Hey all, I just discovered this amazing dreading community recently and had a renewed interest in dreading my own hair because of it. I havent had a haircut since July 07' when I shaved my head and up until today I never even owned a comb, let alone actually combed my hair. So what I'm wondering is why my hair hasn't naturally dreaded yet, I have pretty thick, curly hair so it would seem likely that it would of happened by now. I am trying to find some of the bronner's stuff to use so I can wash my hair, Ive been using plain bar soap because I hate the residue left from shampoo, makes my hair greasy after just a day without washing unlike the bar soap. Is there some kind of trick you gotta do when washing your hair before it dreads? like everytime i step out of the shower I feel like the hair is less tangled because I washed it, rubbing the soap into my hair with my fingers seems like it works as a comb essentially untangling it So does anyone have any tips? I went out trying to find a metal fine toothed comb without any luck. I had to settle for a shitty plastic one whose teeth all broke out when i attempted back combing a clump of hair that looked like a potential dread candidate.
never run your fingers through your hair. when you wash use your palm to do any hair scrubbing. personally i don't actually scrub my hair at all, i just was the scalp gently and lather and rinse my hair.
When you get out the shower (post hair-wash), rub your head with a towel in like a circular motion. That's how I started matting up my hair when I first started. Its works great, just make sure the towel is not going to drop loads of fibres. Also, apparently wearing a big wool hat helps it start to mat up. but definitely only start this process once you've found a residue free shampoo, else it might get icky happy matting!
In the last 5 months I've been trying to get dreads like you, but my hair never knoted up enough. I had about 6 inches of hair and tried with the backcomb method and it didnt worked, all the knots fell out after. I washed with baking soda, not much happened, dr. bronner, didnt worked, left horible residue in my hair almost like glue (it works for some, and doesnt for other) but its a good soap. I buzzed my head yesterday, nothing worked and I tried a lot of different thing during 5 months. I'll grow my hair back a bit now but I don't think I'll try dreadlocks in the next year.
it didn't lock up immediately so you buzzed your head? yeah I will guarantee you won't have locks in the next year. Why buzz your hair to being with?
As stated before, rub your scalp in the shower with your palm...dont run your fingers thru your hair. When you get out of the shower rub your hair with a towel, after awhile of doing this youll start to get knots, you can twist the knotted hair into little sections and let it go. Salt water works great too...it dries your hair out and helps it knot up. The fact that you have curly hair means it'll def dread up fast if you do all of this. And damn your hair must be super curly or dread ready if it broke a plastic comb!!! =]
if u do wanna backcomb just use one of them bendy plastic combs, its shouldnt break. metal combs are for pets just kiddn
Thanks for the advice guys, some of the knots i managed to get when i tried backcombing earlier look like they have a chance at working out. I just moistened them a little with pretzel salt water (dont have seawater sitting around) and tried tightening the ends of them using the comb. Once the battery on my camera finishes charging I'll post a pic of the 3 semi dreads i kind of worked out to see if they are acceptable. Once you get them knotted how does one go about securing them? I'm afraid to take a shower haha
Time secures them, that's all really. Some people use beads but they're not ideal for aiding the locking process. Some people use elastic bands but that looks really stupid and damages your hair.
some bars of soap have more conditioner in them than shampoos... maybe thats the problem... just a thought
I waited 4 months doing anything, maybe just 3 knots in total. Backcombed after and it fell out a couple days after and never knoted more than that. Maybe I used the wrong soap but baking soda seems to work for everyone.
4 months doesnt work for every1 baking soda cleands grealt but makes it pretty soft too most likelty your water not the soaop was the issue u couldatried adding the boeax to bronners lkike some1 suggested
my hair is actually fairly long for the time its been growing I've been told by a few people it grows rather fast, I'd say its around 8 inches maybe more but i cant really tell. I showered with baking soda which actually left me feeling quite clean, that shit is amazing the 3 dreads i formed the other day are still holding and kinda look like a water buffalo dingle berry . I cant really tell if they are looser or have gotten any tighter at all but I am feeling more optimistic now, I dont know if im just getting hopeful but it looks like tangling may be taking affect in some other areas, Ive also been sleeping with a wool knit hat on though its pretty loose fit so im not sure how well its been helping. another question, is there any tricks to preventing the hair from dreading with a part straight down the middle?
if the hair isn't dreaded in the areas near the part, dont allow the part to remain in your hair, but parts are stubborn so good luck
