Want To Start Dreads (Again) - Some Questions

First post here.

I had dreadlocks about 2 years ago...had 'em for about 6 months or so and they looked pretty nice. I had my hair backcombed into 1" sections, but this time I want to do 1/2 inch sections. I hear that it is more maintenance, but I like the extra dreads and they can always get thicker down the line. A couple questions:

1.) How do you guys dry them? It would take me at least a half hour to squeeze all the water and soap from my dreads (this is what made me give up on 'em). I think part of it may have had to do with the few times I washed my hair with an un-diluted Dr. Bronners Tea Tree Shampoo...There was a lot of waxy buildup, even though I never used waxed.

2.) If Dr. Bronner's is supposed to be residue free, why is there such a strong scent? Wouldn't that imply that it is NOT free of residues?

3.) Any other advice? I'm waiting till my hair gets to be 3 inches long (about 2 in. right now).

Thanks

 

i always wondered about the sent as well....

 

OK, well I'm definitely not the most knowledgeable person here (I've only had dreads for 6 months or so, but you can learn a LOT in 6 months, that's for sure), but I think I'll contribute anyway based on the experience so far:

1) Dreads do start to get a bit difficult to dry once they start locking up so I usually turn the water off and SQUEEZE SQUEEZE SQUEEZE. Grab a bunch of them at a time and squeeze as much water out as you can. You'll need to do this for about 5 or 6 sections of your head. Then repeat until it's no longer dripping wet and the dreads are as dry as possible (without the use of a towel).

Then grab a towel and squeeze some more. Usually I find it helps to do various motions (eg. rubbing the towel crazily all over your head, hanging your head down and forcing the leftover water out, etc). Some people like to use a second towel to dry them a bit more thoroughly, but I don't.

Then go sit outside in the sunshine and have a smoke or a cup of tea, or something. The dreads won't completely dry until a few hours later, but this is normal.

2) I haven't used Dr Bronners yet, but am getting some tomorrow - from what I've heard, it's VERY concentrated. The smallest amount can be diluted A LOT. And also, residue free = conditioner/moisturiser free, not fragrance free. Dr Bronner was not designed for dreads initially, contrary to popular opinion. I think the scents just allow it to be used as a detergent/cleaner/body wash etc.

3) I would personally go for thicker dreads than 1/2 inch sections! Thinner dreads do look awesome but they take SO SO long to lock up, and are a major pain in the ass compared to thicker ones. If I could start over, I would get much thicker dreads, for many many reasons. Of course, everyone has a different opinion so fair enough if you decide to go for thin dreads, all the best with your journey!

 

Thanks TJ. My hair seemed to lock pretty fast at 1 inch, so I wouldn't think 1/2 inch would take THAT long...but, I'm willing to take the time if it does. I also have curly hair, which helps a lot. I just like the look of thin dreads over thick ones...anyways, when you compare dreads to normal strands of hair, they're all THICK I suppose. I just can't stand curly, poofy hair in the summer...must dread soon!

 

Yeah, that's true!

Curly hair is one of the best types for dreading, imo.
Mine is curly too, but I've never been a fan of the "afro look" haha....hence why I got dreads in the first place.

 

Haha, yeah the afro look doesn't exactly wow the ladies. Maybe Will Ferrell can pull it off . Anyways, I hope 3 inches will be long enough to start dreading...I'm currently taking Biotin pills (which are supposed to help hair growth). TJ, I noticed you are from Australia...are you a fan of Silverchair by any chance? I always dug them. Tal Wilkenfeld, also from Australia, has to be the hottest female bass players in the world. I saw a picture of her (recent?) where she has dreaded her curly hair.

 

If you gotta remove the soap out of your dreads after maybe you need to rince more, if theres still soap in your dreads even if its residue free IT WILL form residues, so rince well.

 

I just dry them like normal hair and squeeze excess water out. you do have to wash/rinse very well to get all the soap out. And they usually take a very long time to dry completely, which is why I don't wash all that often.

I had given up on Bronners for this very reason. I could tell it was obviously leaving stuff in my hair, even after rinsing VERY well for about 15 minutes. I gave it another try last week and it did the same thing. Try using baking soda! It makes your hair feel soo much cleaner than Bronners ever could. It's all I use now.

just start treating your hair as if you already had dreads. By that i mean washing maybe twice a week and not combing. Let it get as natty as possible before you backcomb.

 

I just leave 'm in a towel for half an hour and after they don't drip anymore and a let 'm airdry.

 

1. I squeeze them when I get out of the shower, keep them in a towel for about 15- 30 mins, then let them air dry (usually overnight).

2. Because Dr. Bronner's is made from essential oils. The smell is from the oils, not added, artificial perfumes. That said, I hate how Dr. Bronner's leaves my hair. I prefer diluted Avalon Organics (mmmm smells so good too). And whoever said you need to rinse more is correct, your dreads shouldn't be sudsy when you get out of the shower. Also, shampoo--ing should be focused on cleaning your scalp, not the dreads.

3. I don't know.

 

Do you got any advise at how to use baking soda to clean them? It's like powder and with water it doesnt work that good to clean the hair when I tried it last time, it's not like if it was soap but I don't use bronner I use a special kind of residue free soap I don't think it leaves anything bad in my hair I should have noticed it otherwise.