Hey guys, i have a couple of questions and also just wanted to talk about my experience. I've had dreadies 2 times, heres my first experience. going back about 4-5 years ago I went to a random hairdresser and asked for dreadies. They performed backcombing on my hair and then put some solution in it to make it stay like that, or something. They sold me some expensive wax that contained petroleum. They told me to wash my hair once a month. I was pretty happy with them then about 2 months later they turned to crap and i went to have them redone, but at another hairdresser. I asked them if they have had experience before and they said yes. The lady decides to completely comb out my dreads into a frizzy pile of mess, and then redo the back combing. Can you believe how they "fixed them"?! I think at the time i thought it was strange and asked why she was doing it, but i didnt really know much about dreads either. She said it was the only way to be able to get the roots...... I did this every few months and within a year or two just got so sick of them and having dirty itchy hair that i cut them off. Later on I started reading about dreadies and realised how many things were done wrong, so i decided to get them again. I've had them for about 8-9months now i think. This time I went to a black hairdresser who does specialise in this kind of stuff. She again did the backcombing and did put some sort of solution on it. She recommended I use a beeswax, which I was using for most of the time, but I didn't think it was doing that much. I bought some stuff from knotty boy, i got a wax which was a lot stronger andseemed to clean up the frizzys, but i didnt like the feeling in my hair. I also got this other gel product which was made with aloa vera, and its actually not too bad, just a rip off. I havent been using wax for probably 2 months or so now and I just use a bit of that gel after I shower. I wash my hair once a week and I try to use some sort of dreadie soap that doesnt leave shit in my hair. Every 3months or so I go back and get my roots done, and she actually gets some black string and sews through my dreads, anyone ever had this done before? She also does some back combing. I'm not sure what your opinions are on having them done like this, but I cant really grow them naturally. I work fulltime so the cleaner the better heh. There are days when i look at my dreads and I think they are nice but then there are days where i think they look crappy. I'l try and post some pictures in the next week or so but yeah I just wanted some tips if you had any. Most of my dreads are pretty tight and hard now but I just have lots of frizzys most of the time, yet I see people out on the street that have really tight/clean looking dreads with no frizzys at all, HOW DO THEY DO THIS? Is crotcheting the way to fix them, is this a good idea? I've got very think afro-ish hair, but im white. Not as thick as negro hair though hehe. Sorry for the long chatbomb, thanks for your time, and tips will be appreciated
People without any frizzy's most likely do intensive crocheting. You really don't need to get your roots "redone" as they will take care of themselves after they grow out a bit. Sounds like you've got a lot figured out and I'm sorry about your bad experiences but I wouldn't advise going to the salon anymore to get your locks done. Crocheting would be your best bet for making them look presentable but, I can't really say more without actually seeing your hair. If you could upload pics, that would be mighty helpful to us.
I think your hair may do this naturally if you give it the chance. I think having your roots redone might be conter-productive, but im not sure what u mean by this. But id try skipping a few trips to the sallon, let em go for like six months, your hair might surprise you, and I think u should keep up the wax free regimine, also pictures help
yikes another salon dreead scam saklon dreads are purposly crappy to keep u comming back for more over and over figure out how much u spewnt total an your dreads between all the visits and all the products..over 1000? and still not satisfied? if u went natural youd be 100% satisfied all the way if u simply backcombed yourself youd have days of disapointment but overall satisfaction anything is better then a salon..even smearring shit in your dreads would have been a better way to go (diont do it but, it wouldnt have been as bad) now noone except african hair types have zero frizz, its just u only see friz up close noone else notices it atr least when theyre mature now your dreads with all the crap in em will take far far longer to mature how far are ui in this time? if not too fsar, comb em out again get allllll the crap out then either go naturtal (yours would dread very fast if u just twist then leqave em be) or backcomb then do nothing now ikf your months in..several then do aghressive wax removal stop usuing all crap i highly suggest u do not crochete instead ignore the frizz your the only 1 that sees it dont use aloe after every wash use only as nereded when super dry or when u absolutkly must look your best use only pure alowe make sure theres no other ingredients at all you were steered wrong and ripped off over and over your hair would be so perfect for nice neat tight natural dreads..but ya were screwed..well thats in the past now u have to choose between opossibly months of agressive wax removal or hours of combing out and startijg over..it would be best too, but u can live with some waxy ness and possibly not have serius issues at least not fior awhile either way when the hairs clewan free of residues (u bought soap that wiukdnt leave crap in there then loaded it up with craop that soap alone cant remove..) then it will dread quite nicely when u say they are hard..how hard hardness may nmean extreme wax buildup they should be firm but be able to squeexze at least 1/2 way in the diamiter easily hardness means theres a problem hair is not hard..wax is once clean they should take care of themselves btw dreads should be free
Before you go do anything drastic like comb them out, post some pictures. I'm sure they aren't that bad. SE, Idk if you read the entire post, but the dude says he wants them to look really neat. Granted you went natural and you are a huge supporter of that, but the poor guy clearly stated he didn't want to take that route. There are things you can do to keep them looking neat. Uggh I'm really sorry everyone but I just feel like :beatdeadhorse5:
hbes also grossly misinfornmed about dreads entirely, and has the perfect hair to just twist and neglect which is natural but results in very neat dreads..simply becvause of his hair type thats how they grow (unless u let them congo) im just giving him proper information and allowing hom to make his choices natural does not mean its not neat..thats a myth a lie used to sell the very crap thats messed his up so bad and..id only suggest combing out if its really really really bad..descroiption sounds it pics may say ottherwise.. but no matter what,,hes gotta start getting all that crap out 1 way or another..
mate they arent filled with wax. I have no wax in them now, and when i say hard, i dont really mean hard as in full of wax, i mean they are quite heavily matted as opposed to tangled hair. Whenever I used wax it was only light amounts, i am quite sure i dont have a huge buildup in them or anything like that. Like i said, im around 9 months in now. Why do you say avoid crocheting? I was watching a video on youtube and i saw how to use a crochet tool to make nice rounded tips, something I've wanted for ages. I really dont think Im the only one to notice my frizz, maybe people dont notice the frizz as such but i think they can see they arent super tight and great. Ill post some pics this weekend though guys. If you can tell me why to avoid crocheting thuogh thatd be interesting to hear. cheers.
Sounds to me like crocheting is exactly what your looking for. I know lots of people who crochet to get rid of frizz and to round off their ends. Works great with absolutely no damage. If you choose the no maintenance route, you will have frizz. I haven't maintained my locks in years and I have tons of frizz. I personally like my frizz halo but those that don't want that generally crochet or use a large sewing needle (yarn needle) to pull loose hairs into the lock. Hope this helps and goodluck.
I backcombed, and I did not have a single day of disapointment; just total and complete satisfaction.
to the op: thats some story!! crocheting will tidy up loose hairs, but i have no experience of it.. the gel stuff, is that the tightening gel that looks & feels like snot? it always gave me dandruff (or it dried and looked like dandruff) i personally dont use ANY products on my locks, granted theyre only 3 weeks old! err. yeah, i think maybe you should relax and let your hair be for a couple of months, you might like the way the roots sort themselves out or whatever. can you not wear some sort of headwear for work to hide them a bit? and everyone has bad dready days, but its all good!
I would skip the salons..you can do whatever they are doing yourself and for free!!!!! I backcombed and waxed the first few months....and I love mine....and its bullshit about having plain boring locks. I have plenty of lumpies and curlies and no two look the same. There is where the lies and myths come in. Having neat locks dont mean they are boring
also dont go combing out your hair after 9 months in, that is just stupid. dont let folks with the "you are gonna have wax in your hair forever" and the "you will have to cut all your hair off in 2 years" shit scare you...its bullshit!!!!! Its called shampoo and hot water...wow what an invention!!!
My dreads are 9 months old too. I started them with backcombing and used beeswax only the first month, because it's gross. So I'm kind of in the same situation as you. Mine are frizzy too, because I'm too lazy to crochet a lot. But you often see more faults on yourself than other people do and with this it's just the same, so frizzies really aren't worth any worries. Also, maybe it's better to stop going to the salon, because it feels so good to have your locks grow naturally
crochetting is poking a needle through a mass of hair. on the way through its bound to break haiers.. i love how ppl can claim it doews no dammage.. the needle goes through the dread..thats dammage..duh dreads dont need holes through them like every1 said u see your frizz...noone else notices relax dont fuck em up more
Have you crocheted your dreads? Do you have personal experience with the method? Because I have heard otherwise from numerous people who have crocheted their locks, and I think that they would know what they are talking about, based on their experiences.
and i thought i explained crocheting so well so that any retarded four year old could understand. the hook is designed to part hairs. no holes are made. to actually break the hundreds of hairs in the way of the hook would be physically impossible without like putting the dread on a chopping block and pounding a metal rod into it with a hammer. and it would have to be a flat ended one, a crochet hook shaped rod would only part the hairs. if you arnt careful, you can break a hair or two when you pull the hook back through. but either be more careful or just dont fucking worry about a couple of broken hairs. its a lot less hair than you break when you rip locks apart. and those hairs are near the roots, certainly that should be more damaging? nice to hear youve changed your tune, se *extreme sarcasm*
thanks for the replys, i wasnt too sure how to upload pics on here so ive uploaded them to photobucket. http://i421.photobucket.com/albums/pp300/imas_bucket/photo.jpg http://i421.photobucket.com/albums/pp300/imas_bucket/photo2.jpg http://i421.photobucket.com/albums/pp300/imas_bucket/photo3.jpg http://i421.photobucket.com/albums/pp300/imas_bucket/photo4.jpg http://i421.photobucket.com/albums/pp300/imas_bucket/photo5.jpg pictures never really show the full effect, but i hope u can kind of see my problems here. I'm also looking not too great in these photos so plz ignore that
I dont know if it's just me, but they look pretty damn neat. Even with crocheting you will still have at least some frizzies. But if you wanted to have a go at it, it works really well to get those blunted tips your after. And from PERSONAL experience crocheting will not damage your deads as much as some people would want you to believe. So have a go, but dont expect perfection.
