My first attempts

[~Azaezl~]

I'm after some honest opinions, hence the post in this section These are my first attempts at making dreads, it took me hours and hours to make these and I'm about ready to give up as they just don't look / feel good enough to me. I did mention in the general chatter section that I'm just going to giveup as I can't backcomb to save my life(surely it shouldn't be taking me 30 mins to backcomb 1 DE?).






These blue ones were sealed in just boiling water


They seem to always come out lumpy, I'm reluctant to use my steamer on them anymore as when I blast it the steam seems to come out so fast / powerful it blasts half the dread away(as can be seen on the ends of the blacks ones in the first pic). I'm honestly baffled as to why I can't do this, I've sat with youtube playing copying exactly what is going on, the person in the vid gets a nicely backcombed dread, I get either a barely backcombed dread or a knotted, loop filled mess Advice please!!

[Spooki]

when you backcomb and get lumps, comb them out and start over. i get a lot of lumps too, getting them even is just something that takes a lot of practice i guess. sometimes you can pull them out a bit with your fingers.

other than that they look really nice, they taper well and the ends look good.

[~Azaezl~]

Thanks spooki x I do try to get rid of the loops / knots but sometimes they are so bad I can't get them out again and have to give up and start afresh.

[LizSherman]

There are some awesome tutorials on youtube for dreading, have a browse! =D
A tip from me is to hold the hair very taught while you are back-combing. It takes me about 10-15 minutes to make a dread, but this way I don't get bumpy bits and they are very sturdy!

[LittlePinkFaery]

I think you are being harsh on yourself- some people will sell dreads like that- in fact some people sell dreads a LOT worse than yours. That being said, they shouldn't!

You clearly can do this- all the problem is is that your dreads are a little lumpy and occasionally too many pokies.

There are points in some of your dreads that look really nicely sealed.

how about a combination of steaming and then boiling?

[Futzzz]

if you are having trouble getting backcombing right try switching your tools/comb, see what works best for you!
I have a metal comb with very thinly spaced teeth that are normally used for combing dogs/cats that i got from the pet store that i use for initial backcombing and the a wide toothed sturdy plastic comb for finishing touches/sorting out lumps..

The metal comb really changed backcombing for me, gave me smoother, neater dreads and cut the time on each DE in half:)

[VixenSingsBlack]

Take some pics of yourself as you backcomb, that way we can see what you're working with when sealing. Maybe we'll spot an easy solution for you

[kezerb]

Look on the brightside. You can always say they were supposed to look natural as I think they do

[Marshmallowmassacre]

This is an absolutely great start! If you get loops when you're backcombing they can sometimes be really really obvious so pull them out and back comb them softly. Another way to reduce frizzies is after back combing smooth over and tug on the hair a bit so there aren't so many frizzies hanging out to the side and it's in a nice tapered shape.

[~Azaezl~]

Liz - I've seen many tutorials on youtube, that's what really gets me it looks so simple and then I do it and it just doesn't come out right. I've sat with tuts playing and still not got it right.

littlepink - Your kidding! people would sell dreads in the same / worse state then mine?! that's shocking, I'd be too ashamed to sell mine, I wouldn't even give them away for free as they aren't good enough, I guess there's alot of mean people out there!

I boiled & steamed the dreads(apart from the blue ones they are just boiled), I'll try going over them again with the steamer, but I'll wrap them in a cloth as suggested in another thread

Futzzz - I've tried a metal comb and actually found it worse then an ordinary plastic comb, maybe the teeth are too close togther I'm not sure, it just didn't seem as good as the plastic one. I will give it another shot, maybe it's me and not the comb

Vixen - Good idea, I'll do that and post them up, hopefully you girls can see what it is I'm doing wrong

Kezerb - Thanks x I did consider trying to make more natural looking ones but tbh I love the fact that synth dreads look fake, I like the shape & smoothness of them, real dreads just don't do it for me, which is a shame as I have perfect dreading hair

Marshmallow - I do try to comb out any loops / knots as they happen but some just refuse to budge, I'll just have to be extra careful from now on and try not to get them in the first place

[zaahn]

I agree that you are being too harsh - your dreads are a pretty good standard already I recommend holding the dread pretty taunt and comb a few times then move a few cms down until you reach the end of the dread, then start at the top again. Sometimes if you backcomb the top or one section too much to start with it gets knotty so backcomb all down the length lightly and then back to the top again. Have you got any pics of your backcombed hair?

Which steamer are you using? If its a bit too powerful try maybe only filling it halfway? Mine is less powerful as the tank get empty, or maybe hold the steam further away?

[+\\Ultra _Violet//+]

Have you got an upholstery attachment for your steamer? It spreads the steam out so it doesn't come out so fiercely, and you can hold it directly against the dread so it smooths as it steams.

[~Azaezl~]

I had been backcombing an inch or so at a time but making sure each inch was properly backcombed, so I'll try it your way of backcombing lightly and then going back over it again. I haven't got any pics of hair that's just been backcombed but next time I do it I'll be taking pics.

The steam cleaner I have is the shark portable steam cleaner;
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Euro-Steam-Shar ... B000A3FUAC

It's powerful no matter how little is in the tank, I have got an upholstry attachment but it has bristles all around it and 3 or 4 holes to let the steam out, it still comes out in a powerful stream, I'm going to try wrapping a cloth around the dread whilst I steam if that doesn't work out I'll just try holding the steam a little further away.

Thanks x

[kezerb]

I used to be the same not liking naturals but now I can't get enough of them

[starlight]

I think backcombing lightly and then going over it a few times helps.. I just backcomb the whole thing into a fuzzy mess, pull it apart and palmroll it a bit, and repeat til you can hold it out at 90 degress and it stays sticking straight out.. I find the palmrolling helps to smooth it as you go