Q u i c k T i p s

Problem: Loose dreadlocks ~~~~ Solution: Washing, wrapping, palm rolling, time..
Problem: Stray Hairs ~~~~~~~~~ Solution: Crocheting, ball rolling
Problem: Smelly/dirty/sandy dreadlocks ~~~ Solution: Washing Oil/water mix spray (see below for deep cleanse technique)
Problem: Loose tips ~~~~~~~~~~ Solution: Crocheting, dreading, palm rubbing, plaiting
Problem: Loose roots ~~~~~~~~~ Solution: Threading through (alternate), time, they will dread eventually
Problem: Itchy dreadllocks ~~~ Solution: Washing, Tea tree oil, Rosemary
Problem: Dry dreadlocks ~~~~~~ Solution: Pure Aloe, Coconut oil, many oils
Problem: Nits (Lice) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Solution: Apple Cider Vinegar, heat, goo, lice shampoo
Problem: Over Waxed ~~~~~~~~~~ Solution: Hot water, try and squueze it out, wax is waterproof!! Washing will always be the best tightener so dont over do it!
Problem: Thin dreadlocks ~~~~~ Solution: Congoing (joining)
Problem: Not getting a job ~~~ Solution: Fight the war, fu*k the norm! Get a better job.

More soon....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

D r e a d F u l l n e s s & D r . K n o c k ’ s L o c k ’s S h * t H o t T i p s ('n sh*t) ~ From my old myspace circa 2005/6 (Ive probably learned a lot since then...) (> Direct [link] (Has pictures: )) >>>>>

I just wanted to post up dread tips to help people with maintenance really..

......
G e n e r a l

Don't worry if they look shit. Especially up until 2 months. You can't expect newly knotted hair, hair that for years has been washed, brushed, dyed, straightened to settle in instantly. Until it knots up properly (for which the best product is time) they won't be perfect. For aaages. Plus dreaded hair still gets greasy sometimes, especially baby ones, so when that happens they're bound to look and feel crap. Your hair probably keeps thinking its going to be washed, after a while it will come to terms with its impending future.
Hair dreads through daily life more easily than youd think, even the roots. Just give it time, the natural look is nice anyway. After a while you'll realise how much you didn't know. I thought I knew a lot but second time round I've done it completely differently. And got half as many

.........
T i g h t e n i n g

Time, washing, rolling and..

.......
W r a p p i n g

Soon after I dreaded my hair I wrapped quite a few of them in wool, which really helped tighten them.
When I feel any of them are getting loose I do it and leave it for a couple of days. There are lots of ways of wrapping it round but the normal way works fine. And theres lots of lovely wool out there that can kinda make up for it being a blag dyeing them. Here's a multi coloured cotton wrap which definately tightens that particular dread, but also i like it so it stays in all the time

......
W a s h i n g

For nearly a year and a half I was worried my dreads would fall out if I washed them. I didnt think they were tight enough. I hadn't ever washed the ones I'd had for 2 years previously, but they had been full of wax anyway to hold them together cause they fell out, and when I cut them out they were minging. So about 6 months ago my mum bought me a shampoo bar from Lush. The ones she got were Seanik (the best one IMO), containing lemon oil, salt and seaweed, and Jumping Juniper (the nicest smelling one They have a range of them but some arent recommended, ask instore for advice, many shampoos have a lot of SLS in them, which is bad.
In the Bath Lush there is a girl with dreads, there may be more! Sorry if any of these ingredients aren't best for helping the dreading process, but they definately won't fall out, and you'll know if they tighten or not so much. Most of them are for different stuff, like ones good for itchies, another for dandruff, or shine.
I washed them and they tightened right away. The roots knotted right to the scalp and the main dreads became tighter too. A LOT of dirt came out.
You should try to wash them every 2-3 weeks and you have to dry them properly for ages with a hair dryer to avoid that wet smell and mould formation. Its probably best not to wash them for a couple of months at first though.
Theres other stuff you can use, natural soaps, tea tree shampoo, and obviously stuff off the net but it ends up expensive. Lush bars are from £3.75 and last ages.
Avoid most oils, chemicals and detanglers. The hair needs to be free of all residues.
The best thing about washing is it feels sooo good! It feels amazing to massage your scalp especially after a while and it feels lighter without all that dirt. I was amazed how much they tightened.


D e e p C l e a n s e !

Get a BIG bucket, container, recepticle, thing, and fill it with hot water (not too hot for your scalp tho). Then add to the water:

All measurements here are for a normal size bucket, and DO NOT have to be followed precisely

-- Baking Soda/Bicarbonate of Soda (1/2 - 3/4 cup)
-- Lemon Juice (just a tablespoon or two)
-- Salt (1 tablespoon)
-- Tea Tree Oil (about 10 drops)

Mix that all around and dump your head/dreads in! Leave them soaking for as long as you want/as long as you can handle it. Rub the liquid into your scalp, massage around and onto your scalp (careful of ur eyes). Squeeze into dreads, do watever just get it all up in there.

This is GREAT when you're out of shampoo, if you cant afford shampoo, or if you just dont like shampoo. It will leave your dreads smellling rad and feeling super clean - and it clears dandruff.

You can use other essential oils as well but never over do it - they're really strong. Plus Tea Tree is the best for dandruff and itchy scalp.

Try it! You won't regret it! Happy cleansing!

.....................
C r o c h e t i n g / B a l l - R o l l i n g

Some people don't mind loose hair, some do. I don't have any on the actual dreads (which it still works ok for), but for the roots, sometimes I use a crochet hook to thread them in. I only really crochet curly hair because its shape holds it in the dread. If theres a lot it stays in pretty well, but straight hair tends to slip its way out again. I usually thread some nearby stray hair through, split the bit of hair in two, wrap round the dread in opposite directions, dread it slightly and repeat. Sometimes a bit of beeswax helps hold it in... but sometimes, not. I think neat dreads are possible without wax.
If the hair slips out after crocheting, just keep doing it regularly till the buggars stay in!
Rolling the hair into little balls and tucking them into the root or crocheting through the top of the dread works best for me. A ball doesnt slip back out as easily as straight thin strands.

.....
W a x i n g

I havent used wax this time round, but if I did Id use a hard beeswax bar, melt it with a lighter, rub a bit on and melt it in with a hairdryer, say if some root strands were astraying. But when i say tiny i mean its hardly worth it for how greasy it looks. I reckon completely wax free is the way to go because there are other ways of keeping in stray hair and tightening the dreads. Wax also gets in the way of proper washing.


....
R o o t s

For root tightening, I recommend washing the dreads every 2 or 3 weeks. In the beginning though, you can thread whole dread from the tip through the root in alternating directions every time the root grows a bit and seems to be just a lot of straight hair. After a while though people generally stop doing this for thinning and aesthetic reasons, and the fact they tend to dread themselves. Youll find your own reason I'm sure. Root rubbing, rubbing the dread against the scalp in a circular motion is ok I guess, it's a
bit sore, doesnt really work for me and is incredibly tedious. Read a book instead.
[link]


..
T i p s

I think that loose tips with curly hair are the hottest thing ever
You can just try and dread the tip yourself which is what I did (get someone with little hands to do it), circular rub them in your palm, or I guess you could make a few little balls out of the hair, and keep rolling the tip till they bloody well stay together.


...
N i t s

Gutted mate.

- A p p l e C i d e r V i n e g a r breaks the glue that holds the nits (the eggs) to the hair, making it easier to dislodge them. try soaking your locks in it for an hour or so, then rinse. before and after any other treatment, coz they're the hardest bit to control.

- H e a t. Try dipping your locks in boiling water, i'm not sure about this, the potential for scalding!

- G o o e y s t u f f. Apparently its a great idea to suffocate them, also makes it hard for new nits to attach. things like vasaline (petroleum jelly), olive oil, conditioner (though that will encourage your hair to unlock so not sure its a great idea), mayonnaise, etc. and the things like oil will help your locks' health too, restoring some moisture. what you do is cake it on really really thick and work it in, then wrap your head in cling wrap or a shower cap or swimming cap if you can, to stop air getting to them. sleep on it then wash out after 24 hrs (or as long as you can). the apple cider vinegar will help remove the goo too. (my friend says this works really well for her, but she doesn't have dreaded hair, its just really long.)

- L i c e S h a m p o o, but try to get a non-residue organic one, remember dreadlocks hold smell really well.

- If all else fails use a C h e m i c a l L i c e S h a m p o o, but rinse really well!

- W a s h all your bedding and clothing and any beanies or headwraps you wear in very hot water and dry it in a hot drier if you can. Heat will kill them.