Noob Starting New Dreads

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silven
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Noob Starting New Dreads

Post by silven » Mon Aug 02, 2010 11:33 am

Hi all! First of all I'm not entirely sure if this is the right thread to post this topic in so forgive me if this is the wrong place! :? My end goal is to have 100% real dreadlocks though so I figured this was my best guess. :P

Anyway, I want to start dreading my hair as soon as possible and I'm not entirely certain how to approach it or which method to use. And I don't want to end up with poorly done locks so I figured I'd come to all of you, the pros! :D

First off, I'm not entirely sure if my hair is even long enough. I took some pictures to try and help you all decide for me.

My hair on a standard day, taken earlier today.
Image

My hair after a shower, still slightly damp.
Image

Image

So is my hair long enough to do it all on its own?

If not, i've been reading around the site and I've heard about the method that involves attaching your own dreaded hair with dreaded extentions. I'm thinking this is probably the best method to go with because I want my hair pretty long, past my shoulders in the back at least, and my hair seems to grow pretty slowly once it gets this long. But again, I'm not sure what would be best.

If you have any suggestions or answers to any of my questions, I'd really appreciate it! I'm completely ignorant to the specifics of everything so don't be scared to dumb everything down for me. :P

Thanks again!

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Desiree
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Re: Noob Starting New Dreads

Post by Desiree » Mon Aug 02, 2010 6:24 pm

There's a lot of ways to make dreads. Check this site out : http://www.dreadlocktruth.com/

silven
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Re: Noob Starting New Dreads

Post by silven » Mon Aug 02, 2010 6:27 pm

Lol... thats not really a helpful answer... I know there are lots of ways. :lol:

Thats why I'm asking which way would be best for me? :D

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Desiree
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Re: Noob Starting New Dreads

Post by Desiree » Mon Aug 02, 2010 9:38 pm

silven wrote:Lol... thats not really a helpful answer... I know there are lots of ways. :lol:

Thats why I'm asking which way would be best for me? :D
Well, it really depends on how you'll like the dreads to look, and if you wan't the most natural way.

Dreads are a lot of work if you backcomb/rib'n'twist and can be messy if you overwax. The most simple and natural way to dread is the patience-method. Just don't comb your hair. Wash it in just water without any soap. Dreads will over time form and do their thing.
If you want to do it the hard way, get somebody to backcomb/rib'n'twist your hair, or even get a dreadperm. It takes a lot of time to maintain them - you'll need to palmroll every day and also rub the roots to get them to knot up.

If you want more information on the dreadprocess, you'll really need to study the different ways. Then you'll know which way is the best for you.
The site I linked to, is rather informative and will give you a lot of answers.

Shrijani also did an introduction to dreads here : http://hairextensionsforum.com/viewtopi ... 41&t=10616

silven
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Re: Noob Starting New Dreads

Post by silven » Mon Aug 02, 2010 11:15 pm

Thanks! I guess I'm not being specific enough though.

Basically I wanted to know if my hair is long enough to just backcomb and crochet as is.

And if it is, I will probably want to add extentions to add some immediate length since i want them down to at least my shoulders.

I'm just not sure where to start I guess. I wanna go down to the beauty supply and buy what I need right now! But I don't really know what I should be buying.

I've done enough research to where I'm pretty sure I know how to backcomb and crochet my hair to get some baby dreads started on my own, but then the next step would be adding the dreaded extentions in and I have no idea how to do it and make it look as natural as possible while my real hair grows.

I live in Arizona and I don't know anyone that knows how to do this stuff or really anything about it so I'm really lost on who to turn too for basic step by step instructions. I don''t really have anyone that I can ask to help me do it thats gonna know anymore than I do about it, so I need to learn how to do it myself.

Thanks for helping me out so far tho. :)


silven
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Re: Noob Starting New Dreads

Post by silven » Tue Aug 03, 2010 3:00 am

Those two links were perfect. I went out and bought 2 packs of human hair, crochet needles, hemp rope, beads, and abba shampoo today! :D

My own insta-dread ready kit all prepared to go! hahaha. I'm gonna have my friend look over all of this too and help me do the back and I'll probably do the front and sides.

Thanks so much for the help all. I'll post pics if you all would like! :)

silven
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Re: Noob Starting New Dreads

Post by silven » Tue Aug 03, 2010 6:39 am

So me and my friend Sammy are working on dreading the extensions right now, and I just wanted to show you our progress so far. Looking to get some critique and feedback on if they look right. Size, level of locking, etc etc. Figure I should make sure now before i make 40 more the wrong way. lol.

Image

Image

Image

I know they look pretty coarse. Because we have no idea how to crochet! I'm trying to do it but I really have no idea what I'm doing. I don't really understand how I'm supposed to be pulling rogue strands into the dread. So help with that would be much appreciated, because when it comes time to link these dreads to the ones on my head, we're obviously gonna need to know how to crochet.

BUT! Other than that, how do they look? :P

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Desiree
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Re: Noob Starting New Dreads

Post by Desiree » Tue Aug 03, 2010 8:31 am

The link I gave you has this tutorial on extentions :
http://www.dreadlocktruth.com/collectiv ... 392ea5d822

And this video-tutorial on backcombing :
http://www.dreadlocktruth.com/collectiv ... 392ea5d822

A seach in this forum gives you this tutorial on crocheting dreads :
http://hairextensionsforum.com/viewtopi ... 62&t=10569

And this tutorial on attaching extensions:
http://hairextensionsforum.com/viewtopi ... 62&t=10571

Other than that, your hair will shrink about 20% when backcombed, so you'll need the extensions to get them to your shoulders.

silven
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Re: Noob Starting New Dreads

Post by silven » Tue Aug 03, 2010 9:55 am

Awesome tutorials!

I still don't know how to crochet though. :P

I'm talkin super basic. I look at this metal rod with a hook on it and I have no idea how to use it. HOW to actually crochet a dread.

Got anything along those lines? Your thoughts on how my extensions are coming along?

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harlequin
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Re: Noob Starting New Dreads

Post by harlequin » Tue Aug 03, 2010 10:19 am

if you go onto youtube and put 'how to crochet dreadlocks' or something into the search, alot of vids will come up. it may be easier seeing someone do it than following typed instructions.

for example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgsfj1txE0g

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Desiree
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Re: Noob Starting New Dreads

Post by Desiree » Tue Aug 03, 2010 1:52 pm

the extensions are coming along fine. They need a lot of palmrolling, but looks like the backcombing is good.

silven
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Re: Noob Starting New Dreads

Post by silven » Tue Aug 03, 2010 6:45 pm

Thanks so much! That video helped a ton. Seriously that really helped clear up the specifics.


Sorry, I'm doing all of this pretty much from my smartphone, so its kinda hard to look up youtube videos if I don't already have a good link to go to. So thanks for looking that up for me.

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Love Bunny
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Re: Noob Starting New Dreads

Post by Love Bunny » Tue Aug 03, 2010 10:59 pm

I don't want to butt in on this but isn't adding extensions a bad idea until they have matured a little (at least 2 months?)


silven, honey, your hair is a lovely length as it is, as a guy you don't need to add extensions to it :) if you dread it how it is it will grow long before you know it and you will have a head full of lovely natural locks that are 100% yours <3

Good luck either way! Can't wait to see the outcome!

x
~Jess ♥

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Zira
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Re: Noob Starting New Dreads

Post by Zira » Tue Aug 10, 2010 11:03 am

Love Bunny wrote:I don't want to butt in on this but isn't adding extensions a bad idea until they have matured a little (at least 2 months?)
x
Yes, and 2 months isn't even long enough :S I would say at least 4 months, but it depends on your hair.

If you backcomb your own hair properly and are careful with them when you wash them, there is absolutely no need to add extensions. It will look great :)

Check out the memories in this community, the people on there are dreadlock oracles.
http://community.livejournal.com/get_up_dread_up/

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Gracey
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Re: Noob Starting New Dreads

Post by Gracey » Thu Aug 12, 2010 8:46 am

It is possible to dread hair and add extension at the same time, though I think it is a very ambitious task for your first attempt at dreadlocks. You will need to get the hang of crocheting first, as that is how you are going to add the extra length.

One thing that jumps out to me as an aside is that the hair you are dreading looks way darker to me than the pictures of your own hair. A near-as-possible colour match is essential for extensions that look realistic.

Good luck!
What, that? It's a spade.

Gracey xx
Formerly known as Woolhairhabbit

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