Rachel ([info]prttywthapistol) wrote in [info]get_up_dread_up,
@ 2007-11-12 21:01:00
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So.. I am planning on combing out my dreads in about a month or so.. mid-December. And a girl once told me that if I just start washing my hair with normal shampoo they'll pretty much unknot themselves. I would think it would take a while of washing them with normal shampoo for them to start to untangle.. but I am not sure how long. I want to make the combing-out process as easy as possible, so would it make sense to start washing them with normal shampoo soon so that they're easier to comb out in a month? Or would it not make that much of a difference in the end and just make them look like crap for the next month?


My mom was making my sisters and I go to get Christmas pictures taken.. so we decided to put little Christmas light bulbs in my hair :D


Mommy!


My little sister and I.



I'll try posting the actual pictures we had taken when we get them..

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[info]epf
2007-11-13 02:29 am UTC (link)
I don't know about the shampooing..but your locks are so adorable and soft looking! How old are they?

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[info]prttywthapistol
2007-11-13 02:39 am UTC (link)
They're only 5 months =)

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[info]epf
2007-11-13 02:51 am UTC (link)
Wow, I hope mine can look even half as cute when I get to five months. What makes you want to rid yourself of them so quickly.
(sorry for the whole 20 question situation I'm grilling you with, I'm just annoyingly curious when it comes to people and their dreads.)

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[info]prttywthapistol
2007-11-13 03:03 am UTC (link)
I dunno.. Lots of reasons. I'm just not happy with them. I love dreads.. but not mine. I don't think I'll ever be able to have the kind of dreads I love because of my hair type. They actually look a lot better in pictures than in person.. they're just not doing well and there is a lot of snappage going on. Also, it's no fun when all my friends and family want me to comb them out. I'm not gonna do it just because they don't like it, but I suppose it is part of the reason. Besides, hair cuts have always been great for making me happy, and I could use that now. It's hard to be sad when you have a new, cute hair cut :)

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[info]pocketstarlet
2007-11-13 04:31 am UTC (link)
That's funny, because haircuts are one of my least favorite things! I always feel icky when I walk out of the salon and don't feel better until I've washed my hair at least two or three times. I don't have dreads yet, but I look forward to not having to get haircuts after that. :)

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[info]prttywthapistol
2007-11-13 05:20 am UTC (link)
Well, I guess I should say a *good, cute* haircut always makes me happy :) My friend is actually in cosmetology school right now so when I comb them out I'm going to let her cut my hair.

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[info]industri_hippy
2007-11-13 02:38 am UTC (link)
Conditioner is good. Helps the comb slip through them. Start at the bottom of the dread and work up to the scalp. It will take a while and you will have balls of left over hair, but don't stress this is normal.

Yep. Last comb out over here was with conditioner, water and a couple of paracetamol because my head hurt so much from all the pulling.

Best wishes and happy seasons.

The lights look so cool.

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[info]balamuthia
2007-11-13 02:41 am UTC (link)


Awwwww....such pretty dreadlocks.

I'm very new to mine, so I don't really have any advice on taking them out- since I'm still trying to get mine to stay in.

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[info]revolte_avecmoi
2007-11-13 02:42 am UTC (link)
i don't think the shampoo will do anything. just use a lot of conditioner, really slather it on. even if you don't start combing it yet, it'll help.

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[info]amyakieran
2007-11-13 03:45 am UTC (link)
yeah because i use only "normal" shampoo. no-residue shampoos leave me soooooooo dry that it hurts. my dreads are locked up as ever.

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[info]amyakieran
2007-11-13 03:45 am UTC (link)
also a note about the conditioner. i use conditioner on occasion as well without any unraveling!

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[info]amyakieran
2007-11-13 03:46 am UTC (link)
but that's just my hair.

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[info]revolte_avecmoi
2007-11-13 04:22 am UTC (link)
really? conditioner made it sooo much easier for me to comb out my dreads. well, i never had a full set, but i just let my hair do its own thing, and then i suddenly realised that about half of my hair was locked up into this one big, matted dread. you couldn't tell from looking at it, because my hair is pretty fucking wild and curly, but it was disgustingggg. so i combed that out as well as a few other dreads that i had (to start over; now i have just one), and i actually just used my fingers and some conditioner. well. a lot of conditioner, haha.
just out of curiousity, why do you use conditioner?

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[info]amyakieran
2007-11-13 04:28 am UTC (link)
i use conditioner because my dreads get so damn dry (and i even live in the pacific northwest)! they get very prickly and start kinda falling apart if i don't condition (i do this every 3 months or so... not that often at all).

i guess i just haven't found the right shampoo yet! =/ although i had this problem pre-dreads as well.

hahaha the plus side to this... is i can go weeks no shower without looking greasy!

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[info]revolte_avecmoi
2007-11-13 04:54 pm UTC (link)
haha that must be nice, i go two days without a shower and the rest of my hair is like "FUCK! YOUUUUU!"

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[info]sarar
2007-11-13 06:55 am UTC (link)
I slathered conditioner on to help untangle my first set when I combed them out. It didn't help at all. I'm sure it works for some people, though. Depends on the hair I imagine. I use it on my dreads, especially the ends, every once in awhile now.

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[info]revolte_avecmoi
2007-11-13 04:51 pm UTC (link)
i guess it also depends on how tight the set is, too. mine were still relatively loose.

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[info]whenyouforget
2007-11-13 09:12 am UTC (link)
agreed... I think a lot of people could get away w/ using regular shampoo without loosening their dreads.

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[info]jinx_lbc
2007-11-13 10:52 am UTC (link)
yup, I'm a regular shampooer too. my locks are really tight at the moment, i think it's time for me to get some photos done and upload them

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[info]revolte_avecmoi
2007-11-13 04:51 pm UTC (link)
yeah, i use regular shampoo. granted, i do only have the one dread, but i shampoo it every day just like the rest of my hair and it doesn't do anythign on way or another.

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[info]revolte_avecmoi
2007-11-13 04:52 pm UTC (link)
uh. anything* and one*

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[info]waineofark
2007-11-13 03:54 am UTC (link)
aw, but your dreads have so much potential! to each his own, they say.

i started using regular shampoo 6 months after i started mine...i read in the comments above that you've had them for about that long, so i don't think it'll help you much. however, starting to use conditioner might help...i mean, it couldn't hurt, right? be careful, though, because it's harder to rinse out than regular shampoo/soap/whatever you're using. good luck!

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[info]tribalesque
2007-11-13 04:07 am UTC (link)
Aww chirstmas lights is such an awesome idea!

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[info]thesumo
2007-11-13 04:24 am UTC (link)
the christmas lights in your hair are adorable!
i combed mine out a month or so ago after about 3 to 4 months of locking, and it wasn't *that* hard. i spent about two days conditioning/combing, with a LOT of hair loss lol. i'd think if you started using shampoo with conditioner or conditioning your hair now it would make it that much easier to comb them out in a few weeks. it might make no difference though. it could just make your hair smell like over-washed moldy dreads lol.

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[info]hamburgerhop
2007-11-13 05:36 am UTC (link)
I think I'm going to cry ... You're combing out such gorgeous dreads :[

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[info]actpassive
2007-11-13 05:42 am UTC (link)
I use normal shampoo and conditioner and um, yeah, nothing happens.

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[info]hamburgerhop
2007-11-13 07:37 am UTC (link)
I'm going to steal your christmas light idea, btw :]

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[info]sioko
2007-11-13 07:56 am UTC (link)
I combed most of my first set out when they were about 6mo old and it took four days of constant combing. I slathered on the conditioners, jojoba oil, regular and moisturizing shampoos, baby oil, you name it. None of it was the magic bullet to make it easy, but that was just my experience. Good luck.

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[info]prttywthapistol
2007-11-13 02:13 pm UTC (link)
Baby oil? Really? I never would have thought to put it in my hair..

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[info]sioko
2007-11-13 11:04 pm UTC (link)
Nothing else was working so I started getting inventive. It didn't work. (^_^)

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[info]bright_on_dark
2007-11-14 01:02 am UTC (link)
a customer where i work said her daughter had dreads that were six years old and were long, and when she combed them out she dipped each dread in baby oil and then combed them out. she said it worked (but again it could just respond well to her hairtype) and also she said that her hair was still pretty long after :)

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[info]ph0enixinflight
2007-11-13 12:14 pm UTC (link)
I'm going to kind of repeat what a few others here have already said, but using "regular" shampoo will not help undo them. What WILL work is using the same metal-toothed comb you used to create your dreads... and a bottle of conditioner. I cut my dreads until they were about shoulder length and then combed the rest out. My hair was actually in pretty good condition when I was done. Here they were at nine months (couldn't find a one year mark pic, but they were a bit longer at a year) and here's what they looked like two days after combing out and a trip to the salon to get a proper haircut.

Good luck!

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[info]ph0enixinflight
2007-11-13 12:16 pm UTC (link)
Oh... and forgot to mention that the whole process of cutting and combling only took 4 hours straight.

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[info]prttywthapistol
2007-11-13 02:16 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, I decided to comb out a dread last night to see what it would be like and I was surprised how easy it was.. only took me about 5 minutes. But I was also disgustingly surprised by how much wax was in there when I haven't used it for months.

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[info]esoterian
2007-11-13 06:03 pm UTC (link)
when I combed out my two month old set I just got it wet and conditioned it reall good, and left some in while it was a little slimy, then started combing with a towel on my back. When it got dry and sticky I got it wet/conditioned again and continued brushing. I did that about five times and it took eight hours. They say baby oil works too, haven't tried it though. Good luck!

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[info]spartagus
2007-11-14 12:25 am UTC (link)
if you're having trouble, go to the drug store and get some Mane and Tail conditioner. It should work pretty good! If you're really having trouble, like, a lot of it and are getting impatient, find a tack(horse) store or a horsie friend and get a cheap bottle of shown sheen(around $7 i think). Most of them are silicon based, so it's pretty gross in your hair, but it should wash out with a few good washes. If it can get 3-4 month old poop dreadlocks out of a horse tail, it should have no problem with your hair! You juts spray it on liberally, let it sit for a minute or two or ten, then start combing! I've never tried this, am just theorizing what worked for me on the furbabies could transfer over to the dreadbabies!

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[info]hybercon
2007-11-17 06:15 am UTC (link)
When I combed out my first set I got a metal comb, used lots of conditioner, and brushed them out while showering, the water spray seemed to help loosen up some of the knots as it was going... its a very long, painful process, (painful not only on the scalp, but fingers!

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