Hello all. I am in need of some major help and/or advice. I just recently cut my hair and shaved it bald because of what happened. I decided to use the "neglect" method for dreadlocks after backcombing my 12 inch hair into backcombed dreadlocks. The backcombing completely fell out after a week and my hair looked as if I had just combed it. I had switched to bronners peppermint soap and my brushes/combs retired. I went for 2 and a half years without combing, washing my hair 2 to 3 times a week with bronners and no conditioning. I had it up in a tam sometimes and sometimes not. By the end of the 2 and a half years my hair was 14 inches long and I had 0 dreadlocks. There was hard locks of hair but they had so much loose hair sticking out that it just looked like normal hair. There were still sections of the hair that looked freshly combed after 2 and a half years. Basically my hair had looked like a nest. I want dreads and I am starting allover again but what I had done in the past just wont work in my hair. Is there anything else I can do to eventually have dreadlocks. I have seen several "dread journeys" of people who had full and nice looking dreadlocks in 6 months. My hair never looked anything close.
^word Ok, so first of all everyone has different hair and different lifestyles. Maybe if you described what your hair is like, other than unlocked, it might shed some light. For myself, the back of my head started to knot right up on its own as soon as I stopped combing, I thought it would be a good idea to try backcombing the front to get the locking started up there. All I ended up with was a broken comb (I used a metal one, but it was pretty weak) and knots that fell out after a couple of days. What got the front of my head to lock was time no doubt, and rubbing clockwise circles in my hair using my palm. Others have used wool and/or fleece for a similar if not better result. It sounds like you have patience, which is good, but after two and a half years of no combing... you should have some dreads so it's probably something that you are doing as opposed to what your hair isn't doing. (running your fingers through your hair will fuck up any forming knots... I had trouble remembering this for a few weeks) By the way, my locks are 11 months old since being liberated and they are only just now fitting the mold of what I thought they might look like when I started, but along the way I learned to not care so much about how they looked at any specific time, but it's an irrelevant thing to think about anyways because the way I treat my hair is a vehicle, not a destination. For you it may be different, maybe you need to put more work into it, who knows? Not me. Good luck, peace!
I have like 1 inch hair now, I cut it all off. My hair is extremely thick with a little bit of natural wave. It's really silky even without conditioner. I had backcombed with a metal comb with really close prongs. The back of my head was about the only thing that had slight knots in it after 2 and a half years. I did lots of rubbing the first year but kept my hands out of it from there on out except when washing it, i did scrub my scalp real good those 2 to 3 times a week. I didn't cut my hair because of the looks, I don't care how I look or what people think of me, I cut it because I needed to get a job.
I very extremely half-assedly backcombed my head, about from the ears forward. The rest, I just let be. So for two months going purely on neglect, the back looks just like the bits that I backcombed, except better even. That is what perplexes me about your situation, I seemed you were doing everything right, and had the right mindset and patience for it...but no progress?
Get someone to backcomb them again, tighter Or pay a salon to do em for you, itl cost you but theyl be started and less likely to fall apart atleast
Yeah you could try backcombing, or twist n rip.. or the wool method..Read around, maybe you'll find something that works for you. Seems like you'll have a bit of time before you will have enough hair to start them again anyway..
Yeh - what Chaos said. Oh and sorry btw, that must have really sucked to wait it out 2 years and have nada.
