If I started with the crochet method......could I then give it up?

Just thought I'd make a quick new thread because I couldn't find an answer to this....

I started my dreads with the crochet method and have been maintaining them a fair bit at first. Now I've stopped the palm rolling/crochet but am continuing a bit of root rubbing when washing and occasionally to encourage the roots to lock up.

However, I'm getting more loose hairs coming out (obviously), which is where the crochet hook would come back in. I understand that the crochet method locks dreads differently because the hairs are locked tighter artificially, requiring more maintenance.

However, what if I was to stop maintaining with this method? Would it be a bad idea? I'm curious as to whether I could just leave the new growth to do its thing or whether light crochet maintenance is the best thing for what I've already got going. I can't imagine that the hair is just going to 'reorganize' itself into natural locks on its own, more likely that loads of hair is just going to fall out. I just don't want to do it too much because its going to be a never ending maintenance battle and I occasionally see little bits of hair coming out when doing it.

 

I started my dreads through backcombing and crocheting.. I haven't really crocheted since then, and I think it is the best decision. I feel like crocheting might be *too* good, and some of the fat parts of my dreads are really solid and maybe less inclined to suck up stray hairs. I would say the sooner you quit crocheting the better. after about 3 months after crocheting (when I started) I've been getting all kinds of bumps and normal happenings of regular dreads.

I do believe crocheting affected my hair differently than just backcombing or natural. this is probably because during the initial crocheting, it hurt a LOT.. probably pulled quite a few of my hairs out of my scalp, but they are stuck in the dread still.

as far as dealing with not maintaining them.. i think its a good thing.. its fuckin tiring getting strays back in your dreads, and not worth it. If you are going to have a good set of dreads you will have to learn to deal with a messy head.. that's that

 

Oh snap

Just chill out maann. Dread's aren't about being neat, or perfectly maintained. Having dreads certainly isn't about looking good (that sounds wrong but I hope you see what I mean xD). Stop maintaining them. They will do that they want. Loose hairs? Admire them. Learn to love them. Chuck away your crochet hook and your coomb. Ignore your dreads. You don't help your dreads. They help you.

You've probably got some knotting going on in there somewhere, which is a decent start. If you let them go on their own from now, they will flourish in a few months

 

hehe hope i didn't sound too snappy

 

Ahoy … Man, seriously, you want to put that crochet hook down as fast as possible.


I learnt this the hard way. I started off by using a big eyed needle and needle threader to put the loose hair into the knots at the tips of the locks … then I got clever and did the same with the odd loose hairs lying between the locks … but … then I got really clever and thought, ahh, let me use a crochet hook, I’ll be lazy, it'll go so much quicker.

Fortunately I didn’t go wild with the thing and just tried it out first with a few loose hairs here and there … washed the locks and inspected. Of course it seemed way to easy … what I noticed was that where I used the crochet hook, some hair had actually come out of those locks … then I looked closer … and yup, the hair that had fallen out wasn’t short hair / new growth, it was the base and up part of hair that had got broken off by the crochet hook. So I bought a graphite hook, as it is way lighter and smoother than the steel one I was using and tried that … washed the locks and inspected.

Cool, the same problem didn’t seem to occur … so I thought hey, let me try a few more while I was watching TV and for some reason it happened as the program went into an ad break and there was that split second of silence … ‘snap’, I could hear hair breaking in the lock, it may have been a single hair or two or three, but the point is that when I pulled the hair that I was working into the lock out to have a look, it wasn’t broken … what broke was the hair that was already in the lock … wow.

So I did the math and started thinking about how much hair in all my locks I would end up breaking if I continued with the crochet hook day after day … wow … so anyway, I went back to the needle and needle threader … the hard way. If hair is short and difficult to thread through the needle, I put the needle into the lock first, then inserted the needle threader and then put the hair in the needle threader etc. If any hair is to short for even that, well then I wait until they are long enough.

Check this out, it’s something form a previous post:

This Sister has had her locks for 3 years (at the time of the video). Her locks were crochet'd and all maintenance is done with a crochet hook. Check out this vid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7sRs...eature=related

Her locks look really neat … like something out of a cartoon

OK, now check this out, the same Sister’s locks before the real maintenance mission:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZmUWtZwmZY

Check how her 3 year locks are no where near being mature … this is the problem of the ongoing crochet hook approach, it’s a never ending drama of ongoing maintenance sessions.

So that ‘s that basically … one can either have perfectly ‘looking’ locks that are fragile through being weakened by over-maintenance … or one can have perfectly ‘strong’ locks that don’t look like they have been airbrushed for a vogue magazine.

This is the single most important decision that any person growing locks has to make, because it will impact how one’s locks will turn out in the future.

 

Ahoy ... could you post some pics please

 

http://www.hipforums.com/newforums/showthread.php?t=379223&f=209

 

Ahoy ... duhh, duhh, sorry, I never actually looked at who started the thread ... yeah, stupid, I know, I know.

 

yeah you can I did the same thing as pandy started crochet then stopped and now my dreads look more dreadlike have bumps and loops and such, alas I do think that I would have started crochet and stopped if I could go back

 

Ah thanks guys! I think I'm going to go without the hook for a while and see how it goes. Could I see your dreads pandy? Would be nice to see how yours turned out

Yeah Don I've heard all sorts of 'snapping' while doing it, and seeing little bits of broken hair fall out. Quite scary... you wonder what long term damage it does. But the guy who did mine has been doing it for 13 years and his locks are super tight, neat and strong. I think it must be his technique, he's absolutely amazing at it...

 

Ahoy Bro ... there is also a super thin crochet hook that floats around in the world in small amounts, if you really, really, really would like to crochet every now and then, you should get your hands on it. Here's the thing ... just for the sake of it, take a needle and stick it up the length of one of your locks. You'll notice that already at your stage of progress that you will have to use a bit of force to get the needle through, which shows that the hair is already matting. Now picture what happens when one sticks a crochet needle into a lock, one is not only undoing the matting process in that particular area, but also creating a gaping hole.

The joke is that the loose hair that has just been worked in is now sitting in a hole, not within matted hair … so … umm, if you really want to use a crochet hook from time to time, get your hands on the super thin one … and make sure it’s made of graphite, graphite is smoother and lighter … but it doesn’t mean that one won’t be breaking hair with it, just less maybe … depending on technique of course.

When people get their hair sectioned and then a ‘head start’ to the matting process, it must generally be quite disturbing to see them start looking ‘worse and worse’ in the days that follow … which is most likely where the desire to continually maintain the original ‘neatness standard’ comes in. People that go ‘totally’ neglect on the other hand … no backcombing etc, will instead notice progress over time, so the two perspectives are very different.

I’ve seen / met a few peeps back home with insanely neat locks, who took the 100% neglect approach … once their locks were mature they just fed the loose hair into their locks with a needle … but their locks weren’t’ only neat, they were strong enough to pull a motorcar too … hahaha … and best of all, their locks looked unique. Neglect is the only way for ones individual hair type to come though in their locks. The other manipulated styles result in people having locks that look alike, which, on some, some cynical level, hahaha, could just as well be a wig; it doesn’t reflect the individual at all …

I’m doing my best not to insult anyone, hope I haven’t, just a perspective. Each to there own and the trick is to find the best approach to the method that ione is taking, the most important aspect being ‘damage to one’s hair’

I have to say that my last load was really neat and strong too, the washing method is also a form of neglect, just a paranoid one so the hair is permanently wrapped in a bubble … hahaha, gotta laugh. This lot on the other hand had more loose hair that had to be worked in, because I got inpatient and started interfering around two months ago ….

But anyway, if you want to keep things ‘neat’ while your locks progress, I would really suggest that you get used to using a needle and needle threader … it takes time, it’s tricky to operate four things with two hands, but won’t damage your hair like a crochet hook will … tam / beanie … tam / beanie … tam / beanie …

 

= fail @ neglect

 

wat

 

yup here are mine:
http://www.hipforums.com/newforums/showthread.php?t=359334&f=209

 

hey Pandy looks good!

Don I've been using a 0.6 mm hook, so its very small indeed. It goes through most dreads without even seemingly touching hair (for the loose ones). The dreads at the front of my face are really solid and hard now, but I fear that may be due to over-crocheting. They're loosening up a bit now though so I'll let them have a break

The guy who did my dreads thinks that gentle maintenance every two months (i.e. pulling in some of the loose hairs very carefully) is the best compromise because it doesn't damage the matting and keeps them tidy. It depends on how good your technique is, the lighter the better, and with practice you can get lightning fast without being heavy handed.

I've never heard of this needle and threader technique, may check it out.

And I wore a beanie last night, but it seemed to make my scalp messier, loads of loose hair in the morning :s I think the beanie may be rubbing too hard on the hair and catching it. I'll try and find a very soft tam, wool is meant to be very good for dreading.

 

Why make dreads tidy? I mean I understand for work purposes etc... But personally I like messy dreads. Gives 'em character ^^

 

Ahoy ... Man, I meant loose hair between the locks ... don't be so difficult

 

Purely out of choice … some choose to, some choose not to.

Ahoy ... Bro, it's really up to you at the end of the day. Apart from damage to the hair, the big thing is that crocheting results in a dependency to continue crocheting. Ideally, one should aim more for compact locks instead of tight … when a lock is tight, particularly from crocheting, it makes it difficult for hair that has fallen out naturally to collect … it’s all about space.

But for sure, it’s really about choice … I mean there is definitely something very particular that you have in mind and want to achieve, so if your friend has a technique that can limit damage to the hair, then I guess it would be best for you to learn how it works.

I think, from your last post, that maybe we are talking about different approaches to using a crochet hook. My experience that I mentioned was putting the hook through the lock, then winding the loose hair around the hook and gently pulling the hook back so that the target hair goes with the hook, then bending the hook so that the target hair slides off the hook. But it looks like you are talking about the kind of fast motion that grabs loose hairs on the up stroke, I haven’t tried that at all … I was way too scared … hahaha …

Definitely check it out, look for a needle with a reasonably sized eye, the best being the ones with the long eye. The needle threader is basically a thin wire frame shaped like a diamond that goes into the needle eye. Cotton, in this case hair, goes in the wire frame, the threader is then pulled back out of the needle eye and threads the cotton / hair through the needle eye … the needle is then ready to go through the lock pulling the hair into the lock.

That sounds wild; maybe those hairs were not properly in the lock or weren’t in the lock at all.

But, I did have a look at your original thread and I did fail to mention ‘wool’ … I’m really sorry, I’ve only ever used woollen tams / beanies, so I’m really not sure what happened when you wore your beanie while you were asleep … yeah, sorry Bro, definitely look for woollen ones

 

Hey, I had mime started by crochet about 14 months ago and had them tightened after 3 months then once again about 4 months ago to tidy them for a wedding, however I think it's a mistake, my dreads are quite tight & dense and some of them are really hard in parts and don't bend well, I prefer the soft, squishy ones that my friends have and I don't mind having my roots messy, just brush them down with my fingers as I'm a teacher and I gotta be somewhat presentable.

So from now on, they are on their own, I'll just make sure they don't congo.

Super PROPS for people who let their hair dread naturally, I've been practically living in the sea for the last 2 months and have some loose hair at the bottom of my scalp and been playing with nit, balling it up and trying to get it to dread naturally all that time and it's still as smooth and tangle free as a baby's bum! LOL!

 

Jackillin, what you're describing is exactly my problem!!! They just become rocks that can't suck up the stray hairs. Ironically, it just results in dreads that are messier. So Don is totally right, everyone listen up!

I think some trips to the sea would be useful for me too. I think I'm going to do very light maintenance every 3 or so months and just maintain the roots. I still believe the hook is a good tool (if its small) but it needs to be used responsibly. If its used well, I think a very good compromise can be reached, but I feel I've learned this knowledge the hard way

No worries about the wool thing Don I'm going looking for a wool tam tomorrow!