nicer sections with tnr

 

like i've said before your hair will look silly no matter what method you use. it's al a matter of opinion. i would say go to dreadlocktruth.com and look at their timelines because they each have an icon as to which method the poser used. form your own opinion.

 

that's really just a matter of opinion. in my experience i've seen a lot of backcombed dreads that i thought looked much better in a few days than your one month update. i'm basing this on how the hair is sectioned better and also that i think theyre shaped more like mature locks. prime case example, you seem to only have one section of hair that resembles a dread after a month. with backcombing almost all the sections look like dreads right away. i know what you might be thinking, backcombed dreads often fall apart or something of that variety. however, i personally think that when you backcomb and put the hair in rubberbands it prevents them from falling out and encourages the root to lock up. rubberbands only need to be in for the first week of backcombing and/or until the first wash. this is because the first wash often ruins dreads, but the rubberbands prevents this. after your dreads are all dry you can take the rubberbands out.

 

first of all, if you're gonna talk shit about my dreads, at least man up enough to do it in the actual thread.

second of all, yeah, backcombed "dreads" might look better at the beginning to you, but they're really just puffy sections of hair that are just gonna fall out anyway and stick out at ridiculous angles for a while. the only dread like aspect of fresh backcombing is that they look fatter because of the puffiness. you don't really get that with twist and rip, and they hold up a lot better.

 

i really did not intend to offend, its just that most of your hairs are loose. thats all im saying. and really theres no difference of me saying it in this thread rather than in your thread. i happen to disagree with your opinion, that is all.