How long do YOU keep your dreads in?

[Love Bunny]

Hi I was just kinda wondering really! As I noticed some people don't leave them in for long at all!

I have mine in for about 2 and a half months before I take them out, wash and re-install!

This is JUST before the roots start dreading and obviously the hair shed gets TOO rediculous when I'm washing my hair xD I would leave them in longer but my natural hair is so long it would just end up in a mess with all the shed hair getting tangled up!

I like them looking a bit looser and messy as I wear naturals so they look nicer after a week or two when they've settled in =)

x

[IKickShins]

I leave mine in for around two months as well.

[rivetlicker_]

Longest I have left in dreads is 2 weeks. My hair sucks, so 2 weeks is the max really. I've had the curret set in for 2 weeks so far. I think they'll last at least another week.

[CancerHybrid]

i leave mine in for 2-3 weeks usually since my hair growths rather quickly

[VixenSingsBlack]

1 to 2 weeks. Really, that's due to job constraints during the fall/winter, and heat restraints during the spring/summer.

[CherryLex]

2-4 weeks usually b/c I need to scratch my scalp and give it a good wash. Also b/c I usually want to do my roots & change the color/color scheme by that time.

[runningwithlola]

I reinstall them about once a month b/c that's how often I need to dye my hair.

[Moody108]

the longest i've had mine is 3 weeks, they start getting a bit icky if i leave them any longer or my hair just mats up!

[[Phexxie]]

i normally leave mine in for about one and a half months, mostly because im lazy

a friend of mine once left braids in for over six months... she had dreads by the end of that and i had to use tweezers to pull the kk out of the matted hair, then she had more braids put in OVER the dreads (against my advice) and left those in for about three months, then had to comb the well-matted dreads out

quite revolting really

[ShadowThrone]

2-3 weeks these days. When I first started wearing dreads, sometimes 2 months because the install was such a pain

[Squidgy]

2-4 weeks usually b/c I need to scratch my scalp and give it a good wash. Also b/c I usually want to do my roots & change the color/color scheme by that time.

I am exactly the same - i have to scratch my head and once it starts itching i need to wash it - and i got bored of the same colour scheme so quickly that i need to switch it up...

I alos find that if I leave my dreads in for 4-6 weeks that they have started to naturally dread by then - especially if i have a fringe piece out and wash that!

[NaturalistDesigns]

The longest I've ever left them in is 3 months - yes you read it right, and I had baby dreads forming.

But now I can manage a week at best :/ I'm glad I'm not the only one who has issues with their scalps!

[MrsEss]

1-3 weeks. sometimes I take em out, rewash & reinstall a few days later. my head seems to be less tolerant to synth for the past few months though.

[Lilinth]

only about 2-3 weeks, though with my recent naturals i found the fuzziness made them so itchy so 2 weeks was all i could handle

[brandalynn]

2-3 weeks here also. By then, I feel that my scalp needs a good wash and rub. I wash the dreads and such while they're in, but I need that deep clean feel that you can't get while in dreads.

[Panda Moon]

Wow- I am learning so much. I thought most people wore them for 2-3 months at a time.

[heartofdarkness]

2 or 3 weeks is the longest I've been able to handle wearing any, as my scalp gets too itchy, but now I'm going to have a go at making some falls, and see how that goes instead.

[toxymoxy]

I do mine for 2-3 months generally.. though, technically I've done up to 4 months in the past. I hate the sectioning process so much that I'd rather just go one-by-one, unbraiding, pulling out the matted bits&natural dreading and just rebraiding it right back in all nice and tight so it's I have a constant dreadtime without the break between installs. I just do the one-by-one retie as often as I need to, whenever I find any of the dreads are getting too loose for my liking. That and washing my scalp often enough to keep it fresh makes everything works out just fine, haha.

[foximusprime]

I usually leave mine in for at least one week, i can usually manage 2 1/2 weeks before i need to take them out and wash my hair.

[Bomber]

I always thought I was really lame and took mine out a lot sooner than everyone else, but it would appear 2-4 weeks is average!

[Stilldawn]

Right around two weeks here too, leave em out for a day or two then put them back in. My hair grows super fast when they are in though. Two weeks and I can easily stick one of my fat fingers under the once tight dread. Although this last time I lasted a little over as I did what toxymoxy mentioned. I put them in a pony and pull each dread down one at a time, just the braided side and rebraid it in. Works really well that way but I get sores on my head easily so I ended up taking them out two days later anyways to give my scalp a break. If I am feeling grimy and dont feel like fully washing my hair while they are in then I will take a baby wipe or make up remover wipe and give my scalp a good scrubbing. Although I have considered using this foam shampoo stuff I have for my cat, its all natural ingredients and you just foam it in and wipe it out with a cloth, but the fact its for a cat has stopped me. No idea why as its all herbal and organic. Mental thing I guess.

[MissPlastik]

nomally a week...god im borin

my last set was in for 3 days haha ^_^

[pinky]

ha! i had to take my last set out after 3 days too! my hair likes to break rubber bands so a few nights of sleeping on them and i have dreads half falling out so the max is usually a week. i'e tried many many difffrent types of rubber bands and either my hair slipps out from under the band or they break. having uber smooth hair sux >.<

[Rhaeniel]

It depends what I've been doing in them or what sort of things I've got lined up each week - if I'm going out clubbing with my sis, then they come out.. out with my mate Hev and then go back in, etc..
Generally tho, I tend to leave them in for about 3-4 weeks.

[MissPlastik]

ha! i had to take my last set out after 3 days too! my hair likes to break rubber bands so a few nights of sleeping on them and i have dreads half falling out so the max is usually a week. i'e tried many many difffrent types of rubber bands and either my hair slipps out from under the band or they break. having uber smooth hair sux >.<

Hehe ditto..
I did it for camping, and when I woke up I kept checking my pillow for broken elastics...im a fidget so I always end up with loose bits 0___0