A little over a month ago I spontaneously decided to embark down the road towards dreadlocks. I had done it before but for whatever reason I combed them out after only a few days of having them. A bad decision, but I'm glad that I did it actually. Since then, I've done a lot more research and found out that the things that most people seeking dreadlocks are told are generally incorrect. Wax, etc. Anyway, I was just sitting at my computer one day and started to twist individual sections of hair and rip them down to the root over and over (pretty sure it's called twist and rip round these here parts). In about two days of just messing around with this, my whole head was covered with these premature dreads. However, about half of them were really weak and I wasn't satisfied so I backcombed the others and re-backcombed a few of them for a week or so. I was root rubbing and palm rolling and all of that until I just got bored of it and decided to let them be as the aforementioned actions were seemingly pointless. As for my washing schedule, it started at a frequency of about once every two days and has since spread to once every three days (my hair gets greasy way too fast; I wash my hair when it feels dirty) with that overpriced, garbage Dreadhead shampoo. It ran out fairly quickly as my supply was low from the start as I had been using it to shampoo with normally 'cuz I'z broke, nukkas. Anyway, I went to my grocery store to try and find some residue free shampoo but the only thing I came across was some goofy shit called Prell. It claims to have "no unwanted residue" and says that it, "...lifts away daily build up like residue, dirt, oil and perspiration". I said fuck it and bought it. I've washed with it twice since then with no problems and I love the smell but the last washing I subjected my hair to, I used only water because my paranoid self thought that there might be residue in it yet. So I come here asking those of you experienced in such areas if the ingredients of this soap are harmful to the dreadlocking process. I don't care if the ingredients will make my scalp irritated or dry, I just want to know if there is anything in this soap that will directly hinder the locking process. As of right now, they are doing great. I mean, they don't look perrty but I'm one month in. There is tons of matting going on all over the place and they are doing fine. Anyway, the ingredients include: Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Ammonium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamide Dea, Sodium Chloride, Fragrance, Sodium Phosphate, Disodium Phosphate, Ammonium Xylenesulfate, Edta, and some coloring shizz. To me, this just reminds me of how badly I failed high school chemistry and serves as a reminder that majoring in English is a far better alternative than anything science related. The time that I actually admire my dreads the greatest is after getting out of the shower after they've been shampooed. They look, to me, the best then. Also, on an unrelated note, while my hair is matting like a pro, a lot of it is flat. I'm guessing this is why people need to palm roll to make themselves feel better, but I think that it should work itself out. I didn't section my hair, I just sort of grabbed random places and went to town, so a lot of the hair needs some time to figure out where it's supposed to be. I wear a beanie cap most places I go because, while I don't care what other people think, I also do not strive for attention and do not want people telling me that since my dreads aren't matured I need to do this or that or "this is what my friend did". Yeah, your friend probably had them for two weeks and cut them, so fuck off, fuckface. I think, though, that the hat wearing could also be causing them to flatten. I do also, however, think that it has also greatly helped the matting process by forcing some hair together and protecting it from the ridiculous winds we get here. Anyway, thanks in advance. Tl;dr find where I start listing off ingredients and tell me if they are fine. Also, I'm kick ass.
Im sorry I didnt read your post cuz it's really long...I'll probablly read it later...but I just wanted to say that your screen name made me lol.
I think there is a growing trend towards not really giving a fuck what we wash with, as long as it isn't conditioner. Ive just been washing with water for the last 3 months or so. I think previously the 'consensus' (I think SE dictated most of our consensuses) was that SLS (sodium lauryl sulphate) was to be avoided, but meh, your hair isn't going to spontaneously un-knot
Yea I agree with pypes, since you backcombed your hair should continue to knot. But this shampoo might hinder the natural process, even on some parts of yours. The dreadheadhq shampoo also has the SLS ingredients in it, but they say it's alright, who knows. I would recommend getting something else just to be safe, I use dr.bronner's bar soaps and they seem to work well for me. Granted, I am in the process of going natural and am only a month and half in. I have neglected my hair before, and I had 4-5 solid dreads that formed using this soap.
I stay away from those chemicals not because of my hair but because that shit is just bad for your body and water. SLS has said to be a carcinogen. I am sure you can wash with whatever you feel like and people will always say what they think is best but it doesn't mean it is right. I would suggest a natural shampoo preferably organic but not because of your dreads but just because it is better all around.
Thank you for the quick replies, they are appreciated. I like what Pypes said, and I think that I'll probably just use this stuff until it runs out but only periodically. For now I am going to wash every third day, adding one day every month or so in between washings, alternating each time between washing with just water and washing with this shampoo. As for the comment about it being bad for my body, I think that you may be over analyzing or placing too much value on the significance of actually how detrimental towards one's health these ingredients are. To me, it's not worth worrying about because the worriment itself is also unhealthy for your body; You'll kill yourself quicker worrying about it. I mean, I smoke tobacco knowing damn well how unhealthy it is for me. I don't want to quit now because the stress I will go through will be less beneficial for me, at this point in time, than the health benefits I'll gain. In the future, when my life is settled and more set in stone, it will be different. On the other hand, I halted my consumption of alcohol because the benefits of ceasing would actually show more benefit now than the stress it caused by stopping. It's all in the way you look at it I suppose.
Hey do whatever you want, I was just saying why I don't like it. I don't smoke or consume alcohol and try to eat as naturally as I can. I don't worry about it everyday, all I do is look at the ingredients in certain items and foods. Not worrying about dying of cancer or something, I just like to stay away from things that are not supposed to be ingested or absorbed.
