Im new to these forums. I have had my dreadies since early may and I'm having a few problems. First off, I used the backcombing method using Dreadhead products. I've noticed yall tend to frown on the whole Dreadhead-Knottyboy method. Backcombing just made more sense to me. Anyhow, I also used Nioxin (cause my hair is thinning fast) shampoo before i started them and i figured if there was one shampoo out there that would be residue-free, it would be Nioxin. Im kinda rethinking this though. My backcombing keeps falling out in the middle of my dreads toward the roots. It almost seems like the knots seem to fall down. I have my tips rubber-banded off and the lower half of my dreads are tight as hell, but above that is almost strait hair. Every time i wash (which is usually weekly, because of how they seem to start over when I do) I have to take the knots from the lower half and comb them back up. I've tried more wax, less wax, no wax, cream wax, locking gel. It all ends up the same. Now, my dilema, I'm thinking that this nioxin isn't the greatest shampoo for the job. But I live in small town nebraska. My options are pretty limited. Sally's carries Rasta Lock & Twist products, but not the shampoo. And with the outragous shipping prices, it will cost me $40 at best to order good Shampoo online. Now my question is twofold, do you think Nioxin is a good shampoo to use? Is that my problem at all? And if not, can any one suggest a shampoo that would be accessable at a place like Sally's. I'm pretty limited and the manager there doesn't even understand what I mean when I ask for residue-free shampoo. I had also given some thought about trying strait glycerin soap from a hobby store. I used to make my own soap from plain clear glycerin soap. Any one tried this. At this point, I'm not too concerned with my hair being too dry, I have enough Rasta Lock products to counter the dryness. Any help would be appreciated.
The best shampoo hands down is Dr Bronners. I suggest getting some exspecially with newer dreads. It tightens em up really good. You have to buy over $20 worth of stuff but I bought 3 different kinds and it was $21 with free shipping.
u got a link. Sounds great if there is free shipping. Haven't been able to find anyone that will ship for free. Have heard good things about that brand though. I just realized that the soap sandalwood I use from Ten Thousand Villages is all natural (as in, I can pronounce every ingredient in it) too, I think I will give it a try for the time being. Any thoughts?
http://www.drbronner.com/DBMS/LS.htm i agree, go with dr bronners tea tree oil. make sure you dilute it though!!! a lot of people HATE everything dreadhead but i've been using their sea salt spray (called "locking accelerator", silly euphemism) and it has worked miracles on my dreads. my roots started coming undone about a month into the locking process and this products completely reversed it. but i'm sure you can use and sea salt spray product and it would be equally effective.
"best" is relative to the person who is talking about it. Bronners is alright, but I don't really like using any shampoos. I like baking soda or ACV; makes your hair feel sooo clean.
1. i would advice thatr you drop the wax or other products you use in your hair, trust me wax isnt going to help the process at all, infact probably just slow it down. so you should try to get that out of there. there is a wax removal thread on this forum. 2. stop backombing! i know how it is, at my first set i backombed and rubbed my tips almost every day to keep the dreads from loosening up. but its pointless realy cus its going to fall out again. im now three months into my second set and theyre much tighter and better now that i leave them alone. yea ok so there are some dreads that only the half or less is dreaded, but it doesnt matter cuz theyve stopped loosening up entirely now and are just getting better and better. some are getting dreaded out all the way to the tips on their own this time. 3. i would loose the rubberbands if i were you