How to Use Those Dern Perm-rods!

Man, it’s hard, but it’s gotta be done somehow!!

Making those Baby Hairs LAY DOWN!

Yes, I actually use relaxer in this vid, but it’s not what you think!!! I know you dun wanna hear it, but it works! The good thing about it is that you don’t have to worry about applying it again for a very long while compared to using other products daily or weekly. Before doing this method, I try other methods such as gel, latch-hooking, palm-rolling, stringing, or interlocking these hairs and so forth. Also gel, whether holding gel or conditioning gel and a wave/stocking cap/scarf work temporarily (maybe until 11:00 that morning) and the frizz and stuff is back sticking up. Again, this is a once in a blue moon ordeal not everyday, monthly, or yearly. Occasionally. You don’t have to use this method, so please no comments about “You shouldn’t do that” or “It’s bad for your hair and skin.” Newsflash: I know this and I’m probably going to do it again in the future. Different things work for different people. Sometimes you have to do what you gotta do to make things work.

Formal Locstyle When You’re in a Hurry

I will do a vid for this soon, but I just wanted to show a cool do when you don’t have time to do curls and other stuff. All you need is a few regular hair pins and about 4 decorated hairpins. Here’s the pix:

Question & Answers

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Q: I’m black and thinking about dreading my own hair. At the moment, I have a lock it up gel that I plan on using. I’ve done a little research and everyone says you should wet your hair while twisting or backcoming it. How does wet hair affect the initial dreading process? If I decide to twist mine with dry hair, will it damage my hair?

My Answer:

1) Who told you that your hair has to be wet? lol.
(2) Using gel or oils is just fine. You don’t have to pack on gel, though. If anything, your hair being too wet will cause the strands to unravel while you are twisting or encourage breaking during backcombing.
(3) Wetness can actually inhibit the hairs from meshing properly because the hair becomes soft. That is why they encourage you to not wash your hair for a few weeks.
(4) Drying twisting your hair with a little gel is fine. I wouldn’t recommend your hair being unmoisturized (meaning, your hair shouldn’t be fried, overdried, or brittle).

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Q: What the fastest way to grow dreadlocks?

My Answer:

It’s not a particular way to grow your hair “quickly.” This decides on your own biological hair growth rate; everyone’s is slightly different. However, proper maintenance is what gives you long, healthy locs. The better you take care of your scalp, root, and locs the better off your locs will be (and it then it will seem like your hair is growing really fast, lol).

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Q: My question to you, can anyone start latching at any stage of there ocks? Take me, I’ve been loc’d for 29 months it will be 3 years come December, could I start latching? And final question, do you do a 3 pt or 4 pt rotation? Will you ever do a vid showing how to latch?

My Answer:

As far as your questions:

(1) I think people can start latching at any stage. The reason I say this is because I started my locs with the TST and palm-rolled. However, in November 2009 I started to interlock my locs and have been hooked every since. Basically, I interlock where is it matches the width of the lock; it’s not too tight or too loose. I think the most important thing to consider when changing methods is making sure there is a drastic change in the pattern of your locs. You want it where the size is consistent throughout the whole lock. You don’t want it to be loose/thicker at the root to the middle of the lock and thin/tight the rest of the way. The other way around would not look bad (tight at the root and thicker at the ends; this would like your locs are budding at the end). You have to play around with it a little bit to see what works. Believe me, it was just luck on the first try with me; not to mention, I experimented on the locs on the bottom and the back of my head.

(2) I’m not familiar with the 3- or 4- point rotation, lol. I just twist/palm-roll my locs in the same direction. Sometimes I pin them, sometimes I don’t, lol. That’s about it.

(3) I might show a vid on how to latch if I can learn how to do it without messing up my loc pattern. Good idea for a video, lol. Thanx!

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Q: so yea, im black (incase relevant)…but i jus got my hair twisted for dreads n ive been hearing that spraying a mixture of warm water, lemon juice, n salt on ur dreads helps with the locking process.

My answer:

I’ve never used salt in my hair. Just so you know, salt isn’t the greatest for you locs, lol. It’s just like when you sweat after a workout or go to the beach you must wash your hair because of the salt. Now, I have heard of lemon juice and honey. I’ve used this concoction, but I didn’t see any big improvement/increase in locking my dreads. I just used regular gel, twisted them, pinned/clipped the dreads down, spray a little holding spray, and cover my hair with satin scarf/bonnet/cap to keep hair from catching and unraveling.

…oh yeah, just b/c ur black doesn’t change anything, hun. lol

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Q: i have dreads and i put beeswax to start my dreads and now when i get my hair wet it turns white where i put in the beeswax at im not cutting my hair or taking out my dreads so do this work or do you know what will

My Answer:

There’s a number of things you can do. Let’s start at the beginning:

(1) Stay the eff away from beeswax. It’s the devil. Use gels and oils. My rule of thumb: Only use products that you can wash out.

(2) When you are using a product such as gel or creme/cream, use only enough to do the job. You don’t need a big glob to twist/maintain your dreads.

(3) Baking soda and water. You can start out by putting the baking soda on the root of your locs (make sure to rub in a generous amount). Spray your locs with water. This should attack the residue at the root. Then you can….

(5) Use a clear, clarifying shampoo. The main purpose of this shampoo is wash gunk out of your hair. You can find one at your local Wal-mart (products like Pantene, heck, the Equate brand works great, too! I use it!), beauty supply store, or Dollar General. I’m going to let you know now that you are probably going to do a couple of rounds of shampooing before you feel any difference.

(4) You could also do an ACV (apple-cider vinegar) rinse. This WILL thoroughly clean your locs. Believe me, lol. No, you won’t smell like potato salad afterwards if you wash it out your hair. You may want to do this before using clarifying shampoo.

I’ve done these things through experience. I, too, used the cursed beeswax and suffered the consequences, lol!.

If you have any more questions, feel free to email me

**I keep names/usernames anonymous so no one will feel embarrassed or exposed….unless the Q&A is on a public website such as Yahoo! Answers.  (^_^)

Problems/Solutions: Thinning Areas of the Lock

(Problems/Solutions)Dyeing Help: Overfried Dreads

There was someone who asked a question about how to restore their dreads after dyeing. The question:

“I HAVE LOCS. I GOT THEM DYED AND NOW MY LOCS SEEM TO BE DRY, THIN AND MY ROOTS ARENT AS STRONG what can i do?

restore my hair so that it can be strong again and to kkep it from being dry, please help”

 I replied with this:

“What may of happened is that some of the dyeing product was left in your dreads and has been eating away at your dreads. So… let’s get to it.

1- I’m assuming that your dreads are mature enough to handle washing. So, you need a good clarifying shampoo (like Pantene Clarifying shampoo, it’s clear. That’s what you want; a clear shampoo that works). You may need to wash your dreads a couple of times to get any product out.

2- Even though I do not use a lot of conditioner (maybe once a month), I do use it when I think my dreads may need it. Therefore, after shampooing find a thick, (all natural if you can find one), conditioner that doesn’t have all that perfume in it and cover your dreads. Then put a shower cap over them and leave in for approximately 3 to 5 minutes. Rinse well! You will probably notice a difference in the way your dreads will feel.

3- Towel blot (not rub!) your dreads. Wrap the towel around your dreads and squeeze (not twist) the water out. Spray or apply tea-tree, olive, peppermint, OR SOME KIND OF HAIR OIL (lol) to your dreads. Don’t overdo it, where it’s dripping down your neck. Apply it to the root and the length of your dreads. Let your dreads AIR DRY.

4-For the next month or so, refrain from tugging or putting your dreads in ponytails. NO overprocessing either with any method you use to maintain your dreads (like backcombing, latching, interlocking, twisting). Meaning, wait bi-weekly or even monthly if you can to redo your dreads.

5- Moisturize weekly; daily if you notice that you dreads are dry. A lot of attention needs to go towards the root of your hair so that you can encourage more healthy hair to grow.

Change isn’t going to come immediately, but you should start to see a difference after a week or two.”

 

(this can be found on Yahoo! Answers: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100128084025AAPsZ0X

**Tip (5/17/10): You can purchase “neutralizing shampoo” from Wal-mart or a beauty supply store. It’s the same kind of shampoo that is used in perm or dye kits to neutralize/cancel out/deactivate/clean out leftover chemicals.

Loc Maintenance: Cleaning the Scalp w/ Witch Hazel

You are going to need: a bottle of Witch Hazel and Q-Tips.
This is great for baby locs!!

Locstyles: Bangle Bun

Using Dual-Type Twisting: Palm-rolling & Interlocking

I used to think that I would never interlock for two reasons: (1) I thought it took much time (2) I was native to only palm-rolling. It appeared interesting and tempting at the same time. Why? Because you didn’t have to worry about your locs unraveling at the root….or at all, for that matter. However, I did not want to worry about the texture of my locs changing or run the risk having little bumpy knots from inaccurately interlocking. So why the change of heart you ask? Well, I shall tell you why (very short story, actually). One afternoon, I was riding back from another county with a couple of coworkers. While they were yacking on their phones, the slightly irritable-from-hunger My4tress needed something to dwindle time away while she waited for the stoplight to change for the turning lane in 5 o’clock traffic (instead of twiddling my thumbs).  I subconsciously started playing with my locs of course. Next thing you know, I was weaving the root (interlocking) the back locs. They’re usually the ones to unravel at the root much quicker than the rest of my locs. As I felt for what I’ve done, I realized that I did it pretty well; no lumpy knots. I rolled the loc in one direction to see how it would’ve looked/felt if I palm-rolled the interlocked part later. No difference. Hmm! I was quite pleased. So I learned that if you do not interlock too tightly and not in the same direction, you have a nice result that will not change even if you palm roll later. You want to interlock as closely as possible to the already locked part of your locs. However, if you did it incorrectly, you will end of with:

 

(1) separated roots

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2) if palm-rolled, a twisted part

 

  

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(3) a hole in the middle of your loc.  (I put a q-tip inside of the hole so you could identify it easier.)

    

FYI: Interlocking becomes addictive when your hands are idle or if you don’t have nothing to do (lol) and doesn’t take as long as you think.

Next thing you know, all of my locs have been interlocked. So, I washed my hair just last week expected to roll some roots, when I looked at the mirror and barely saw any puffiness (a sign of a root(s) needing retwisting). That saved me a lot of time.

(I’m going to try to do a vid on interlocking; however, letting you know now that I’m not an expert interlocker, lol.)

Combining Baby (short) Hairs to Mature Locs