Newbie chick about to dread herself!

Ooo, sounds kinky. Haha, hey everyone. Call me whatever you want. But I'm here for some nice advice. I've been constantly thinking about dreads for a few months now, and I decided NOW is the time to start them. I will NOT be using wax, because that stuff stays in...I don't know how long I should go without washing my hair, or what to wash it with before I do this...I'm going to start out doing them ALL, having a friend help me out. My hair is naturally wavy, and knots so easily! Every day pretty much. But anyways, I'm planning on doing a back comb, twisting, and ripping the roots I think it's called? Where you tug it at the root? And backcombing again, and then twisting, then palmrolling, and leaving them down to naturally dread. I'm planning on having a friend help me with this long process. Then after this, I have no idea when or how often I should wash my hair. I plan on using Dr. Bronner's Tea Leaf Bar Soap! And I don't know how to dry it...If it naturally dries, wouldn't it get moldy? And then I don't know what else to do besides using a crochet hook to maintain it every so often...I don't know how often to maintain it, or what to do after you dread it...I would ENDLESSLY appreciate it if you guys could help me out...Thank you so much for your help! <3 Any dreadlock advice will be appreciated!


Here's my hair the way it normally is, actually it's even longer now!

 

You can wash your hair weekly, I normally wrap it in a towel for a couple of hrs and air dry it (naturally). you can wash it right before you dread it, make sure it's dried tho

Can't wait to see what your dreads will turn out like

 

No need for all that work. Use dr. B's once or twice a week. wrap your pillow in a wool sweater and watch the progress. Ive been doing a lot or research on this topic and it seems to me that most people prefer the neglect method, especially if you hair knots easily. But if you do decide to backcomb and palm role don't crochet, it damages your hair. Good call on the wax. read the thread that says "read this before posting" it will answer a lot of ?'s

 

Awesome! Thank you so much! Question...Is it okay to get my hair wet in the shower every day when I'm not soaping it? Thank you all for the advice!

 

Wash your hair however and whenever you want to. Keep in mind that as you locks mature (I'm talking 6+ months from now) they will take longer to dry which may mean you won't want to wash them as often. If your hair is used to being washed more often, increase the time between washes slowly. You don't want your hair to be oily while trying to lock up.

What? You cannot backcomb and then twist n rip the roots. Also, using one method and then another to lock up is kinda pointless. I would suggest either or. I'm not sure what you mean about 'tug at the root', I just hope you don't mean root flipping...which sucks. Also, a lot of newbies may disagree, but palmrolling is also dumb.

I would highly recommend a blow dryer or table-top dryer because yes it could get moldy.

I would suggest that you not use a crochet hook. That is number three on our list of dumb things to do to your hair. That is unless you want to:
-constantly crochet to maintain "neatness"
-loosen other hairs in the lock while attempting to crochet
-have an odd weaved effect in your locks


And on that note, we have a FAQ located in the thread called "Read this before posting"

 

Lol.

F.

A.

Q.

And that shit wont work. Just stop combing your hair and break your mirror.