newbie to dreads, asking a couple questions

ok, im growing my hair out and i still have like, 2-3 months depending on these hair pills from c.o. bigelow take to my hair, they said your hair grows naturally like 1/2-1 inch a month, and this stuff will grow it like 2-3 inches in 2 months, which is only an inch gain, but thats fine, now, ive been lurking and wanted to ask questions about terms and techniques...what is "backcombing" and what are your thoughts and opinions on it?and what do i do once i start backcombing?how would i wash my hair?is it ok to swim with dreads? i see a lot of "stay away from wax", so i should then right? "ripping", what is this? and what have you dudes and chics done in the beginning stages? i have dry,curly-ish hair, is my hair good for dreads? im not going to put a whole head of dreads yet, i just want to do like 3-4 dreads and see what happens...any thoughts,comments?

 

Questions questions questions!! Okkk

1. What is backcombing?

Backcombing is basically where you take a section of hair, and push it back towards the root with a comb repeatidily to create knots. It's a good way to start off new dreadlocks if you don't fancy going natural.

2. Is it ok to swim?

I would avoid swimming for the first month or so, personal opinion, swimming in the sea will help them knot up. Salt water does wonders for your knots

3. Washing your dreads

Again personally i'd wait atleast a month, to let your dreads establish themselves. When i first had mine i washed em with tights over my head so they didn't fall apart too much. Again up to you though.

4. Wax booooo

Stay away. Attracts dirt can eventually lead to mould and you'll have a hell of a time getting it out!

5. Hair type

Curly hair is great for dreading hair cause it'll naturally want to knot on its own. So you'll probably have an easier time backcombing it if that's the route you take.

6. Begining stages

You can wear them down or you can wear a wool hat to help them knot for a while. Up to you really. I wore a hat for a while because of work getting funny about them.

It's all up to you really, in conclusion, stay away from wax and be patient! That's pretty much all there is too it lol. If you have curly hair you might wanna go all natural and just let it do its own thing!

 

i agree with about 90% except the washing part
wash em every week even at the early stages, washing them with tights on your head is counter productive
you want them to loosen & fall apart some when you wash in the beginning thats part of the process, & only way they will tighten up & dread
the dreadding process takes time yes but everytime u wash them they will knot up more.. washing them with tights on your head 1 wont get them clean & 2 wont allow them to move & knot

 

Listen to soaringeagle he's had his knots about 16 and a half years more than me haha.

 

very nice, thanks guys, how would i go about washing them? and if i went natural, how would i go about doing that? just not wash my hair?or just run water through it?and when i wash my dreads, what do i wash it with?

 

wash with dr bronners, concentrate on the roots & just let it rince thru the rest
then just shake it out n let it go.. natural isnt really much different from backcombing except the clumps wont be already established so just feel for areas that seem to want to clump together & just keep seperating them from eachother, each time u do they will start to tighten & form into individual dreads..
they will mostly try to grow together near the roots, & especialy right after washing (since the tendency to knott right after cleaning is increased) so thats the best time to pull them apart from eachother

 

sounds good, im looking forward to the adventure, thank you soaringeagle, you wil forever be known to me as the dread guru, tahnks again for your help

 

Even if you backcomb it most of it will probably fall out anyway.. alot of mine did. Just sort of gave mine a kick start..

 

Most people told me to wait two weeks to wash--- but I couldn't make it up to two weeks, not because I couldn't handle it, but because my hair became so greasy to the point where my dreads were literally falling out and stopped knotting... When you feel like your hair is becoming oily to the point that it's not knotting anymore, WASH THEM. PRONTO. I don't even want to KNOW what would have happened if I didn't wash them for the whole two weeks...
Honestly, immediately after washing I felt a difference. they were MUCH tighter, and my hair was dryer, so they didn't just go limp and fall apart.

Anyway, I'm a newbie too... so I don't know how sound my advice is...plus, something different works for everyone, I think. I like to run a piece of wool through my dreads, palm rolling with it, or "backcombing" with it---backcombing doesn't necessarily mean utilizing a comb. You can do it with your hands, too.

If you do use a comb, get a metal flea comb... I tried a regular pet comb, but the bristles were too far apart, and it couldn't get through the ends much, because of it. To avoid having the flea comb break, like it did for me the first time, push the bristles through your hair, so that your hair is all the way against the spine of the comb (Someone else on here, suggested this to me, and it works) and then start backcombing. You don't have to use a lot of force to backcomb with an actual comb...

Don't be surprised, if you do it with your hands, if you get blisters. I did both comb and hands... the comb i used mainly for my roots and tricky spots, but the rest I did with my hands, and I got an insane little blister on my index finger.

Totally worth it.

I don't know anything about swimming, but I'm assuming if you wash your dreads right after it should be fine--

all hair types can have dreads, it's just the care for different hair types might be different (i.e. when to wash and what not)

Good luck

 

now, as my hair grows, will the dread knot itself at the root? or do i need to backcomb it at the root?

 

it;ll knot at the root
once it starts to form & tighten the only thing u gotta do is seperate em at the roots if they try growing togethjer

 

sounds good..looks like ill be putting in a couple of dreads this weekend

 

okay, one more question...dr. bronners, i was in the bathroom, and out of nowhere, i realized i had dr. bronners sitting on my counter, ive had it for like a year, didnt even recognize it was bronners, now..the question is, its the 18-in-1 hemp castile "magic soap"...is this the one im supposed to use?