Chemical dread aftercare

hihi!
dont worry that your dreadies were born at a salon using chemicals. just love them how they are and how they will be as they mature, it takes time before they tighten up and start looking and feeling like 'real' dreadlocks. i used some perming solution in making my locks with backcombing a year and a half ago. and yah you can tell the difference with the new growth. but only if you really look and its the same difference if you had only backcombed your hair. only one person has ever mentioned this difference it to me and this was a guy who had had dreadies before so he knew what he was looking at. for me its a little indicator at how much they have grown. i love them and having them is the best decision i ever made.
wash when you need to, 5-14 days or whatever depending on what you've been doing with a chemical and residue free shampoo/soap. i've never gone back to a salon to get the roots redone, they lock up all by themselves. i just have a couple that are stubborn so they get some action every few washes. apart from that, its all happy days =]

umm yah sweet
oh i've only just stumbled onto this forum and its pretty cool. will defo have a good look through it!

 

Alright!

Looks like a lot of good information. I finally finished reading through the FAQ's (hundreds of pages of decent info, a lot of arguing too, understandably).

So here's where I am at:

I am very glad to hear I do not need to return to the salon. I suspected it was just a means to keep money rolling in for them. As some others have caught on, I am now just doing the natural thing. I am encouraged by those that have been to a salon like I have, and been treated the same way permanent or perm or permed...

The reason I went to the salon in the first place is that I am a nazarite, and was worried about hairloss (not balding, and not pattern hairloss). I was concerned with the amount of time and management I was spending on maintaining straight hair, washing, conditioning, and breakage due to daily wear and tear.

I tried the natural method in the past, and it didn't work for me. After reading all the FAQ's I now know why. I bought a dreadlock kit from Dread Head HQ about 14 months ago, but we tried several times to do some locks in the back, with no success. Yes, I am WELL aware of what most of you think of the dreadheadHQ products, so I don't need a lecture.

I turned to some of my dreaded friends to hear their opinions, and the response came back to go to this particular salon. To answer some questions asked earlier in this thread: I am white. The salon is owned and operated by blacks. (Race has no value or distinction to me, just trying to answer questions).

So, now that I've read and learned, I HAVE been using one dreadheadHQ product, and that is their Dreadlocker Spray. From what I gathered in the FAQ's it's pretty close to the homemade solution that people suggested. When I run out of that, I will make my own batch as recommended. On a side note, I am also considering using the shampoo that came with their 'dread starter kit,' as it seems like the only complaint is drying of the scalp, and I have good skin for that.

It's only been like 4-5 days since I got them put in. So I am sure I have a year/ years to go before they start looking full and good. Not that they look bad now mind you (I'll get some pics up when I get a free moment.)

Thanks for all the advice and admonishment to all.

 

Can you talk more about this maintenance?

Since my hair has been sectioned, and is already "started," I can't imagine what else would be needed (after reading all the FAQ's) besides proper hygiene.

Thanks so much for your post. It's very reassuring to hear after someone just put two years of beautifully grown hair on the line. I was a bit nervous there at first, and some of these posts were freaking me out.

Thanks again, and outside of (the normal response of) "just let them go" please tell me what kind of maintenance you have been doing?

 

he needs the inspiration thread with all the pics of nice natural locks.

 

Ok, so today there's an update:

I went 9 days without washing after the back-comb / perm / permanent. I was however adding the DHHQ / DreadHead HQ / dread locking spray...

So this was before:


And this is as close as I can get to after:


The second pic was taken more to show off the cool Peruvian 100% alpaca wool chullo hat I got on Sunday, but you get the idea. Anyway, the dreads have officially had they first wash, and they did not 'come apart' or fall out, or untangle. The only thing left to do is relax.

 

mainyanance..basicly seperate em often as they grow they will try to join togerther into 1 dread.,after u wash rake neighbouring dreads and pull in oposite directions breaking any hairs connecting them

other then that nothings needed biut some can use alowe to take frzz
when u wash be gentle and concentrate onluy on cleaning the scalp jnot the hair itself
then rinvce it through..
post updateds in a minth..if yours is as dread resistent as u say the progress maybe slow but steady if its poily the sea salt spray may help..adding a few drops of thymy oil (or tea) to it cvan help regulate oil productioin too

 

Thanks! You're a champion for helping me out.

My hair and scalp aren't very dry, and I can use the salt spray every other day without itching or skin flaking. I can also stand to go in the ocean and let it dry too without an itchy scalp. I also have the ability to also wear wool without skin irritation.

Thanks to all who've helped!
I'll post better pics when I get them!!

 

awww.... theyre all curly and stuff. I like em...dig the hat too! They'l turn out fine...no worries. Just takes a whole lotta time and patience...so sit back and enjoy the ride!

 

Sorry didn't see you wanted me to reply. What we were doing was crocheting them on a monthly basis and I used my own locking spray. But now I have stopped the crocheting. All I do now is wash it every Friday night hair dry it and dye it. If I get any loose hairs I leave them alone. I agree with SE you do need to separate them regularly. I also wear a mohair tam to help with the dreading. I currently have an awful cows lick

 

More pics:

 

Oh wow! I love the curliness. I hope you find a solution that you are comfortable with. I have nothing to add, you've gotten some great advice here!

 

I was told that the curliness would go away once the "perm" relaxed. I kind of hope it does, but then, if it does not, I will have something unique.

 

You'll have something unique regardless! I promise

 

Hi i am new here.
IT has been a while since you got your dreads ,did they stay curly?
They look great on you.
Thank you

 

I'm curious too!

 

They're relaxed quite a bit as you can see. BUT! They are "in place" pretty good. They change daily. Today I had a lot of frizzies, but yesterday they were locked RREALLLY tight, and very thin. Check my gallery for progress.

 

looking good, you should dread your beard too.

 

i have a couple curly ones like that, they have started to straighten out though and my hair is naturally curly, so yours should do the same right. do you have any loops in your hair? any forked locks?

 

That's the plan when it gets long enough. But I only grow a goatee...

 

My hair is naturally wavy, but not curly. If you look at my galleries, you'll see the perm I got that makes these curl like that. It's relaxed a bunch, but I don't know that it's going to straighten out. But then, I'm not even at 2 months. Time will tell!

Anyway, yes, I have some loops at my roots, a loop in the back, and when you say "forked locks" I assume you mean congos? Yeah, I am letting two in the back congo together. I also have some 'bumps' I think.

If I get some time, I'll have my GF snap off some pics of these phenomena, but they're in the back, and at the base, so I don't think I can take the pictures myself.