Hey all! Hope everyone is doing well. I took SoaringEagle's sage like advice and pulled out those rubberbands, and i'd have to say, i love the loose tip look they have. So, i didn't blunt them, and they're very 10,000BC or Forbidden Kingdom's Jackie Chan look (just waaay shorter). Diggin' it!! So, thanks for that advice Update picts: So, that's @ 1 month & 1 week. So, to my 1st question... The back is not locking nearly as nice as the sides. I noticed those are the ones w/ braided roots, and i thought that was the issue. But also, I noticed that when we locked those ones, my lovely Mrs. was taking rectangular strips that were wide and short, instead of square even ones. could this, mixed w/ the braids be a longterm hinderence? Meaning... is that something i should redo now before it's too late? or will they grow through that? And then question 2.... I have thin, completely straight, quick-to-oily, hair. I've been washing it once a week w/ the dreadhead stuff i had originally ordered. Don't worry, i'll be replacing it w/ Bonner's as soon as i'm not broke... whenever that is. But for the question, Does it help the process along to wash it more often (2-3 times a week) or once a week? And while we're at it, if you're active and sweaty, is it better to wash it after a workout, or does it dread better if you let it go? Thanks all. It's great reading everyone's stories and questions, it's been a huge help! Much love, Peace, Gods! --Michael
i think if it's sweaty its kinda lubed up so won't knot up as well. washing more often helps it lock very much, do it as often as you can (every 2-3 days) i dont know know about the rubber bands and stuff, i just know that some areas knot up differently and at different rates than others, when i was at a month my back ones underneath were doing nothing whilest my tops and sides were doing fine, but then at about maybe 2.5 months or so the underneath ones just seemed to lock up over night. don't worry, just relax and be patient and let nature take it's dread-course by the way they look great!
A few of mine on the back have the long and wide root bit as opposed to nicely square,, i dont think many people notice but i really do. what ive done on some of them is just get some scissors and attempt to cut straight down the middle to separate them, thus giving a smaller root section, but beware.. it HAS messed up and gone wrong a couple of times =] (dunno what the other forum members will have to say about this tho!) Also, my old set of dreads were braided at the root and i didnt find it to be a problem at all, so i wouldnt worry about that =] ive always understood that washing at least once a week helps to tighten the locks, mine always have.. they go really fluffly and loose, but as i get rid of the water and palm roll them when theyre damp, they tighten up alot (but again,, i have a shitload of wax in mine =/)
Most of mine look more like lines rather than squares, but I have let my hair decide how it wanted to separate.
The back will be loose for a while and become thigher very fast at one point maybe 3 months mark or so thats what happened for me but I did them naturally, but its prolly the same for backcombed they'll become tight in 1 or 2 months
Looking great so far...those are going to turn out really nice. I'm getting my hair backcombed this week and want a lot of dreads like you have....most people on here like less dreads, but thicker ones, so cool to see someone going for the same thing. What size did you do the sections? They look about .5 X .5 or so...Also, is there any special way that you stagger the sections or shape them?
i wanted lots of lil dreads but i think my mate was gettin fed up.. some of them are reallllyyy thin and others are quite chunky, but its a nice variation =]
sections shoildnr be perfectly sqyare..lol if theyre long and flat let em be long and flat i would absolutely not cut up the center think of what the hairs in dreads are doing.. ceiscrossing spiraling randomly if u cut down the center of a dread u efectively cut each and every hair many times so not 1 hair at the tip is still connectedto the hair at the root.. they may hold together being all bound up but imagine how much weaker they must be if u go natural your hair secyions totaly at randiom.. some bifg some small some very ofdd shaped then if u congo 2 or more become 1 the sections going even firther away from perfect lil squares this is not a problem..ever it gives dreads theyre unique shape the sectiuons can even change shape at the roots over time as some hairs join..others get roppef and lost to rejoin a different dread or create a new 1 just dont worry bout it they look great theyre doing fine the braidiness at the roots will taker care of itself as it grows like someone said wait tio 3 months, everything u see as a problem now will be something u love about them then
yeah the back of my head i didnt backcomb cause i got tired of it, i was gonna wait a while to do it, but i kept putting it off and after a week and a half or so they sectioned out themselves, and very wonderfully, i was very happy.
yeaaa i like the back of your head alot its fun too look at the front is too but the backs just so fun and no i haven't been sneaking arond behind u staring
WOW! so many responses! Not sure how to respond to them all! Well, I'm glad they're on the right track. Thanks for all the support. I won't cut anything then, and let them go. Some of the strands, from too far away, I slid out (w/ no force) and let them be free to do their thing. So, we'll see how those go! I guess I'll start washing them more and hopefully that will de-lube them enough and help keep'm together. I really like the variety of sizes since we didn't measure them out persay, so the fat ones are a fun find when I'm playing w/ them. As for base size, I'd say some are .5, and others are even smaller. I was shocked that some of them held together as well as they did! At this point, I've only really lost one to falling apart completely, and I can't find it's remains! So, I guess it merged w/ the neighbors. Catch ya'all soon, hope everything is well, all around. Peace, Gods! --Michael
They are some .25 x 1.25, others are .5 x .5 and some of the edges are even just .25 x .25. I think I have 3 "fatties" in there somewhere, but it's fun to find them over and over again when i'm playing w/ them. haha. Those tend to be the ones we backcombed some of my dog's hair into! Um, the top was kinda like lines, and we did it as you would cut layers into hair. The back was where we started, so it's a TON of wide but thin strips ontop of eachother, and staggered between one another so you can see them all. ((They're poofed in the picture at the root....))
Thanks for info, I'm getting my hair backcombed tomorrow by a woman that has done it for me in the past. I can't wait to try the thinner locks (last time we did 1x1 squares). They can always get bigger I figure, plus I like the movement of having a lot of them. You backcombed some of your dog's hair into some sections? Man, what have you been smoking that labrador weed?
