Simple question. I haven't measured it, but it based on eyeball id say its about 3 in. does it look long enough from an experienced p.o.v.? I'm going pure natural, no wax btw.
but your hair is super straight, so its going to take time and a lot of patience. start using residue free shampoo and stop combing and brushing. keep us up to date! not a lot of LA peeps here, nice to see ya!
Thanks for the responses, and yeah I'll keep you guys up to date. I'm supposedly getting them done tomorrow, so I'll post pics asap. And youre right, not many folks in LA have dreads. Most of my friends tell me I'm crazy. I can't freakin wait
Hahah why don't you just stop combing you'll see yourself, if it doesn't start locking it may not be long enough, if it does it does hahah
if you're getting them done it's not natural. sorry to burst your bubble. and if you're paying someone to do it, chances are they'll put wax or some icky crap in it. it's the way it tends to go. if you feel you have to backcomb (i sometimes really wish i hadn't), do it yourself. it doesn't take that much time (especially as short as your hair is) and it is so much more meaningful. however, if you just wash with residue free shampoo and stop combing, you'll have dreads eventually. but lots of other people on here will tell you that too.
When I say I'm getting it done, I mean a good friend of mine who has done many other dreads is doing the backcombing for me. Shes a new friend, so I'm hoping to bond over the shared experience I dont ever comb, but I just looked closer at my shampoo and realized it also had conditioner in it! Much to my dismay of course. I've since stopped using it lol.
My hair has the same length as yours! An I've found a way just stop combing indeed and you can place your and on your hair and rub clockwise to make it not up faster (it works^^ I just found it out a few hours ago)
at first you said you're going natural, but then you say you're getting it backcombed? for natural, it's never too short to start. backcombing, I dunno, it will be pretty short but I guess you could probably do it.
backcombing isnt natural but if it is your choice to backcomb..pay attention dont let her put anything in your hgair at all unless its just sea salt spray
Hey, I finally began my dread journey! I have reaaallly long way to go, but its a starting point. I didn't use any wax or anything, just some saltspray and backcombing. There are rubber bands in it for now, just because its so short, but I'll get rid of them in a couple months. Kinda like braces to straighten teeth I know they aren't purely natural, but I hope I'm off to a good start. Thanks for the advice everyone!
That's definitely a start, way to go! I wouldn't leave the rubber bands in there for a few months, though. Maybe a few days so that the sections stay together so you don't "lose" them, but my hair started swallowing elastics after they were in for only about three days. I wound up having to cut them out, and my hair is barely dreaded as it is! Good luck, it's exciting, isn't it?
Thanks! And good call on the rubberbands. I'll just keep them for a couple days then, to keep em separated like you said. I just hope they stay My hair is fairly straight and short, we'll see how it turns out. Very exciting indeed!
Don't be disappointed if they don't stay, my hair is really thick and curly and my dreads still aren't "staying" together perfectly. But after two weeks, there's definitely some improvement. I imagine in two more weeks, they'll start looking more like dreads.
four tips 1) palm roll all the time, all the time. spin spin spin. NO PRODUCT. 2) wear a tam to get them knotty. its hot here, but luckily not so hot you cant wear a tam. 3) those bands are going to be a total bitch to cut out when your hair eats them. get them out as soon as your littles get their own personality. 4) if you see me, say hello! and whether you backcombed or did them natural neglect, it doesnt matter. stick to it and soon your life will change for the better! i was stuck in a dead end but high paying job and strangely enough my whole life has been turned around. i am no longer stressed or going to a place i dont like. i am pursuing my passion and going to gem school. i dont know how my hair fit into this, but things really changed after my hair did. a friend of mine asked me if i was going to change my hair anytime soon and i honestly had to say no. its been a while and i used to change my hair every three months radically. (im a hairdresser by trade) now my hair does what it wants. and now i do too!!!! ha!
Thanks for the advice! I've been rolling them all afternoon while at work, theyre too fun not to play with Where can I find a good place to buy a tam in LA? And I'll most assuredly say hello if I see you I'll just say hi to everyone with dreads until its you, hehe (not many dread heads in LA to start with luckily). Anyone know a good online guide to making one's own tam?
I've been wanting to do that as well, I think knitting is easiest but I could be wrong. Check the arts and crafts forum there's plenty to find
go to etsy.com and choose away! millions of tams to choose from. type in dreadlock in the subject and watch it come up!
