- I got introduced to the guy who, until last September, was probably the only Republican in the county with locks. (He cut them off after twenty years, so I guess that mantle falls to me.) That's a lot of years, so I figure he knows what he's talking about. His wisdom: " Be patient, it will take some time for them to grow in. DO NOT use shampoo or soap on them! DO try and find a gentle pomade -- not pure beeswax -- that will help them cosmetically and naturally." I pressed for details about the washing, and he said he recommends "just plain ol hot water. Summer swimming holes work great too. Pools and salt water, not so much."
- A friend of mine is helping her elementary-school daughter with locks (it's apparently all the rage with the tween set these days), and it was suggested to her that ocean swimming will help a lot. My wife agreed, saying that salt water always makes her hair tangle.
I will continue to gather info, but I'm sticking to my plan and seeing it through. It seems to be working, and changing things could make things worse if I do get problems. So far, I'm not so committed that I don't mind cutting them off if the experiment fails, but I'm otherwise committed to five years. That should be enough for me to learn everything I need to from dreadlocks.
Nevermind advice, how about some good old fashioned information? I get the feeling that you are a thinker like me, and some good foundation info will help you make your own wise choices.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes dreadlocks start is knots. What makes dreadlocks mature (and actually "lock") is the interlocking of raised scales on the hair strand's outer cuticle. Knots bring hair strands together, and friction between them raises the cuticle over time, allowing the cuticles to interlock.
Binding agents may help start the knotting process, but they also immobilize the hair strands and are very hard to wash out. Lubricating agents cause the cuticle to go slick, making it harder for friction to do it's job in the locking process.
Understanding this, it makes sense that the cleaner your hair is (truly clean, no shampoo residue, no excessive oils, no emolients, no wax, no pomade or gel) the faster and hardier your hair will lock.
It's true that there will be nightmarish fuzzy flyaways for a few months, but aloe vera juice, which is completely water solluable, can help tame frizz between showers. A rare and judicious applicaton of a head scarf does wonders too, but don't wear it too often. Remember, you want your hair to be able to move! :)
Sea salt and a few drops of tea tree oil in a spray bottle will aid locking, kill itchies, and smell good, too. Also, a good long soak in hot water with baking soda and lemon juice, followed by a rinse in diluted white vinegar is a good idea every 6 months or so to bubble ick and dead skin cells out of the core of your locks.
Almost anything but regular brushing and conitioning can eventually bring about dreadlocks. The question is more about how happy you are with what's going on there on top of your head. ;)
I suppose it's fair to say I'm on my second set of dreadlocks, and I've only had excellent results with the no-wax path. The choice, however, is ultimately yours.
Welcome to the knotty family! Warm wishes to you on your knotting adventures!
I have been curious about tea tree oil . . . it seems like a good idea, but I was holding off because I wasn't sure if it would leave residue behind. I didn't know about aloe, and I'm going to try that out!
ReplyDeleteI've read quite a bit supporting your position that wax will actually prevent locking, and a good amount to the contrary. I wasn't aware there was a controversy when I began this journey, so I have elected to stick with wax (I'm currently using a wax on week alternating with a wax off week, and I don't think I will need to buy a second container) so that I'm consistent in my approach.
If it slows me down, I've learned something, but at this point I'm very surprised at how quick my hair locks up. I considered waxing some locks and not waxing others, but I quickly lost track!
I didn't use any product with my first set, but I was so impatient to see them lock up I tried other things instead. I started with 36ish locks and 15 hours of back combing on shoulder length hair. About one week in, I re-backcombed each lock to try to tighten up what had loosened. At 3 and 6 weeks, I crocheted the holy crap out of them. My locks *appeared* very matured when fresly crocheted, and it felt so good to actually see them locked up, not just fuzzed out. Alas, they loosened up and fuzzed out, albeit less so, within a few weeks.
ReplyDeleteI was actually afraid my hair would never start to mature, but my friends at Get Up Dread Up offered lots of encouragement and urged me to just be patient. Sure enough, real locking started around 6 months, and by 10 months they looked mostly mature.
I had promised myself I would stick with that first set through one calendar year at least. At the end of it, as much as I loved my locks, I had to admit that my sections were too big for my sensitive scalp. I was getting terrible headaches from tension along the section borders. It took two metal dog combs and five steady days of work, followed by two weeks of excruciatingly bruised scalp, but I had my hair back. It was long, straight, and probably healthier than had I been brushing it daily for that whole year.
I knew a second set would come, and this last spring in the Arizona desert was the perfect time to begin. This time I have 80ish locks with much smaller sections. They're only three months old now, but I've already got locking going on like I didn't see till 6 or 7 months into my last set! Needless to say, I'm a bit excited. :)