Geez! I feel like i can see em knotting up in the picture! Haha you just let em lock up on their own??
Oh yeah, I'm lucky my hair's natural for it for sure. When I had em in last time round they took so quick, so I gotta count my blessings on that front. But I'm too much of a wuss to trust it'll happen on its own. I'm umming and ahing about whether to twist and rip for myself, or maybe just chicken out totally and get a salon to put them in for me. I can't really afford it, but the cupboards are all stocked up so I won't starve, and I've not paid for a haircut for years (can you tell? lol) so in the long run it's probably about right. Cheers for the reply. How long yours been in now?
Mine will be 4 in October. It's gonna be a party!!! Hahaha Dude, if i had your hair i would totally let it lock up on its own. Thats how the majority of mine started. It takes a bit but completely worth it in my opinion. If not, twist n rip before a salon. Screw paying someone for that. Regardless, bet ya locks will turn out nice whatever route ya take. You should stick around and update ya thread. Oh and you said, " when i had em in last round." How was that set?? How old/ long? Pictures? Haha
If I were you I'd just twist and rip a bit and leave 'em to it! You say you're a pussy but there's really not much that can go wrong as long as you rip them a part every once in a while. Take a leap of faith!
Damn it - this post has been written about five times now, and every time I try and import the photos I've lost the text. Anyhoo... ok... in my teens I lived in a arty-schmokey-hippy-squatty urban commune house (through the major kindness of my friends, who 'ran' it - ie kept everyone's sh*t together) and a couple of passing couch surfers put em in during a week long sesh. Kept them until I was in my 20s, and regretted taking them out ever since. I'd have described it as a 'rough plaiting' method but now I read up a bit I guess it was twist and rip. No photos though, always been a bit streamlined when it comes to stuff like that. But big big thanks are owed - I've been meaning to get my hair dreaded again for years, grew my hair long because of it, probably had it long enough for over a year now but... procrastinated, put it off, made excuses to myself.... So BIG thanks - something in your posts decided me to take the leap of faith. Pickies of the first one ^^ Just done another and taking a break coz my hands are hurting
Hands are hurting from one!? no need to cause yourself pain, take it easy! haha and well done on taking the leap, will be glad to accompany you on this journey!
Hehe thanks SadieScarlett - getting through one at a time... up to about 8 now. ... one or two a little loose at the bottom but they'll bed in right? right? :mickey:
They're not supposed to be solid at all now, unless you crochet them to death. Stop worrying and let them do their thang! at this stage as long as they're not dirty or damaged, they're on track
Cheers. Got about 2/3 of head done. All very messy, one or two really really diddy short... but getting there. Got likkle bisters on my likkle fingers. I realised a big downside last night - it's too freaking hot for a hat when i go out! (don't really care just thought it was funny) But thanks again for the prods Ahmad n Sadie. Edit, 12 hours on (I been going slow lol) Ok, so I'm getting close to the front of my head. They're holding up ok although they look SHIT (that's by the by... I have time and patience)... but... it's really warm and my head is kind of itchy after all the pulling and twisting... ...how soon can I give them a soak in the shower? They're banded at the ends but I'm not sure. It'll either be really good for them... or really bad for them? My old ones loved a shower and dry, but I can't remember what I did before they were bedded in.
I personally wouldn't use bands, they can get stuck in your hair and even slow the process as the hairs can't move around to knot up. The dreads will loosen before they start locking up so be prepared for that. wash'em in a couple days (obviously no conditioner). I find headbands good for hot weather and keeping them off your neck and stuff. And damn it is hot in england right now! There's not much to worry about at this part of the process surprisingly, they will take a while to settle and get more solid. All you really need to do right now is keep them clean and rip them apart from sticking together
^this... never use rubber bands.. if anything if you want to keep a lock for sure the best you can do is put a bead on it about 1/4-1/2 way down the dread.. I used beads a ton when I was growing mine out but I would change the dread they were on every few days and only use 6-10 beads at a time giving the locks a sufficient time without them on too
Reight, thanks for the advice. I'm taking the bands out now - they helped keep everything seperate while I was putting 'em in (end of excuses). So now I kind of have a head of hair with some little dreads poking out in places. This will sort itself out... won't it? Please tell me it will sort itself out. Pix below. (Seriously, seriously, thanks for the advice). (and sorry for +1ing my own post - I was aiming at the one above as the last edit got saved... and missed...)
Cool. Thanks again for support and advice - wouldn't be doing it without the help I've had here. (haha can't use grinny smiley so that'll have to do instead)
Yes. Have faith. It will look worse before it looks better. Possibly for a long time. Embrace it. Some of them will probably come loose. Don't Panic.
Cool. I'm going to look into the beads and I've got a drawer full of head bands... ...so most of the ones I put in are sort of starting to lock at the ends, but with loose hair at the base/roots... especially on the crown of my head where it feels like a dready-bald patch. The loose hair is mostly the loose, unknotted bottoms of starting-to-knot dreads and I'm hoping (praying) the knots will work their way down and sort it all out... ...someone tell me this will happen. Please. (and I have to ask, what actually happens if you actually eat lysergic acid?)
Quit worrying about your dreads, they will work themselves out in due time. You just need to rip them apart occasionally and wash them once to twice a week. Take out the rubber bands, and don't put any beads in until they matured a bit. I know how it is, when I first dreaded my hair I was freaking out. They all worked themselves out though, I did have to separate a couple of them.
yea as i said stop worrying. if they're like this in 8 months, then worry (but the won't be). just do what we've told you and pipe down, ok? haha and to answer your question, you have a good time.
