I don't have dreads, and i don't know if i will anytime soon. I may do in the future however and i was wondering, is it possible to dye dreads while they are still dreads? Also, what exactly does washing DO to them? It doesn't loosen them does it?
I have seen people dye dreads, but I would recommend against it. Too many chemicals and such. But I think if you used a natural dye you would be ok. You could also use a lemon/salt water spray in the summer, helps bleach em. And washing dreads does the samething as washing straight hair. It cleanses the hair. At first washing em could pull em loose but not too much. Actually washing dreads helps the process!
Id say dont dye em unless its natural or henna dye. Absolutely dont bleach them! this is really bad for your hair.
bleaching hair really helps the dreading process. The only thing to worry about is the skin... but If you follow directions, or do it in a salon, you are on the save side. In the beginning I only dyed mine with chemicals, just because I wanted to have bringht colors that stay in a long time. Then I started to Using the directions Hair colors, hair colors made from food colors in all possible colors. But in order for them to work, you usually have to bleach. Now I am Using henna, just because it's the cheapest and stays in for quite a while. The only bad part about it is, that it is not a slimy thing that will wash out easy as the above mentioned products, but rather a mix of ground plant parts, and organic, and the pieces are rather big, so they really tend to stay stick to the dreads, and you really have to wash it out very good, other wise it may rot in your dreads. so definately easier are the chemical products.
all the bleached hair at the end of my dreads broke off eventually. i really really wouldnt recomend it- yeah it will help the dreading process by drying the fuck out of your hair but in the long run i think it does a lot of damage.
you shouldn't leave it on forever! and do it in moderation! Just as with normal hair too. I bleached mine twiceand they never broke off.
my hair was bleached before I grew dreads, and it was also really fried from being outside in the sun all day long. so if youre in those conditions be carful and take care of ur hair.
Washing dreads really just washes the scalp directly, but the 'poo runs down the dreads to cleanse them.
directions hair colour is terrible without bleaching first. i tried with blue it last like 2 days before it turned grey. hmph.
you cant NOT leave bleach on forever unless you cut that part of your hair out. It isnt a coating on the hair like colouring is, its strips the natural chemicals in your hair that give it colour so its down to its base colour (blonde.... or yellow depending on how bad at bleaching you are) onces its done it cant be undone aside form adding more unnatural colours on it. your own colours wont return to that part of the hair. What it also does is make the hair very brittle and dry. The dryness is why people say it helps dreading. HOWEVER when your hair dreads, hair that fall out of your head and die stay in the dreads and so they can not be nourished so they go even more brittle. This is why bleached dreads are known to break or crack. If you really want to lighten your hair... try using a natural bleach like lemon juice.
I both wash and dye my dreads rather frequently. Washing is good. I don't like stanky hair. If you don't bleach them like a maniac (I only bleach mine every 4 months or so) then they're fine. I use semi-permanent dye (raw, special effects, etc), so there isn't any damage from the actual color.
