ello ello Chaps

Hello everybody on here, I really love all your dreads! good to meet you all

Sorry to start a thread that i'm sure has been started a million times before, but i felt i wasn't getting what i needed to know, I've been interested in dreads for quite a while now(I even had the strangest dreams about them last night)

whenever i get free time from my busy Schedule i'm usually on these forums looking at all the sexy dreads

Now i'm confused about what i need to do to kick off my own set, i want them natural? but im unsure as how to go about it, im a bit scared of the idea of waxing, Do i backcomb? Do i use some shampoo and Let them go at it themselves? How do i start? WHAT DO I DO?!

heh.. cheers guys

 

what about us Chappettes? Pfft. =D

to start off natural dreadies.. lots of people will say, throw away yer comb/brush, wash with residue free shampoo, rip them at the roots when they start to congo

i personally didnt go natural, i started by backcombing.. my progress thread is somewhere (im about to put more pics in it, so have a ganders)

lots of people will say use Dr Bronners liquid 'poo, again i dont use it, so i dunno..

but welcome!

 

how could i forget about the chappettes?! Lucky for me i don't own a comb! What kind of difference would i be expecting from natural to backcombed?

Thanks for the welcome
you're quick you are

 

im quick cause im ill n ive got nothing better to do but loiter round here

backcombing just gives the appearance of dreads - it enables you to get the size you want, the sections neat (if thats what you want), and it (in my opinion) gives your locks a start in life

natural - as i said, ive never tried so i cant speak from experience, but from what seen around the forums, it takes a lot longer, the hair sections itself, and again, my opinion, it looks a right mess =D (but then atm my backcombs look a complete mess, so i cant say much there..)

 

You do whatever you feel comfortable with, but basically your options are

1)Backcomb or twist+rip
2)natural= no backcombing/twist+rip, just separating the hair to stop a unidread (one mass of hair)
3)all out neglect= forget you actually have hair

Whichever one you choose you just need to make sure you have plenty of patience, that's the first important thing. Other than that wash your hair with a residue free shampoo or baking soda/bicarb. Try to keep it down to about a week. If you're just starting out then gradually bring yourself washing off so regularly, that way your scalp can adjust without your scalp getting minging and your hair getting greasy.

As far as the differences go yes dreads do look different as far as whether you go natural or backcomb. Like smelly said check out her threads as she recently backcombed.

Luxy did twist+rip so it's worth checking out her progress threads. You could also check out Glasius's progress pics as he's gone natural. This should give you an idea about the difference in the methods. Although to be honest whichever method you choose I'm not sure there's much of a difference in the actual timescale of completely mature dreads.

As far as wax goes I personally wouldn't advise it although there have been a few people that have used it with success, they are far and few between. It is I think extremely easy to overdoo it, especially when one is new to dreadlocks, also it's not necessary really.

You can also check out my threads in my profile about my dreads under statistics, there are also pics there as well.

Luxy, Glacius, and Smelly hope you don't mind I directed them to your dreads!

It also depends on the length and type of your hair, if it's very short then there's not much point in backcombing anyway, so you could just try leaving it and see what happens. On the other hand if it's pin straight then it might be more favourable to backcomb or twist+rip.

The important point though is to do what you want to do, and not to feel pressured in anyway to go a certain route. Just carry on having a good read of all the relevent threads, and good luck

 

s'all good homie joe, i think youre becoming the new dready guru =]

 

I hope not, I don't want SE comming after me!

 

Cheers for the info!!

When you're saying washing, Do you mean with shampoo? or with water? or both? I honestly only really shampoo my hair every month as it is anyway, but i wet it in the shower as ya do every morning

My hair is wavy..ish

Latest photo i have ha.. excuse the magical expression.. i'm the guy by the way, my hair is tucked behind me ears

Is that hair curly enough to dread on its own well? I've always had fears because my hair is rather thin

 

washing.. i use bicarb, sea salt & tea tree oil, make it into a solution and dump it on my head. i rub the scalp a bit to loosen any headcheese, and then i rinse really well with water

when i had my last lot of dreads, i used the knottyboy shampoo bar, i got it wet, rubbed it along the gaps between dreads (ie, on the scalp) and it lathered, id massage my head (just cause it felt good) and id rinse really well. that stuff worked wonders =]

the point with washing, especially baby dreads, is to make sure your scalp is clean & healthy. the soapy water will run thru yer dreads, thus cleaning them. baby dreadies are delicate little things (hah) so i dont mess mine around too much when im washing them

 

If your hair feels greasy in anyway then that's not good for dreads or growing them, but if it's not within that month then monthly is fine, there are plenty of people with dreads that wash far less. The main point is that it's clean. As far as shampoo goes, just make sure whatever you're using is not conditioning in anyway. I too like smelly use almost always bicarb/baking soda with tea tree oil and occasionally sea salt mixed in. I do ocasionally use Dr bronner's, don't know if that's available where you are. If you want to go natural then that's fine. Just keep your hair clean, go swimming in the sea if you're near to it, if not use sea salt sprays, and wear a wool hat, that helps. Other than that, don't fiddle with your hair too much, and try to forget you're growing dreads the time'll go quicker that way.....

 

hmm. im a fiddler, i should stop.

atm i wash once a week,, but my dreads are only a week & a day old..

 

That was actually an awesome post! I love how you gave advice on ALL methods

 

Hehe Callie good point xD

heyHEY child in time ^^

My hair was uber short (was getting in my eyes and couldn't tuck it behind my ears) and I backcombed/ripntwist, 9 months later they are lookin's sexy xD

Personally I wouldn't have the patience to go natural, if I did go down that route I'd still be sitting here like where TF are my dreads mann!!

Like smelly said, backcombing/ripntwist gives the appearence really early on and they just keep gettin' better from there!! Well.. with a few problems along the way but that is expected xD

With wax, I used it when I made my dreads, but because I didn't like the stickiness I stopped using it. And I couldn't be arsed to wax eeveeryy siinggllee drreeaadd xD I'm very impatient xD

From your pic you hair looks pretty awesome to dread My hair was thin when I started, and even thinner at the back, but I still have 50ish strong locks The ones at the bnack are thinner and smaller but I'm working on combining them to stronger ones ^^

So yea I guess start with what you think is best for you If you have the patience go natural, if not go backcoming I think you said you wanted to go natural? I'd suggest starting the little fellas off with a little backcoming/ripntwist then just go natural from there ^^ Don't touch your hair untill you need to de-congo them ^^

Well that was a long post 0.o I hope I've made a little sense xD

Good luck and welcome to teh crew ;D

 

your hairs great for natural
and since u asked bout natural and thats the only way i ever dreaded ill give ya my opinion
natural gives u a more ..well natural..organic look
no 2 dreadsalike
all different sizes shapes and techtures
i would wash your hair lil more often to prevent oiliness
and wear a wool tam alot
swim in the ocean or use a sea salt spray
and avoid running your fingers through it


more later in a rush to go out
see my albums for my natural dreads

 

Welcome!

 

ok
srry back
on nsecond look it doesnt look as oily as i thought
but washing it lil more then monthly is probly a good idea
it knots most after washing

if u wanns quicken the natural process just add some beads
(take a bead, put a loop of threwad thru it, use the loop to catch a section by the end (wet the ends to make it easier..(u can just twirl it in your mouth to get it lil wet n stuck together) then put the end thru the lloop, use the loop to pull it thru.. then pull the bead upwards till it sticks
if it pushes up loops thbats good..it'll really start thinfs but if it pushgews up alot it'll maybe make it a thicker lump above the bead


u can get between ..say as few as 20ish or as many as 60ish (fewer=thicker more = thinner odviosly) beads
\u can get varios sizes
natural dreads tend to be more random sizes for a more organic look
while backcombed tend to be more uniform sizes

heres an example of mine formed naturaly


notice that none are the same sizes, all are unique
the 1st 6 in the back were started with beads the rest just played with lil and let it happen

from what you say it seems like youd probly be dready alreasdy unless u brush your hair back with your hands or run yoyr fingers thru it

i really think washin lil more often with non residue soap or the baking soda (it does male your hair very soft so bronners or something might be better)
and beads wiool hat and maybe some sea salt should do trick
6 weeks in a wool hat with beads so u cant unknot it should do u good
wash as often as u feel u should when u get itchy or feel funky
sinde u dont alot trty to double it to every other week or weekly
its ok to let it get lil dirty b4 u wash it byt wahings good
if your gentlye and mostly scrub the scalp and not run fingers thru it at all
just rince it thru.. u dont gotta really wash the hair just the scalp// the soap will work as it rinced thru

wear the hat as much as possible the 1st buncha weeks till theyre starting to form
when u wake up, take tge hat off and go thru em makin suretheyre not growing together (break any connected hairs)
donbt put the hat on till your hairs good n dry tho

if your gonna wet your hair daily, spray with sea salt ..maybe 1/2 hour b4 u do (avouid the scalp tho, some are iritated by it)
then rinde4 it out, give it a good shake
if u use beads,

after u wash or wet em, u maty wanna check none loosebned and push em up till they wont move again
beads are most usefull low as u can get em to stick
but if it sticks in the middle thats ok
if theres 3 inches or less below the bead that 3 inches may or may not dread alot, but everything above will fine
naturaly the bottom 2 inches may or may not lock up on its own leaving whispy ends in some hair types

if the bead wont stick in place till closer to the roots thats ok, it will dread below it at least to the last few inches
but the lower u can get it to stick, the more hair will be dreaded earlier


if u do have oiliness.. look in the herbs for your head thread

i think thats it, that should be all ya need
but if u need more help always glad to help

 

smelly
did u quote me in your sig?
awww hugs

 

i did indeed. i was skim-reading one of your posts earlier, and it just caught my eye (i never fully read your posts..) and it was just one of those things that really stood out and i thought 'thats a keeper'.. so i kept it.

 

hahaha so your one of those ones that read 1 word out of every 10 then say wait, that makes no sence huh

 

lol