deadwood434 asked: I was wondering what the effects of the salt water would be on my dreads? Apologise if this has been asked previously

Salt water is generally praised for helping tighten up knots. It can also soothe an itchy scalp & encourage healing (such as a scratch, or those itchy red bumps that form along the hairline of some new dreadheads from the strain while their scalp is adjusting). It can even be used in conjunction with diluted tea tree oil to further the soothing effect.

A light spritz of home-made sea salt spray (1tsp sea salt : 1c hot water) every so often, or a dunk in the ocean can be helpful, particularly for younger dreads. It isn’t a miracle-worker & your dreads will lock just fine without it, but most folks report it leaves their scalp feeling awesome & their dreads feeling extra tight ♥

Personally, you couldn’t keep me out of the ocean back when I lived on the warmer coast, & my hair/scalp always looked/felt amazing!

Anonymous asked: hi, i've had my dreads for 2 months, but i followed the wrong advice and crocheted them to death, then crocheted extensions in. Should I comb them out, let my hair recover, then start over, or could I let them grow, then cut the crocheted parts off when the new growth is long enough? Also, since I made them all really thick (twice as thick as the new growth!), is there any way of thinning them out a bit (bearing in mind that they're already about as tight as they're going to get)? thanks :)

Whichever you prefer.

Excessive crochet, especially near the roots, can make it much harder for your hair to grow out & naturally dread itself (for those who do not yet know- you NEVER need to to anything to “make” your roots lock… hair naturally locks itself an average of 1-2 inches past the root if you leave it alone to adjust to growing that way!). This can delay your process a bit, but they will recover & begin to grow out & lock on their own eventually.

Because of this, you can absolutely just let the hair grow out, then trim off the damaged parts a little later (you only need a couple of inches of new, dreaded growth, so it isn’t a terribly long wait). Otherwise, combing out, letting your hair recover, & re-starting your dreads is always a solid option that starts you fresh on a clean slate with no issues!

At two months, it’s doubtful your dreads are as tight as they will get, though extensions may be. I’m not clear on which you are referring to with that comment. You can trim dreads just like regular hair, but that only effects the length, not the width (unless you trim off all “thick” length up to the “thin” parts). You will want to address your ends after a trim- either by blunting/rounding them with a crochet hook/yarn needle, or combing out an inch or two so they are wispy again. The ends of freshly blunt-cut dreads tend to look a little funky if you leave them that way ;)

to-love-and-to-be-loved asked: Hey, love the blog! My dreads will be 3 months old on Friday & I've tried staying on top of loose hair up until now but it's getting to the point where it feels like it's pointless. I've tried dread-balling but the hair never seems to stay in the dread. I was wondering if there's something else I should be trying to tame loose hair (besides wax) or if I should just back off and let them do their thing? Keep up the good work!

Some people see more or less loose hair during the early months of their dreads, & sometimes it honestly is pretty futile to change that (not to mention that more rigorous efforts can actually stunt the progress of young dreadlings!).

If yours are resisting your efforts to tame the loose hair, just save yourself the stress & leave them be! Sometimes it just takes a little longer to sort themselves out, & dreads will always do what they want, in their time frame.

Most loose hair will end up being eaten by surrounding dreads eventually, & most people don’t see a significant decline in loose hair until the first 6-12 months (when their dreads really start shaping up considerably).

Anonymous asked: I am absolutely terrified of being perceived as a racist. I'm white and I've had dreads for one year and I don't want to have to get rid of them. Are they racist? I really don't believe they are, haven't all types of people had them forever and ever, starting in ancient times?

Dreadlocks are the natural state of all hair types, & as such they have existed on humans with hair since the human race came into being. They have roots everywhere in the world, for all different skin tones, nationalities, cultures, religions, or any other factor.

They may exist for practicality, for fashion, for cultural significance, as a religious practice, as a method of self-discovery, as a personal statement, as homage to one’s roots, as a connection to one’s god, as a connection to the earth, or any other myriad reasons. There is no right or wrong reason for any human being to have dreadlocks, & no group of people anywhere in existence has, or has ever had, an exclusive right to wear their hair in it’s natural state.

Do not confuse the hatemongering fads of an internet forum with reality. I’ve found people on this site to be quick to judge others, & that judgement spews fastest from those with no knowledge of what they speak.

Cultural appropriation & racism are very real issues. However, dreadlocks have no place whatsoever in such debates. You may sometimes find them thrown into such arguments, especially on this site, by those who are ignorant & confused- you know better & can rise above. Not everyone is open to the truth. If they aren’t, it is their problem, not yours. Educate where you can, & move on with your own life.

The fact that you have dreadlocks is not racist. Your hair style does not in any way demean, degrade, or oppress another race, nor does it condone actions that do. Whether or not you, as a person, are perceived as a racist is up to you, your words, & your actions (or your lack thereof).

molikeabowtiepimp-deactivated20 asked: Hi. So I had a question. I had my hair dreaded but like only half of most of the locks are dreaded. The top part is just not and no matter how hard I try, I can't get the rest of it to be the same.. advice?

If by “top part” you mean your roots, leave them be. Roots never lock directly against your scalp- even mature dreads have an average of 1-2 inches of loose hair before their dreads start knotting. Baby dreads can have considerably more! They’ll tighten up with time, your hair just needs to adjust to growing out that way.

If you mean the top of your head vs the bottom layer of hair, it is normal for different areas of your head to lock at different speeds. This can be due to many factors. Often, the area of your head (such as the back/nape or one side) may lock faster due to the way you sleep- that pillow friction does a lot of good work forming knots! Locking can also be delayed by over-use of head coverings, or hair that is too short, too greasy, or maybe the dreads just weren’t started well & fell out.

Do keep in mind, also, that it is normal for new dreads to sometimes loosen a bit… even a lot for some people! This may leave you with dreads that only have solid knots up towards the top, with lots of loose ends. This is normal, & the hair will lock up in time.

If you can give me more details (perhaps even submit a photo detailing what you’re describing), I can better isolate your potential issue & give you more specific advice ♥

morganaklaize asked: Herro! I'm getting dreads for the second time after having ones done wrong a few weeks ago. I wanted to know how to encourage hair to knot up better. The underbits of my hair closest to my neck won't knot for some reason. I'm sure its either because the hair is too soft or too short (or both). The hair is at least four inches as of now, but the rest of my hair is pretty long (butchered haircut). Should I use lemon juice/sea salt/hair bleach/grow it out? Or would you have better advice? Thaaanks.

It isn’t uncommon to have trouble getting your nape to knot initially (though for some, it knots first!). My own nape dreads refused to stay for the first several months- the hair was just too short/fine & didn’t feel like doing it. So I didn’t press the issue! Somewhere around 6-12 months I put them back in & they stayed (though like most folks I do, to this day, have some degree of loose wispies back there).

Your best bet is to wait it out & try again later, as there’s no magic formula to force the knots to stay. Dreadlocks move on their own timeline, & don’t really care much if you like it or not (they’re like attitudinal children sometimes, it’s absurd).

Do NOT ever, ever, ever purposefully damage your hair in an attempt to make it knot (such as bleaching). This is one of the worst bits of advice I see floating around these days. Dreadlocks are only as strong as the hairs they are comprised of, so starting them out by forcing unnecessary damage on them will never work out in your favour long term.

Lemon juice doesn’t do much except lighten your hair in the sun, & it’s rather sticky. I wouldn’t use it as a regular additive.

A sea salt spray comprised of roughly 1 tsp sea salt to 1 cup water (it should taste about as salty as tears, no more) can be spritzed on periodically. Don’t drench your hair or do it more than a couple times a week, on average. The spray often helps the locking process, but it isn’t mandatory & it doesn’t create instantaneous miracle results.

Hope this helped!

dreadheadbutterfly asked: Help! My babies are 2 months old and the have gotten way thin I would say at least half the size they were when I started. They are getting super tight though. Am I doing something wrong?

Nope!

Dreads often start out rather poufy, & as the knots tighten they will compact. This means your dreads will become a bit thinner than they were when you first finished starting them. Over time, you may notice them bulking up again slightly, due to shed hairs remaining in the dread, & shrinkage.

If you are very uncomfortable with the size & were expecting them to be considerably thicker, you can always combine some together, or even comb some out & re-section. Either option is fairly easily accomplished at their age!

However, if you like them as is, & were just checking if that was a normal development, have no fear! That’s part of the growing process & it just means your dreads are locking up nicely ♥

cutelittlecat asked: Hi! I started a few dreads in my hair prior to reading your blog, and I used the twist n rip method. This worked well on my hair last time (I had dreads before, years ago) as I have very curly/wavy, thick and naturally frizzy hair. I'm only gonna do partials this time, until I can dye all my hair back one color and do my whole head. One question though. Is it wrong to want my partials to mature a few months-a year before I add more in? I feel I could manage them better if a do a few at a time.

That isn’t wrong at all!

Many people who choose to start off with partial dreads often end up locking up their whole head eventually, & it isn’t uncommon to do it a little at a time. It may even be an easier transition for some, as it gives you ample time to adjust to viewing yourself with dreads, & also gives you the option of concealing them with loose hair if you choose.

Whether you only do a few & stick to those, or slowly dread your whole head over a few months/years, you want to keep the basic guidelines of partial dreads in mind. Mainly:

— It’s easier to start from your nape/behind your ears & work forwards.
— Allow the dreads to dry out completely, & exclude them from your daily washing if necessary to accomplish that (include them 1x/week-ish).
— Keep conditioners & styling products you may use on your loose hair away from your dreads.
— Periodically (once or twice a week is usually enough) police the line between your dreadlings & the loose hair they will try to consume.

steve-spaghetti asked: I swear have the biggest dread envy ever! I love them so much and I want them so bad, but I know my parents would never let me have them. I guess I have to wait a few years :/ They are the kind of parents with a not-so-nice view of dreads or anything they would class as "different". On the bright side it's something I can look forward to later in life :)

That happens sometimes :(

I’m sorry to hear your parents aren’t supportive of dreads, but I’m glad you have a positive outlook & are willing to wait it out to get what you want! Anyway, this gives you plenty of time to do your research & be fully prepared when it’s finally your turn to start the dread journey! ♥

Anonymous asked: Can you tell where your dreads started to dread themselves at the root? I know that your dreads are very long, but I'm interested to see the difference in the backcombed part to the grown out part.

Good backcombing blends seamlessly with new growth, that’s one of the many reasons it’s a superior method for most ♥

I’ll try to locate or take a new good picture of my dreads’ length & mark where the line between backcombing & new growth is for you, though. I know where it is ;)