Hello! I've dreads about 6-7 months now and started them off with wax... it's the only way I saw recommmended on websites etc and my friend who's had them for years waxed hers. Anyway I stopped waxing them months ago, but I was wondering what exactly the problems are with wax... apart from making dreads waxy and sticky? People have said they get mouldy but I didn't have any problems like that at all, and mine are fine inside. After seeing people's comments here I've been scared out of ever using wax again, but I was just wondering why exactly it is so bad! Thank you!
I've never used wax and my 3-month old dreads are doing just fine. The problems with wax are: 1. It just holds the hairs in place, it doesn't allow them the freedom to actually lock up. 2. It stays in your hair and builds up inside it, which holds water inside, which WILL lead to mold and other nastiness eventually. 3. Waxed dreads look and smell terrible compared to 'natural' dreads. 4. It is completely unneccessary; just a way for some fucks who probably don't have dreads themselves to make money out of your 'alternative' lifestyle. Half the point of dreads for most people who are serious about them is the natural process involved and the patience required so using wax is kind of cheating. Even if you just want to look good, waxed dreads generally don't! Take a look at this thread: http://hipforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=227449. The guy started off using wax and then saw sense - check out how much better they look by the end of that thread than they did in the first post!
every day of your life your exp[osed to some form of dust dirt polutant wax traps crap traqps hair with dirt with gunk clean dreads dread..gunky dreads gunk wax over years can trap alot u might not mold, but then agaijn ..u r trappin water along with dirt skin.. they sell u on an ez method to quick dreads (but yea end up havin to work at it cause...wax dont let dreads move...so rub rub rub... roll roll roll and wax some more u say youve been usin it how long? can we seee what they look like?
I used wax when I first "made" dreads... after 8 months they were all full of dead skin, dust, fibres from clothing, dirt and a bunch of dead twigs and things. everything but the last was caught by the wax... the twigs were more from playing in the woods. once wax is in there, it's almost impossible to get out. it slows everything down and it smells bad. that's my experience at least...
My camera's broken and this is the only pic of me with dreads that I have. I guess I only used wax because I thought that was the only way! I've learnt the error of my ways now... haven't waxed them for a long time, and wont ever again after reading the horror stories! By the way soaring eagle I just had to say that yours are FANTASTIC!
i would say it depends on how much you used in the beginning and wether you melted it in. if you just used a little on the outside of your dreads and didnt melt it in, you probably wont have any problems. small amounts of wax will wash out when you wash your hair, or be absorbed into the hair itself, conditioning it. at least thats what i found when i used it on my first set of dreads. if your hair is sticky with it, you might end up with some problems.
take a lil ball of wax, roll it in thre dirt and see how much dirt sticks to ity then next time some1 ya know gets a haircut ask em to save the hair, goop it up with the dirty wax and then try just washin it out wax never really washes out entirely, it doesnt absorb into hair ,,it doesnty really even condition it, it coats it hairs conditioned by oils which soak into the folicles..oils cant really pass through a layer of wax people think conditioninmg means less fuzzies on the outside of the dreads, but all the wax is doing is sticking the fuzzies to the dread, like a glue dreads rarely require conditioning, but what i find to be great conditioners are jojoba oil, vinagar, cocoa butter all of wich wash out easily...and aloe which can be used instead of wax, does absorb into hair does shrink to tighten knots and washes away easily
no, i know what conditioning means. i make natural cosmetics and i often use oils and beaswax. first of all, beeswax is widely known as a good additive for moisturizers, especially lip balms. second, dread wax contains quite a bit of oil. it really does wash out. i wouldnt expect you to know because you apperantly havnt used it. i have used it, sucessfully washed the little i used out with soap, had no ill effects, and have the clean, silky soft dreads to prove it. i dont advocate the use of wax because too many people use way too much and it isnt necessary, but sometimes i think the wax hate gets a little out of hand.
you know.... I have to say I agree about wax^. I've heard about experiences and opinions by a lot of people with dreads, and although I never used wax to date myself (hate sticky stuff)... I don't think it's such a big deal in moderation for some people. The reason I don't think it's a big deal is there are people who've had dreads for decades and waxed occasionally without a problem. My personal conclusion is that small amounts of wax on mature dreads is probably okay... but I don't think it's a good idea to MAKE dreads with wax. I think that's when problems come in with people using way too much. Plus, when dreads are so young they're inevitably going to be covered by a lot more layers of hair... so that's when the wax probably gets trapped in there. That's my own opinion though, not personal experience.
wax the way some websites pimps it is completely unnecessary, and that's what most people are looking at. you don't need to melt the shit into your hair with a hairdryer. you don't need to use so much that your hair resembles a candle. you don't need to use it at all! a (very) little bit every now and again doesn't really hurt. however, if you do a web search for dreadlocks, you'll find information telling you that you HAVE to wax to get dreads, which is an untruth. you'll find videos of people using TUBS of kb or dhhq wax to get dreads started. and then these people wonder why their hair smells and feels stiff and traps dirt and gets moldy. it's a ridiculous conspiracy to make money, for something completely unnecessary that hinders the dreading process if used to the specifications of these websites. whew. vent over.
