Hair Extensions Forum

Hi all,

So 2 years I decided to join the dready world and invest in a set of Elysee Star dreads. As you can imagine they were not much of an 'investment' and didn't last long. I also didn't like the length or how every dread was identical and so decided I would have a go at making my own! - Then I never got around to it

Recently I stumbled across this forum and you all utterly inspired me!
SO, having spent the last 2 weeks absorbing every word of your experience and knowledge I finally took the plunge yesterday and made my first 15 SE dreads. I wanted a fairly naturalish finish and have matched the medium brown KK to my own hair colour and blended it with dark brown and ash brown.

So four hours later this is the result


A view of the length




The ends - not sealed too badly and they feel pretty sturdy too!


The loops - they arent exactly neat and I think some are simply too big so will be trying some other
techniques to form these soon.


So you can see the colours a bit better


Overall i'm pretty pleased with the results, considering I had NO experience of this what-so-ever, I have had a bit of a task getting the tops to seal for some reason despite LOTS of back combing.

Any critique or advice from you lovely people would be much appreciated!

Jen

These look really good.

These look excellent! You seem to already know where you're having issues, the tops are a bit loose and the loops could be smaller. The ends look quite nice though and they're pretty smooth! The advice you're most likely going to get is backcomb more, and practice practice practice. If you're having real troubles backcombing you can always experiment with different combs, sometimes that can make a difference. And if you haven't watched rivetlickers video tutorial on backcombing its a must! Good luck!

p.s. Those blends are really pretty

i think they look brill for your fist attempt

Hi everyone, thanks for the advice and encouragement!!

I have checked out Rivet Licker's vid tutorials - that gal is amazing! Everything on there is sooo clear and I deffo think my back-combing method will benefit from watching them

Gonna have a go at making some naturals sealed in boiled water too as the above dreadies were sealed using the iron tea towel method......

These are really good first attempt
I definitely suggest more back combing!

jeniwow wrote:Hi everyone, thanks for the advice and encouragement!!

I have checked out Rivet Licker's vid tutorials - that gal is amazing! Everything on there is sooo clear and I deffo think my back-combing method will benefit from watching them

Gonna have a go at making some naturals sealed in boiled water too as the above dreadies were sealed using the iron tea towel method......

It'll take some time, but you'll get there

Great first go! Keep practicing and keep up the good work

Well having finally had some free time today I decided to have another attempt in the same colours but with LOTS more back-combing and using the hair straightener and flannel method.
The result are WAY better and I thought I would take some pics so you guys could see the difference

Happy happy happy


An overall view of new dreads - one or two decorated.


The ends - much neater!


The body of the dreads is much tighter and firmer now too - I boiled these also as they were a little stiff - (teeheehee)


All of this was helped by the AMAZING find I got at a carboot sale last weekend for £4 - an old kitchen trolly which has become my very own portable dread-making-station. (Or 'The drolly' as I like to call it!).



So where do I go from here guys? I KNOW there is plenty I can do to improve more but my small mind is struggling to find new methods or areas to attempt. I probably wont be doing any more today anyho because my wrists are aching somewhat!!

Wow they look beautiful!