so it is possible to do it.....I was thinkin about gettin dreadlocks but I wasn't sure if they could ever be unlocked or not
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so it is possible to do it.....I was thinkin about gettin dreadlocks but I wasn't sure if they could ever be unlocked or not
I just did this last week. I had dreads that were about 1.5 years old, and very developed. Not just developed, but I used a felting needle a lot and my brother spent many days using a crochet needle to get them nice and tight.
I cut the bottom couple of inches off and me and my husband spent a week soaking dreads in conditioner and picking them out with forks and flea combs. I stabbed myself in the fingers and thumb so many times they were raw, yikes!
I used generic Nexxus, generic Redken Extreme, and Ionic condioner from Sally's. I don't necessarily recommend these; I KNOW there has to be something more slippery. They worked well enough, though. I just didn't take time to research it much, I was ready for them to be out.
I cut them off to just on top of the shoulder, but after they combed out some of my hair was down to my sternum and lower. I can't believe how much my hair grew while in dreads! I now have hair that is collar bone length, and it's thinner at the ends than the roots, but I started out with very thick hair, so my hair mostly looks other women's hair. It really doesn't look very damaged or anything. I may get more cut off the ends, to just above shoulder length as I liked that length on myself before. I'm just waiting to see how it recovers from the dreading and then the removing process.
It's funny that the ladies at Sally's kept telling me that it can't be done, that you HAVE to cut dreadlocks out. I kept saying..."I've seen it done, I'm doing it right now, they're combing out as I'm talking to you on the phone..." I keep wanting to go back and show them. :D
I see from your info that you are in Australia - a lot of the product recommendations you're getting are from people in the US, and what you have available may be different.
On the old version of the boards, there use to be a products thread specifically about Australia, I think. (I may be misremembering.) I don't know, offhand, if there is such a thread here.
But you may want to do a request on such a thread, or set up such a thread if it does not exist, to get recommendations that are actually available where you are.
It may also help to start the process by washing with a clarifying shampoo, just to get out any product buildup, waxes or oils, and other things that may be serving as "glue" in the locks. Rinse very well, and perhaps mermaid-soak in clean water, to get the hair down to nothing but hair, before loading up with the most slipy, cone-filled conditioner you can find.
It may also be necessary to wash/clarify partway through the process, if the conditioner dries into the hair. A spray bottle of water, to re-moisten the conditioner as it drys, may be helpful, in order to keep it damp as you work. Conditioner can sometimes dry sticky, and that would only make the process more difficult.
happyvegan eheh i believe there are people that for some reason cant take the dreadlocks so you are somehow lucky to save your hair! You should show us your new hairstyle ;)
When I get an actual hairstyle I will! I confess I thought my hair would be in a lot worse shape after, especially after using the felting needle! I'll be babying my hair for quite a while. My brother, who also had dreadlocks, just cut his off and was done with it. I envied him being able to do that, but I wanted to keep my hair long if I could...
I had waist length hair in high school and then chopped it off the day after senior pics. Since then it's been up to my neckline and down to BSL. I was in the process of growing it out when I dreadlocked it, and I enjoyed having the locks, although I can't help but wonder where my hair would be if I hadn't done it.
Right now, for rebuilding I'm doing the K-pak treatment once a week, and no shampoo, only Aubrey Organics honeysuckle rose conditioner (for dry/brittle hair) and water. I figure after using no conditioner and only drying shampoos for so long, my hair needs some TLC.
We shall see how that turns out, but I have to say it was SO WORTH the pain and frustration and all the time spent combing/picking my dreads out. I'm so glad I didn't just chop it, even though I'd get so fed up with stabbing my fingertips that I really thought about chopping. :D